Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

I am struggling to get reviews on Amazon. Do any of you have any suggestions? I’ve researched ways, have ads on bookbub, Facebook, IG, but nothing so far has helped.

I am also willing to exchange purchase and reviews with authors. You buy mine I buy yours sort of thing and for Amazon review.

Let me know if you’ve had any luck with something I haven’t tried yet.

Hi Natalie! Do you do ARC's? Some authors giveaway their books in exchange of an honest review. Booksprout is one of the website to do that.

I would suggest you join some groups on Facebook dedicated to helping authors (new ones by extension) with ads and descriptions and even some for marketing and writing.

Goodreads is mostly a reader site, and your questions are very basic.

Natalie said: "I am also willing to exchange purchase and reviews with authors. You buy mine I buy yours sort of thing and for Amazon review."

Just so you know - Amazon frowns on reviews obtained through any sort of real (and sometimes, even perceived) 'quid pro quo', and usually will take them down if they even suspect such a thing is going on. Reviews must truly be 100% voluntary. I mention it because Amazon is such a large platform for us authors, and I'd hate to see you get on their wrong side.

Miss Alicia is right. Check this Facebook Group that support all the authors. https://www.facebook.com/groups/bests...

Many novice authors are unaware that a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulation mandates that any review obtained through any type of compensation, including a free book, gift card, cash, or promise of reciprocation must include a disclaimer at the beginning of the review clearly stating so.

The vast majority of avid readers, for whatever reason, choose to never post a rating and/or review on a literary website or periodical. Those that do post do so to share their personal, and therefore subjective, opinion with fellow readers, not the author of the work.

Sales generate reviews; not the other way around. Novice authors should focus more upon striving to continuously improve upon their writing, narration, and creativity skills, their marketing and promotional acumen and less upon obsessing over the reviews their work receives or does not receive.

Natalie wrote: "...I am also willing to exchange purchase and reviews with authors..."

Apart from being unethical, that is a violation of Amazon's TOS and a fast way to get your account banned for review manipulation.

Sell more books and you will see organic reviews flow in. The other issue is you have published one book in the last 5 years. It's difficult to gain traction with readers with only one book out, particularly if it's a series and you've never released the sequel.

Personally I would heed Ms M's advice and engage an editor, otherwise you will only see more critical reviews pointing out the flaws. Trading/buying/swapping fake reviews won't make up for fundamental issues with the book. Fix the problems with the book and you might find sales/review happen a lot easier.

As others have explained, you cannot offer anything of value in exchange for a review. You can supply reviewers with copies of your book, but only if it's given freely with the understanding that whether or not to review it is up to them. Also, if you participate in KDP Select, you cannot distribute your book digitally on any other website or even via email. Paper copies are OK.

This being said, be careful what you wish for. Organic reviews come from people who've read your book because they were interested in it, not because of money, or because they have previously interacted with you in some way. You want reviews that are written in good faith, something that can't be guaranteed. Amazon is pretty good about weeding out specious reviews, but it's pretty much the wild west here.

You CAN, however, send electronic ARCs that are the book right before publication, so almost the same as the published book - but you can't sell (distribute) those eARCs, only provide them to reviewers with the same caveat: reviews are optional.

These are handy when you find a potential reviewer. I offer mine t anyone who reads indie mainstream literary fiction and have picked up some reviews. None of the reviewers have ever complained about getting an ARC, ebook or print - they're standard.

I've had some really excellent reviews so far - but have reached a very small audience!

The challenge in getting reviews is getting readers. Getting readers seems to be a real struggle unless you pay a lot for something like a BookBub email or a marketing specialist.

Shame.

From what I’ve heard from those who write full time, this is something you need to canvas your readers/email list for *regularly.* I bring it up at least once a week on social (if not more) and when people tell me they like my book, I ask the to review it. Even still, I haven’t gained nearly as many reviews as I’ve asked for. Make sure it’s something you put in every email and conversation. You will feel annoying at first, but it’s not something you can be lazy about just because it seems uncomfortable.

