If you are wanting your book reviewed/If you are looking for a book to review...

[Chrystalla]

Thank you Amy! I saw that too late! :D I have created a new thread now.

[Amy Eye]

YEA!! That's fantastic, and also don't forget to look through the REviewers looking for books as well. Make sure to look through all of the posts, not just the ones that are on the main wall. We have quite a few great reviewers looking for some new books to add to their lists!

[A. Frank]

Best of luck to Chrystalla and everyone. I was just glancing back through this line and was shocked about the purchased reviews on Amazon. I'm proud of the 7 or 8 my short book has there. If competitors need to cheat for sales, so be it. I won't stoop...

[Chrystalla]

Thanks. What are "purchased reviews"?

[Katy]

Chrystalla wrote: "Thanks. What are "purchased reviews"?"

Paying someone to write a good review for your book.

[Kaitlynne]

I know what a pdf is, but what is a prc?

[Jeanine]

Purchased reviews? That is just horrid!

[Amy Eye]

a prc is pretty much a mobi. If you have a kindle, you can use prc.

[Amy Eye]

And there are some authors who, unfortunately, have tried to pay for reviews, and there are sites who offer to do reviews for a fee....I don't like the practice, but it is being done.

[Katy]

Amy wrote: "And there are some authors who, unfortunately, have tried to pay for reviews, and there are sites who offer to do reviews for a fee....I don't like the practice, but it is being done."

Well ... or tried to pay to have their review *changed* or removed ... :-P

[Amy Eye]

No one would DARE do anything like that...LOL

[Amy Eye]

There are always ways to stop this kind of thing from happening, but there are so many out there desperate for that type of exposure they are willing to do anything. The way to stop this? DON'T USE THE SERVICE! Stand up against it, make it known what these people are doing, and avoid their publications until it stops.

This to me is another example of what is wrong with things today. People are willing to lie, cheat, and steal in order to get what they want, and I think large sites like Publisher's Weekly is doing all three, as well as the authors opting to use a site like that.

Lying - they are not giving honest reviews to the people looking at the reviews.

Cheating - not only are they cheating the people reading the review, they are cheating us 'real reviewers'. These types of places are going to start rendering our reviews worthless because people are going to start not believing the reviews that are being written.

Stealing - I think the people who read these purchased reviews could be getting ripped off. If they read these glowing reviews from a site that is supposed to be trustworthy only to learn they were lied to, they have now wasted their money on a book that was completely not to their normal taste.

This whole practice is wrong all around. These companies may make some money to begin with by doing it, but like other things that have been done in the past, it is going to backfire on everyone.

No one is going to believe reviews any longer, and the one guaranteed free source of marketing for any an all authors, the reviews, are going to be WORTHLESS.

(Amy steps off her soapbox)

[C.S. Splitter]

Amen. Preach on, Amy.

Splitter

[A. Frank]

Tragic but true.

[Amy Eye]

Thank you for sharing these links with us, I really didn't know there was a term for what we are talking about. So now, I know it is called, shilling or shill reviewing.

I guess there are exceptions to everything, and maybe that guy in the last article can be objective when getting paid, but I think he would be one of the exceptions.

I did enjoy reading these - they were both informative, and frustrating for me! LOL

[Chrystalla]

Oh wow. I didn't know all this. :(

[A. Frank]

Thank you Tony!

[Gerrie]

Hi, I'd like an objective review of my novel THE GHOST SHIP. I'll review the book of any reviewer who wants to trade, on that basis. Honest, objective which I believe everyone in this group would be.
You can check out THE GHOST SHIP on its preview page and if you want to go further, I'll furnish an epub; heck I'll even gift it to you. It's on Kindle and Nook.
Thanks

[Amy Eye]

Hey Gerrie! I wanted to let you know that you can create your own topic for your book in the Authors looking for Reviewers folder. That way your book and post don't get lost in the craziness of some of these longer topics! :)

Be sure to add a link for everyone! :)

[Angela]

Amy wrote: "There are always ways to stop this kind of thing from happening, but there are so many out there desperate for that type of exposure they are willing to do anything. The way to stop this? DON'T U..."

We were just talking about this on another thread, how ppl are paying for 5 star reviews on Amazon. I think I feel an impassioned blog post coming on....

