If Buying Book Reviews Be the Food of Sales, Pay On

Posted on November 13, 2013

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A previous job I had involved assisting clients with their web site in terms of SEO (or Search Engine Optimization). This essentially means that if they were a local business focused on a specific product or service, I made suggestions and rewrote parts of their site using specific keywords so that the search engines would pick those changes up and improve their rankings based on what users typed into Google. These were organic changes and acceptable per the search engines. However, there is a dark side to what businesses will sometimes do called paid links and J.C. Penney was caught using the practice. It’s frowned upon and J.C. Penney got into trouble for it. Big trouble. I bring this up as an introduction because something else has been making news again lately, only in my profession; paid book reviews.

Unlike paid links, which are fairly easy to spot, paid book reviews are not. I know. I’ve been looking for them over the past couple of days. And it seems that when the subject comes up, the first thing fans of any author ask is “Is there really such thing as a paid review?” because they absolutely cannot believe that their favorite author would ever indulge in such a thing.

The answer is yes, paid book reviews do exist. The New York Times broke the story last year and opinions about whether they’re a good thing or not have been wide and varied.

The second question that arises is why would an author pay for a book review? It makes most sense when looking at it in terms of potential sales on a site like Amazon. Erik Wecks of Lit Reactor offers the best explanation: “Amazon’s crowd-sourced system for choosing which books are rated the highest on their site, and therefore receive the most visibility in their rankings, works on the same principles used by Youtube. Those books with the best ratings and best sales get the most recommendations in the Amazon engine. This in turn produces more sales and more rankings.”

So, the more five star reviews one has, the better chance of a sale and the more sales combined with a five star review, the higher one rises in the rankings. Makes sense, right?

Are paid reviewers easy to find? Again, yes. The first site that came to mind when I was discussing this with friends is fiverr and, sure enough, someone had written a story about their experience with hiring someone on fiverr to review their work. And there are others. These reviews are real. They happen. And the reviews themselves may look and sound just like any other review out there. How do we tell them apart? We really can’t. However, Pete Morin left a comment on a story about paid reviews suggesting these reviews should include a disclaimer along the lines of “The author paid a fee for this book review.” It’s an interesting thought and would really depend on the honor system. Would authors and/or reviewers really be honest about it? I honestly don’t know.

Now, who would care if authors are paying for reviews? Other authors, right? Well, other authors who happen to write in the same genre and are competing for rankings and sales. Through buying links, J.C. Penney was in the top searches for keywords they had no business ranking for, which took away from the competition. Not exactly fair, is it? The same applies here. If an author is paying for book reviews while other authors in their genre are acquiring their reviews organically, that author paying for reviews is creating an imbalance in their favor. Again, it’s not exactly fair, is it?

Things get really sticky when wondering about who may be using this practice. I had the displeasure of reading through comments on a Facebook post last Tuesday about this very thing. Several blog posts have gone live this week and while no new author names were shared/dropped/mentioned, much offense was taken anyway. I didn’t realize just how much offense until a friend on Facebook asked me Wednesday morning if I saw Kindle Alexander’s page and a post she wrote in response to one of the blogs. Kindle took exception.

Before I go any further, let me make a few things very clear. 1) I have never met Kindle Alexander. 2) I’ve never read Kindle Alexander. 3) She writes in the GLBT genre, but is considered a romance author versus the sub-genre I write in. 4) Since we are not in the same sub-genre, I do not consider myself to be in a position of competition with her. I’m saying these things because I have no bone to pick with her, no axe to grind, and have nothing to gain in bringing her up at this point in the discussion since she put herself in the center of the conversation with her response on Facebook.

That being said, after reading through the aforementioned post on Kindle’s Facebook page, it got me wondering. Her name was never called out in the blog posts, but there appeared to be a general assumption by readers that she was the one being discussed. So I looked her up on Amazon to see for myself if any red flags came up.

Of her six novels listed on her author page, three have over 100 reviews (145, 144 and 138) while the others have 64, 4 or 0 as of this writing. The three books with the larger number of reviews were all published this year (2013). Does seeing this raise an eyebrow? Yes. Why?

I chose a few well-known names in the industry and looked at the highest number of reviews they have for a novel, then the one below it: Amy Lane (103 reviews is her largest number for Vulnerable, which was published in 2005, then the numbers drop below 75), Damon Suede (182 reviews for Hot Head, then the number drops to 25 and below), Josh Lanyon (86 reviews for Fair Game, then the number dips to 79 and below), Andrew Grey (45 reviews for Love Means… No Shame, then goes lower), Mary Calmes (39 for Acrobat, then below that), and Z. A. Maxfield (58 for Crossing Borders, then 30 and below).

Does this indicate anything definitive? No, but it does strike me odd that authors who are far better known, have many more works available and been doing this many more years have a lower number of reviews, sometimes considerably fewer. Does this mean these other authors have been lax in their professional life? Does it mean they don’t promote as heavily? I don’t know.

Here’s a further breakdown of Kindle’s numbers for 5 and 4 star reviews: Double Full (5 Stars-118, 4 Stars-18, Total for Both-136), The Current Between Us (5 Stars-106, 4 Stars-21, Total for Both-127), and Texas Pride (5 Stars-100, 4 Stars-24, Total for Both-124).

I’m also struck by how close the total number is combining the 4 and 5 star reviews for each book. But, again, does it indicate anything definitive? No. And again, I’m not accusing anybody of anything. I’m simply looking at what’s there in front of me.

Now, for any of you crying foul here—and some of you will based on the responses I saw on Facebook—you are more than welcome to scrutinize my own numbers here. I don’t have that many, but I’m not ashamed of the ones I do have.

It’s entirely possible that Kindle Alexander is doing things bigger and better than any of the other authors I know, including my own efforts. If that’s the case, she’s got some things to teach us and I for one would love to learn from her because I’d love to get the kinds of reviews she is and in that quantity. On the other hand, if things aren’t on the up and up—and I mean for anyone buying reviews—it will eventually come out.

Your thoughts?