Hello,

I'm curious about this topic because I've read several websites with advice to provide copies to people to review on Amazon or elsewhere. If the person includes a disclaimer, isn't it fine?

Also, since publishing my book, I've had a few unsolicited emails from people offering to review my book on Amazon but requiring compensation to do so. Do you receive many of these solicitations? I'm not purchasing reviews, but I'm just curious of a lot of authors receive these emails.

Krista wrote: "I've had a few unsolicited emails from people offering to review my book on Amazon but requiring compensation to do so. Do you receive many of these solicitations?"

Yes and I never used to get any and then this year they started blowing up my inbox. Fortunately they go straight to spam - which is where they belong. Paid reviews like those offered in the spam emails (as opposed to editorial reviews like Kirkus) are a violation of Amazon and Goodreads TOS and you can get your account banned for review manipulation.

Here's the secret to getting reviews.... sell books. Concentrate on selling more books and you'll find that reviews magically take care of themselves ;)

Like a few others have said, the most reliable way to get some honest reviews posted is through the sites that deal with ARCs. NetGalley is a huge one, also HiddenGems is another.. and they specifically require reviews to be posted on Amazon in addition to wherever else a reviewer might normally publish.

Inkslinger wrote: "Like a few others have said, the most reliable way to get some honest reviews posted is through the sites that deal with ARCs. NetGalley is a huge one, also HiddenGems is another.. and they specifi..."

NetGalley does NOT require reviews be posted on Amazon and any service that does violates Amazon TOS. Per Amazon TOS reviews CANNOT be required.

No reputable service has such a requirement.

Alexandra wrote: "Inkslinger wrote: "Like a few others have said, the most reliable way to get some honest reviews posted is through the sites that deal with ARCs. NetGalley is a huge one, also HiddenGems is another..."

I didn't say NetGalley does, I said HiddenGems does. (They don't try to manipulate the data in regards to positive/negative reactions.. so honestly.. that matters a bit more than simply wanting reviews posted to a specific location.. imo.)

Either way, as a journalist, I don't pay much attention to the ToS of a retailer unless I'm writing an article on something related to that.. only business types within my direct scope of work. That's good to know though.

Actually.. here is Amazon's official stance:

"Anyone may submit content to their followers in exchange for compensation as long as it is clearly and conspicuously disclosed (e.g., "I was paid for this post", "I received this product for free in exchange for this post")."

Legally, this means companies can solicit a trade for a review. Upon following the link to Amazon's review requirements regarding this topic, they simply forbid reviews for monetary reward and reviews that are manipulative regarding favorable/unfavorable comments, vis a vis quid pro quo, etc.

Again, I'm not saying you're wrong. I only did a very cursory search. But if you could link me to something on the site backing up what you're saying, I'd be thrilled.

Thanks again.

Inkslinger wrote: "ot saying you're wrong. I only did a very cursory search. But if you could link me to something on the site backing up what you're saying, I'd be thrilled."

You had claimed, "...NetGalley is a huge one, also HiddenGems is another.. and they specifically require reviews to be posted on Amazon...."

I'm not wrong at all. I stated, "NetGalley does NOT require reviews be posted on Amazon and any service that does violates Amazon TOS. Per Amazon TOS reviews CANNOT be required.

No reputable service has such a requirement."

This is correct.

Now you bring up another matter entirely: "Anyone may submit content to their followers in exchange for compensation as long as it is clearly and conspicuously disclosed (e.g., "I was paid for this post", "I received this product for free in exchange for this post")."

This isn't speaking of consumer reviews, they're speaking of posts. You also failed to provide a link to the actual source. As everyone can see in my first screen shot, this quote refers to posts in the Question and Answer section of a product, and Community posts (left over from the days Amazon had discussion boards) not consumer reviews.

As you then say, "they simply forbid reviews for monetary reward and reviews that are manipulative regarding favorable/unfavorable comments, vis a vis quid pro quo, etc."

One cannot post a consumer review in exchange for payment, but that and manipulating "favorable/unfavorable comments" are not all Amazon prohibits.

It is also true that one cannot require a review to be posted, when providing a free copy of a book. It can be requested, yes, but not required.

