Tags
Amazon, Book Reviewer Yellow Pages, book reviews, Christoph Fischer, MMJaye, reviewers, reviews, Zed Amadeo
With the recent controversy on the issue of reviews, triggered by Amazon’s decision to remove all of Christoph Fischer’s 1,700 reviews, it seems this is the issue of the day.
Contrary to popular belief, Amazon does not require that you’ve bought a book in order to review it. It does ask that you mention in your review if you haven’t, explaining how you came across it (usually with a simple “a copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review” statement at the end).
This myth is based on the fact that Amazon does require that you’ve bought at least one physical item from its shops before you’re allowed to place a review. This is to verify that you’re an actual human, with a valid physical address, instead of a robot, a troll or a spammer. Here’s the story from the horse’s mouth, as reported by Jackie Weger, who contacted Amazon with that very question:
“Yes, you may send the reviewers a copy of the original format of the eBook for example, MOBI, DOC, among others. I do want to let you know that this is at the publisher’s own risk and Amazon is not liable for any files that are sent, or the reviews given to the book if they meet our reviews guidelines. You may also “Gift” a Kindle book to those reviewers so that it can be downloaded to the reviewer’s Kindle device, or Kindle application. Furthermore, regarding any contest (or for example a raffle), we’ll take this as gifting as well, so all the above will apply if Authors decide to perform this market strategy. The tools, such as ‘Rafflecopter’, that could be used for this will also be under the Author’s personal choosing and responsibility of use.”
Now that’s been cleared, how can one go around securing these elusive reviews?
Jackie’s Advice
In her post, What Reviewers Want, Jackie Weger suggests that authors add the following line at the very end of their book:
Thank you for taking time to read [title]. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated.
Examples of people using this little trick to great effect include Mazie Baby, which drew above 300 reviews within weeks of the book coming off a promotion, and Pineapple Lies, a new 2015 release by Amy Vansant, with 270 reviews after its very first promotion. Jackie has also posted a couple of guest posts to present the reviewers’ point of view. They are both very useful:
She also recommends the following:
“Two promotion sites that have made it onto eNovel’s Above the Fold list are booktastik andBettyBookFreaks. Here is why: On a recent ten author/5 day tour. Dionne of booktastik promoted the tour on her site for free all five days. Dionne has also started streaming promotion results for transparency. That is the GOLD Standard.
Betty ofBettyBookFreaks grabbed our posts and was a Tweeting Wizard for our tour and promotion. They pay-it forward. We love ’em.
BookBarbarian has just made it to our Preferred list for Sci-fi and Fantasy. $8 for promotion and BookBarbarian streams results. Transparency. So has BookScream – which sends the author an indepth activity on a book promotion. These all are smaller sites with fewer subscribers, but the owners are doing it right.”
Book Reviewer Yellow Pages And More
My friend MMJaye posted an excellent resource the other day on the subject. The Book Reviewer Yellow Pages, now in its 6th edition, is a huge list of bloggers and reviewers (of all genres) listed alphabetically, which also specifies which genres the particular reviewer accepts.
Romance authors may also enlist the help of Tome Tender, a blog specializing in the genre. Strangely enough, they also review fantasy. Author Zed Amadeo also posted recently a great selection of review resources. He lists four of them in particular:
The eBook Author’s Corner
The eBook Author’s Corner has a great post with an overview of methods authors may use to find book reviewers: Getting Book Reviews: The Methods Award-Winning Authors Use. This post summarizes the experiences of 50 authors and serves as a helpful introduction to the process.
How to Get a Truckload of Book Reviews by Penny C. Sansevieri
This companion to How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload (you can read Zed’s review here) provides details on how to craft a pitch to send to bloggers who review books in your genre and how to ask readers to write a review.
In addition, Sansevieri’s guide suggests ways to tweak your site to make it easier for potential reviewers to find your book and how to run book giveaways.
How to Get Good Reviews on Amazon by Theo Rogers
How to Get Good Reviews on Amazon explains how to find reviewers of your genre on Amazon.com, while also providing illuminating information on the review culture as a whole and possible pitfalls to avoid when trying to get your book reviewed.
Reviewperstar by Buck Flogging
Reviewperstar: 12 Tasteful Ways to Get More Book Reviews describes how to utilize your email list to encourage subscribers to review your book.
This is a helpful resource for authors who already have a sizable audience, whether from blogging or previous publishing experience.
NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews Kindle Edition by Gisela Hausmann
Gisela Hausmann specializes in handbooks for Indie authors. Her NAKED TRUTHS About Getting Book Reviews Kindle Edition has been called a “must-read” by 8 Amazon Hall-of-Fame reviewers.
More Resources
Many thanks to Zed Amadeo for his suggestions. Be sure to check out the full post, Practical Writing Advice: How to Get Your Book Reviewed on his blog.
