Brian. Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I listen to a lot of podcasts and one of them recently had an interview with a writer from thehustle.co about how the Kindle marketplace can be gamed. They claim to be making vast amounts of money abusing the system and there is a 3 part write up on their blog detailing how it's done. Here is a link for anyone interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 That's interesting, and also worrying to be honest. I think it's very dishonest to pay people to review something, it's just wrong. It shows something is wrong with the system though, if it can be exploited like this. I wouldn't know how to fix it, though. Personally, if a Kindle book has only got 5 star reviews I am worried straight away if the reviews are all actually for real. I always try to click on the lower star reviews if they exist, and see what those people have to say. I mainly read paperbooks, but on occasion I buy a Kindle book or download a free one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I can't say that I'm too surprised about this. It was in the news as few weeks back that businesses were paying people to write good reviews of their places, so why not books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 It's not just kindle books - there have been various issues about paying for reviews etc. To be honest, for various reasons, I've gotten to the point where I don't trust most reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I've gotten to the point where I don't trust most reviews. Same here, especially those on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Sadly I don't trust many blog reviews either - knowing how keen many bloggers are to keep the authors and publishers happy :-/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Faversham Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I feel the same way as I see much forum traffic (not on here, of course) where writers are swapping reviews or asking where they can buy them. How can they do that! That link made me hopping mad for all sorts of reasons, not just the reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 That's why I'm forever trying to get people to see how good books forums like ours can be. Yes, a few of us get given review books (I actually trust the ones from here, and hope I do a fair job myself), but the vast majority read, review and discuss their own books, with no agenda. It's a great place to get real reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 I echo the sentiments of people here, I generally don't put too much credence in reviews on Amazon or Goodreads. It is a bit tricky when I am trying to find what book is the best in a given non-fiction niche and there aren't many reviews. That is one of the reasons why I still really like actual bookshops even though I love the convienience of the Kindle store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Faversham Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 (edited) With Kindle books, if I don't know the author, I always read the blurb thoroughly and look for bad grammar or spelling, or the use of too many superlatives to describe something. Then I'll glance at the reviews as sometimes they give a good indication of the type of reader who has enjoyed the book. Reviews say as much about the reviewer as they do about the writer of the book! Sometimes it is obvious that the reviewer has chosen poorly for their personal taste.And others look like someone's mum or dad! None of my family has given my books a written review. Grr.... but at least I can truly say the reviews are 100% genuine, no relations, no money changing hands, no swapsies. And, most importantly, I always take a look at the 'Look Inside' feature because it gives me a chance to evaluate the writer's style. It is such a useful tool to help a reader decide. Thanks for the link, Brian, and I can see from that article that it must be extremely difficult to evaluate non fiction - that man and his whole array of self-help books on the same topic, just rearranging the words and titles - well my blood boiled. Edited August 5, 2015 by Anna Faversham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sky29 Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 I must say I like the story. Not surprised about anything any more...He suggested good website fiverr, good to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirley Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 To be fair I don't bother to read reviews on books, I read the synopsis on the back of the book and make my mind up that way. Since I have joined this book forum I take note of the books you guys read and I have found a few new authors I would not normally have taken note of. Keep up the good work on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sakura Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 Eh, you don't need to pay people to give good reviews, more often then not you just need to give out review copies. I'm in a few communities where you can win books for a review and some posts on a reading group thread. I'm very often astonished how well my fellow readers like books that I consider poor quality at best. I don't usually give too much at full point reviews either, I like to read the middle ground once, they usually give the best insight on the good and the bad points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 I do read book reviews, sometimes after I've read a book (if it's a favourite author that I've read before) but if it's a new author then I do look at reviews and hope there's a balanced bunch of reviews on there. I do occasionally get review copies either from publishers or magazines but I don't put reviews on Amazon. I read the blurb on the back of books too, but sometimes after I've read the book I think the blurb bears no relation to what happens in the actual book! A bit like film trailers which only show the best bits.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sky29 Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 I believe that on Amazon 5 stars are given by friends and family while 1 star is given by the the competitors. Realistic review goes from 2-4. When it comes to books, I read reviews as its easy to spot genuine review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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