Group 183 Out of This World -- Mod. Scott

[Scott]

Okay, the second round deadline has passed. Just D.H. (as he noted recently) and Florian have yet to post. Please do soon.

[J.B.]

Round four. Scott, handling your review next
Goodreads
Amazon

[Florian]

My review for Shadowfest.

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/review/R1PUGTS...

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

[D.J.]

My final round review for Alia Tero:

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

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2E4O...

[Scott]

D.H., you're not only a day late, you're a week late. Please post your second round review soon. Otherwise, everyone is good for the second round.

[D.H.]

My review of The Mindruler:

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

Tried to post it on Amazon.com and received this message:

"Sorry, we are unable to accept your review of this product.
This product currently has limitations on submitting reviews. This may be because we detected unusual reviewing behavior on this product, or to maintain the best possible shopping experience."

[Scott]

Great, thanks, that's Round Two all done. Reminder, Round Three is a little bit more than a week. But most of us are done all four rounds, so working well.

[Steve]

D.H. wrote: "Tried to post it on Amazon.com and received this message:

"Sorry, we are unable to accept your review of this product.
This product currently has limitations on submitting reviews. This may be because we detected unusual reviewing behavior on this product, or to maintain the best possible shopping experience...."

Thanks for your review, D.H.

But what in the world does that message from Amazon mean? What "unusual reviewing behavior" could they be talking about? Anyone else had a message like that?

[J.B.]

I've never seen a message like that, but I have gotten an email about it from Zon back when I first started writing and someone in my house left a short review on one of my books, even though I asked them not to. I got an email spanking me and making me promise to never let anyone who knows me review me again

[Steve]

J.B. wrote: "I got an email spanking me and making me promise to never let anyone who knows me review me again..."

Well, I can't imagine it could be that because all but 2 of my 13 reviews on amazon.com are from guys like yourselves in these reviewing groups…

Could the "unusual behavior" in fact be that the number of reviews is quite a lot more than the number of sales of my book? In which case Amazon is again targeting review groups like this!

[J.B.]

I'm not sure about targeting review groups. I know if you are gifting your reviewers copies of your books through Zon, that is something they track. I know it can either get the reviewers account or your account taken down for bias if a reviewer only reviews books they've been gifted or vice versa

[Steve]

Well, this is the situation we're all in in these review groups. I, and I'm sure others, are not giving reviewers free commercial copies of our books: they are either reading them on KU, or we send files by email which do not have all the formatting and 'extras' of the commercial version. If that's the issue, then plenty of others in these groups are in the same position.

[J.B.]

Actually, some do gift copies in various review groups, not just this one. I'm not sure why D.H is getting that message on your book, but I've had several reviews just disappear on my books and once, every single review I ever posted was taken down. I disputed it and they put them back up. I have yet to figure out Amazon's system of pulling reviews and banning certain reviewers totally.

They've been banning book bloggers and going after legitimate authors in KU instead of click farm scammers. I think Amazon is trying to figure out how to prevent certain things that have hit public news and ended up stepping on totally innocent parties

[Steve]

OK, sounds like you've had more experience of this than I have. How do I dispute this?

[J.B.]

You can schedule a call through your KDP dashboard, but they generally escalate and you get an email. The email is generally some sort of regurgitated form letter that doesn't answer your question. I'm a former insurance adjuster and used to reading policy and discussing it with people. Zon was claiming something didn't violate policy, so I copied and pasted the exactly policy language it violated and sent it to them. So, they emailed me back they weren't going to respond to me anymore.

They may take that warning down and allow reviews to be posted if you give them an explanation that all your reviews are valid and that you have no relationship with any of the reviewers, but the only answers you'll ever get from them as to why it ever got put there in the first place was that "some random policy" was violated

[Steve]

Thanks, J.B., that's helpful. I'll take it up through KDP and hope they see the error of their ways even if they don't explain or apologise!