[Amy Eye]

I love your impassioned blog posts, they are usually exactly what I think!! :)

[James]

I'd be happy to share my book with anyone looking to review. Please message me directly:

Discontents

synopsis:
Emory Walden is a talented writer at odds with the corporate America of his twenty-something peers. He can’t remember how he ended up hospitalized needing a risky surgery to save his life. Someone tried to kill him.

He suspects his involvement with the enigmatic Fletcher Spivey in a plot to spark a political uprising in the U.S. has been infiltrated. But he’s not sure who the nebulous adversary is.

If he can uncover the infiltrator before the surgery, he can find out who wants him dead and warn Spivey in time to save the movement. But the deeper he digs, the less certain he is that anything is as it seems.

[Jan]

The other side of the coin is this type of review. Not nice. I hope Amazon takes them down.

http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php...

[Amy Eye]

That kind of thing is terrible as well, and what upsets me is that someone on there made a suggestion that it was because he had posted an unfavorable review n someone else's book. That is just sad. (almost like it should be expected...)

[Katy]

Jan wrote: "The other side of the coin is this type of review. Not nice. I hope Amazon takes them down.

http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php..."

I just checked - the reviews are gone as far as I can tell. So, at least Amazon.com WILL fix things that are overly blatant.

One thing that bothered me was a comment someone made about how the purchases weren't verified and the reviews weren't authentic - well, I review a LOT of things on Amazon that I didn't buy there; it doesn't make my reviews any less honorable than any other reviewer who gets books from a variety of places ... that really bothered me.

[Angela]

Katy wrote: "Jan wrote: "The other side of the coin is this type of review. Not nice. I hope Amazon takes them down.

http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php..."

I just checked - the reviews are ..."

Exactly, you don't have to purchase from Amazon to review. When I give ppl a review copy from Smashwords I love it when they also leave a review at Amazon. It's just as honest and valid. Just not buying reviews... I'd rather have a well written review than stars any day. I think the stars put pressure on, when all we need is for someone to say they read it, and their critique.

Good point Jan!

[Katy]

*ahem* That was me. :-D

Now, it used to be that you could rate a book on Amazon but not review it - nowadays, unless you had it on your wishlist and subsequently deleted it whilst in "normal" mode - you have to write a review in order to rate it - and you must do BOTH. I was on B&N earlier and have noted that they have instigated this sort of thing, too. This is good, in a way, as it forces people to at least TRY to justify their ratings; but in another way it is sort of annoying because there are times I just don't want to write a review - I'm tired, or I don't remember the plot well enough to get my ideas across, or what have you - but I would like to note that I really liked a book (I will generally write a review explaining why I've given a low rating, at least now I do) by giving it the rating. Now, if I want to do that, I have to go and write a whole review, too. Like, for instance - I just read two Spike graphic novel mini-series. I would love to go and rate them 5 stars on Amazon & B&N, but I didn't feel like actually writing a review so ... *shrug*

Anyway ... Yeah, it's hard with all those "X said: Y said "blabh blah" to keep track of who said what ...

[Angela]

Jan... Katy.... Hahaha... opps, sorry ;p That's what I get for commenting after midnight!

[Katy]

Albert wrote: "http://www.amazon.com/Madman-in-the-M...


Murder, romance, and the paranormal.

I REALLY want to read this book ... don't suppose you could provide a reviewer's copy, could you?
Madman in the Mirror:

What happe..."

[Katy]

Albert wrote: "I have few sales and it makes me want to bang my head against the wall, but I will have to consider it. Can you send me another email as I have to go out and I might forget.

Albert"

Don't worry about it - I don't want to put you out! :-) I'll just have to wait until I can get the money together ... someday ... someday ...

I will note that few people to whom I've spoken want to spend $9.99 on an e-book - I've seen a lot of conversations on various sites about the cost of ebooks and the amount that people are willing to pay and many people don't want to spend more than around $5 for an ebook (most not even that much), so maybe you could consider putting it on sale for awhile or something? See if that gets some sales going and once you have a few more sales you might get some momentum under you and have people start buying it at full price. Just an idea. *shrug*

Me, I tend to go the path of least financial strain - if I can pick up a paper copy for less, I will; if I can get the book for less, I'll do that. I don't have any income at all - we live on my husband's fast-food wages - so I can relate to needing that money coming in; but I can also relate to not having it to put out.

[Katy]

Albert wrote: "Kathy,

Send me your e-mail and I'll gift you a copy through Amazon. Even if you don't have a Kindle you can still upload it to your computer.

