Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

Oh dear,

I received these emails too. Please read them.

From: Gwendolyn M. Davis
Sent: 21 January 2021 18:21
Subject: Amazon Review For Your Book

Hi,

I organize book review tours for the self-published authors of Amazon. I also offer promotional services for traditionally published books, unpublished books, books on pre-order and ARC copies. Currently, I can organize review tours for books, ebooks and audiobooks. If you are a SERIOUS author, you can connect with me for more details.

(Next)
Hello,

Would you like to have your book reviewed by a professional and knowledgeable reviewer? I am Mary. I have been reviewing and editing books for a very long time. I am also a beta reader. I read and review books from ALL genres. If you are interested in any of these services, feel free to respond to this message for samples and testimonials.

Mary Jane

(Next)

I want to review your book in exchange of a review copy. You can email me a copy at [email protected]. Please note that I am unable to download gift copies so kindly don’t email me those. Also, I don’t check messages here often so, if you have any questions please email me directly. I am also a beta reader. Thanks

Although I replied, before reading your posts, I haven't sent anything. What can we do about this?

Also, I want to thank you all for bringing this to everyone's attention.
We can only grow with each knock.

Best regards
Sylvia

Guys, can you please tell me what possible measures I can take to prevent myself from being harassed as an author?

Sameer there is not much we can do. It’s up to Goodreads to setup technology that finds this Spam before they hit. Other places are able to avoid it.
They need to catch up.

I keep on getting those emails too, Mary Jane is one of the most often ones and I keep on blocking it, however it sends from so many different accounts it is impossible to get rid of.

As if being a starving writer didn't suck enough, now we have to endure these scam artists harassing us. PLEASE do not send these people a copy of your book that is not rights-protected because they WILL pirate them. It's disappointing that goodreads.com can't do more to stop this.

Contrary to what many novice authors believe, sales drive reviews, not the other way around. Focus upon striving to continuously improve upon basic writing, conceptual/copy editing, promotional, and marketing knowledge and skills, then sales will often improve and some reviews will follow.

For whatever reason, the vast majority of avid readers choose to never post a rating or review. Those that do are merely expressing their personal, and therefore subjective, opinion. One reader's Best book ever! may very will be another reader's Worst book ever!, which is why most avid readers do not allow a rating or review to influence their purchasing choices one way or the other.

Jim wrote: "Contrary to what many novice authors believe, sales drive reviews, not the other way around. Focus upon striving to continuously improve upon basic writing, conceptual/copy editing, promotional, an..."

I've seen you post this or some version of this in various discussions. I wonder what your motivation is to say this over and over, especially in conversations where it clearly doesn't apply, like this one?

Alina wrote: "Jim wrote: "Contrary to what many novice authors believe, sales drive reviews, not the other way around. Focus upon striving to continuously improve upon basic writing, conceptual/copy editing, pro..."

Scams, such as the e-mails mentioned within this discussion, are aimed at novice authors who aggressively focus upon actively seeking and soliciting reviews. If there are no longer solicitations for reviews, such scams will cease to exist.

I have gotten four or five of these emails in the past week. My gut told me it was spam. I listened to my intuition and didn't respond.

Jim wrote: "Scams, such as the e-mails mentioned within this discussion, are aimed at novice authors who aggressively focus upon actively seeking and soliciting reviews."

Ok, I see.

How is the novice author to cope with all this pressure from scams?

I am actively seeking people to review my work with a promise to reciprocate but there are a lot of scammers out there and I should know - I will tell anyone who wants to know the full story.

If there are genuine honest reviewers out there I will guarantee to review work in an equally honest manner.
Brian Ritchie, Glasgow, UK

Does anyone get emails from a person claiming to be an "honest" reviewer and it appears to come be asked on the "Ask the Author" section and mysteriously disappear when it is checked?
I asked one of them to either contact me on Goodreads via the Goodreads mail system or to send me a link to their profiles and never heard from them.
I really need reviews on Amazon so these are spam right?

Guys, stop asking online for reviews and you won't be victims of scams, it is that simple. Honest reviews are the spontaneous ones you get after a reader picked up your book and liked it, not the ones you asked for. If your book is really good, someone will eventually post a review of it. Be patient! But if you insist on clamoring online for reviewers, then you will get (maybe) reviews of only dubious values, or you will have your book stolen and published by someone else, or get scammed. I myself would put zero value on a review that was the product of a deal between an author and a 'willing reviewer'.