The wise thing to do is to read all of Amazon's TOS regarding consumer reviews.

Such as,

"Book authors and publishers may continue to provide free copies of their books to readers, as long as the author or publisher does not require a review in exchange or attempt to influence the review."



https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...



https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...

And more:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...

So, no, a review may not be required, and as I stated, NetGalley does not require a review to be posted to Amazon. If HiddenGems does then they are violating Amazon TOS, which means they're not reputable and it'd be wise to not do business with them.

Maybe next time do more than a "cursory search" before declaring what "actually Amazon's official stance" is regarding consumer reviews. As I hope you can see, I've done my homework on that topic.

Inkslinger wrote: "I didn't say NetGalley does, I said HiddenGems does. (They don't try to manipulate the data in regards to positive/negative reactions.. so honestly.. that matters a bit more than simply wanting reviews posted to a specific location.. imo.)"

Your opinion of what "matters a bit more" isn't at all relevant. The fact remains, requiring a review be posted on Amazon violates Amazon TOS, which is something no reputable company would do.

"Either way, as a journalist, I don't pay much attention to the ToS of a retailer unless I'm writing an article on something related to that.. "

Since you receive ARCs and post consumer reviews on Amazon you'd be wise to familiarize yourself with their review TOS. Most especially before giving advice to someone else.

You assumed that I meant both required that, a fair misunderstanding.. but still incorrect.

As for the part you highlighted.. the sites themselves that set the requirements.. are not the authors or publishers.. which is technically a loophole that perhaps they are taking advantage of. As you can see from your own post, they are the entities called out in the ToS-- Authors and Publishers.

Goodreads is supposed to be a community based in mutual respect, support, and a love of books. I'm happy to have polite debates.. but when toxicity comes into play, I simply block and disengage.

Best wishes.

A.W. wrote: "Krista wrote: "I've had a few unsolicited emails from people offering to review my book on Amazon but requiring compensation to do so. Do you receive many of these solicitations?"

Yes and I never ..."

Interesting. So this is a relatively new spam for authors. ; )

Thanks for sharing!

Krista wrote: "A.W. wrote: "Krista wrote: "I've had a few unsolicited emails from people offering to review my book on Amazon but requiring compensation to do so. Do you receive many of these solicitations?"

Yes..."

Thank you. That is truly appreciated!

https://www.amazon.com/Asa-Rodriguez/...

Just a heads up, giving compensation for reviews is not only unethical, but violates Amazon (and GR) TOS. PAID FOR "reviews" are not consumer reviews and are NOT ALLOWED on either site. Those that offer them and those that use them, are unethical and can result in not only loss of those reviews, but loss of author privileges. DO NOT DO IT.

Hello, I have the same problem, people buy, and no review, no promotion or mention on their social pages. Total silence. Free, discounted or offered, same result. Be strong.

Georgie wrote: "..people buy, and no review, no promotion or mention on their social pages..."

Are you expecting readers to not only pay for your book but then go out of their way to give you free promotion? Because that's not how it works. If you want your book promoted, you need to go out and find the resources and sites to do that for yourself.

Alexandra wrote: "Just a heads up, giving compensation for reviews is not only unethical, but violates Amazon (and GR) TOS. PAID FOR "reviews" are not consumer reviews and are NOT ALLOWED on either site. Those that ..."

Readers are not the same as a marketing campaign. Many readers have never posted a review about a book they read in their lives. It's not their job.

I review many places, Amazon is not one of them. I hate the waiting period. I hate the voting system. I hate that Amazon claims ownership over all of that data. So I will review on NetGalley, Edelweiss, Barnes&Noble, my own site, Goodreads...but I will not post a review on Amazon. That's my personal preference.

Stefani wrote: "Alexandra wrote: "Just a heads up, giving compensation for reviews is not only unethical, but violates Amazon (and GR) TOS. PAID FOR "reviews" are not consumer reviews and are NOT ALLOWED on either..."

That's great info! Thanks.

https://www.amazon.com/Asa-Rodriguez/...

