GOOD REVIEWS discussion
Review Exchanges!
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Evelyn
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Jun 27, 2017 10:27PM
Would love to do a review exchange with any other authors. We can exchange ebooks for honest reviews. I can be fairly fast depending on the size of your novel and would appreciate an honest review on my debut novel, Sorrel and Myriana.
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Evelyn, you will get pooped on from a great height for suggesting this. Just saying. I've seen eager new authors flayed alive for suggesting it on many occasions.Either try one of the non- reciprocal peer review groups or readers groups on goodreads instead.
I try to make light of it, but it can turn into something significantly unpleasant for all concerned.You also risk your own integrity if you agree to a review swap - what happens if the other person's book is horrible and they give you 5 stars?
Do you give a similar five stars and give the impression to your readers that you enjoy 'bad' books? That you don't care about craft? What does that say about your own work?
Or do you give it a low star and upset your reviewer? it's a mine field, even without involving amazon guidelines.
if you both like each other's book, people will still think there is bias involved... Its a no win for everyone situation.
Thanks for the advice. I've done an exchange maybe twice before and that hasn't happened but you're completely right, it could become a horrible experience. Thanks for the link, Rhian!
The truth is, no matter how good or how much confidence you have in your story, there will always be some reason it will be frowned upon by seeking a review swap. I have used Amazon and their unbiased/ verified review service for most of my book reviews.
Robert, explain how you use Amazon's "unbiased/verified review service," please.
I don't agree that verified reviews are always unbiased, or that unverified reviews are biased.A verified reviews result from an amazon purchase. Authors can agree to buy each others books, just as they can agree to review each other.
KU borrows do NOT result in a verified review.
Books bought from other outlets do NOT result in a verified review.
Books obtained via instafreebie/netgalley do NOT result in a verified review.
These are all valid reviews - there is no arrangement between author and reviewer.
Evelyn wrote: "Would love to do a review exchange with any other authors. We can exchange ebooks for honest reviews. I can be fairly fast depending on the size of your novel and would appreciate an honest review ..."Hi Evelyn,
That sounds like a great idea. I am interested in reviewing your book. I will give you an honest review. Send me a message if you are interested.
With Regards,
Mohamed Aslam.
Robert wrote: "The truth is, no matter how good or how much confidence you have in your story, there will always be some reason it will be frowned upon by seeking a review swap. I have used Amazon and their unbia..."
Please, You can contact Amazon and setup a promotional review plan that works for your budget. In turn, Amazon has their reviewers purchase your kindle edition, read it, and do reviews. The end result, you will have some verified-purchased books with reviews posted on your Amazon sale page.
Emma wrote: "I don't agree that verified reviews are always unbiased, or that unverified reviews are biased.
A verified reviews result from an amazon purchase. Authors can agree to buy each others books, just ..."
I had no idea KU readers couldn't leave verified reviews! I've been averaging about 1,000 page reads per day (which feels huge to me, until I see the royalty lol), and had wondered at not seeing any reviews out of that format. What a bummer!
A verified reviews result from an amazon purchase. Authors can agree to buy each others books, just ..."
I had no idea KU readers couldn't leave verified reviews! I've been averaging about 1,000 page reads per day (which feels huge to me, until I see the royalty lol), and had wondered at not seeing any reviews out of that format. What a bummer!
Robert wrote: "Please, You can contact Amazon and setup a promotional review plan that works for your budget. In turn, Amazon has their reviewers purchase your kindle edition, read it, and do reviews. The end res..."Okay, now I'm going to let my cynical side show. This explains a lot. Much of what Amazon does is designed to drive their own sales, and I've seen that with how they are Nazi-like in their rules (under the guise of wanting to make sure things are unbiased, etc, etc) and how much they lock things down (won't share who is following you, withhold important pieces of marketing information, what they do and don't allow to count toward rankings, to name just three). So, Robert, this info you've shared fits into that. IF you set up your campaign package through them, THEN they allow the reviews to appear as verified purchases. Seriously.... In the early days, Amazon and KDP looked like a great new way for indie authors to build an audience while not being slaves to publishers. Now they're becoming the beast they purportedly were fighting . . . and they became big in this industry because they were fighting the beast.