Albert"

Are you sure, Albert? Seriously, I don't want you ending up with too much of a loss ...

If you're sure, my e-dress is:
katy.sozaeva@gmail.com

And I know about Kindle for PC (and I think they have a cloud reader, too, now) - have had it for awhile now.

[Amy Eye]

Albert wrote: "http://www.amazon.com/Madman-in-the-M...


Murder, romance, and the paranormal.


Madman in the Mirror:

What happe..."

Hey there! Just wanted to let you know that you can also start your own topic under the Authors looking for Reviewers folder here in the group as well. It makes the book easier for everyone to see! :)

[C.S. Splitter]

Or...you can always email a copy in the desired format.

Or, put the book on Smashwords also and do a 100% off secret coupon (that's how I get my book to most reviewers). DRM can be maintained that way if that's a concern.

Splitter

[Angela]

That will add up fast Albert... I've had around 50 reviews done and that'd be around $150 at $2.99 each. No thanks! I use Smashwords just for the ability to give books away... it really makes a difference. I also think it makes the reviewers feel more comfortable... they know that we are (literally) trying to make a buck and support us in our endeavors. Reviewers are gold!

Smashwords has this neat option also where you can put your book up for a minimum price and then ppl can choose to pay more if they wish. I haven't used it, but am curious how that would work.

[James]

I would advocate smashwords giveaways too. I haven't tried the "Radiohead" model where people decide what they want to pay because I think some of the stores Smashwords distributes to won't allow it - but I'm not sure. It is a little confusing.

[J.A.]

I believe that if you set it to zero and pay if you want, the default price it goes to in some stores is 4.75, which is higher than I'm charging for mine even when it isn't free, so I don't do that one. I have used the Smashwords voucher scheme a LOT though - invaluable for review copies - and actually for other giveaways too, as I do different vouchers for different things and can follow what's working and what isn't.

JAC

[Amy Eye]

If you guys are indies as well and would like to be able to provide your book in different formats yourself, I have the ability to do that for you. I can turn your manuscript into epub, mobi, pfd, rtf, and html and make it look like it just came from Amazon...LOL It's what I do. I don't charge much to do it, but if you guys are having to pay out 3 bucks a copy to give a Kindle file, you may want to invest in having these types of files for your book readily available to you. E-mail me at amy@theeyesforediting.com for prices. Just thought I'd mention that! :)

[Katy]

Good solution, Amy! Lots of people have trouble with formatting and transferring their files into these other formats (I know I'm completely clueless); I've had a couple ask if I knew how, but alas, all I know is editing! :-)

[Amy Eye]

You can always send them my way, Katy! :)

[Katy]

Amy wrote: "You can always send them my way, Katy! :)"

I have mentioned you to each of them, as well as pointing them toward CR in general for the repository of knowledge herein :-)

[Amy Eye]

You are a doll! :)

[Larry]

I'd like my book Drops from the Kingdom: The Silver Arrow reviewed. I can make it available on Google books to download but will have to coordinate this. It is an epic fantasy for those interested.

[Angela]

Amy wrote: "If you guys are indies as well and would like to be able to provide your book in different formats yourself, I have the ability to do that for you. I can turn your manuscript into epub, mobi, pfd,..."

How did I not know you do that besides editing? So if I send you my finished manuscript you can format it for me as well? Is that with all the crazy stuff they ask for, like no using the return key instead of page break?

[Amy Eye]

Heck ya, woman! I can do all that for you! :)

I got your back! LOL

[Angela]

Amy wrote: "Heck ya, woman! I can do all that for you! :)

I got your back! LOL"

Bless you... Amy, you are my heroine. As soon as we hit stateside I am sending you manuscripts... your choice which one you want to start with.

[Amy Eye]

Which ever one you want done, girl. Heck, it won't take but a few days to do them all! :)

[Angela]

Wooot! Thank you for saving me from the joys of formatting ;p

[Amy Eye]

My pleasure, I always like work! :)

[J.A.]

Thank you for doing mine, Amy!

JAC

[B.J.]

• Set in fictional Bridal Wreath, Florida, and Key West, the backdrop of a strawberry farm turns dangerous for Faith, when she's stalked. Will she be forced to use The Pink Lady? Where will Faith be when the smoke clears and will Faith and Matt's love survive? Five-star reviews on Amazon and B&N. Both men and women readers. Please let me know if anyone is interested in Last Resort, Christian romantic suspense. It's available at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.