Georgie wrote: "Hello, I have the same problem, people buy, and no review, no promotion or mention on their social pages. Total silence. Free, discounted or offered, same result. Be strong."

Readers are not free product promoters. OF COURSE there's no promotion from readers, that's not a legitimate promotion scheme.

If you want book promotion look elsewhere.

Unfortunately, you get one out of ten purchases giving reviews, at best. Yes, it helps the author quite a bit to have lots of reviews (even bad ones) on book sites, but its a struggle to get even some.

It can be productive to ask people to write reviews, but I recommend against going with pro reviewers or sending free copies to get reviews.

Often these folks do not quite get what you're doing with a book or are not fond with certain genres/POV styles and that is often reflected in their reviewing.

A.W. wrote: "Georgie wrote: "..people buy, and no review, no promotion or mention on their social pages..."

Are you expecting readers to not only pay for your book but then go out of their way to give you free..."

What suggestion do you have for securing thousands of reviews? You seem to have been successful with that. Do you have anything constructive you can share. Thanks.

Longoria wrote: "Do you have anything constructive you can share."

I write books and I sell them. It is both that simple and that difficult. I don't chase reviews, I don't trade reviews, I don't buy reviews, heck I don't even have an ARC team like other authors. I put my head down and concentrate on SELLING books.

Many authors are confused and don't seem to realise that reviews are a function of sales. It's NOT the other way around. Sell books and reviews look after themselves.

While other authors invest their time and money in swapping or buying reviews, I invest my time and energy in writing another book. I save my money to pay for a developmental editor to improve my craft and the story. I'd rather pay for a course where I learn something to implement in my next book. I budget so I can produce the best book I can and that means paying attention to cover, blurb, formatting, editing as well as the basics like story craft.

Christopher wrote: "Unfortunately, you get one out of ten purchases giving reviews..."

That's way off. It takes about 100 paid sales, or 1,000 free downloads, to see 1 organic review.

If you're book isn't selling then ask yourself - why not?

I see so many authors in threads like this one spamming the buy links to their books, and doing desperate/unethical/TOS violating things to manipulate reviews. But they won't ask themselves the hard questions about their book. In most cases, it takes less than 10 seconds on a book page to figure out why the book isn't selling. And I'll give you a hint - it has nothing to do with lack of reviews.

There is a glut of horrdendously bad self published books on Amazon these days. Readers have had to become savvy to wade through the muck and find the few gems that will deliver the story they want to read. They can spot the books that lack basic craft or editing by looking at key factors like cover, blurb and the look inside. Authors think fake/purchased/traded 5-star reviews are the key to sales. They're not. Readers can spot those fake reviews too.

Readers will (and do) take a chance on a book that has no reviews, IF the cover, blurb and story are all doing their job.

I agree with A.W.. The best way to get reviews is to produce a book that will impress the readers by its quality, especially in terms of original story line, depth of characters, good world-building (for fiction novels) and captivating storytelling. You have to make the readers say 'WOW!' at the end of your book to push them into taking the time to publish a review. If you don't get any reviews, then ask yourself if the readers find your book worthy of one.

People have many ways of going about marketing. People build street teams for their launch, insert call to action statements in their books asking readers to review, build immense following making anything they can say up on youtube or twitter. You know what? I respect them all. Wish I could do some of those things to build rapport with an audience. But you know I wasn't born with the knowledge of these things. I had to learn about them. You seem to have spent your time in this thread making people feel like they're idiots and beneath you. One thing is sure. There's a reason you know those Terms of Service so well. I guess it's because at one time you wished people would read and review your book too, and you had all these questions.

I had the good fortune of having some very supportive beta readers. They left very kind reviews, including the one here on Goodreads. I don't know her, I never met her and I didn't pay her to review my work. As an entrepreneur, I figure if there's four people who love the book there could be an audience and it's my job to find it. That reviewer, in particular, wanted the book to succeed so much she made herself eligible with purchases on Amazon just to be able to leave a review. Now it's my job to get the book noticed. And if that means giving it away on the street so it will gain traction that's what I may do. There are a million books published every year and just because you have an amazon page certainly doesn't mean people are seeing it. So don't tell me reviews don't mean anything. That's rubbish! Cause those stars combined with the right blurb and good looking cover make a case that they are looking at a good product. In that thirty seconds a purchaser may give you, everything counts.