I wholeheartedly agree with all that Michel says - it is a sad fact of life that if you ask for anything from strangers you are setting yourself up to be scammed - as I have.
Speaking as an honest and willing reviewer it ain't easy to stay safe and honest.
We are not all dubious characters online some of us are genuine.
I am happy to share my details with others who are seeking reviews.
I would like to think that I can spot a scammer - as I too have been scammed and I have experience in work being stolen too.
Then again, why should anyone believe me???

Brian wrote: "How is the novice author to cope with all this pressure from scams?

I am actively seeking people to review my work with a promise to reciprocate but there are a lot of scammers out there and I sho..."

Brian,

I notice that you have only established a Goodreads Member Profile. Your published work might attract more attention if you established an Author Profile on Goodreads.

Michael's advice (message 69) is sound and well-worth serious consideration. Michael's works have generated quite a few reviews.

Many novice authors are unaware of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulation that requires any review obtained through an offer of some type of compensation such as money, a gift card, free book, or reciprocal review must include a disclaimer stating so within the review.

The vast majority of novice authors fail to ever achieve notoriety or commercial success within this extremely competitive field. That said; some have. There is no reason why you might not eventually become one of them. I wish you success.

Michel wrote: "Guys, stop asking online for reviews and you won't be victims of scams, it is that simple. Honest reviews are the spontaneous ones you get after a reader picked up your book and liked it, not the o..."

Well said Michel ... Write it and they will come eh ... true. Patience is a virtue.

Abdul wrote: "Does anyone get emails from a person claiming to be an "honest" reviewer and it appears to come be asked on the "Ask the Author" section and mysteriously disappear when it is checked?
I asked one o..."

I really need to let you know that I knew of a man who had a business doing this. He actually hired reviewers from India and they would write hundreds of reviews and he charged for each one. I thought it was awful and now I too am getting emails asking if I want reviews. So, we do need to be careful. That said, (: I would love to share my book, I Am Meir's Brother for a prerelease review if anyone is interested.

Hello everyone,

I thought I add to the lot...
Came from a man - Daniel
"I want to review your book in exchange of a review copy. You can email me a copy at [email protected]. Please note that I am unable to download gift copies so kindly don’t email me those. Also, I don’t check messages here often so, if you have any questions please email me directly. I am also a beta reader. Thanks"

Strangely enough I got similar request on Reedsy on the same day but to different email.

It's a weird world....

I also just received the message:
"Hi,
I want to review your book in exchange of a review copy. You can email me a copy at [email protected]... etc"

I ignored it at the time, as there is no way I would send a PDF that could be then copied/ pirated - and, having read everyone's comments here, I'm glad I did.

The original message said "Hi.." without saying "Hi Kevin," and also said "Your book" (I have two out just now), plus the person who wrote the message, Daniel, has a "Private" Goodreads profile - so my suspicions were raised.

Btw, I created a separate email account (in a separate browser from my usual one), dedicated as a tool for cases where I'm not sure whether it's spam or not, e.g., slightly odd-looking contacts from my website, FB, etc., which might/might not be bona fide. This might be an idea for other folk to try.

kevin

Michelle wrote: "Hello everyone,

I thought I add to the lot...
Came from a man - Daniel
"I want to review your book in exchange of a review copy. You can email me a copy at [email protected]. Please note tha..."

Did they go by Daniel Houck by any chance, because they nuked their profile and I did some digging on them, they wanted to contact me about a 'illustration job'.

Lets just say they didn't like it when I interrogated them for proof of if their graphic novel was going to be crowd funded, and proof they where who they said they where. I think I scared them off because I didn't take the bait.

I received this today from 'Goodreads'. - I'm hesitant to click on any links. Does anyone know if this is really from Goodreads?

Our official adult site ᴡᴡᴡ.ᴍᴇᴇᴛᴘᴏꜰ.ᴄᴏᴍ is now following your reviews on Goodreads. There are now 2 people following your reviews.

Patricia wrote: "I received this today from 'Goodreads'. - I'm hesitant to click on any links. Does anyone know if this is really from Goodreads?

Our official adult site ᴡᴡᴡ.ᴍᴇᴇᴛᴘᴏꜰ.ᴄᴏᴍ is now following your revie..."

Looks fishy to me, I wouldn't reply. If it didn't come from a Goodreads URL then they are just fishing.