[Stacie]

My Round 3 Review for Shadowfest by D.J. Reid:

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

https://www.amazon.com/review/R16LGDQ...

-Stacie

[Jaci]

My final round review. Thanks

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/RRZ2...

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

[Steve]

My Round 3 review of Child of Fire, Child of Ice by J.B. Trepagnier:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1DPK....

Unable to post on amazon.com.

[D.J.]

Thanks, Stacie and Florian, for your reviews.

[D.H.]

Back at the start of April, Florian asked me to consider purchasing a copy of his book (to make it a verified review) and, in return, he'd purchase a copy of mine. I politely declined this offer and asked him to email me a copy instead. He never replied. On May 24th, I asked him again. Still... no response.

Looks like he didn't want a review from me unless it was verified.

So that's it for me for round three. I should have my round four review of D.J.'s Shadowfest up fairly shortly, though.

Seems a bit unfair for me to only write three reviews in exchange for forcing four of you to wander through my obfuscated plot (ah, obfuscation which we should eschew... perhaps the breadcrumbs are too far and too few). So, yeah... does anyone think I should be docked a review in return?

[Scott]

Florian, you absolutely have to supply your book for free even if it's not a verified purchase review. To do otherwise is a breach of the rules of the group. Please get D.H. your book for free and in one of the three acceptable formats (.epub, .mobi, or .pdf) that he desires otherwise I will have to consider other measures that may restrict your joining future groups under this family of Goodreads discussion groups. Thanks.

[Scott]

Having said that, certainly if both parties wish, they can buy each other's books. No rule against that here, but at minimum if one reviewer wants a free book, it must be supplied without complaint.

[Florian]

My review for Alia Tero.

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/review/R34XXV0...

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Florian]

Scott wrote: "Florian, you absolutely have to supply your book for free even if it's not a verified purchase review. To do otherwise is a breach of the rules of the group. Please get D.H. your book for free and nd in one of the three acceptable formats (.epub, .mobi, or .pdf) that he desires otherwise I will have to consider other measures that may restrict your joining future groups under this family of Goodreads discussion groups."

Scott,
I was in vacation with no internet access.
I have no idea why DH made such a bad show instead of simply writing that he did not receive the book in time, but you as a moderator should wait to hear both parts instead of throwing menaces left and right.
As I did not send the book in time, DH is free to skip the review of my book.

[Scott]

Hey both Florian and D.H.,

Let's move forward. Now both sides have heard each other, let's have Florian send his book to D.H. And then we can proceed. We still have three weeks until the final deadline.

All good, right?

[Mark]

My final round review for The Mindruler.

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

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

That's me done.
Best wishes to all
Mark

[Steve]

Thanks, Mark!

[Stacie]

My final review, for Child of Fire, Child of Ice by J.B. Trepagnier:

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

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2EL8ZH...

Thanks to everyone for participating!
Stacie

[Scott]

Sorry to be a bit late in reporting on the Round Three progress as of its deadline, June 2, but I was out of town.

Six of us have finished all four rounds. All of us have finished Round Three, except for D.H. D.H., I see your note, but please post your Round Three review as soon as possible (whether it's out of order or not, it should be three books for you by this point).

Everyone else, last round deadline is June 23. We're humming along nicely. Thanks.

[Scott]

D.H., your third round review is very late. Please post it soon.

[Scott]

Hello everyone, four of us are on track to finish before next week's final deadline, on Wednesday. Keep this in mind!

D.H., I finished your book but I need to see your progress before I can post my review, since the idea is for all of us to participate equally.

[Steve]

Wednesday? That's the 20th. In the first post of this thread you announced the end of round 4 as Saturday 23rd.

[Scott]

Sorry. I was looking at May on my calendar by mistake, instead of June. Saturday it is!

[Steve]

Happens to the best of us!

[Mark]

What happened DJ - all your Zon reviews have disappeared!

Will you appeal to them?

