Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

I still can't believe this and had to share. Does anyone know this Marla person? Is she a superstar or something?

http://barklesswagmore.booklikes.com/...-

Wow...that's like one of the carnal rules an author learns.

JHC that's insane! I've done reviews for years and never wanted more than a free copy to read. I've seen a lot of authors fall for some of these though. Outside of Kirkus I'd say she's asking the highest fee; usually it's more like $10-25 when there's a fee at all. Editors and cover designers can be pretty pricey though $50-550 a pop usually.

Looks like she co-authored The Booty Bible*. She probably did a 5-star review swap with her co-author for that book.

*Sadly, The Booty Bible is an exercise book.

Justin wrote: "Wow...that's like one of the carnal rules an author learns."

Justin, please, please send me a link to this list of carnal rules for authors. My wife will appreciate it. ;)

I have no idea who she is, or what her work has achieved but as a newly published author I can definitely understand how some might take up that option. You don't want to wait for your work to gain traction the good ole fashion way, you want it out there and the more reviews it gets the more likely it is to be seen...But I wonder how genuine a $100 review really is????

I'm curious who the "no brand" reviewing services are who are getting $350 for a review. That's truly nuts, if it's true. The more I read on the web, the less I trust stranger reviews.

Barks & Bites wrote: "I'm curious who the "no brand" reviewing services are who are getting $350 for a review. That's truly nuts, if it's true. The more I read on the web, the less I trust stranger reviews."

Yeah, that's likely a little white marketing lie to make her $100 price tag seem reasonable by comparison.

T.N. wrote: "But I wonder how genuine a $100 review really is????"

Not very? I read a few of her reviews and they sure wouldn't convince me to buy the book.

Lol Gregor. I was saying it's like a rule we all learn as authors to never pay for reviews.

Justin wrote: "Lol Gregor. I was saying it's like a rule we all learn as authors to never pay for reviews."

I know. You just missed a couple letters in the middle of cardinal. Thought it was a funny typo.

Not very? I read a few of her reviews and they sure wouldn't convince me to buy the book."

hahahaaaaaa it kind of makes me want to go through some of the reviews of the books she did do and see if you can tell it was paid for lol

and I love the "Carnal Rules for Authors" sounds like a book I would love to read :)

T.N. wrote: "hahahaaaaaa it kind of makes me want to go through some of the reviews of the books she did do and see i..."

There's only eight of them so it won't take you very long. The Ape one cracked me up when she warns of tech savvy intimidating hucksters.

T.N. wrote: "Not very? I read a few of her reviews and they sure wouldn't convince me to buy the book."

hahahaaaaaa it kind of makes me want to go through some of the reviews of the books she did do and see i..."

Maybe you could WRITE it, and we could all read it! I'd even review it for you... if the price is right, of course. ;-D

Grampy wrote: "T.N. wrote: "Not very? I read a few of her reviews and they sure wouldn't convince me to buy the book."

hahahaaaaaa it kind of makes me want to go through some of the reviews of the books she did..."


That's brilliant :)

Maybe instead of 100 dollars, you should charge 100 cents! ;)

Gregor wrote: "Justin wrote: "Wow...that's like one of the carnal rules an author learns."

Justin, please, please send me a link to this list of carnal rules for authors. My wife will appreciate it. ;)"

Damn, do we have carnal rules now? It seems I can't keep up with everything... :)

100$... Well, at least she has confidence in her abilities...

On the other hand, I had people asking me to sell something I didn't want to sell and I would just give them a hugely inflated amount, so they'd stop asking. Maybe that's what she's doing, just charging a ridiculous amount of money to discourage authors from asking her to review their books...

Bonkers. This person either has no grasp of economics, or her place in the Grand Scheme of Things - or possibly both.

It's interesting to note that some websites offering to promote - or host posts about - Kindle freebies are now asking for fees. What's either laughable or shocking is that they haven't checked their Alexa rankings, where they'll find that they're not even ranked because their dreadful site gets no traffic.

On a similar note I recently came across a blog tour company which was charging top whack (and I mean close on $1,000) whose tour links were mostly #404. A little further investigation led me to discover the owner's name as an editor on sites where authors supposedly tour. Perhaps more shocking is that the authors clearly hadn't noticed or complained about their links being #404.

Kick those tyres/tires when buying goods and services, folks - and ask each other's advice before buying. We're stronger together!

Justin wrote: "Wow...that's like one of the carnal rules an author learns."

*Cardinal* rule.

Carnal is something different.

/nitpick

Gregor wrote: "Justin wrote: "Wow...that's like one of the carnal rules an author learns."

Justin, please, please send me a link to this list of carnal rules for authors. My wife will appreciate it. ;)"

Snort! :-)

Grampy wrote: "T.N. wrote: "Not very? I read a few of her reviews and they sure wouldn't convince me to buy the book."

hahahaaaaaa it kind of makes me want to go through some of the reviews of the books she did..."

Dang, I wish we had a like button. :-)

Bonnie wrote: "What's Alexa rankings and where do I learn about them?"

http://www.alexa.com/

Subscribing will show a bar in your browser indicating popularity and rating of the website you're browsing.

Mark wrote: "Bonkers. This person either has no grasp of economics, or her place in the Grand Scheme of Things - or possibly both.

