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Reviewer request that appear to be spam
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Helen wrote: "I've received questions from various supposed Goodreads members with almost identical wording. I suspect it's a spam. Other than deleting it, how can I handle it? Can I report it to Goodreads? How?..."I got it too. I did a little poking around and this person hasn't posted a review on any of the people that I found that corresponded with her.
Might be that she's expensive and authors balk. Might be something else. Either way, not completely innocent, and probably not free.
I'm not sure she's broken any obvious laws. No idea what to do about it except ignore it.
I've received similar emails and messages. Same name, different email address.I don't know if it's some sort of piracy or they're after money. But I very much doubt you'll get a review if you engage with the person.
The best way to avoid such review scams is to not pay any attention to such offers or seek out those making them..Most readers, for whatever reason, choose not to ever post a rating or review. Those that do post are merely expressing their personal, and therefore, subjective opinion. One reader's "Best book ever!" might very well be another's "Worst book ever!"
Many novice authors are not aware that a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulation requires any review obtained through promise of some sort of compensation such as a free book, cash, gift card, promise of reciprocation, etc., etc. include a clearly stated comment acknowledging the compensation.
Contrary to what some novice authors believe, sales drive reviews, not the other way around. They would be much better served expending their time and resources toward continuously improving upon basic writing skills, along with learning about various marketing and promotional processes rather than obsessing over reviews.
The odds against a novice author achieving commercial success within this extremely competitive field are great. That said; a few have succeeded and others will in the future. There is no reason why you might not eventually become one of them. I wish you success.
Thanks for all the input. I wasn't planning on engaging; I'm just tired of having variations of this "Question to the Author" pop up amid legitimate questions from legitimate readers. Has anyone ever tried flagging it or its siblings?
I keep receiving emails from those "reviewers". The fees they charge vary between $25 and $70+. Most of them are $50 and up, though. At the poetry journal I co-founded, we charge a small fee ($8) for reviews because our time is valuable. However, I would never pay anyone more than $10-$15 for a review, especially if that person sends me a very impersonal message.
Keep in mind that most retailers consider this practice illegal. I don't know what they'll do if they find out. Maybe just delete the review, maybe ban you. Don't pay for any review, period. Bad news, and risky.**I got 10 messages from this Vena person in 1 day. Same message. I flagged the person to Goodreads. I suggest everyone do the same.
I haven't found a single review this person has posted, so besides paid and illegal, you won't even get your review. Just a scam. Report and ignore.
Thanks for flagging it, Jeff. I'll do the same instead of skipping/ignoring it in future.
User image for Vena ReviewsVena Reviews 6 hours ago Block User Hi, If you are looking for reviews for your newest book, I am willing to read and review it. Will you please send me a review copy to purelybooks767@gmail.com? I accept epub, mobi and pdf formats. I am also available as a beta reader. Please email me your queries at purelybooks767@gmail.com. I don't login to Goodreads often. Vena P.S. I don't have a Kindle Unlimited account.