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I'd definitely contact them! Just phrase it lightly and say something along the lines of 'just wanted to check you received it'. Three months is long enough to read a book, surely?
Hi Lara,In my opinion, we provide our work for review with hope but no guarantee for a return. The recipient is offering their services for free and under no obligation. Unfortunately, there is often no response at all, but no review is probably better than a bad review. In this case, you got 4 stars, which is a bonus. If they decide to donate further time to a review, wonderful. If not, you let it go. That's just my belief.
As someone who simply reviews books I would not be upset if the author reached out and kindly said something like "Hey thanks for the 4 stars. I see that you mentioned your review would follow. I am interested in reading your thoughts on it. Have you posted that review and maybe I missed it? Thanks again for accepting a copy of the book in exchange for the review."
I'm inclined to follow the line of thought that you accept the 4 stars and leave it up to the reviewer. While no review isn't ideal, it is probably better than a review that he or she was shamed into writing.
There is an associated problem.While snooping around in places where I'm not invited, I’ve seen to-read lists on GR that number in the high 100s.
Warning: While the above sentences bear no barbs, the following attempt at humor/honesty is easy to take the wrong way.
It is true that I’m a roadside beggar (independent author) pleading for an infusion of life-giving blood (reviews). It is also true that those who respond to my (submissive) request are under no obligation to do anything that, uh… Well, actually, they are under an obligation. They’re under an obligation the moment they agree to review a book. Just as the act of downloading MS-Office 365 obligates me to use the software in accord with their User's Agreement—aka, gibberish—so too downloading your free book obligates me to act in accord with the details of your offer.
I'm not a lawyer but I've seen lawyers on TV, so you can take my word on this.
“I give you my word” used to mean something. Prior to the invention of lawyer-bots, back in the way-back-when, if I said I would do something but didn’t do it, I lost face. Today if I say I will do something but don’t do it, I lose nothing. If I DO what I say I will do, nobody notices. I have replaced I-give-you-my word with I-give-you-a-lawyer’s-document. A document that your lawyer will search for loopholes.
We ignore ethics in favor of not upsetting potential reviewers just as we ignore ethics in the rest of our lives. When I was 7, Santa told me he’d bring me a Knock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em robot set. I’m still waiting. What kind of world have we created when we can’t even trust beings that we’ve made up!
Note that I haven’t here provided any solutions to this problem, although solving just this type of problem is my life’s work. If you’d like to take part in saving the world—yep, I want your help—please check the blog I’ve barely started at seedingDandelion.com, which is a website that I’ve barely started. Lots of free stuff, including diamond rings, gold doubloons… OR free eBooks, free short stories.
F Stephen wrote: "There is an associated problem.While snooping around in places where I'm not invited, I’ve seen to-read lists on GR that number in the high 100s.
Warning: While the above sentences bear no barbs,..."
LOL Stephen.
Tell me you write humor.
Angela,You ENJOY my humor? That's crazy!
Here's something that might interest you: I have a book in a giveaway, a scary spooky frightening story: A Ghost Refused. And here's a secret: I just finished adding the x-ray items to it today, many of which are theoretically humorous. Come April Fool's day (named after me) if you're interested in such stories and assuming you win, you will be the only other person on planet Earth who knows about the x-ray entries. Searching for them will be identical to searching for Easter eggs on, uh, Easter.
BTW Dept:
I was in Subic Bay for a week, during which I did what all patriotic Marines did. When I wasn't playing at being a typical Marine I was feeling humiliated at what the US of A did to the town. I've heard that the Navy closed the base a long time ago, which is good for Humanity, but bad for the local economy.
BTW Dept 2:
Living on Louisiana's north shore, isn't that the same as living in Arkansas?
Anywho, thanks for the supportive comment.
Steve
I agree with Steve. I think it's pretty F'ED UP if someone agrees to review your book in exchange for a free copy and THEY DONT! I didnt ask for just a star rating, the deal was a review. I would rather get an honest bad review than someone to screw me over by agreeing to review, I give them a copy (ESPECIALLY if I mailed them a paperback! But I would never do that for these faceless GR people) and they dont review it! I'm sorry but I would just ask the person. They agreed to review your book, they should honor that! This is why I dont give anyone on here free copies of my book. My book first of all is worth spending money on. When I do free promos through amazon I will post it here, but that is the only way anyone is getting free copies from me. I have bought many books from fellow indie authors and I review them all! Even the sh!tty books, I give an honest critical review. I think its a scam really how so many readers on here only read books for free. They all purposely dont have KU so that they can read our books without having to support us financially. If you are an avid reader, you should pay your $10 for KU and read as many book as your heart desires while we get to make a little change off of your page reads! I didnt self publish to only give my books out for free to everyone!*End Rant*
Hey you all, I'm just going to pop in and say that you're all writing on a public board in a group called Goodreads reviewers' group and many get automatic notifications from these discussions, including reviewers and potential buyers. So maybe be mindful of how what you say here reflect on you and other authors.As for reviews, no, reviewers don't OWE a review. Some people don't want to post negative reviews. Sometimes a reviewer puts down an ARC in the middle because they couldn't get through the book. They're most likely to give away their copy of your book to someone they think will enjoy it or leave it at a library for someone else to read.