It's interesting to note that some websites offering to promote - or host post..."

I looked up Alexa after reading this. It doesn't seem worth $10 a month for me but I'm wondering if there are any free ways to find out how someone's site is doing?

Bonnie wrote: "I looked up Alexa after reading this. It doesn't seem worth $10 a month for me but I'm wondering if there are any free ways to find out how someone's site is doing?"

I have an Alexa bar in my Mac Firefox browser, didn't cost me a thing. Follow this link: http://www.alexa.com/toolbar?utm_sour...

The paid products are for getting insight in your own rankings. The Firefox toolbar will show the rankings of other websites, not your own.

Edit: if you check the website quoted in B&Bs blogpost, you can click the site statistics for Marlamiller.com: http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/marlami...

Martyn V. wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "I looked up Alexa after reading this. It doesn't seem worth $10 a month for me but I'm wondering if there are any free ways to find out how someone's site is doing?"

I have an Alexa..."

Super cool. Thank you.

Martyn V. wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "I looked up Alexa after reading this. It doesn't seem worth $10 a month for me but I'm wondering if there are any free ways to find out how someone's site is doing?"

I have an Alexa..."

I tried to download Alexa but my Firefox browser blocked it. However, Firefox does have an add-on, FlagFox, which allows you to see all the information about a website; it just takes several clicks to do it. It gives the Alexa trend/rank for this site as #243 for the last three months.

Thanks everyone lol. That's what you get when you type too fast and don't bother checking it.

Bonnie wrote: "Martyn V. wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "I looked up Alexa after reading this. It doesn't seem worth $10 a month for me but I'm wondering if there are any free ways to find out how someone's site is doing?..."

Just go to alexa.com and type in the name of the website you want to assess. You'd be amazed at how many sites over-rate themselves. When I have a choice between websites I create a spreadsheet and make a ranking using the Alexa numbers. If it's paid activity, put the price in as well and work out which offers the best relative cost.

T.N. wrote: "Not very? I read a few of her reviews and they sure wouldn't convince me to buy the book."

hahahaaaaaa it kind of makes me want to go through some of the reviews of the books she did do and see i..."

Carnal rules for authors... snicker.

Seriously though buying reviews is never good. Reviews will come sooner or later, good and bad. It is a matter of patience. There are plenty of folks who will give an honest review for a free copy, or even just because they bought the book and felt like leaving a review.

I cannot let this go unchallenged. I am hereby offering to review your book and give you a 5 star review for the low, low price of $499,000.99 You must have a title.

A.L. wrote: "T.N. wrote: "Not very? I read a few of her reviews and they sure wouldn't convince me to buy the book."

hahahaaaaaa it kind of makes me want to go through some of the reviews of the books she did..."


agreed... I'm offering free ebook versions of my novel now for reviews, although sometimes I just send it with no review necessary. Sometimes its just about getting your name out, so when the next book comes out they want to go back and read everything you wrote. :) I've been getting messages on my fb page that people are being seen reading my book so no sense in paying for reviews just have to buckle down and wait for them to finish reading.

It's a deal Stan. Yep if I get paid for reading books where do I sign up?

No one should pay for reviews...it is unethical for a start. Second, how credible is a paid for review?

Exactly.

This is really strange...I wonder if that person was being serious with that website? Seems like a joke to me (at least I hope it is haha!).

-Nihar
www.niharsuthar.com
@NiharSuthar

If I had a spare $100 I wouldn't be spending it on that.

I spent my spare $100 on books.

Now I'm broke, haha.

Stan wrote: "I cannot let this go unchallenged. I am hereby offering to review your book and give you a 5 star review for the low, low price of $499,000.99 You must have a title."

Damn it! I'm short by a penny!

Wow, that's ridiculous! And most places won't even let you post reviews if they're paid for so what's the point? >_>

jolly good scheme!

I'll give you gratitude x 100 if you review my book. :P

Here's an interesting article about Kirkus...

http://www.msauret.com/kirkus-reviews...

I got kicked off another writers' site for making a snarky comment about proof-readers. My point was that we are told that we have to spend $1,500 on an editor, then another $1,500 on a proof-reader. Then $500 on a cover designer. A couple of hundred to make a trailer. Then hundreds on a web designer and hundreds on a SEO expert.

Now we get to spend $100, or $350 or $500 for each FAKE review.

Oh, yeah. Forgot to add the blog tours for a few hundred.

Stan wrote: "I cannot let this go unchallenged. I am hereby offering to review your book and give you a 5 star review for the low, low price of $499,000.99 You must have a title."

I'll do it for the bargain price of $499,000.98. You can't pass on this limited-time offer.

I don't believe I'll ever have the mindset to 'burn' away $100 bucks on anything nevermind a scam for book reviewing. Let's say I did use $100 on something, to me I'm putting it down on something I know is worth it, isn't a scam and ontop of it all perhaps I even get the $100 back down the road.

People who pay for reviews are either suckers or desperate. Your reaction is the correct one, Justin.

The only "remuneration" for a review should be a gift of the book so the reviewer can read it first (grin).

Al wrote: "Stan wrote: "I cannot let this go unchallenged. I am hereby offering to review your book and give you a 5 star review for the low, low price of $499,000.99 You must have a title."

I'll do it for..."

A price war has broken out.