You can find out more about the Book Reviewer Yellow Pages, including information on the paid version, on MMJaye’s blog. She also shared this great tip:
“Another way that worked for me was to use Goodreads to track reviewers of books that have the same trope or branding as mine (romances with a Greek setting or a Greek alpha male). After checking out their reviews (you don’t want to approach the snarky, over-criticizing ones) I messaged them, and most responded favorably. I got seven reviewers from one batch of messages this way.”
As for crime writers, they’re in luck. As author Sue Coletta let us know, “A crime writer who’s spent thousands testing each site shares her spreadsheet at Murder Lab.”
Author Micki Peluso has another tip:
“Whenever i review a book ( I am also a professional reviewer for publishing houses that mail me best sellers to review) the author almost always reads my book without my asking and writes a review. So for almost every review I write I get one in return.”
This is D. Wallace Peach’s tip:
“Goodreads also has a group where authors can offer books to readers interested in reviewing. I received ten requests for books that I sent out about a week ago.”
Updates
These updates are courtesy of Elle Boca:
- Zili in the Sky is not accepting new requests
- Neither is Karleigh Reads
- Just another girl and her books doesn’t accept ARCs for review
- Words We Heart is closed to indie authors for now.
- The Readers’ Hollow is not accepting requests until August 2015
- Jesse Kimmel Freeman only accepts print copies
- The Hard Cover Lover is not accepting requests at the moment
- The Best Books Ever do not accept indie or self published requests
- The Avid Book Collector does not accept any new requests
- Sobookalicious does not accept any requests
- Shell of Imagination is down, as is Kathryn’s Shelf of Books
- Latina Reading is not accepting review requests
- Reviews by Nadine hasn’t posted anything new since March 2015
- Contest Patti does not accept ebooks
- Walker Putsche is not accepting requests until at least October
- Prism Book Tours seems to sell tours instead of reviewing books, as does Masquerade Tours
- Mi vida impredecible is in Spanish
Zed Amadeo said:
Thanks for sharing my post here and for the additional helpful information on book reviews!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you for the great post! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sally Ember, Ed.D. said:
Reblogged this on Sally Ember, Ed.D. and commented:
Great resources from Nicholas Rossis on getting legitimate #bookreviews
LikeLike
Richard said:
Very useful list of resources. Thanks, Nicholas
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Glad you found it useful! 🙂
LikeLike
beetleypete said:
Almost two years ago, I had my eyes opened to some of the issues concerning Amazon reviews. As well as the criticism of Amazon using automated systems to detect ‘friends’ there is a veritable industry of negative reviewing out there that we all need to be aware of. I wrote this post at the time.
https://beetleypete.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/reviewingthe-truth/
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Many thanks for sharing, Pete! 🙂
LikeLike
kathyrollinson said:
A great post. You may be interested to know that a colleague who had put on a review for me, Amazon took it off, saying she was a friend. I challenged Amazon saying I only met her once a month at a writing group – I didn’t know, anything about her personal life, and they put tyhe review back on.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
That’s interesting! Thanks for sharing 🙂
LikeLike
kathyrollinson said:
Reblogged this on MARSocial Author Business Enhancement Dragon Post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
jenanita01 said:
Reblogged this on Anita & Jaye Dawes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
GUNDERSTONE said:
Reblogged this on The GUNDERSTONE review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Charles Yallowitz said:
Reblogged this on Legends of Windemere.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Charles Yallowitz said:
I’m so lost on this topic. What happened?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Amazon decided to remove all of Christoph Fischer’s 1,700 reviews. Many of those were for Indie authors.
LikeLike
Charles Yallowitz said:
Ouch. So that’s what started the panic about reviews being wiped out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Yep. And Amazon’s seeming indifference to his repeated questions.
LikeLike
Charles Yallowitz said:
Did somebody report his reviews or was it unprovoked? I’ve heard that people who take the review rankings very seriously will try to get the ‘competition’ banned by reporting. Claiming someone was paid for a review is a big thing right now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
He suspects someone reported him for plagiarism, of all things. There’s a link at the top of my post, if you wish to find out more 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Charles Yallowitz said:
Slowly reading through it while getting the day started here. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
mbarkersimpson said:
Reblogged this on A place to write, read, discuss and explore the literary world. and commented:
Thank you, Nicholas, for these excellent resources 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lorelei Logsdon said:
In my experience as a fledgling indie author over the past six months or so, review blogs are one of two possible types: too big to even respond to a query, or so small that they are suspect as actual review blogs vs. people who just want free books. Thank you for these resources!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – fair enough. A free book for a review is a good bargain anyway, of course 🙂
LikeLike
Lorelei Logsdon said:
Not if they never review it! (I’ve lost count of how many review blogs I’ve sent RCs to, that never posted a review.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
In that case, I hope the resources in the post help 🙂
LikeLike
Suzanne Joshi said:
Thanks for sharing this helpful piece, Nicholas. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
A pleasure 🙂
LikeLike
Steve Boseley said:
I read of Christoph Fischer’s situation with his reviews, which was the first i have heard of this issue.