For OP - a 4 star review is good and the reviewer has probably forgot to write it or update it or is procrastinating writing it. You know, because sometimes writing is hard. And because reviewers are humans who have lives with other obligations than to write free reviews and do free marketing of someone else's work on the Internet. If it bother you, send them a kind message asking how they're doing and tell them you're curious about their thoughts on your work or the like, as others have suggested. Otherwise let it go. Hounding a reader, reviewer, potential fan etc. for attention/praise isn't exactly the ideal look
I wouldnt hound people, but asking one time when they have agreed to review your book I think is not a big deal. And when people ask me for a free copy of my book in exchange for a review, then yes I expect to get an actual review. I personally dont mind getting a bad review as long as it is an honest bad review. I would rather get an honest bad review than none at all if I gave my book to someone for free who said they wanted to read and review it.
Ella,I’m assuming you noticed this phrase: “the following attempt at humor/honesty is easy to take the wrong way.” I didn’t mean to offend you.
As for your response: “no, reviewers don't OWE a review.” I’m not commenting on reviewers in general. Reviewers who get a book knowing it's in exchange for a review? Disregarding complications such as too little time or the kids getting sick, yes, they do owe a review. This is the foundation of contract law. An oral agreement, let alone an agreement in writing, is contractually binding. That’s the law. Remember, “I'm not a lawyer but I've seen lawyers on TV, so you can take my word on this.”
Of course nobody, including me, expects normal Walmart shoppers to stand behind their word. But on on the other hand, that’s something I look for in potential friendships: people (and marsupials) who say what they mean and mean do what they say they'll do. Speculating beyond my expectations, what would our planet be like if we could take people at their word? Wouldn’t life improve dramatically? Who would win today’s super Tuesday primaries if we judged candidates on their history of sticking to their word?
As for the remainder of your points, I agree with some, disagree with others, but my intent remains to assist, not burden. Including you, Ella.
Enjoy your life,
Steve
I think she was talking more so to me, Steve. Yes my post was a bit brash and yes I know this is a public forum. But I'm not going to be silent on what I see going on here on goodreads. I see authors giving free copies left and right to readers all over goodreads. I never see a reader say "oh I purchased your book and I will review it when I'm done!" or "I downloaded it on KU and I'll get you some page reads and a review!" After being on goodreads for almost a years, I dont observe readers much buying books from this place, more everyone is searching for a freebie from desperate indie authors who are more than happy to oblige. I dont seek out reviewers to give free copies to. I'm not falling for that. I prefer real reviews from real people who actually were willing to buy my book or read it on KU. I get emails all the time from people here on goodreads asking for a free copy of my book in exchange for a review. I dont take any of them up on their offers. But if I DID, YES THOSE PEOPLE OWE ME A REVIEW! They searched ME out to ask ME for a free copy of my book in exchange for a review. If I were to give them a copy, they better review it! And read and review it in a timely manner, not get to it like 6 months later or a year later. But i wont do that. I utilize this group to meet other indie authors that I can get to know and occasionally find another indie author whose book I will buy and read and hope that they want to do the same with my book. I have made a few good author friends from this group from doing that. And like I said before, when I am doing a free promo on Amazon, I do post it here so people can pick it up and read it or not read it and hopefully when they do read it, they will be nice enough to review it and give an honest review.
As I said, maybe consider how what you say on here reflect on not only you, but all other authors as well. I happen to be one as well, beside being a reviewer."Enjoy your lives"!
Michele,I tried hard to not respond, but I love it when something funny sneaks up on me, like writing that your post was "a bit brash."
I don't recall where I read this--meaning "I made it up?"--but someone recently wrote that he got one review for every 1000 free downloads.
I want a 1000 reviews so, uh... Hmm.
Ella,
I was born in the U.S. of A, a little-known country just below Canada, and have lived here for most of my 68+ years, so how the heck is it that your use of second-language English is better than my only-language use? I'm with Trump* on this one!
* Andy "two-bellies" Trump, my neighbor, not that other Trump.
I hope this isn't a dig at some error I've made, Steve, I can't hear your tone of voice. English is my third language. I read and write a lot in English to connect with more people online. It helps that I really like languages, I suppose.
Not a dig, not a dig, not a dig. And learning that English is not your 2nd but your 3rd language made me cry.You are a gooder writer in English than I am in Gibberish.