Okay.... end of rant. I just get aggravated by the greed and hypocrisy.
Of course, Amazon is not the only resource for writers. A good editorial review is another option, and of course blogging and connecting as much as possible. A good author web-page helps as well. It is not my intent to offend and I am sorry if it is taken so.Robert J
Robert wrote: "Of course, Amazon is not the only resource for writers. A good editorial review is another option, and of course blogging and connecting as much as possible. A good author web-page helps as well. I..."Oh, my! Robert... no way did you offend! I was just expressing angst. I find it annoying that Amazon promos itself as forging new pathways for authors, and then throw up a million roadblocks. Some of their anti-bias strategies are good, and I support them. But many are designed to funnel everything their way. Kindle Unlimited, for example, is not all they make it sound like. There are great features about it, but this branding of getting paid for pages read is hooey.... I have between 500 and 1500 pages read a day, and no matter how I do the math, the royalty at the end of the month just doesn't fit the sample pay-out they give on the website. Not even close. And they want you exclusive to them. Then they won't allow certain kinds of sales to count toward your book's ranking. So.... not at all directed at you. My apologies if I came across that way. Cheers -- and enjoy your weekend!
We all need to share info here! Sharing is good! Keep it up!Caro
Cheers to you Caro, I think writers have to use all the resources possible and amazon is just one of many. What are you willing to spend becomes a reality as you hold your first manuscript in hand. Covers, Formatting, Copy-Editing, Videos, the list goes on and on . The truth is, and I am sure many agree, it is a hard market for books out there today. You can have the best story line, great reviews, but not much in sales. It takes a lot of patience, and perseverance to see it through. I am happy, I write because I enjoy the art of creating a story the reader can see.Best of luck to everyone,
RobertJ http://robertjbooks.com
Robert wrote: "Please, You can contact Amazon and setup a promotional review plan that works for your budget. In turn, Amazon has their reviewers purchase your kindle edition, read it, and do reviews. The end res..."How do you contact Amazon to set up a promotional review?
Go to Google or Bing, and find Amazon Books/ Kindle. Search book promotions and enter the data about your book. Follow the prompts and you should find your way, if not you can email or call their customer support for help. Best of Luck,
RobertJ
Robert wrote: "Go to Google or Bing, and find Amazon Books/ Kindle. Search book promotions and enter the data about your book. Follow the prompts and you should find your way, if not you can email or call their c..."Hi Robert, I was surprised to see your post on how to get Amazon to have your book reviewed, as I've never come across anything like this, so I thought I may have missed something. I went and looked around to make sure I had the most recent info and I think perhaps your post is misleading. If not, please provide some solid links as many of us would at least like to check into our possibilities. As far as I know:
1. KDP select - you can do book promotions (the standard free or reduced price option and HOPE for reviews). They also have a link to promote through Amazon Marketing Services (AMS). This amounts to creating ads that will put your product more out in the open...IF they click AND they buy, then you can again HOPE for a review.
2. Amazon Vine services - which seems to be an extremely elusive thing to find info on - there are a lot of rumors about this service. It is for corporate sellers and quite pricey at that. This service DOES get you reviews, but if you are an Indie, it is out of reach for most of us.
3. From Amazon, at the bottom of the page, you can look under selling -->Advertise your product-->Increase book sales and you will again be directed to AMS with this statement: "Whether you’ve published one title or thousands, Amazon offers unique advertising solutions for the books category through Amazon Marketing Services (AMS). These advertising solutions are currently available to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) authors and books vendors with a retail relationship."
Nowhere have I ever seen a 'promotional review plan that works for your budget'.
If anyone knows anything different (with links), please let everyone know. Thanks.
//Dan
