Thoughts on obtaining reviews

[ndmellen]

Reviews are important; we all know this. Your best friend Billy from down the street won't do... you need "known" names... I understand that there is a fee for most of them- Kirkus, Corion, SFF- but what's the best option? Have any of you bought your reviews, and if so, was it worth it? What was your experience?

 

[CupofJoe]

I might be waaaaay of the map here... but a review that you've paid for would be an ethically grey area for me.
How would a reader know to trust the review if it was a good one but had been paid for?
If it was a bad review, did the author not pay enough?
Too many bad reviews and the reviewer is going to see their livelihood find someone else to bribe, I mean pay...
I can understand sending a reviewer a freebie copy to read, but do you slip a hand full of notes in the cover or a PayPal address in an email with "It'll be worth your while to click here..."
At work we aren't allowed to buy/share meals for people without declaring an "interest".
On a sideways note a local Author is running a "Getting the most out of Social Media Marketing" course and the centrepiece of the course is how to market his new book. I think that is wonderful cross-market integration... getting other people to do it for you...

 

[TWErvin2]

I've never bought any reviews. I am not sure that's such a solid thing to do, although I am sure it happens.

I've had my novels reviewed by some book review blogs. It's important to try to match up your work with what the bloggers/reviewers tend to enjoy. And most reviewers are inundated with requests, so getting your work considered is anything but a sure thing. All you can do is try, remembering most of the reviewers have lives too. I've been fortunate that most of the reviewers overall have enjoyed my works.

My publisher has helped some in this area and also provided some review copies.

As far as reviews on Goodreads or Amazon or the like, about 90% are from folks I have no idea who they are. Readers who decided to post. Again, most have been good, but not all. Sometimes a bad review can really break sales momentum, more than a positive one, but that's just the way it goes. Part of the business.

 

[PaulineMRoss]

I only know of one author who bought a Kirkus review, but I don't think it helped particularly. For those who don't know, Kirkus and the like are the respectable end of paid reviews, giving an author the cachet of mixing it with the big boys (at a price; they're expensive). At the other end of the spectrum are the people who post reviews on Amazon for $5.

Frankly, I think you're better off saving your money, and getting reviews the traditional way: by giving out free copies and hoping.

 

[acapes]

I agree with Pauline - don't buy 'em, do free copies, approach book bloggers directly, try goodreads or library thing giveaways etc

 

[Kevin O. McLaughlin]

Paying for reviews IS an ethical grey area. Understand: it's industry standard for major US publishers. Almost every imprint from almost every major US publishing company buys reviews. It's business as normal. Beyond things like Kirkus, they also pay PR companies to get them a whole bunch of reviews on books, posted to Amazon, Goodreads, and other important sites. They pay Amazon's Vine program a LOT of money to get reviews up on new books.

But among indie writers - it's seen as a Really Bad Thing To Do. John Locke was publicly castigated for buying reviews, when all he did was the same thing Macmillan does for most of their big releases.

Buying a "five star review" - i.e. paying for GOOD reviews - is ethically black, not grey. But again, if a PR company fails to get mostly good reviews for the thousands of dollars Macmillan pays them, how likely is Macmillan to do business with them in the future? That's why paid reviews are problematic even if the intent is good - because when someone's living depends on your paying them for reviews, they're going to be inclined to give you good reviews.

But the good news is, every review counts about the same.

The important places to have reviews are: Amazon, Goodreads, B&N, Kobo, and Apple. In about that order. And on those sites, the reviews your mom, brother, best friend, and co-worker put up are JUST as good as the ones anyone else put up. So ask people. Ask EVERYONE. Ask for reviews. Offer free copies for reviews. Ask for help. I've reviewed books for people who've given me a free copy. I've asked people to do so for me.

Ask for help. People are often willing to give it.