You speak as if you're the only one here who has made investments of time and money in their work. You may consider having an editor take a look at your comments before you click post. Developmental, maybe. I'll give you a break on the line editing. I'll tell you what. You may want to take another class and do some more transformative work because I will never read your books if your posts are any kind of reflection of what you put in your pages.

When it comes to other author's work, I won't review it unless I can give it the high marks. Because that is what a supportive fellow author should do. I just had to tell a fellow author whom I really wanted to help they had to take their book back to the drawing board. But I wasn't going to smear em on their review page cause there are idiots who burn a book because an author used one word they didn't like and disregard the rest of the beautiful work so they can insatiate their ego.

And I, like other author's here, are asking questions so they can figure out how to nudge that product up the hill just a little closer to the light. We're all hustling here. Even you, Exley.

Natalie wrote: "I am struggling to get reviews on Amazon. Do any of you have any suggestions? I’ve researched ways, have ads on bookbub, Facebook, IG, but nothing so far has helped.

I am also willing to exchange..."

What kind of books do you write?

Longoria wrote: "You may consider having an editor take a look at your comments before you click post."

How silly of me to treat your question as a genuine one, when apparently you were only looking for an outlet for your frustration. You are right, instead of trying to help others by sharing what has worked for me, I will stick with writing and working with my editor. I'll leave you to arrange your review swaps, since you know far more about what generates sales than I do.

Okay, I have some points to make here:

1) No one in this thread said 'reviews don't mean anything'. Not one single person has said that anywhere in here that I can find. What we're saying is, focus on sales, and reviews will follow.

2) How to focus on sales? Put out a quality product (properly edited manuscript with a genre-appropriate cover and well-written blurb) for starters, and then build your following. I personally opted to concentrate on my writing but also growing my mailing list. From that came an ARC read team, and yes, sales, and yes, even reviews. But reviews should not be the only focus of one's efforts. They are the 'get' when you 'give'; i.e. give your focus where you should (quality product first, followed by visibility/brand recognition) and reviews will eventually happen.

3) How to build a following, you ask? Booksprout allows you to post an ARC copy at no cost. Bookfunnel and StoryOrigin enable you to participate in sales and newsletter builder campaigns at little to no cost. I know for a fact these things work. I've gone from 18 newsletter subscribers to over 3,300 in roughly five months' time. And using these tools accomplishes a couple of things specifically:
a) It gives you a base of readers who are interested in your work and to whom you can talk directly about your future works.
b) It helps you dial in on your target audience.

4) Another point regarding editing – Yes, it can get expensive. SO - Here’s a no-cost tip that helped me immensely in my own writing until I got to the point I could afford an external editor: Use Word’s free ‘read-aloud’ feature. (Kindle has this same feature, as well.) Use it. Trust me when I say from personal experience that having your manuscript read aloud to you is invaluable to help catch word transpositions and other items/problems that spell check will not catch. Even utilizing a tool as simple as that one can help make sure your work is the best it can be.

5) Consider taking your book "wide" - i.e. not just Amazon, but also Google, Apple, Kobo, etc. Amazon is a big player, no question, but there's a very large chunk of the reading world that is terribly underserved by Amazon. If you're having trouble gaining traction on Amazon, as I did at first, consider NOT being exclusive to them; you do have options.

I hope that these points are helpful, both to the original poster and to others who may come across this thread. Best of luck to all and keep writing!

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t address something, and add a gentle reminder...

Another participant in here was asked a question, that person answered the question, and then was attacked in a personal manner for their answer. Not cool, and not the least bit professional or helpful to anyone in the entire thread. Before we point out others’ seeming faults, we might want to spot-check our own posts to ensure that they too are error-free.

Max Liam Hanson wrote: "Natalie wrote: "I am struggling to get reviews on Amazon. Do any of you have any suggestions? I’ve researched ways, have ads on bookbub, Facebook, IG, but nothing so far has helped.