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Kristoffer Gair (who formerly wrote under the pseudonym Kage Alan) is the Detroit-based author of Honor Unbound, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To My Sexual Orientation, Andy Stevenson Vs. The Lord Of The Loins, Gaylias: Operation Thunderspell, several short stories featured in anthologies (to be combined in a forthcoming book), the recently re-published novella Falling Awake, its sequel, Falling Awake II: Revenant and Falling Awake III: Requiem.

67 Responses to “If Buying Book Reviews Be the Food of Sales, Pay On”

Joelle Casteel says:
November 13, 2013 at 9:38 am
I talked with Patricia Logan a bunch about this topic, after having only half read any of the Facebook chatter. Read GA’s note, Patti’s on the topic, now yours. And while I can’t bring myself to do the research you did- thanks for doing it btw- it does make me pause. As I said to my BR chatting about this: “I’ve read almost a dozen of her [Patti] books now and reviewed each other them after having read the book at least once and loved them all. Then I sat down and wrote a minimum of 200 words in review, being open about the fact that I was a big fan, not an objective reviewer.” So from that perspective, the notion of an author buying a review offends me. Then I think of my own struggle to get any reviews- I hope I’ve learned enough that when I re-release my book that it goes better the second time around. I wound up with a rather harsh review on Amazon because someone in a review group who didn’t understand BDSM took the time to review it. Don’t you think I would have loved to pay for 5 star reviews to push that crummy thing down? Well I didn’t because I didn’t think that was right.

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Kris says:
November 13, 2013 at 10:30 am
I understand the business behind it, but I disagree with the practice of it.

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Dorien says:
November 13, 2013 at 9:54 am
A most interesting topic, Kris! The figures you quote on the number of reviews received by some authors amaze me, and I would give anything (short of paying) to have anywhere close to those numbers. The seeking of reviews is one of the many banes of an author’s…well, this author’s…existence. At one point, early in my career, one reviewer asked for $10, and I paid it, though I felt guilty about it.

Perhaps, if I had a lot of money, I might rethink the ethics involved in answering the question of which is more important: selling books by any means or simply sitting back and waiting for reviewers…and buyers…to come to me. As Yul Brynner says in “The King and I,” “’tis a puzzlement.”

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Kris says:
November 13, 2013 at 10:33 am
There were some additional trends with the numbers, but it felt like overkill. I didn’t write the post to put anybody on the defensive. I did, however, present how a perception could exist.

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amelia bishop says:
November 13, 2013 at 9:55 am
I have heard that you can “expect” about one review per 100 sales, as a general rule. This number drops for erotica and bdsm genres, and increases for romance. I’m not sure how true this is for other authors, but I’ve found it fairly accurate for my own titles.

It might be that the books with lots of reviews simply had lots of sales, and in a genre (romance) where readers are more likely to review?

Personally, I feel like I have enough to worry about. I (like you) have read a lot of blogs lately and heard/seen the facebook chat about this. And honestly, I just can’t deal. I am so so bad at marketing, and I can barely make the minimum effort required to promote my own books, let alone buy reviews or worry about what other writers are doing.

I’m not cut out for this, Kris!!

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Kris says:
November 13, 2013 at 10:36 am
I do quite a bit of promo, but I know I can do more. Am having a difficult enough time juggling what promo I do have time for with my dad’s Alzheimer’s. I feel your struggle, Amelia.

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Ally Blue says:
November 13, 2013 at 11:28 am
That’s interesting, for sure. I figure more popular authors are going to naturally gather a lot more reviews, and I’ve always chalked up my lack of reviews to that. I guess if paying for reviews is what it takes to get them and the sales that might follow, I’ll just be happy in my poverty LOL

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G. A. Hauser says:
November 13, 2013 at 12:21 pm
Thanks, Kris, for writing up what you have discovered. I guess the red flags are a concern for most of us who, like the above comments, value each review very much and appreciate those readers who actually take the time to do it. It’s evident that there is no need for large inflated numbers to succeed. Here are the numbers of reviews for the top ten MM authors on amazon last I checked.

#1-18 reviews, #2-56, #3-8, #4-3, #5-42 ,#6-3, #7-3, #8-9, #10-1

no red flags there…. just good writing and loyal readers.
xx-kris

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Katherine Trick says:
November 13, 2013 at 12:50 pm
It just doesn’t sit well with me as an honest thing to do. If I read a book and like it, then I do the author a service by reviewing it. I look at it as my way of paying back a little for the great entertainment they gave me. Kind of along the lines of the “Pay it forward” concept. Buying a review just seems a little dishonest (kind of like athletes who take performance enhancing drugs). It makes for an uneven playing field. Plus, I, as a reader, feel duped. Paid reviews aren’t necessarily true. What if the book is really crap? All the fake 5 star reviews would make me feel cheated. Just my 2 cents on that subject.

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Patricia Logan says:
November 13, 2013 at 2:02 pm
I tell you what. This is beautifully written and researched. When my blog went live on Tuesday, following the blog that GA Hauser wrote the day before, I was stunned by how many people turned out to quite frankly, spit on me. Though I made no mention of an author or two, deliberately, to protect the author’s anonymity, thus their career, it was assumed that I was speaking of a particular author, Kindle Alexander. She immediately began to write on her own page about it and I was so disturbed that I unfriended and blocked her. I was getting enough grief on my OWN thread, I certainly didn’t need to read the vitriol and hatred coming from her admirers on her page as well. Finally at almost three hundred comments, I took the thread down. It was beginning to get under my skin and my friend’s skin. It was enough. Sheesh. All I wanted to point out, as referenced in the two links that I posted, was that there is a practice (shoddy though it may be) of buying reviews. Look, I’ve been published three years and a few months. The book with the greatest amount of reviews is “Silver Ties” which was released in January 2013. I know they are genuine and “organic” as you say, because I either recognize the authors of the review as a fan/reader or because the reference certain scenes in the book which were not contained in the blurb. Many of the comments on my blog were of this nature… “I don’t give content away when writing reviews… or provide spoilers, so you wouldn’t be able to tell from my review if I’d written from the blurb or not.” What, excuse my French, BULLSHIT! I’ve written many many reviews, going on about how I loved a particular scene or how the author described the MC’s much to my delight. I WANT the author to know how much I loved the book and that’s important to me. Whatever (my mother says that’s another word in place of a swear word or two). No matter what I say about this, the crap will blow back in my face but I am prepared for it, as well as all the bad reviews that I’m sure will turn up now. I’m still confident in my readers and I am even more confident in my friends that edify me every day. Thank you, Mr. Gair for a well thought out post.