Best wishes,
Mark

[D.J.]

Thanks for the info, Mark. I'm absolutely amazed. I've never had any problems with Amazon before and they haven't contacted me about this.

I'll try to get in touch with them and get this resolved.

[Scott]

Reminder, very final deadline for this group is in three days, on Saturday.

[Steve]

Whew! Just made it. Here's my review of Alia Tero:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R39L7...

Thanks, guys, I've enjoyed being part of this group!

[D.H.]

I'm just over an hour past the deadline (PST)! Procrastination is a persistent problem.

Since Florian gave me a pass (and a perplexing attempt at recrimination), this is my last review... unless someone else wants a less than prompt perusal to make up for my paucity of opining. Speak now or forever hold your Ps (I know, I know... alliteration gags generally cause most to gag).

Despite that... here's my review of Shadowfest.

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

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

[Scott]

Thanks. That leaves us three, myself, Florian, and D.H., due to their tangled relationship here. Both of you, this is not acceptable that you both did not finish fourth round reviews and have stated you will not do so, and I may have to recommend both of you not be allowed to participate in future review groups under this family of discussion groups.

D.H., I know Florian did not get you his book, but I could ask one of his other three reviewers to get you a free copy. As well, your third review was more than three weeks late.

As for my review of D.H.'s book, I finished it long ago, but I didn't want my review to influence anything here. I'll post it tonight because time has run out, and I want to finish my obligations under this group.

[Scott]

Steve, Stacey, and Raj, you have Florian's book. Can one of you volunteer to get it to D.H., and I'll get you his email address to send it to. Thanks!

[Steve]

I'm afraid Florian and I bought each other's books to get Verified Purchase, so I don't have a free review copy.

[D.H.]

Well, Scott, that sounds ominous as far as your review of my work goes (and I take umbrage at the dig about undue influence... after all, there's no accounting for taste, but there's nothing wrong with preferring your steak well-done with ketchup on the side).

If someone can send me a copy of the reticent Florian's efforts, then I shall most definitely give it the once over within a week or so (no need for the eye rolling). Promise I won't shake it like a terrier does a rat (mostly because I've no desire to see myself as anything less than a Labrador... and they're notoriously careful with game).

[Scott]

Thanks Steve. I wonder if there's a possibility a paid-for Kindle book can be shared with one other person, but not sure.

Also, consider that one innocent author in this group is out one review despite completing all four reviews well on time... Jaci's The Scrying.

[Mark]

Scott wrote: "Thanks Steve. I wonder if there's a possibility a paid-for Kindle book can be shared with one other person, but not sure.

Also, consider that one innocent author in this group is out one review de..."

Well, 4 more innocent authors - zon cut all DJ's reviews. Nobody's fault, of course. We have no control over that.

[Florian]

Sorry for being late, but we had an internet outage because of a storm.
My review for The Scrying.

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/review/RS52Q56...

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

As I already mentioned, DH is free to skip my review. It seems useless to comment on Scots's haste of writing negative messages.

[Scott]

Here is my review of Wangta:

https://www.amazon.com/review/RWT0QT1...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RO9T6...

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

[Scott]

This group, to the best of my ability, is closed. All reviews are in, except for one of Florian's book, but I'll explain in my next comment.

Thanks everyone!

[Scott]

Florian, from what I have read in this discussion, you have not given D.H. a free copy of your book, contrary to group rules. We don't, in this family of discussion groups, give each other a "pass" and not review the book at all.

From what Steve has posted, it does seem you expected verified reviews for your books, and therefore have a high expectation that all reviewers must buy your book. That's not how this group works. You are free to buy all the books you review, and to suggest to your paired authors to buy your books, but if they decline to do so, you still must provide a free copy.

Therefore, for the act of not providing a free copy upon request, despite this group having started several weeks ago, I'm suggesting Florian be placed on a blacklist for future discussion groups in this family.