Like others I am spammed by others to help promote my book which I largely ignore. Is there a site where an author can find valid services without paying best seller prices?

As long as there are novice authors actively seeking reviews, there will be clever scammers actively seeking ways to take advantage of them.

Every literary course, article, or lecture, conducted or authored by a well-established, experienced professional, emphasizes that sales drive reviews, not the other way around.

Patricia wrote: "I received this today from 'Goodreads'. - I'm hesitant to click on any links. Does anyone know if this is really from Goodreads?

Our official adult site ᴡᴡᴡ.ᴍᴇᴇᴛᴘᴏꜰ.ᴄᴏᴍ is now following your revie..."

This sounds not just like a scam, but also as if porn is involved in some way. The 'adult site' is a bit of a give-away! Don't reply, and don't touch it with a barge pole!

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't trust any of these people to offer feedback, a review, or editing/proof-reading services, since a lot of them can't even write a proper sentence in English. Why would you even look at these people for such services? Just ignore them, or report them if you have time. It's malicious nonsense.

Helen wrote: "Patricia wrote: "I received this today from 'Goodreads'. - I'm hesitant to click on any links. Does anyone know if this is really from Goodreads?

Our official adult site ᴡᴡᴡ.ᴍᴇᴇᴛᴘᴏꜰ.ᴄᴏᴍ is now fol..."

I will definitely ignore that one! Thanks for the heads-up

MK wrote: "Patricia wrote: "I received this today from 'Goodreads'. - I'm hesitant to click on any links. Does anyone know if this is really from Goodreads?

Our official adult site ᴡᴡᴡ.ᴍᴇᴇᴛᴘᴏꜰ.ᴄᴏᴍ is now fol..."

I received this one twice in the last week or so and did not respond either. I thought POF was a dating website, so I was suspicious right off the bat.

Hi folks, thanks for posting your rather alarming experiences.

I don't recommend sending out a copy of your book as it is going to pirates. That's why they don't want a free gift Kindle book with DRM.

These people want to commit fraud, don't bite. Don't even reply, just report.

As to getting a message via Goodreads that has disappeared when you check, this is because GR staff were alerted to the spammer and removed them and all their posts. You are not obliged to reply to any "ask the author" questions or friends requests.

I regularly spot spam bots and report them. These bots have either created an account or taken over one that has been inactive for years. GR says it's by guessing the password. The bot generally has almost no books or reviews, but suddenly starts liking a bunch of random stuff including updates, or making random friend requests, and always has a spam link from .ru or .pw or .xyz (for instance) as their only bio details, generally they claim to live in America.

If you see a link in the bio of a user, look at it and if you don't recognise the domain (the .ru) or it looks fishy, google the domain to see if it is associated with spam. On no account follow the link as it probably downloads malware to your computer before you even know what is on the homepage.

Once I report these the spam link is taken down and any photos they uploaded advertising products.

To report, go to the bottom of your desktop screen, on left you'll see About us so click on that, then find Contact us on left and click that for a form to fill. Select report spam or abuse. Always provide the link to the spammer page.

Then if you want, you can block the spam account, as it has been compromised.

I have asked for us to be given recognition (badges for our profiles) for reporting spam and fraud, as LibraryThing already does this.

During a program aired some time ago on 'National Public Radio' in which three well-known, successful authors answered questions and gave advice, one said something that has stuck in my mind.

Never stop learning, writing, promoting, and marketing! Pleading, bribing, and/or personally soliciting is neither professional or effective.

Clare wrote: "Hi folks, thanks for posting your rather alarming experiences.

I don't recommend sending out a copy of your book as it is going to pirates. That's why they don't want a free gift Kindle book with..."

Thanks so much for the heads up. I received one just yesterday that I was suspicious of (it ended in .ru) which I researched, after reading your post. The .ru was confirmed as being connected to scamming ... but I would not have known to look for that without the info you shared. It seemed odd to me that this person had joined in 2019 and yet had zero stats aside from liking updates. Liking the fact that I was only starting to read a particular book seemed a little strange to me unless she had read it herself, had written it, or had it on a TBR shelf.

In Feb. I received this following e-mail,

----
I want to ask an indiscreet question privately to you regarding your book, that I believe I should not post in public.
-----

This came from someone named, Fiona Alexander.

I have received numerous (scam??) e-mails from several different names. At least a handful have come from this name.