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Kiernan Kelly says:
November 13, 2013 at 3:51 pm
Am I the only one who remembers the kerfluffle a year or two ago when the FTC revised its rules and forced review sites to post a disclaimer about receiving money for reviews? How is paying for a review any different? These reviews, while perfectly legal, should contain a sentence that provides they were paid for.

Hell, even political commercials are forced to admit they were paid for by this or that agency.

To do otherwise reeks of duplicity.

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Princess SO says:
November 13, 2013 at 4:09 pm
Thank you for all the time and effort you put into this, I think its a good thing that we each share our views on the matter of shady practices, in this case its buying and displaying false advertisement. Each blog I have seen go up has had new information, new research to point out, so that readers and authors alike can be informed without having to do their own. Dick Tracy. {of course if Dick is cute by all means do him anyways but for the fun of it}
One commenter that was among the tongue lashers on Patti’s wall a few days ago in the hot debate over her blog, commented {paraphrasing} “Anyone can go to the link that was shared for the top sellers list, count the reviews and deduct that Patti were talking about Kindle Alexander.”

What an awkward thing to say, he got curious, did some investigative looking, came to HIS OWN conclusion and called out what HE thought was the answer, but then set the blame of name calling on the two people who mentioned no names at all.

I suppose he was just so startled and dismayed that an author he enjoys to read personally would be ‘suspect’ and of course its easier to throw tomatoes in the same direction as the rest of the crowd.

I lost a new found friend over this, I stood against the current to stand up for what I believe in, and that friend watched as I and Patti and GA got pummeled by people hell bent to defend someone who was never pointed at and the friend stood silently as the attack continued on. I know standing up to bullies isnt easy, its a frightening at times, so I don’t hold ill will for that person, but I feel sad I lost a friend when I just met them.

Still, if one is to be honest in their own examination and comparisons of the number of 4 & 5 star reviews of ANY first or second year author against the numbers of some of the bigger names that have 30+ titles {that have also been best sellers in their own time} …. there a wavering validity when the new kids have not just a few more but considerably more, it also just furthers suspicion when the collection of reviews are not mixed 1-5 {its a hard fact of any author – we can not win all the fans}; and further {though I am force the point here and deboggling my flow now with this, but}, if an author is so confident that their work deserves and obtained all their 4′s & 5′s by good old fashion honest days work, then why stoop down and attack people who didn’t like the book and decided to be the only one there who posted a 1 star. The attacks are just as horrid on reviews as they are on facebook pages and blogs.

It is a form of out right BULLYING to put the scare into readers that they CANNOT have an honest opinion about your book. SHAME SHAME>

KRIS THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! For your time, your observations and your thoughts.

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Kiernan Kelly says:
November 13, 2013 at 6:18 pm
I wish I’d known about it. This Kindle person is under my radar. Until today, I’d never heard of her – which may be exactly the reason for her fanning the flames, as it were. Bad publicity is, after all, still publicity. She’s got people talking about her, whether it was Patty’s intention or not. That’s sort of a nefarious genius.

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kindle Alexander says:
November 13, 2013 at 4:45 pm
Hi there,

We’ve read your blog and it’s shared on our page. We are happy to talk to you about our efforts in Marketing. We can’t believe we are trailblazer at all, but we welcome the opportunity to talk to you about what we’re doing at anytime. We share with anyone who ask. For Double Full we were lucky enough to get 70 blogs to participate in a blog tour. To date 90 blogs have reviewed Double Full. We worked very hard to build that blog tour. We’ve also been blessed with some of the best people in the world through social media. We don’t call our readers fans, we call them friends.

We have never one time paid for a review. Let me say this again: We’ve never one time – EVER – paid for a review.

In your numbers above, you did not include three of our books, Up in Arms has 64 reviews in which 19 are negative. Eligible Bachelor has no reviews. Blood Bonds has four reviews.

Truly any success we’ve had comes from three points, and we’ve been told many other authors don’t do this – we don’t know that to be true. Since we are past tired of the implication that our hard work must have been bought, we’ve agree to share and educate our fellow doubting authors.

1) Bloggers are a powerful group of people.
2) Please and thank you go a long way.
3) Be available to your readers.

Any author can do what we’ve done. It’s long hours and hard work – it’s more than just writing words.

And for the record, Amazon has a top rated section for each category, sub category, genre and sub genre. For gay fiction, we are not the top. We are not the only ones out there with these kinds of numbers in reviews over multiple books.

Since you all have been talking about this, our reviews and sales have spiked – significantly. All our friends are making sure they put reviews up. Thank you! See? Thank you goes a long way.

Thank you for the forum to respond. No one has given us this opportunity! We’ve been blocked from other facebook posts.

Kindle

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G. A. Hauser says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:12 pm
who is ‘we’? how many authors are you, kindle? I had no idea there were more than just one, you. I am thrilled for your success. Why don’t you join us in posting about fake reviews. Your input on this issue would be greatly appreciated. Good luck to you in the future.

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drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:19 pm
as an FYI typically post in the plural so “picking” on Ms Alexander for saying “we’ is petty. And Ms Hauser I think you have many many new readers to the genre who will NEVER read you….

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Kris says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:23 pm
Perhaps, DRM, we should step away and let them have the conversation? In addition, there are many new readers to the genre who WILL be reading Ms. Hauser. Let’s keep this above the belt, shall we?