 

[FarmerBrown]

I'm in the learning process, but so far I've learned what the others above have stated: basically, paying for reviews is not worth your money (often hundreds of dollars) or the risk that comes with paying someone for their thoughts. The toughest thing to swallow has been that it takes TIME, and there's very little you can do if you're the only one actively trying to get reviews for your book (like me and most self-published authors). Here's what you can do:

1) Try giveaways on Goodreads and Librarything (as well as others). I gave away ten copies of one book and got 5 reviews out of that, and two posted their reviews to Amazon (which you can ask them to do if you feel comfortable). I also gave away 4 copies of another book and got 1 rating out of that so far. So, it can work but it might not.
2) Query bloggers for reviews. There are a few places you can look for reviews: Book Review Yellow Pages and The Book Blogger List are two off the top of my head. Be respectful of their time and pay attention to their submission guidelines. Many will only review specific genres and can only accept specific files for ebooks, or they may request a print copy. They shouldn't ask for compensation for their reviews, just a complimentary copy.
3) I agree with asking everyone for reviews (you never know!), but keep in mind that if all you have is gushingly positive reviews from relatives and friends, it can also look bad.

As I said, I'm still learning! I went into this thinking I was armed with all the information I needed, but I was sorely mistaken. It's a HUGE learning curve for someone with no experience, and if you can't work at it full-time (most of us can't), it's super easy to get overwhelmed and feel like you'll never get anywhere. Time is your friend, not your enemy, so the best thing is to work on getting reviews when you can and let time handle the rest. There's a great post somewhere on this forum about getting reviews, just search for it and you'll find it!

I'd be willing to do a review swap if there is mutual interest in the content of our books ;-)

 

[Caged Maiden]

Okay, reviews aren't really where I'm at right now, but they're something I read about and know a little about from the other authors I work with, who are gaining reviews right now.

Paying for reviews is definitely frowned upon. Also, there's a difference (to my understanding) with a validated purchaser's review, and someone's review who got a free copy. Many reviews say at the bottom (I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review). Qualified reviews (from readers who selected your book from the pile and read it through, and decided to leave comments) are the best as far as value. That's what T.W. mentioned. That he doesn't know most of the people who rate him on amazon. And that's the way it should be.

It's easy to tell someone had their mom and all her friends write a shiny review. I mean, I opened a book one time that was so awful, I think I threw up in my mouth twice on the first page. It was so bad, I wish I could delete the experience from my mind (it isn't bad enough I can't remember the title or author, or even the subject matter). It was terrible beyond terrible, yet it had seven five star ratings. And those reviews were so vague, it wasn't even concealed that those people hadn't read the book. Okay, maybe one, because she talked about plot. But the rest just said things like: "A really good book. The author created a rich story that drew me in from the first page." OR "A character I could immediately relate to and I couldn't wait to see where his journey took him." That kind of stuff is just a huge red flag.

On another thread, I posted a link to the Iron Tower trilogy, and I briefly read some reviews while getting the link to post here. HA! For a book written in 1984, that pretty much rips off LOTR down to the smallest details, and the only major difference is that he did what Tolkein did but without the epicness...the book still gets more than 3 stars average on Amazon, and tons of folks have read it. I think reviews benefit an author, even if some are bad. You can't please everyone, but the real things real readers say, will intrigue more people than they put off.

 

[Philip Overby]

I'll take a look at this from a reader's perspective and as someone who mostly buys books for a Kindle on Amazon. (meaning I may represent a large swath of the reading public in that regard)

When I see a book that has, say, 15 glowing reviews that are about one or two sentences long, that screams "shill review" to me. Sure, people probably ask friends and family to review their books, but it's probably not the best idea if those are the only reviews you have.

If a book has paid reviews, it doesn't necessarily turn me off, but it makes me wonder why this book has paid reviews.

When I see a book that has a good number of 5 stars, a good number of 4 stars, and then it trails off to 3, 2, and 1 stars, that tends to be a pretty balanced, well-done book. I'm of the belief that most good books piss someone off and the more opinions you have about your book, the better.

If I see a book that has a large number of 1 star reviews, I usually think:

a. This person insulted a reviewer and/or a famous author (i.e. J.K. Rowling)
b. The publisher is charging a ridiculous price (like the old 9.99 protest reviews)
c. The formatting sucks on an e-book and people are voting it down for that sole reason (which I saw on some edition of Lord of the Rings)

For me, as a reader, I usually sample from each starred review. If it sounds like something I want to read, then I'll download the sample. That's pretty much my process when it comes to solely relying on reviews. I usually don't look at a novel unless I hear good things about it from some reputable source or if it's recommended by a friend. But once I'm looking at it, the reviews are probably the third or fourth thing I consider, although I do consider them important. (blurb, cover art, and sample come ahead of reviews for me)