tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920432050136375547.post4631571515260093824..comments2023-10-18T02:37:14.640-07:00Comments on Karen Duvall: Would you pay someone to review your book?Karen Duvallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839711547501582977noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920432050136375547.post-38838679400898627632013-02-03T07:53:12.133-08:002013-02-03T07:53:12.133-08:00Because getting reviews/ratings is like pulling te...Because getting reviews/ratings is like pulling teeth.For every 100 books you sell (some say 1000), you are lucky to get one review. Personally, I've asked all my friends to rate my fledgling book and have only gotten 2. Amazon has now removed "tags" which used to be helpful. Now they won't let you swap reviews with a friend, as in I buy your book and review it; you buy my book and review it. As long as each of us is honest, I think this is okay, but Amazon doesn't and will remove the reviews. Yes, I can see where people are desperate enough for reviews to pay for them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920432050136375547.post-3591865218565179242012-06-13T17:34:43.229-07:002012-06-13T17:34:43.229-07:00Great subject for a blog post, Karen! Personally, ...Great subject for a blog post, Karen! Personally, I have enjoyed a few e-books with good stories and numerous errors. I'll leave a positive review and note the errors. $5 reviewers won't be picking apart your mistakes in their comments.<br /><br />There are a few e-book authors out there who have obviously used fiverr.<br />Hint: read the sample pages. Five-star reviews combined with primary-school grammar would be a <b>big</b> clue...Daven Andersonhttp://vampiresyndrome.me/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920432050136375547.post-45881699379198797312012-06-13T08:57:15.647-07:002012-06-13T08:57:15.647-07:00A.J., I agree, word of mouth is the best way to ga...A.J., I agree, word of mouth is the best way to garner attention for your book. Some reviews carry more weight than others, like Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, and Library Review. Other review sources are more questionable, like Romantic Times. I think we all have our favorite sources for reviews that we trust. :)Karen Duvallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01839711547501582977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920432050136375547.post-5615772850648277952012-06-13T08:54:19.083-07:002012-06-13T08:54:19.083-07:00Hey, Melia! Thanks for stopping by. I'm not a ...Hey, Melia! Thanks for stopping by. I'm not a hundred percent positive this author paid for her reviews, but it looks that way. So if she didn't, great! If she did? Well...Karen Duvallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01839711547501582977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920432050136375547.post-83779130020282656432012-06-13T08:53:01.823-07:002012-06-13T08:53:01.823-07:00Lori, I'm don't agree that bad reviews are...Lori, I'm don't agree that bad reviews are always trustworthy. Reviews are subjective opinions of readers, so what one person may not like could be amazing to someone else. If reviews point out technical errors like misspellings and poor grammar, that's different because it's not a subjective judgment, it's a fact.Karen Duvallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01839711547501582977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920432050136375547.post-60800564289103764542012-06-13T07:30:27.118-07:002012-06-13T07:30:27.118-07:00Great post. I just blogged about this, too, becau...Great post. I just blogged about this, too, because grammatical errors and usage errors drive me crazy no matter how engaging the plot is. And paying for Amazon reviews really undercuts discoverability in this new publishing world of ours. Maybe good old word-of-mouth from trusted friends is the only way to go.A. J. Larrieuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13880636157146909387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920432050136375547.post-52078051317830837962012-06-13T05:06:42.661-07:002012-06-13T05:06:42.661-07:00I have often found myself lately avoiding to read ...I have often found myself lately avoiding to read the "glowing" reviews. I go directly for the bad ones and decide from there if the faults of the book are something I can live with or not. The bad reviews will almost always be trustworthy.Lorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17708851895104018255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920432050136375547.post-37213109881631438542012-06-12T20:29:12.202-07:002012-06-12T20:29:12.202-07:00Nope -- I'm too cheap! Seriously, that kind o...Nope -- I'm too cheap! Seriously, that kind of thing wouldn't have ever occurred to me. I'm curious how the author justifies it.<br /><br />Great blog, Karen!<br /><br />-MeliaUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01430150523355230062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920432050136375547.post-62474888980919356682012-06-12T13:18:44.117-07:002012-06-12T13:18:44.117-07:00Boggles the mind, yes, Margaret. It's often--b...Boggles the mind, yes, Margaret. It's often--but obviously not always--the self-pubbed books that are guilty of overlooking the importance of editing, or at the very least, proofreading. My 12-year-old grandson could have spotted these errors, so I don't know what this author's excuse was. Laziness? <br /><br />Thanks, Lisa! And Fiverr.com offers more than just book reviews. If you have $5 to spend, they have the labor force to put out for ya. Ha! :)Karen Duvallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01839711547501582977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920432050136375547.post-19027685871959487122012-06-12T12:47:18.272-07:002012-06-12T12:47:18.272-07:00Wow! I've always heard rumors, but there'...Wow! I've always heard rumors, but there's an actual website to buy reviews??? Uck!!!<br /><br />No I would never pay someone to review my book. not only does it seem deceptive, but as an author it would diminish the reviews from readers who really did enjoy it...<br /><br />Great blog!<br /><br />LisaLisa Kesslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06209324744019368067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920432050136375547.post-44406576459090837732012-06-12T12:29:15.629-07:002012-06-12T12:29:15.629-07:00Paying for a review? Icky!
Luckily, people who ar...Paying for a review? Icky!<br /><br />Luckily, people who are heavy readers are aware of these kinds of shennanigans. We can almost always spot this kind of thing, and one look at the sample pages says it all. <br /><br />Five grammar errors on one page? It boggles the mind.Margaret Yanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464624057491288244noreply@blogger.com