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drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:43 pm
I am sorry if my comment was perceived as below the belt
I should clarify numerous readers have told us they will not
And if you don’t feel it is appropriate to share the feel better to delete if

Kindle Alexander says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:25 pm
GA Hauser here is part of my bio. I told you this when I first met you a few months ago:

Kindle Alexander, from my website: Usually, I try for funny. Humor is a major part of my life – I love to laugh, and it seems to be the thing I do in most situations – regardless of the situation, but jokes are a tricky deal… I don’t want to offend anyone and jokes tend to offend. So instead I’m going to tell you about Kindle.

I tragically lost my sixteen year old daughter to a drunk driver. She had just been at home, it was early in the night and I heard the accident happen. I’ll never forget that moment. The sirens were immediate and something inside me just knew. I left my house, drove straight to the accident on nothing more than instinct. I got to be there when my little girl died – weirdly, I consider that a true gift from above. She didn’t have to be alone.

That time in my life was terrible. It’s everything you think it would be times about a billion. I love that kid. I loved being her mother and I loved watching her grow into this incredibly beautiful person, both inside and out. She was such a gift to me. To have it all ripped away so suddenly broke me.

Her name was Kindle. Honest to goodness – it was her name and she died a few weeks before Amazon released their brand new Kindle ereader. She had no idea it was coming out and she would have finally gotten her name on something! Try finding a ruler with the name Kindle on it.. it never happened.

Through the course of that crippling event I was lucky enough to meet my writing partner. I would have never gotten through those dark days without her unwavering support and guidance. There wasn’t a time she wasn’t there for me. For the first time I used the hand offered. I know without question I wouldn’t be here today without her. It takes a special person to come stand beside someone at a time like that. I will love her forever. I could go on and on about both of them, but I won’t and now you know a little more About Me.

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G. A. Hauser says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:30 pm
never knew you had a partner, that’s all. no need for your buddies to get all goofy….thanks for letting me know

G. A. Hauser says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:43 pm
I’m afraid there’s only one bully here. this one.

“as an FYI typically post in the plural so “picking” on Ms Alexander for saying “we’ is petty. And Ms Hauser I think you have many many new readers to the genre who will NEVER read you….”

no one has ever said a thing like this about Kindle, ever, in any of our posts or blogs. you should be ashamed of yourself.

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drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 6:00 pm
As I said prior if I could figure out how delete that comment I would
It was said in haste

What readers tell us I should not have repeated and posted
And if I did post I should have been more clear saying numerous reader have told us

My apologies for how I worded it or truly even saying it
I would delete if I could

Maybe the admin would be so kind as to delete it for me

G. A. Hauser says:
November 13, 2013 at 6:11 pm
i too have gotten a lot of feedback from readers as well, DRM- (Behind the scenes who have said the same about Kindle.) and i have been defending all of us. Unlike some of the posts who are naming me and blaming me like you so rashly did. I am really stunned to see the venom. Kindle and i have had conversations together about this as well, in private messages, and I thought we had come to a calm understanding. I do believe things said ‘in haste’ tend to be harsh, and not well thought out. There are enough readers to go around, and again as i have said before, we should all be on the same side here. against fraud. That’s what all the blogs previously were about. – Kindle- join us in our fight to battle this kind of thing. A writer with your following would be very useful to all of us. Peace.

drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:05 pm
Ms Alexander had a “blogger” organize and run a blog tour with over 70 stops for Double Full.. each blogger put their review on Amazon
This book was mentioned as great book to reader on numerous blogs NOT a m/m read.. a great read!

Though I appreciate the sentiments of the statements above why are the only books mentioned m/m??????
It is not uncommon for a m/f read that sits in the top 100 in the paid kindle store on amazon for days to have hundreds of 4 and 5 star reviews

It is worth noting that Ms Alexander just responding speaking for the power of bloggers; this author has build relationships, reached out to blogger and yes said THANK YOU; networking like any smart business person should in any industry.

I personally think these authors should STOP looking at other authors reviews and go market there own books.
I know co-own a fairly large blog and none of the authors above never reached out to me (I did not even know who they were).
Ignore us if you chose, but do not pass judgement on an author who wants to work with us and understand the power we have, especially when many of us work together.
I personally know dozen and dozens of those readers who left Amazon reviews for Double Full as many of them came off our “Read this we Love it Recommendation”

Again it bears repeating you only looked at m/m books!!!
I know so many readers who Kindle’s book was there first m/m and they have since fallen in love with the genre; this helps all of you if you chose to grab hold but instead a few petty ones chose to attack.

Lastly using number as an indication with no proof of wrong doing is sad, and for me amounts to slander and cyberbulling!

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Kris says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:20 pm
I’m not sure if you’re addressing me or other folks who’ve commented or all of us.

If me, then I invite you to refresh your memory on the definitions of slander and cyberbullying because those have not occurred. And I will not tolerate someone arbitrarily throwing those words around in reference to me on my own blog.

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drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:47 pm
My apologies Kage I should have clarified those words were about the posts on Facebook; and the thread Ms Logan referred to
I was trying to address to much at one time

Your blog post was professional without accusing
Again I should have worried differently
My phone won’t allow me to edit

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Patricia Logan says:
November 13, 2013 at 7:07 pm
Regarding cyberbullying and slander, I was the one slandered and cyberbullied all over Kindle Alexander’s wall and my own FB thread after I wrote the blog that started all this nonsense. I was called names and had mud slung at me all day and night. I never and I will repeat NEVER called out Ms. Alexander by name, nor was I speaking about any ONE author. I repeated this over and over until I couldn’t type it anymore. Ms. Alexander should know just how viscous some of her readers/bloggers really are. The thing is, I never even heard of her until GRL when I saw her in pictures. I’m extremely happy that Ms. Alexander and her writing partner have such great reviews. If she says that they received them fairly, well then good. I still don’t see how this all became a statement about her but, okay, more power to her. Like I said, the two links that I put in the blog had nothing to do with her or her writing partner. Someone, maybe a fan, maybe a blogger, maybe a blog hop organizer must have gone out there and said, “hey Kindle they’re talking about you.” Sad.

