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Regina wrote: "Amazon is weird about reviews, and not just for books. They refused to allow me to review a CD order that they only sent me part of. Listing included a CD and a rip. This was sold by Amazon, too, n..."You're fast becoming one of my favorite people :).
Nancy, I just went looked at the customers review that you mentioned in the OP. In reading all the rest of her reviews I think I discovered what the problem is and it actually happens more than occasionally. One review says....
"Gee give me a break. I just had heart surgery and all and I haven't been home in over a month and Grandaughter has me Kindle Fire"
And her last review says...
"I seem to be missing a lot of these books I ordered. I finally got a wireless WII to solve my problems"
It looks like she bought all these books from the Amazon website (likely from a PC) and sent them to her kindle, not realizing that she would have to have the kindle hooked up to wi-fi for them to be downloaded to the device.
She also likely responded to the emails that Amazon sends periodically asking if you'd like to review this product and didn't realize that she wasn't just responding to Amazon but was posting product reviews.
A lot of people aren't very computer savvy or just don't understand what is supposed to be included in a product review, what's seller feedback or what should be sent to Amazon directly.
I'm sure it's frustrating for authors to see reviews like this, but I assure you, they're not hurting you. At all. Even if Amazon won't remove them, nobody is going to decide against buying your book b/c of a review like that. There's really no point in wasting even a second thought on it.
@Jen, I'm pretty sure Amazon wouldn't say that. AFAIK, they only have a problem with negative reviews by authors and I'm fairly sure it was in response to a large number of authors bombing each other (for various reasons) with one-star reviews. You'd think they'd remove the five-stars, too, but obviously they don't have a problem with those. :-/
Eta: missing word
Linda wrote: "Jen wrote: "Linda wrote: "C.M.J. -- You are an author. You are not allowed to write negative reviews of other authors' books."I've read the Amazon FAQ's in regard to reviews and never saw that li..."
Damnit, Linda!
Linda wrote:Don't harass Amazon, for the love of all that's literate don't harass your readers, and if the reviews keep you awake at night, then just don't read them.
Spend your time writing a terrific book.
Good advice, especially the last bit.
I stopped posting reviews on Amazon after two experiences, both relating to Tolkien. The first was where I criticised a posthumous book of Tolkien's verse because I thought the verse was crap, and said so; I was then subjected to abuse by several of the Tolkien troglodytes who inhabit the lower halls of the Mines of Amazon. The second was where I praised How Tolkien Sucks, and was accused of taking a bribe from the author, which was a libel both on him and on me. Whether Amazon would have deleted these if I'd complained, I don't know, but I suspect not. I like a quiet life, so I removed them myself.
I have complained to Amazon because a review of one of my books contained a factual error which I thought might put people off buying it, but they wrote back and told me that factual errors don't contravene their guidelines.
My general attitude to reviews, and not just on Amazon, as a result of these experiences is that if you put your book out there, it and you will sooner or later get shat on by someone, and the best thing is to hoist the umbrella of stoicism before it happens and just live under there permanently.
Spend your time writing a terrific book.
Good advice, especially the last bit.
I stopped posting reviews on Amazon after two experiences, both relating to Tolkien. The first was where I criticised a posthumous book of Tolkien's verse because I thought the verse was crap, and said so; I was then subjected to abuse by several of the Tolkien troglodytes who inhabit the lower halls of the Mines of Amazon. The second was where I praised How Tolkien Sucks, and was accused of taking a bribe from the author, which was a libel both on him and on me. Whether Amazon would have deleted these if I'd complained, I don't know, but I suspect not. I like a quiet life, so I removed them myself.
I have complained to Amazon because a review of one of my books contained a factual error which I thought might put people off buying it, but they wrote back and told me that factual errors don't contravene their guidelines.
My general attitude to reviews, and not just on Amazon, as a result of these experiences is that if you put your book out there, it and you will sooner or later get shat on by someone, and the best thing is to hoist the umbrella of stoicism before it happens and just live under there permanently.
@Linda - I see it now. What's YMMV?@TinaNicole - No one bitches about the five star reviews.
The only time anyone would bitch about a 5 star review would be if it was the best out of 10 Stars and thank god there is no such thing! Lol.
Jen wrote: "No one bitches about the five star reviews."Of course not! Those don't hurt an authors feelings. They only hurt customers who are fooled into spending their time and money on subpar books. And who really cares about them?
^_~
Linda wrote: "and if the reviews keep you awake at night, then just don't read them.Spend your time writing a terrific book..."
AMEN
I've read the Amazon FAQ's in regard to reviews and never saw that listed there...
All I could find was, "Authors and artists can add a unique perspective and we very much welcome their customer reviews." AND "We don't allow authors to submit customer reviews on their own books even when they disclose their identity."