Group 124. General. Mod E.M.

[E.M.]

Adelise wrote: "So, are we still required to post on Amazon to be in these groups? I thought, in the light of the new rules, that it was no longer required. "

Just wondering if you have tried to post a review on Amazon US and UK recently, Adelise and had a problem doing so? If not, you could try and see if you can leave book reviews there, or if they are refused. It might be there is no problem with you doing so.

[Emma]

Firstly, have you tried to post a review on amazon since the rules changed? You had no problem with the last group you were in.

if you have and it was refused because of the qualifying $50, the question is, the reason you joined the group to get reviews on amazon for your books?
If the answer is yes, and it should be if you are serious about being an author, do you think its fair to expect other authors to spend the $50 to post on amazon for you, and to not reciprocate?

We are all in the same boat here, all struggling indie authors to a greater or lesser degree. If you know you can't reciprocate with reviews, perhaps the best thing to do will be to bow out till you can reciprocate.

On the other hand, Christmas is coming, maybe buying a gift or three on amazon will solve the problem...

[Emma]

Stuart wrote: "Hi, I'm not too familiar with the workings of these groups, so forgive me if I seem a bit dense here.
1st. I have read and agree to the rules for the group.
2nd. my current books are published by ..."

As long as you have the right to distribute copies of your book and can post reviews you are most welcome.

I perked up at the mention of Hull, I spent three happy years there back in the distant past.

I'll add you now, but I'll wait till morning to set the group up to give another member the opportunity to confirm they can fully participate before posting the 'go' message.

[P.M.F.]

Adelise, the reviews on Amazon are the most important reason why I, and I suspect many other people, join these groups. Yes, I get that the group cannot require you to post on Amazon. Nor can I. But the way I see it, if you do not post on Amazon, you are in essence jobbing the rest of us... you get your reviews, and we are shafted on ours. I can't require it, we can't require it, but not doing the reviews on Amazon is not carrying your weight. Do remember, that seems to be $50 spent on Amazon any time over that... well, x-many years. Maybe ever. Let your conscience be your guide. And please, let's first see if anyone else agrees with me... Maybe I'm way out of line, here.

[Scott]

I agree. One idea is to buy your own books and participate in Goodreads giveaways (designed for authors) which is great marketing! You'll increase your "to-read" lists exponentially. For any new book I write, I usually give out by mail five print books to the lucky readers who win the draw, as randomly selected by Goodreads. With a 400-page book costing usually $22 minimum each, you'll easily exceed the $50 threshold anyway. So far, Goodreads giveaways still only allow print books, not e-book gifts.

To recap, you can order your own books to be shipped via Amazon in your region, to any region in the world, so you get the threshold on Amazon that way.

[Loralee, Admin]

It looks like the group is full, but the title says that 1 more is needed. Has someone dropped out? If so, I'd like to join.

If there isn't a spot, that's okay. If there is one more spot left, let me know, and I'll put up my author and book info.

I've reviewed Scott Spotson before, and PMF has reviewed me.

[Emma]

Adelise, even if you do not post on amazon, you have to have the ability to do so.
Let me know if you have sorted the problem or I will find a member who can fully participate.

[Loralee, Admin]

IF there is a spot for me, here is my info.

Author: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Felicity~ A Sparrow's Tale: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

PMF has reviewed Felicity~ A Sparrow's Tale before. But he can review my newest sparrow book. While I've reviewed Scott Spotson before, I haven't reviewed this particular work.

If there isn't a spot, no worries.

[P.M.F.]

I liked that previous Sparrow's Tale a lot. I'd be happy to read another...

[Emma]

I think we've waited long enough for Adelise to respond.
Please note this aspect is covered in the sign up message:
4. You can submit reviews to goodreads, amazon.com and amazon.uk. Amazon has recently changed their criteria for reviewers to allow only those people who have spent $50 on amazon. If you are unsure about your amazon reviewer status, try posting a ‘test’ review before signing up.

We have ten members available, willing and ABLE to fully participate. I'll set up the start message ASAP>

[Stuart]

Emma wrote: "Firstly, have you tried to post a review on amazon since the rules changed? You had no problem with the last group you were in.

if you have and it was refused because of the qualifying $50, the qu..."
Thanks, Emma. Yes, I can distribute review copies. And I always post to my website, Goodreads, and Amazon .co.uk, .com and in Australia.

[Emma]

Here we go.