I’ll say this and this is the last that I will comment on this subject (hopefully). I have always supported new authors joining the MM genre. I put up reviews for them, offer my popular naked men blog for their promo, and do everything I can to mentor them and hawk their wares. Ms. Hauser did the same for me when I was first published and she’s done the same for numerous other authors. She included me in a book signing in West Hollywood when I had only four books out and gave me exposure that I never would have received had she not stepped up. Besides being a fan of her almost 100 books, having read nearly all of them, we’ve become close friends. You will never find a more loyal friend and mentor.

As far as Kristoffer Gair goes, he doesn’t even write in our genre. He writes books using gay characters that oddly resemble his husband and himself and are filled with snark and comedy. I could never begin to replicate his style. He doesn’t write any sex into his books… well, not true. This is how he writes a love scene… He grinned at his partner, and reached for his groin. Then he usually closes the bathroom door. I’m grateful for that because the last thing I want to picture is Kris and Ralph going at it.

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drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:18 pm
Ps it is worth nothing there are Erotic books… menage.. one with m/m touching with over 300 reviews, where 250 are 5 stars
I think the error is taking the WRONG SAMPLE

Go Check out Erotic Top Reads you will find countless books with hundreds of reviews mostly 4 and 5 star

Rule of Three by Kelly Jamieson has 193 reviews with 112 of them 5 star and another 57 4 stars

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Kris says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:26 pm
And Kelly Jamieson’s next highest reviewed book has 49 reviews.

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drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:49 pm
That book had a large marketing push
I know we were contacted about it and reviewed it
And in my opinion is Ms Jamieson’s best book
It is nominated as a best erotic book by RT Book Review

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drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 6:01 pm
Here is an author with numerous books with hundreds of reviews
Many published just this year

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Lilly Bean says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:29 pm
I actually have read one of the above mentioned author’s books and found it extremly cheesy and harlequinesque. I’ve bought it because of the reviews. I actually felt cheated because it wasn’t at all what I had expected. So I went back to amazon and goodreads and took a closer look at the reviews.
I don’t think they are bought, in my personal opinion the author and probably some of her friends just have several accounts. If you take a close look, there are reviewers who have only reviewed this author’s books and the books from another one or two other authors, who also gush enthusastically about her books and vice versa.
For me it looks like a clique of friends is supporting each other with reviews and is using several accounts with different names to do so. Actually, some reviews really sound like written by the same person, in the same built and style.
But curious cat that I am, I checked out her fb page and found that she really is also very active in blogging and networking. She even organizes a “give-away” where she gives swag away, she had collected at GRL.
Additionally she seems to attract first-time readers for m/m, who love her overly romantic style. I assume that she actually not only blogs in m/m blogs but also f/m romance blogs.
For me it all looks like a very clever marketing strategy: Publish, write and let a few friends write some very good reviews under different accounts which make the book look good, then blog, blog, blog, and know your target group, mainly the romance readers who feel like walking the wilde side by reading m/m.

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drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 6:08 pm
Lily I am confused Romance readers can’t read m/m isn’t that how you grow…. by getting new readers
Fifty grew the whole industry by getting people who had not read in years to buy a book, to buy a kindle
Regarding blogs I did not know you had to be m/m or m/f
We just read books that strike our interest and we review the ones we recommend

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Lilly Bean says:
November 14, 2013 at 2:53 am
LOL, now I am confused. I don’t get what confuses you 😉
Sure, the m/m market grows by getting new readers. But there is a difference between “readers finding you” because they get interested in m/m (for example by reading J.R. Ward or Suzanne Brockmann) or by actually targeting book blogs that so far haven’t reviewed m/m books.
I just noticed that some reviews started with “I haven’t read m/m before” or “this is my first m/m” which makes me assume – yes, assume – that Mrs. Alexander not only blogged in m/m blogs but also in f/m blogs. I don’t think that every blogger is solely m/m or f/m but I think that there are blogs which until now haven’t posted about m/m but are starting now….like they hadn’t posted about BDSM and started with Fifty.

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drm2115 says:
November 14, 2013 at 10:41 am
Lily sorry but I am still confused
Ms Alexander is growing the fan base for the genre, someone saying they r new to the genre and loved it for me is a great think for the genre!!

only certain people can read or review m/m?
Marketing in any business is about finding new customers

Ella Frank another wonderful author just wrote her first m/m
It is being read and reviewed my numerous new readers to the genre and is in the middle of a blog tour getting it wonderful reviews, people loving Logan and Tate’s journey
And 48 hours after release has over 40 reviews all 4 and 5 star

I truly think the m/m genre is poised for growth
Embrace new readers and bloggers who are willing to try something new

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LuvWarrior says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:53 pm
There are authors who will create different usernames and trash other author’s work in reviews. A well-known author was caught doing this very thing on Amazon.

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drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:56 pm
LuvWarrior that is sad 🙁

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drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:55 pm
HM Ward is an erotic author with hundreds of reviews for numerous books

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gleasop says:
November 13, 2013 at 5:58 pm
I usually stand well back from these kinds of controversies. I follow a number of writers facebook pages, fan based facebook pages and blogs. I also follow a lot of them on goodreads, and I am continually amazed at the bitterness, hatred and evilness that surrounds the writing profession. I commend all of the authors out there because I can’t think of a profession that inspires such hatred among it’s peers.

Any time an author has put in the time and effort to expand their fan base, make connections and get their work out there, AND IT PAYS OFF, their accussed of cheating, plagerism, bought review, etc. Why can’t anyone just have worked hard and done well? Is it that hard to believe?

I am a fan of Kindle Alexander. I’m not hiding that. I also follow both her personal and author pages on both facebook and goodreads. It’s not hard to find out that she has a writing partner that she works with. In fact it’s listed on Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook and a number of other sites and blogs. She also posts more reminders, teasers, promos and just fun posts than any other author I follow (other than Belle Aurora, they may be close). She also goes out of her way to greet all of her fans every morning. And I mean EVERY morning.