Amanda wrote: "As someone who simply reviews books I would not be upset if the author reached out and kindly said something like "Hey thanks for the 4 stars. I see that you mentioned your review would follow. I a..."Thank you! Great advice from an insider and a pro.
Michele wrote: "I agree with Steve. I think it's pretty F'ED UP if someone agrees to review your book in exchange for a free copy and THEY DONT! I didnt ask for just a star rating, the deal was a review. I would r..."Thanks - appreciate the rant! This person did offer a review in return for a free book...and in fact she was openly and honestly advertising that she had recently moved country / home and was offering reviews to build up her book collection again!
Ella wrote: "Hey you all, I'm just going to pop in and say that you're all writing on a public board in a group called Goodreads reviewers' group and many get automatic notifications from these discussions, inc..."Thanks for your input. This particular reviewer had contacted me and said they were offering reviews in exchange for free books as they wanted to build up their book collection after moving home/country, so I felt that this warranted a review to uphold the ‘bargain’! I’ll go ahead and drop a ‘kind’ request - she’s probably just forgotten!
I agree! :)Amanda wrote: "As someone who simply reviews books I would not be upset if the author reached out and kindly said something like "Hey thanks for the 4 stars. I see that you mentioned your review would follow. I a..."
Hi, I almost didn't want to join in this discussion because I don't want to offend or cause conflict (it seems this is a controversial subject), but seeing how most people on here were looking at things from an author's point of view, I thought that sharing the POV of a reviewer might be helpful. :-)
I've been a reviewer for years. A friend and I ran a book review blog for quite a while, before we finally stopped for miscellaneous reasons, but I still get people asking me to review their books, and I'm still often happy to oblige.
Somebody here said that agreeing to review a book is a promise or obligation. Usually, when I accept a review copy, the author says "you are not obligated to review the book, but reviews are appreciated," or some such thing. Yes, you should do what you agree to do, but it is not necessarily a breach of contract if a person does not review the book. It depends on the wording of the agreement.
Also, when I accept a book to review, I usually do not say WHEN I will be able to post the review. Life is unpredictable. Things happen. I'm sure when I die there will be a stack of books sitting next to my bed that I promised to review and can't because, duh, I'm dead. There are always certain unforeseen contingencies that any author should expect.
Concerning the length of time it takes to review a book, sometimes (especially if it is a professional reviewer who has lots of authors asking for reviews and sending books) it CAN take six months or so to leave a review. Like I said, life happens, and reviewers like me are basically donating their time to help an author, with no monetary gain from it. Unless previously agreed upon prior to shipment of the book, I do not think that there should be a set time limit on reviewing it, although the reviewer should of course get to it when they have the opportunity. Conversely, I have had authors who agreed to send me their books to review and took OVER A YEAR to ship them. Then one day the book arrived out of the blue and surprised me. I realized, though, that these things happen, and posted my review of that particular book the next month.
I personally would not be offended if an author contacted me, asking politely if I read the book yet. Sometimes I have a lot on my plate and it takes a while to get to it, in which case I will let the author know that I have not forgotten it and still plan to review it. Or if I have forgotten to post my review (that happened one time before I remedied my mistake), I would thank them for reminding me. I don't think that a polite email/message could hurt.
I also think I should add that some authors seem to feel like reviewers are taking advantage of them or something, by the way they act. Most reviewers I know look at it as offering their time to try to help a small-time author get free publicity for their book. Those authors who do not see it that way, probably don't even deserve a review in my opinion. I personally have reviewed dozens of eBooks, even though I detest eBooks and much prefer physical copies, with helping the author being my sole reason.
I read that 88% of consumers form an opinion of a book or product by reading up to ten reviews. That's how much reviews impact sales. Having a seasoned reviewer review a book is better yet, because their reviews are generally more thorough and explanatory than the general "I like it, I like it" your average reader may (or may not) post. I don't see how an author can't see the benefit of it. If authors don't appreciate reviews, then why should reviewers even waste their time?
On the other hand, some authors were very grateful when I reviewed their books. One particularly eloquent author told me outright that I was doing "the work of the Angels"!
I hope sharing these opinions does not cause further conflict. I just felt that in this conversation, the side of the reviewers should be further represented.
Best wishes,
Daisy
Hi Daisy.Thank you for offering your time as a reviewer and for your candor here.
Hi Angela,Thank you for the kind comment. :-) It just seemed to me that the discussion here seemed a little bit one-sided, with mainly authors posting and very little from the side of reviewers. I guess my mile-long post made up for that, though, huh? ;-)
Best wishes,
Daisy
I was wondering about the social etiquette of how long one should expect to wait for a review in return for a free hard copy? A reviewer received my paperback book 3 months ago. A month ago they posted 4 stars with ‘review to follow’ on Goodreads. Wondering if I should contact them? What would you do?