Something about this e-mail unnerved me...I'm not going to answer. I've been receiving many of these suspicious e-mails and have never replied.

Should I allow it to unnerve me?

Block that sender and stop worrying about him/her.

Agree... no need to reply to any scam-looking messages.

That said, I can see how it would be unnerving. On the other hand, the sender probably sent out numerous similar messages - usually with a 'hello' or 'hi,' but not addressed to you personally - so for them it's kind of "chuck enough at the fan and see what sticks"

If I get one in my email inbox, I check the source (usually right-click, 'view-source') and check the junk in the underlying contents - often it's fairly wild - then it's straight to the spam folder.

Sometimes these folk hide invisible graphics within the text, because they can get a notification that the graphic was downloaded and hence you read the email - which is why spam filters often give you a warning message about "not downloading the pictures."

I hope that helps a bit.

Some novice authors actively, and sometimes aggressively, post requests for reviews. The solicitations often include an offer of a free book or reciprocal review. This sets them up to be taken advantage of by social media predators.

Books, literary classes, lectures, and articles in literary periodicals written or conducted by well-known, commercially successful authors, editors, and publishers all stress that, with few exceptions, sales drive reviews, not the other way around.

Focus upon striving to continuously improve upon technical writing, promotion, and marketing knowledge and skills, then sales will usually increase. Reviews will follow. Avoid seeking, accessing, and/or responding to correspondence, advice, and offers to review or promote your work from those with no established notoriety or commercial success. They seldom possess any more knowledge or experience than you. If someone truly wishes to post a review of your book, they will purchase a copy.

Jim wrote: "Some novice authors actively, and sometimes aggressively, post requests for reviews. The solicitations often include an offer of a free book or reciprocal review. This sets them up to be taken adva..."
Once again, you seem to not be able to understand that these messages have nothing to do with authors soliciting anything. These are unsolicited spamming. Every time you post your redundant advice, you blame the author. Do you know what SPAM is? I'm sure in the multiple classes you seem to have taken they explained it to you. Most of us probably have as much, if not more experience in publishing as you, since you seem to have published only once, 10 years ago. Perhaps that's the problem. You simply have not kept up with the issues currently publishing authors are encountering. The fault lies with GR. They are to blame for allowing this to continue. If you ever choose to publish again, you will see how vulnerable GR makes their authors. Until then, stop blaming the authors, they are the victims here, not the perpetrators.

Thanks everyone. Great advise. Somehow, considering that this sender sent this message to numerous e-mails makes it less worrying. I was worried that the the next one would be darker?? I read/watch too many thrillers (not LOL). I am definitely not going to reply (to any of these questionable e-mails), and will send these e-mails straight to the spam folder where they belong. Thank you.

I also received a message form this account, but with a different name.

Mary Jane Anderson
7:56 AM (1 hour ago)
to bcc: me

Hi,

My name is Mary Jane. I have been reviewing, beta reading and editing books for a long time. I have got several testimonials from happy authors. If you want to hire a professional for any of these services, you can connect with me.

Regards,
Mary Jane


MK wrote: "I received this today via a message from someone not on my friends list and their account is private.

Totally unsolicited.

Sure I want reviews for my first book. But I am not going to send a co..."

My first novel was posted for free on a pirate website and I'm pretty sure it was because I replied to one of these. DON'T DO IT! They are relentless and so common that I have directed all emails coming from the @gmail.com domain into Junk. I advise you to do the same.

I've been getting the "Mary Jane" messages on a pretty regular basis over the last month. The last name has changed twice.

Be careful. These people are good at stealing your work. View any unsolicited message/email offering reviews with skepticism.

Mark wrote: "I also received a message form this account, but with a different name.

Mary Jane Anderson
7:56 AM (1 hour ago)
to bcc: me

Hi,

My name is Mary Jane. I have been reviewing, beta reading and edit..."

Hello everyone. I recently received this comment from someone named Sheila Martinez on both my second latest Goodreads blog post and my "Ask The Author" section:

WARNING:STOP ALL YOUR PROMOTIONS ON GOODREADS IMMEDIATELY! WE HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR BOOK Kenji and Yuki. WE GIVE 24 HOURS TO VANISH. IF YOU DON'T STOP, WE WILL RE-PUBLISH IT USING AI TECHNOLOGY. INSTEAD OF YOUR NAME, YOUR BOOK WILL BE 'AUTHORED' BY ONE OF US. AN EXACT REPLICA OF YOUR BOOK WILL BE SELLING ON AMAZON UNDER OUR NAMES AND YOU WON'T LIKE IT! AMAZON CANNOT DETECT THIS TECHNOLOGY YET AND YOUR LAWS CAN'T HARM US!