START DATE: 05/12/2016

END DATE: 27/02/2017


Round 1 – post your review by 26/12/2016
Round 2 – post your review by 16/01/2017
Round 3 – post your review by 06/02/2017
Round 4 – post your review by 27/02/2017



As AUTHORS you send your book file to:

124-01__ P M F Johnson
Stuart Aken for round 1
E.M. Swift-Hook for round 2
Els Boot for round 3
J. D. wilde for round 4

124-02__ Loralee Evans
P M F Johnson for round 1
Stuart Aken for round 2
E.M. Swift-Hook for round 3
Els Boot for round 4

124-03__ N.L.J.
Loralee Evans for round 1
P M F Johnson for round 2
Stuart Aken for round 3
E.M. Swift-Hook for round 4

124-04__ Scott Spotson
N.L.J. for round 1
Loralee Evans for round 2
P M F Johnson for round 3
Stuart Aken for round 4

124-05__ Seth Levens
Scott Spotson for round 1
N.L.J. for round 2
Loralee Evans for round 3
P M F Johnson for round 4

124-06__ Alex Anderson
Seth Levens for round 1
Scott Spotson for round 2
N.L.J. for round 3
Loralee Evans for round 4

124-07__ J. D. wilde
Alex Anderson for round 1
Seth Levens for round 2
Scott Spotson for round 3
N.L.J. for round 4

124-08__ Els Boot
J. D. wilde for round 1
Alex Anderson for round 2
Seth Levens for round 3
Scott Spotson for round 4

124-09__ E.M. Swift-Hook
Els Boot for round 1
J. D. wilde for round 2
Alex Anderson for round 3
Seth Levens for round 4

124-10__ Stuart Aken
E.M. Swift-Hook for round 1
Els Boot for round 2
J. D. wilde for round 3
Alex Anderson for round 4

As REVIEWERS you will receive books for review from:

124-01__ P M F Johnson
Loralee Evans for round 1
N.L.J. for round 2
Scott Spotson for round 3
Seth Levens for round 4

124-02__ Loralee Evans
N.L.J. for round 1
Scott Spotson for round 2
Seth Levens for round 3
Alex Anderson for round 4

124-03__ N.L.J.
Scott Spotson for round 1
Seth Levens for round 2
Alex Anderson for round 3
J. D. wilde for round 4

124-04__ Scott Spotson
Seth Levens for round 1
Alex Anderson for round 2
J. D. wilde for round 3
Els Boot for round 4

124-05__ Seth Levens
Alex Anderson for round 1
J. D. wilde for round 2
Els Boot for round 3
E.M. Swift-Hook for round 4

124-06__ Alex Anderson
J. D. wilde for round 1
Els Boot for round 2
E.M. Swift-Hook for round 3
Stuart Aken for round 4

124-07__ J. D. wilde
Els Boot for round 1
E.M. Swift-Hook for round 2
Stuart Aken for round 3
P M F Johnson for round 4

124-08__ Els Boot
E.M. Swift-Hook for round 1
Stuart Aken for round 2
P M F Johnson for round 3
Loralee Evans for round 4

124-09__ E.M. Swift-Hook
Stuart Aken for round 1
P M F Johnson for round 2
Loralee Evans for round 3
N.L.J. for round 4

124-10__ Stuart Aken
P M F Johnson for round 1
Loralee Evans for round 2
N.L.J. for round 3
Scott Spotson for round 4


Please remember the commitment you are making to your fellow group members. If you pull out after the start date for any reason it is the other members who will be faced with the problem of finding a replacement, or missing out on reads/reviews, through no fault of their own. Please don’t ask the moderators to chase after replacements as we just don’t have the time.

It is the responsibility of the author to get their book to their readers in a format the reviewer can manage. Everyone must be able to provide and accept PDF. You may buy or borrow the books you are due to read if you wish, and I’m sure the author will appreciate the verified review, but IT IS NOT COMPULSORY. There are no set dates for the start of each round. You can each work at your own pace, within the limits of the round deadlines.

All reviews must be posted to GR. We also encourage members to post on amazon .com and .uk. When you have posted your reviews, please post the three links to your reviews, not the book page in this thread.
The mod of each round will record whether members have posted reviews on amazon. I set up all the groups, and for the good of all, members who persistently fail to post reviews or DNF reviews to amazon, will find me less than willing to add them to subsequent groups.

Postings to other sites are by agreement by both author and reviewer.

If I’ve missed something that results in you being asked to review someone who has already reviewed you, please let me know asap.

To exchange book files, my advice is to use PM to give email addresses to each other (save the chance of spammers getting your addies from this open forum). Happy reviewing, everyone :)

[Emma]

As soon as E.M. drops in, I'll be off. However, this is her first round as a mod so BE NICE, or I'll get cranky...

[Stuart]

Okay! Let's go! As a starter, you can easily find my email by visiting the 'contact' tab on my website at http://stuartaken.net/
But I'll investigate the PM method asap and be in touch with you.

[E.M.]