This is a great post (again) by the way, Nicholas. If you’re not careful, i could find myself populating my blog with reblogs of yours. – joking, just really great posts!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – that’s a great compliment, Steve, thanks 😀
LikeLike
sknicholls said:
I’ve read one or two of these. It also takes some serious investigative work and some conscientious effort on the authors part. What they did to Christoph Fischer’s was wrong on so many levels. So many people, book reviewers and bloggers, reach those numbers. I’m hoping he can somehow get them restored.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Let’s hope so! I still don’t have Amazon’s side of things, but that’s part of the problem, isn’t it? That they don’t seem to have explained their reasoning…
LikeLike
julietaharoni said:
Reblogged this on Juliet Aharoni.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: How to Score Great Amazon Reviews: Resources and More | Juliet Aharoni
julietaharoni said:
Where does one start? Very confusing if you don’t yet know how to blog.
Thanks anyway, Nicholas.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Well, you can start by going through the various blogs and websites mentioned in the post and ask for a review.
LikeLike
Let's CUT the Crap! said:
Wonderful. The possibilities are growing. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Indeed! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jack Eason said:
Reblogged this on Have We Had Help? and commented:
More advice and info from Nicholas. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Debby Carroll said:
This is great. I’m off to check out the resources. What I need is a post entitled, “How To Get All The People Who’ve Told You They ‘Loved Your Book and Will Post a Review’ to Actually Do It!” 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – let me know if you figure that one out 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Debby Carroll said:
Begging doesn’t work. So far that’s what I’ve learned. Next up… pleading!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Let me know when it’s time to send in cousin Vito.
LikeLike
Sue Coletta said:
Oh, man, I’m so out of the loop lately!! I had no idea Christoph was going through this. Damn. I’ll have to shoot over there next. Thanks for including the link so I can get up to speed.
All these excellent resources, Nicholas! You’re fabulous!! So, what’s the verdict, anyway, does “the author gave me a copy for an honest review” still work? Because I’m reviewing a free book now for someone’s launch. Crazy, right? All of a sudden publishers’ PR dept started sending me free books left and right after reading my reviews on Goodreads. Go figure. Problem is, I don’t want to become known as a “book reviewer”. I’ll never get any work done. Ah well, that’s a problem for another day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I have the same problem. I’ve actually had to start saying no!
Yes, the “honest review” still works 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
D. Wallace Peach said:
Super post and great timing. I favorited it and plan to comb through it when I have a little time. Thanks so much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
A pleasure! Glad you found it helpful 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
P.S. Bartlett said:
Reblogged this on Author P.S. Bartlett and commented:
LikeLike
Bookwraiths said:
Thanks for another very insightful post, Nicholas. As a reviewer, it is always helpful to try to understand what authors are going through when they reach out for reviews so I can be more empathetic of their needs. With the proliferation of both indie writers needing reviews and book review blogs being inundated with requests, we all know misunderstandings and hurt feelings are going to happen, but I’d rather keep mine to a minimum, and posts like this give me the resources to try to do that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
You’re one of the reviewers I follow religiously, partly because of your great reviews and partly because of your considerate manners. So, I’d say you’re already doing it right 🙂
LikeLike
Princess Kick-ass said:
Thank you so much for this post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
A pleasure – and welcome 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Elle Boca said:
Are there detailed guidelines for review on Amazon and proof someone(s) violated them?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Amazon has review guidelines (you can find them on http://www.amazon.com/gp/community-help/customer-reviews-guidelines). They’re actually pretty simple.
The second half of your question is the tricky one… 🙂
LikeLike
Elle Boca said:
They are pretty general. Plus the requirement is “Anyone who has purchased items from Amazon.com.” It doesn’t specify the item you are reviewing.
This one from the FAQs page could affect peer reviewing: “An artist posts a positive review on a peer’s album in exchange for receiving a positive review from them”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Yes, they are pretty general. And no, as I explained at my post, you don’t need to have purchased the item in question. That’s just a misunderstanding.
The problem is that Amazon doesn’t really explain what happened when they remove reviews, so people are reduced to guesswork 🙂
LikeLike
Elle Boca said:
FYI – the first one I checked from http://www.bookrevieweryellowpages.com/book-reviewer-list.html is not accepting new requests: http://www.ziliinthesky.com/p/helpful-info-about-my-reviews-and-blog.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Oh, right! Thanks for that, I’ll add it to the post 🙂
LikeLike
Elle Boca said:
Here’s the second one out of three that’s not accepting. This one is closed to indie authors for now (but there is no date): https://wordsweheart.wordpress.com/review-policy/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I’ll add that info to the post as well, thanks!