I suspect that it may be a bot, as there's two copies of the comment on each of the places I mentioned and I reported both instances of the comment. Now I'm just waiting to see what happens.

Anyone else have this experience?

Yes Hailey. I have been sent the same message 6 times one after other.

Loretta wrote: "Yes Hailey. I have been sent the same message 6 times one after other."

Thank you for sharing your experience, Loretta. If you don't mind me asking, would you happen to know if anything described in the messages you received actually occurred?

To Loretta Lynn & Hailey Sawyer - same exact thing happened to me. I told Admin. at GR & blocked the senders. No other issues experienced. Thank God.

M. wrote: "To Loretta Lynn & Hailey Sawyer - same exact thing happened to me. I told Admin. at GR & blocked the senders. No other issues experienced. Thank God."

Thank you for your advice, M. I'm happy to announce that while nothing that was mentioned in the last comment has come to fruition (and how the comment and its copies that I've reported have been removed), I just received similar comments on a status update for a book I'm reading called Raiders of The Lost Heart.

The first type of comment was posted five times by someone named Eileen and goes: "SHOVE YOUR HEAD INSIDE COWDUNG AND DIE Hailey. *BEGGARS* AREN'T ALLOWED HERE. WE'LL ALLOW ONLY THOSE WHO *PAY* US! IF YOU DON'T STOP PROMOTIONS WE'LL STEAL YOUR BOOK FROM AMAZON, USE ITS PAGES AS TOILET PAPER AND SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. WE'LL ALSO DOWNRATE YOUR BOOK ON AMAZON. TO HELL WITH YOU AND YOUR REPUTATION IF YOU ARE NOT BUYING US DINNERS AND DRINKS EVERY NIGHT. YOU WILL BE A ZERO AFTER OUR SMEAR CAMPAIGN!

The second type of comment was posted twice by someone named David and goes: "LET ME SEND YOUR DETAILS TO ALL THE CRIMINALS IN YOUR AREA SO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY GETS *ROBBED AND CHOPPED* YOU PIECE OF SHIT. WE TOLD YOU EITHER BUY BOOK REVIEWS OR MOVE YOUR ASS FROM HERE WE WONT LET ANY BEGGAR STICK ON THIS SITE! NO ONE WILL HELP YOU HERE, THIS IS OUR PLACE! I AM GIVING YOU 24 HOURS DEADLINE TO LEAVE Hailey Sawyer, THAT IS IT!"

I took your advice and not only reported the comments, but blocked the senders as well.

Hi, I'm new here but I received at least four threats from a Ben Whittaker and a Wendy that if I didn't stop promoting my book on Good Reads then my book would vanish in 24 hours and they would reprint it with their names using AI and that Amazon had no way to detect this and "your laws can't harm us"! I reported Ben's message but unfortunately blocked Wendy's before reporting (not knowing the message would disappear). I've read some of the other messages that people have been left. These people are disgusting. I'm going to block Ben as well which I had realized that I needed to report Wendy before I blocked her. I think I'll let my publisher know about this.

I have gotten similar stuff, on my blog. Reports as harassment. Sorry this stuff happens to good folks.

I've received messages (albeit on other platforms) from Elon Musk and Nicole Kidman offering help with anything they can with my book! Apparently, they have some spare time . . . . .

In terms of the 1-star reviews this seems to be an ongoing thing, I received a few messages recently around '1* reviews on GoodReads and Amazon if you don't do XYZ' I ignored them and luckily they never followed through . . . .

Julianne wrote: "Hi, I'm new here but I received at least four threats from a Ben Whittaker and a Wendy that if I didn't stop promoting my book on Good Reads then my book would vanish in 24 hours and they would rep..."

Did you report it to Amazon too? After all the threat did concern them...

They have tried that with me, but they have failed to take into consideration, (1) that since my book has been registered with the US Government and has been issued a registration number, it can hurt them (2) Threats, even email threats can be traced back, provided you have a good attorney. I have also made some blog posts regarding this, but I would hope that Goodreads would start being proactive as this gives new authors pause to post their books here.