Thanks for setting us up and running Emma. :)


Quick 'start-up' summary for those new here and scratching their heads - you should PM the four people who will be reviewing you through their Goodreads author pages. Click on the down arrow beside the 'Follow Author' button under their picture and it opens a menu which will allow you to message ;)

Ask what kind of file they would like (or say you can only offer PDF) and ask where to send it so they can give you their email.

The four people who you are reviewing should be in touch with you in a similar way.

Any problems you can post here or PM me :)

[Stuart]

Thanks, E.M. That's useful practical advice. We elderly dinosaurs need a bit of careful guidance to prevent us getting lost in the technicalities of the modern world!

[E.M.]

Stuart wrote: "Thanks, E.M. That's useful practical advice. We elderly dinosaurs need a bit of careful guidance to prevent us getting lost in the technicalities of the modern world!"

Glad it gave some useful guidance. :)

I just recall my own first review round here, wondering what exactly I needed to do and having to ask how to message someone - so thought there might just be one or two new folk in the group who could be in the same place I was at that point :)

[Jonathan]

Try posting a review on Amazon UK. I just posted one and it worked fine.

[E.M.]

Jonathan wrote: "Try posting a review on Amazon UK. I just posted one and it worked fine."

Good to know Jonathan! If you can post to your own A'zon you should have no problem posting to any others. I am in the UK and have left reviews on the US, Australian and Canadian sites.

[Loralee, Admin]

Here is my first review. I've completed Within The System.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/review/R2AI6N6...

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3TSB...

[E.M.]

Ah - beat me to it Loralee. First review in, well done!

Here are my reviews for:

Felicity and the Fire Stoppers - Goodreads
Felicity and the Fire Stoppers - Amazon UK
Felicity and the Fire Stoppers - Amazon US

and:

Against The Night: Love Poems - Goodreads
Against The Night: Love Poems - Amazon UK
Against The Night: Love Poems - Amazon US

Thoroughly enjoyed both!

[N.L.J.]

How are you guys doing this so fast? :-0

[E.M.]

N.L.J. wrote: "How are you guys doing this so fast? :-0"

Some people are faster readers and some have more time to read - also books are different lengths and intensities.

As long as we all get there by the deadline, it is not important ;)

[Adelise]

Emma wrote: "Adelise, even if you do not post on amazon, you have to have the ability to do so.
Let me know if you have sorted the problem or I will find a member who can fully participate."

Sorry, I have been moving house.
So, have I been removed from the group?
I'm sorry. I just want to get this straight... I'm not required to post on amazon but you also won't let me join review rounds if I cannot? If you think It is fairer, perhaps have it so people don't have to post a review for my book on Amazon.
I simply cannot afford it at the moment. I will try, but if I cannot then I cannot. If you would prefer to have me not in the group, that is also fine. But I would suggest that you change the rules.
Sorry if I have caused you any inconvenience.

[P.M.F.]

Emma, thank you so much for your kind review. My wife cried when she read it -- your review was so well-written and beautiful.

[E.M.]

Adelise wrote: "Sorry, I have been moving house.
So, have I been removed from the group?."

I would suggest you check back to Post 60 on this, Adelise

I would also draw your attention to Rule 4, which states that you agree you can submit reviews to goodreads, amazon.com and amazon.uk., which means you need to have the ability to , in order to sign up for a round. Rule 4 also suggests you try posting a test review if you are uncertain of your ability to do so.

I know these things can be hard, but maybe you can work on the Amazon issue over time and then I am sure you will be more than welcome to sign up for future groups. :)

[E.M.]

P.M.F. wrote: "Emma, thank you so much for your kind review. My wife cried when she read it -- your review was so well-written and beautiful."

I am really touched that your wife liked my review, it is lovely to know that :)

By the way, the 'E' in E.M. is for Eleanor ;)

[Loralee, Admin]

I have finished Seth's book(s). The reason there appear to be so many, is because he requested that I put the review not only on the Combined book, but also on Book 1. So it wasn't extra work for me.

Goodreads Book 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Goodreads Chronicles: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Amazon UK Book 1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R357Z...

Amazon UK Chronicles: https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3C91...

Amazon US Book 1: https://www.amazon.com/review/RA090BM...

Amazon US Chronicles: https://www.amazon.com/review/R394E9M...

[P.M.F.]

E.M. wrote: "P.M.F. wrote: "Emma, thank you so much for your kind review. My wife cried when she read it -- your review was so well-written and beautiful."

I am really touched that your wife liked my review, i..."

How E.M. became Emma in my head, especially after I had already seen it was Eleanor, I have no idea. My profuse apologies. Please forgive me.