So, who cares? I care. I’m a fan but I am also a voracious reader. I read all genres and I have a limited budget to buy the books I want. So, when I find an author that takes the time to connect with fans, that’s the author I’m going to buy from. I’m the first to tell you I do not write a review for every book I read. In fact, I really only leave reviews for books that I absolutely love or hate. Is it fair? No, but I have to be moved to write that review and those are the ones that do it. Did I give every Kindle Alexander a 5 star? Nope… Up in Arms got a 3 star from me. Which also means I didn’t review it. Sorry. Just the way it’s going to happen. I also haven’t read her other 3 books listed.

I will tell you that when I see other authors attack their peers, I can guarantee that I will NEVER buy a book from that author. I don’t really care how much hype it gets or how much another person recommends it, or how many 5 star reviews it got.

Personally, I think that Kindle has handled this remarkably well, considering. I think her response here was well written and clear. I also think that Patricia Logans response was well written and don’t believe that anyone should be bullied, regardless of the reason. Unfortunately, I don’t see a solution to this issue but I truely believe that this type of back and forth does nothing but turn off potential fans for those authors that start the attacks. Because, lets face it, the authors that already have the rabid fan base aren’t going to lose those fans, unless they participate in the hatefullness. The only ones that lose are those authors that are complaining about their low numbers in the first place. And they’re losing future fans every time someone shares the controversy or response to that controversy.

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drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 6:03 pm
Wow!! Well said I wish I was that articulate

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Patricia Logan says:
November 13, 2013 at 7:19 pm
No hate came from me but it was certainly directed toward me in a big way. That’s fine. People are going to do what they want to do regardless. I let it run off my feathers like water off a duck.

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gleasop says:
November 13, 2013 at 7:41 pm
Thank you for commenting Patricia. And I hope I did not imply that you had bullied, I intended for that to support that I thought the reaction you received was just as hatefull and inappropriate. No one should be bullied, as another favorite author coined, “end of”.

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Donya Lynne says:
November 15, 2013 at 11:28 am
I see more depressing or negative comments by authors than I care to recount, where they are complaining about their sales, their reviews, their writing, their books, whether they even want to continue trying to write books for a living, and how others are selling more books and getting better reviews than they are. Those comments are such a turn-off. It’s one thing for an author to post they’re having a bad day, but another for them to post doom and gloom about their writing, the bad reviews they’re getting, or their sales being low. I don’t want to buy a book from someone who thinks they suck. Kindle’s posts are almost always upbeat and funny. Of course readers are going to want to buy her books. Other authors need to take a lesson from that.

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drm2115 says:
November 15, 2013 at 3:33 pm
Great post Donya!!!

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Jessica Cote says:
November 13, 2013 at 6:07 pm
Hi there! I’m not a blogger or anyone important, just an avid reader. I am very active on Goodreads and I also read and review books on Booklikes.com. I met Kindle after reading and reviewing Texas Pride on Goodreads because I use a lot of gifs in my reviews and try not to give away too much of the story in my reviews. I read some of the M/M genre and my friend and I read it together and I overall enjoyed it and rated it a 4. (I am not sure if I have rated it on Amazon so I will soon be checking and if so will be adding to her review count)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/698666277
Of Texas Pride, I know 7 of my friends, not including Kindle personally have bought and rated it.

She sent me a message and told me she really enjoyed my review and asked me if I would like to receive an ARC of her upcoming book Double Full. I stated yes! I really enjoy M/M books so I was willing to review it. I am very honest in my reviews and if I hate it, I hate it, and there have been some books I hated. I read Double Full and really enjoyed it. I found a few errors while reading it and since it was before release I talked with Kindle and she made changes, etc. etc. I enjoyed the story in Double Full and rated it a 5. That review is posted on Amazon as well as Goodreads and Booklikes.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/722337739
I recommended it to many friends I interact with who I know read M/M. I received 46 likes on my GR review. Of my friends listed on Goodreads 14 have listed they read Double Full and reviewed it, not including Kindle. I may have who read my review and decided to read the book either. I know the topic is Amazon reviews but many people post the same review on Amazon and Goodreads, so even assuming 3/4 of the people put their reviews also on Amazon that adds to the total.

Why did I put these annoying stats? Well just remember, I’m one person….Only one person and out of my followers there is no telling who may have bought the book from reading my review. Did Kindle use me for her marketing? Probably so but that’s what all authors usually do by sending out ARC’s. They hope the reader will enjoy the book and give it a good review.

Can I vouch for every other person? Absolutely not but I do not believe there were reviews being bought as is accused and I definitely know my review was not bought. Have I read her other books? No but I plan to. I can’t read all my M/M books back to back so you better believe I will be posting reviews once those are read too…

Kindle has been a great person to deal with and would be willing to help me if I asked. She has been honest about Kindle being her pen name after her daughter.
http://kindlealexander.com/about-me/
She has introduced me to other authors who are trying to get the word out about their book. I currently have two M/M ARC’s to read and review along with the other normal ARC requests I am offered. I think these accusations are very sad and I feel bad that a person who has been nothing but nice is receiving this. Instead of accusing maybe you should chat with her and get some tips to promote your books since she is always willing to help other authors….With facebook, blog tours, street teams, as well it is much easier to get people interested in your book if you work hard at it.

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Kindle Alexander says:
November 13, 2013 at 7:32 pm
You make me smile, Jessica. Thank you for this post and you have to know, I never used you because if you hated the book, I’d probably enjoy that review as much as the one you did. You are one of the best reviewers out there and everyone of these people in this entire post needs to meet you and send you ARCs. You are amazing. I like you so much as a person. Big hugs. Thank you for taking this time.

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Casey B. says:
November 13, 2013 at 6:10 pm
I was determined to keep my mouth shut and not say anything, but the longer this goes on the more I feel I need to share about my own experience with Kindle.