I am also wil..."

I think reviews will come. Just work on your next novel and promote your recently published one. I do that with mine. No point on frustrating oneself with lack of reviews.

I write self-help/spiritual/psychological books to help enlighten people and better their lives. I just published my first book, "I always loved you. Creatures of eternal love." I think one only should focus on writing and building community. The rest will come to you if you are patient and motivated.

Join my new Goodreads group. I think you could be a perfect fit!
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

https://www.amazon.com/Asa-Rodriguez/...

"Put out a quality product (properly edited manuscript with a genre-appropriate cover and well-written blurb) for starters".

Yeah. That should be first and foremost.

Far too many people write a sloppy book, self-publish it on Amazon and wonder why no one wants to read and review it.

Unfortunately the bulk of advice available on line on how to build an audience or "platform" is out of date by 5-10 years, so its of limited use in today's market. But I agree with others who have said: put out the best, highest quality, most professional product that you can manage and afford.

After that, its largely out of your hands. Promote your book where you can, remind people that you're an author (people forget or don't always notice when you mentioned it before) and then... its a matter of being noticed. Someone with outreach or a following, someone with connections notices and likes your book. You have no real power over that.

In my experience and observation, advertising is worthless or even worse: its a waste of money, burning it up to enrich adverting platforms or companies.

D.F. wrote: "Okay, I have some points to make here:

1) No one in this thread said 'reviews don't mean anything'. Not one single person has said that anywhere in here that I can find. What we're saying is, focu..."

Good post!

D.F. wrote: "Okay, I have some points to make here:

1) No one in this thread said 'reviews don't mean anything'. Not one single person has said that anywhere in here that I can find. What we're saying is, focu..."

D.F. The difference in your post was you had something to share that was constructive. I felt what was going on with the first response to an innocent question and statement was not constructive. That leads to people searching for help to shut down in my opinion.

Aw wrote: "I see so many authors in threads like this one spamming the buy links to their books, and doing desperate/unethical/TOS violating things to manipulate reviews. But they won't ask themselves the hard questions about their book. In most cases, it takes less than 10 seconds on a book page to figure out why the book isn't selling. And I'll give you a hint - it has nothing to do with lack of reviews."

So as much as I respect AW's experience this to me suggests my effort and anyone else's effort to share books are deparate either with buy links or whatever. And truthfully it seems to suggest the quality of work is probably just not good and the reviews don't matter. And that's not cool. I wish the greatest productivity for all authors who are here to share experience and learn. And with this I will quit being a bore.

Asa wrote: "Christopher wrote: "Unfortunately, you get one out of ten purchases giving reviews, at best. Yes, it helps the author quite a bit to have lots of reviews (even bad ones) on book sites, but its a st..."

Asa. I meant to respond to this Saturday and regret that I didn't. I wanted to thank you for the positive words of encouragement. It was a different tone than some other posts. A good difference. My book is new. And It's frustrating when there are 700 downloads during a free weekend promotion and nothing comes back. I rack my brains constantly on how I can make the blurb better. How I can make my add better. Heck, even contemplating if I should repackage my book cover. But I know that some things just take time. If I can just keep myself from getting squirrely about the whole thing. So, thank you and good luck with your work.

Krista wrote: "A.W. wrote: "Krista wrote: "I've had a few unsolicited emails from people offering to review my book on Amazon but requiring compensation to do so. Do you receive many of these solicitations?"

Yes..."

I don't know about everyone else but I have been receiving the purchased review spam since I got here. People with book tours and marketing spam. They even contact me through these my author website promising a high amount of reviews. It makes the whole thing essentially dubious sounding. I even contacted Goodreads about whether some of these marketing offers may be legit and if using them won't violate terms of service. No response. I don't know about you but I am hard at work marketing my book and telling the difference between something golden and what's a poison apple gets complicated. If you or anyone here runs a free promo on amazon there are services that promote books and raising the free downloads may result in a review or two. I will include a link with free and paid promo sites here. If you are looking for some boosting power. They really did help me.

https://kindlepreneur.com/list-sites-...