LikeLike
Elle Boca said:
This one isn’t accepting any requests until August 2015: http://www.thereadershollow.com/review-policy.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks, I’ll add that to the post 🙂
LikeLike
Elle Boca said:
This one is only accepting print copies, but I didn’t see in what country the reviewer lives http://www.jessekimmelfreeman.com/review-requests.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks! 🙂
LikeLike
Elle Boca said:
Another one that’s not accepting requests until further notice: http://www.thehardcoverlover.blogspot.com/p/review-policy.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you!! 🙂
LikeLike
Elle Boca said:
One of the links has crashed my browser twice. It seems it was hijacked by a third party. It think it was TheReviewNotes on blogspot.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks, I’ll add it to the post 🙂
LikeLike
Gigi Sedlmayer said:
Thank you for the great post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
A pleasure – and welcome! 🙂
LikeLike
Paula Martin said:
How to get a good review? Write a good book.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – fair enough. Although I’m pretty sure that genre also plays a part 😉
LikeLike
mgill0627 said:
Thanks for reminding me, I’ve got to get that particular plate spinning again.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – don’t we all? 😀
LikeLike
chrismcmullen said:
Does that cat write reviews? I think I’d like to have his (or her) opinion when I’m shopping. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
That’s actually the look on my wife’s face. I had to photoshop her picture into a cat for obvious reasons 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Paula Cappa said:
This is one of the best posts on reviews I’ve seen. Thank you!
LikeLike
Paula Cappa said:
Wonderful resources here. I’m looking for reviewers for my short stories on Amazon. Anybody know reviewers who do short stories? With so many Kindle Singles out there, you’d think reviewers might like quick reads to review but I’m having trouble finding reviewers for my Kindle Singles.
LikeLike
beetleypete said:
It just occurred to me to mention this. I bought Christoph’s book, ‘In Search Of A Revolution’ as a download. I haven’t read it yet, so not reviewed it. No doubt I will be ‘guilty by association’ when I eventually submit the review. But to hell with that!
Best wishes, Pete.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – you can’t be too careful nowadays, can you? 😀
LikeLike
edireland said:
Reblogged this on CrazyEnoughToWrite and commented:
Still in a bit of a funk but I saw this and felt it was a very good topic to pass along.
LikeLiked by 1 person
cav12 said:
Good resources there Nicholas, will definitely be checking a few of those out. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Hope you find them helpful 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Celine Jeanjean said:
Thanks for sharing all that, very helpful! I read Christoph Fischer’s post about his reviews getting removed, and it’s a rather stark reminder that being exclusive to Amazon can really turn against you. Whether as a reader or as a writer!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I know what you mean. For me, the pros outweigh the cons, but I don’t blame anyone hedging their bet!
LikeLike
MythRider said:
Reblogged this on MythRider.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Silver Threading said:
Reblogged this on Silver Threading and commented:
Great and useful information found here for authors trying to score great reviews.
LikeLiked by 2 people
bettylouise31 said:
Thanks for sharing
LikeLiked by 2 people
bettylouise31 said:
I do book revi on myst especially cozies. I read very few romance. I do not likr graphic violence or sex. I have already to read. This information was helpful for me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks for that and welcome. Hence your blog’s title, “Mysteries Galore,” I guess 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
bettylouise31 said:
Yes that is the reason
LikeLiked by 1 person
Courtney M. Wendleton said:
Reblogged this on Books and More.
LikeLiked by 1 person
D.G.Kaye said:
Thanks for sharing this wealth of info. I’ve saved and shared! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
So glad you found it useful! 🙂
LikeLike
David Wind said:
A great article about a great resources and the woman behind them. Well done!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you, David! Always a pleasure to have you around 🙂
LikeLike
gipsika said:
Nicholas, thanks for sharing, once again an ace post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
M T McGuire said:
Fantastic resources. Really useful. Thanks very much 😉
Cheers
MTM
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
So glad you found them useful 🙂
LikeLike
theowllady said:
Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Bookbub Insights: Increase Sales of Standalone Books | Nicholas C. Rossis
Pingback: Bookbub Insights: Get More Reviews | Nicholas C. Rossis
Sue Coletta (@SueColetta1) said:
Wow. To think I almost missed this post. An excellent resource for crime…a crime writer who’s spent thousands testing each site shares her spreadsheet at Murder Lab: http://www.murderlab.com. Incidentally, she does mention other genres too, but concentrates on crime.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Wow, a great resource. I’ll add it to the original post 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Bookbub Insights: 9 Ways to Market your Book | Nicholas C. Rossis