I had never read anything from Kindle before the Double Full blog tour. I am new to the M/M genre, but after seeing Double Full featured on multiple blogs and reading the blurb I knew I had to read it. I bought it on Amazon with my own money (no one paid me) and proceeded to read and fall in love with the story. Once I had finished I immediately went to Goodreads and added Kindle as a favorite author and looked up the other books that Kindle had written. About a day later, I got a private message from Kindle thanking me for the friendship and add, and we began to chat a bit. I told Kindle how much I loved Jace and Colt and that I would be soon posting a review for Double Full because I loved it so much. I also told Kindle how I couldn’t wait to read more of her books. She asked what I hadn’t read yet and said she would send me some of her books to read. She proceeded to send me 2 of her other books, and never once did she ask for a certain rating and she definitely didn’t offer to pay me. In fact she never once even asked me to make sure that I left a review. She just sent them as a gift. I will review the books and I will give them an honest rating and my honest thoughts. But so far in all my interactions with Kindle, I have not seen anything that was inappropriate or dishonest. Kindle gained a fan in me first because of her great writing and fabulous characters. But she has gained a friend and supporter because of who she is and how she treats her fans. Kindle makes it a point to be available socially and is always friendly with readers and bloggers. I believe it is because of that, as well as her efforts stated above why she has been so successful and why those who read her books have left a ton of wonderful reviews.

I am not saying that there are not authors out there who pay for reviews or do things that most of us would find unethical. But I have seen no evidence (other than those who are trying to read into numbers and believe that that is proof) about this being the case with Kindle. It seems to me that there are a lot of fingers being pointed without a lot of actual proof, and I have to wonder why it is that people feel the need to start lashing out at others? No matter what you believe or think you know, people need to remember that authors are people who are just like the rest of us and have feelings as well. I think that people lose sight of that and can be hurtful and rude, and there is no need for that against anyone.

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Crystal Marie says:
November 13, 2013 at 6:19 pm
The whole Facebook conversation that started all of this was brought to my attention the other day when it happened. And while I do understand how authors are upset because they find out that people can purchase reviews, I do not understand why it is that authors can pick out other ones and point fingers.

I did comment on Patricia’s Facebook post when it was live and I asked a simple question.

“What is an acceptable time frame for an author to receive 100+ reviews?”

By that I mean, does the book have to have been released for a month before its ok that it has 100 reviews? Or is it 2 months? While Patrica did answer my question, and I do thank her for that because she was completely truthful, when I asked Ms. Hauser the same question I was ignored and banned from her page.

Now I didn’t bring that up because I want to cause problems, I bring that up because that was me, being completely respectful and honest in my question.

Onto what Kindle said earlier, I am a blogger. I don’t deny that. There are few authors that I “work” with and help promote as much as possible and the reason that I do that is because they appreciate it. There have been times where I have written a review for an author, and I completely enjoyed their book, when I sent them a message about their book, they replied back “Oh do you want a cookie now?” I’m sorry, but after receiving that message back, that author went on my “Do not buy list” and I refuse to promote her.

All it takes is a simple thank you from the author and that goes a long way. With the way that Kindle does things, she does show her appreciation for bloggers, all of us who have reviewed her works and that makes it easy for us to decide to promote her books. There are also plenty of other authors out there that are the same way. If you are POLITE and NICE, then you will get support from the majority of bloggers. But if you are rude and hateful? Why should I promote your books?

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drm2115 says:
November 13, 2013 at 10:32 pm
Crystal well said

Marketing is so important
So many authors don’t understand that
Yes you are a writer, a storyteller but you are also a small business owner

Bloggers can help in that effort
Be kind to them, network
There is a blogger out there whose nickname is ” the king marker”

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C Alexander says:
November 13, 2013 at 6:46 pm
Wow. I am not familiar with all the different genres and do not go looking for numbers or reviews. I also don’t care what other people review because their taste will differ from mine.

I met Kindle on FB from a funny post I read about one of her books. It was one of the first m/m I had ever read. When she published Double Full, I read it immediately because I felt I had made a friend and I saw it advertised. Did I review both of them? Yes. Will I read the next book she publishes? Yes. I knew about her partner based on her bio.

I do not recognize any of the other names listed in this discussion, even the popular ones you mentioned from previous years. They have never interacted with me or answered my questions. Plus I was not reading in 2005, I am reading in 2013. I also think the accessibility of leaving reviews is easier now than it was in 2005 or ever before.

I dare even say that Kindle is on to something as she has gotten attention for several authors now and a blogger. *shrugs* I will say this, my review was not bought and it was not necessarily a literary dissertation on Kindle’s book. Forgive me for perhaps leaving a blah, cookie cutter review instead of something more meaningful. *smirks* At least Kindle was thankful for what I had written and didn’t care about its length or if it was a deep discussion on her book. I am offended that my review is being considered as such. You can bet that I will not read or review the authors that have complained about it.

From just a run of the mill, average new reviewer

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Amanda Ribeiro says:
November 13, 2013 at 6:48 pm
I shared my thoughts when I shared the link to the blog, having viewed it on my phone I didn’t see that there was an option to comment on here. So here are my thoughts as a reader, just to be totally upfront and honest. I am a reader, I have never been paid for a review and I have read books by Kindle Alexander, Patricia Logan, G. A. Hauser, etc. In fact I pretty much own every book each of them (as well as others) have written in this genre.

I stopped reading reviews that aren’t written by someone I know because so many were just used to attack a writer or their fans. I also don’t like spoilers. I’ve stayed out of this last “drama” on Facebook, but I do want to say something now. As a reader, this is highly unattractive to me. I can tell you as well that i see how a lot of authors promote their work, and what they do to get their name out there. As well as what their interaction with their fan base is. What has gone on the past two days, is honestly petty, juvenile and ridiculous. Is there an issue with paid reviews, probably. But what is not being taken into account is that even if there are paid reviews by calling it out without proof and naming names your alienating and offending fans who have taken the time to write reviews on a book they love for an author they love. The intent may not have been to do so, but that has been the end result at least for some of us. I rarely have the time to write a review (my life itself is insane) and I don’t like being made to feel that because I choose to do a review for one author (who for what ever reason has more than another) that makes it suspect.