Christopher wrote: "Unfortunately the bulk of advice available on line on how to build an audience or "platform" is out of date by 5-10 years, so its of limited use in today's market. But I agree with others who have ..."

This is such a tough thing to come to terms with. Researching the issue of "to advertise or not to advertise" returns contradictory returns. One interview with a successful self-published author yielded the quote, "I wish I wouldn't of wasted my time and money on advertising because it made no difference and I wasted hundreds of dollars. The only thing that really made a difference was putting out another book and increasing my footprint on line." Of course that was responded to by another professional saying Amazon and facebook ads were smart. On line there are several vids that encourage advertising and marketing free promos. It's hard not to believe there isn't something that can be done but thus far I am really finding your wisdom is accurate. Thanks for sharing.

A.W. wrote: "Longoria wrote: "You may consider having an editor take a look at your comments before you click post."

How silly of me to treat your question as a genuine one, when apparently you were only looki..."

AW my question was a genuine one. I was hoping for some wisdom about blurbs or any other of the aspects written about here.
My findings agree with your comment regarding the ratio of reviews to download and sales.

AW wrote: I see so many authors in threads like this one spamming the buy links to their books, and doing desperate/unethical/TOS violating things to manipulate reviews. But they won't ask themselves the hard questions about their book. In most cases, it takes less than 10 seconds on a book page to figure out why the book isn't selling. And I'll give you a hint - it has nothing to do with lack of reviews.


When you're talking about people listing their books for reviews, or listing links to their books, you're talking about the majority of author listings in this group. On top of that there seems to be a fetish about people just being unethical. And yes, this statement does suggest "reviews don't matter". In fact, I feel it just suggests that I should take a hint that maybe my offerings are just bad quality. I don't know about everyone else but I'm trying to figure it out. Your post really came off to me like we're annoyances and our efforts "desperate". AW I wish everyone here the best but I'm looking for constructive words of guidance especially from experienced authors.

Alexandra wrote: "Inkslinger wrote: "ot saying you're wrong. I only did a very cursory search. But if you could link me to something on the site backing up what you're saying, I'd be thrilled."

You had claimed, "....."

Thank you, Inkslinger. All of this was great and important information. These are clearly heated issues for many writers. Your approach with logic and facts I found very helpful.

Christopher wrote: "Unfortunately the bulk of advice available on line on how to build an audience or "platform" is out of date by 5-10 years, so its of limited use in today's market. But I agree with others who have ..."

This.

Christopher wrote: "Unfortunately the bulk of advice available on line on how to build an audience or "platform" is out of date by 5-10 years, so its of limited use in today's market. But I agree with others who have ..."

I'm interested. Thanks for your input. What do you think of Amazon advertising...?? Any experiences with that??

https://www.amazon.com/Asa-Rodriguez/...

Asa wrote: "Christopher wrote: "Unfortunately the bulk of advice available on line on how to build an audience or "platform" is out of date by 5-10 years, so its of limited use in today's market. But I agree w..."

Not sure if you're asking me but I have started experimenting and it can be pretty expensive. Gone are the days of paying 15 cents per impression. I guess it depends on your genre. There was one day, just to get someone to click on my book cost over $2 for the right audience placement. Now when people aren't clicking, your add is running, so the right people are seeing your cover. if you're willing to pay that price for a placement. My budget was limited and I was experimenting so I didn't see a jump in sales. But you do get to see what audiences are interested in your book according to click tracking. That was helpful. It really is a science. Figuring out what to say in the add and then figuring out if your blurb could change to suit the audience better. The days and times your add is running makes a difference too. A couple days, my budget was gobbled in minutes for the interest, others It ran for hours. I think it also may be influenced by the days that all the newsletters and postings for free promotion books go out too. Perfection will have to wait until my next couple of tries I think. Or maybe I will just come to terms with the fact that my work could just be crap. Whatever the case, with amazon ads you have to bring your money and be ready to let go of it. It would be great to hear anyone with more experience on the matter say a few words. I hope this was helpful.