[Stuart]

Wow! Some really early reviews happening here. I hope you'll all bear with me in my efforts. I review from my website as well and have a number of titles already in line, so I tend to do them in date order. I will get round to those in this process, but it will take a little time.
I'm also writing, of course, which is definitely the priority!

[E.M.]

Stuart wrote: "Wow! Some really early reviews happening here. I hope you'll all bear with me in my efforts. I review from my website as well and have a number of titles already in line, so I tend to do them in da..."

There is no rush as long as you meet the agreed deadlines Stuart, some people pounce on the books others take a much more leisurely approach.

Reminder to Everyone - our first Round Deadline is 26 December so please be sure to post your first round review by then. :)

[Loralee, Admin]

I've finished Chronicles of Drenyon: The Golden Sword.

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RZBCT...

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/review/RIT1H4I...

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

For The Strange Life of Brandon Chambers:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/review/R1CMRTH...

All 4 of my reviews for this round are finished!

Thank you!

[E.M.]

Loralee wrote: "I have finished Seth's book(s)."

Loralee wrote: "I've finished Chronicles of Drenyon: The Golden Sword."

Thanks for these Loralee! I have finally found someone who can read/review faster than me in one of these bounds. I salute you! ;)

[E.M.]

My review for Blood Red Dust:


Goodreads
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Great sci-fi ideas!

[Stuart]

E.M. wrote: "My review for Blood Red Dust:


Goodreads
Amazon UK
Amazon US"
Many thanks, E.M. for an honest and perceptive review. It's always great to know what others think of your work.

[N.L.J.]

Thanks for your timely review, Loralee. :-)

[P.M.F.]

I have reviewed Felicity and the Fire Stoppers, by Loralee. I liked this book.

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...

Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-...

[Alex]

My review for The Dragon's Empire:

Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...?

Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1I9...?

Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RS28X...

[E.M.]

P.M.F. wrote: "I have reviewed Felicity and the Fire Stoppers, by Loralee. I liked this book.


Alex wrote: "My review for The Dragon's Empire:

Thanks for these P.M.F and Alex!

However, both your Amazon reviews P.M.F and your UK one Alex are not correctly linked to the review itself.

To get a direct link to the review click on the title of your review and it will take you to that reviews's exclusive page.

You can also get the direct link by clicking on the link offered in the emails Amazon sends out to say it has accepted the review.

If you could please edit your posts to include the correct direct links, that would be much appreciated.

If you have any problem finding that direct link, shoot me a PM and I will help out :)

General word of advice to all new to posting Amazon links, always remove the search chains of letters and numbers which follow the main link. The main link on these reviews finishes with the word 'review/' and a string of capitalized letters and numbers followed by / or ? . The end of the letter/number string is the end of the direct link!

Oh - and it is a good idea to copy and paste the links you plan to post into your browser and check they work and are the right ones, before you post them here ;)

[P.M.F.]

Thanks, Eleanor. I have edited my links (and tested them). Please let me know if I did not do it right. ;->

[E.M.]

P.M.F. wrote: "Thanks, Eleanor. I have edited my links (and tested them). Please let me know if I did not do it right. ;->"

Perfect! Thank you for changing them. :)

[E.M.]

My reviews for Chronicles of Drenyon: The Golden Sword - not the kind of book I normally read, but I enjoyed it!

Goodreads
Amazon UK
Amazon US

[N.L.J.]

I just happened to stumble across the review a few minutes ago. Thanks, E.M.!

[Alex]

Thank you for letting me know Eleanor, I will rectify the mistake right now and ensure I do it correctly for the next 3.

Cheers,

[E.M.]

Alex wrote: "Thank you for letting me know Eleanor, I will rectify the mistake right now and ensure I do it correctly for the next 3.

Cheers,"

Thanks for sorting it Alex!

[J.D.]

Alex wrote: "My review for The Dragon's Empire:

Thanks for the review Alex. Glad you enjoyed it :)

[Scott]

My reviews for the two versions of The Origamiac Chronicles.

Thanks, Seth, certainly original!

https://www.amazon.com/review/R23VU9T...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RRJ1P...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R23K1...

https://www.amazon.com/review/R31YSJ5...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[E.M.]

Scott wrote: "My reviews for the two versions of The Origamiac Chronicles.

Thanks for that Scott - your contribution marks the half way mark for Round One reviews - 5 in and 5 to go - and two more weeks for those 5 to be posted :)

[Stuart]

My reviews for Against the Night:
On my website/blog: https://stuartaken.net/2016/12/12/aga...
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Amazon.co.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RGUPE...
Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/review/R1AAOR5...
Amazon.com.au: https://www.amazon.com.au/review/R3IQ...

Enjoyed the book.

[E.M.]

Stuart wrote: "My reviews for Against the Night:

Thanks Stuart!

Now we only have 4 to go before Round One is all done :)