Here’s something else to think about as a reader I have x number of dollars per month to spend on buying books, I will be spending those dollars on authors I have liked or loved their books in the past, but with the increased connections between fans and authors now due to social media, what will also factor into my purchasing decisions is authors who I like and respect. This is not the way to go about gaining respect and being liked by readers, which ultimately will affect the number of reviews that you have both positive and negative, as well as the number of books that are being sold.

I guess I just want to say here is how I as a reader feel after seeing this. I am not saying that writers don’t have a right to question things, but I do think that there is a more appropriate place and way to do it, so that the readers don’t inadvertently become collateral damage.

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Patricia Logan says:
November 13, 2013 at 7:30 pm
I’m very sorry that you feel that my blog was directed at my readers or Kindle’s readers or GA Hauser’s readers. Readers are our bread and butter. Without them, we have no income. I support 4 kids and a granddaughter on the generosity of my readers and I appreciate you more than you know. You personally, Amanda, have left me beautiful reviews and I cherish them. Trust me, the blog was not aimed at readers, but at authors that buy reviews. I didn’t even know that the practice existed until GA Hauser brought it up a couple of weeks ago. I sat at lunch with three other authors last week and discussed the possibility and sadly they agreed that it was possible. I did a little research on the internet to find out that it is, deplorable though the practice is. I hope you’ll continue to find an escape in your reading, Amanda

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Amanda Ribeiro says:
November 13, 2013 at 8:05 pm
Yes I have done reviews for I believe two of your books, because I loved them. I consider you a friend as well as an author I follow, which I why I did purchase all of the books in your masters boys series even though I don’t read BDSM, but since I can and want to support the authors I like I think it’s money well spent. Anyway my point was while you know my reviews were done by me and you know I’m an avid reader, any other author or reader may not know that. And since no specific reviewer is was called out, it’s not blatantly clear which reviews are suspect. Yes the few that I do do not contain spoilers (as I hate them) does that make it suspect. I do not intend this to come across as an attack, just an explanation of how I as a reader feel about this matter. Should paid reviews be looked into and are they a problem, again maybe. I just think this is something that should be discussed in a way and place where readers, fans and those who do legitament reviews aren’t involved and don’t become collateral damage.

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Lori Toland says:
November 13, 2013 at 9:14 pm
Okay, I’m going to step in and give you some info on why I think Kindle didn’t buy the reviews.

Disclaimer: I met them at GRL. They are nice ladies.

I love watch statistics. It’s what I do for a living, as well as sales. I enjoy watching for patterns, seeing what emerges and then drawing my own conclusions to help boost my business.

Kindle’s latest book hit around #100 on the overall store. I was really excited for her because breaking that #100 barrier puts you in front of a lot of readers eyes. As far as I know, no one listed in your post has hit that low of a ranking on the overall store. It’s only been recently that some of our titles have broke 1000 even.

Kindle’s last few titles have done very well, ranking very low and staying there. But none of that has anything to do with reviews, although many of the books I know have hit that low have 100+ plus reviews. There’s also something new on your Kindles when you are done reading. It prompts you to leave a review.

What really nabbed all those reviews is exactly what Kindle said: book bloggers. Not only that but she went out tour and worked like hell to promote that book. I promoted my most recent new release for two weeks and I gave out 8 review copies and I received 8 reviews plus some extras from readers on Amazon. In one of the posts around here, I saw Kindle had 80 book bloggers reading the book and then promoting it. So basically in that first week, she had 80 reviews easily, plus all the reviews that were left by people who bought the book.

So believe what you want on here but before you get a pitchfork, do the math on the above numbers. And that’s all! 🙂

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Kindle Alexander says:
November 13, 2013 at 9:17 pm
We had a post prepared about the number of likes and the number of followers we have compared to the authors named in this blog, wondering if anyone thought we also bought those. We also went and found MANY authors, old and new, with way more reviews than we have on multiple books in their library. We were ready to post all that right here. Understanding, we know that it’s been made very clear that no one in this blog has said we did anything,(just red flags) but we do now have the screen shots and emails where it’s been made abundantly clear that we bought reviews with absolutely NO proof, just vicious, mean-spirited, jealous gossip.

So we left that message and got schooled on buying reviews (we’re new to all this, we’re not seasoned). You guys are silly. This is a ridiculous conversation. The reviews we have are clearly unique, and most are verified purchases. We have documented blog reviews. We also have hateful reviews as well as loving reviews. We didn’t see too many of you that had reviews as hateful as ours can get. You aren’t mentioning that.
This is a witch hunt masked in suspect. Per EVERYTHING I read on buying reviews, those people buy thousands to get to #1 on Amazon, or New York Times . Okay, really? This is gay fiction people. Take your witch hunt elsewhere. We’re out.

Side note: Thank you my dear friends (because we do not consider you fans) for saying your peace and truth. We appreciate you standing up. We didn’t see where any post was more ugly than any other throughout this entire blog post. You are beautiful people and we’re lucky to know you.

As for the rest of it, this feels very much like possible sour grapes. (Not for us, because we haven’t been mentioned by any of you… But for whoever you are truly targeting.) This has taken up too much of our time and we’re not participating anymore except to perhaps laugh about this later, over the years, when retelling the story of the last few days.

Remember, per what Kevin Durant says: Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. We’ve been way more forthcoming with you all, than you have with us.

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Kindle Alexander says:
November 13, 2013 at 9:18 pm
Kristoffer Gair, thank you for your time today.

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Jenny says:
November 14, 2013 at 2:24 am
Kindle alexander’s books are amazing and i have read 4 of them. the book in question is worth 100 stars in my opinion and is the BEST in the mm genre

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Adrienne Wilder says:
November 14, 2013 at 10:10 am
I know this blog post probably needs another opinion like a hole in the head.

I’m not exactly sure what happened here. Even after reading all this I’m still not sure what happened.
But there are a few things I do know. Both G.A. Hauser and Patricia Logan are very generous individuals who have, on many, many, occasions given their knowledge freely and openly without expectations. Knowing what I know about both of them I do not think anything they said had malicious intent directed to anyone person.
For example: Yesterday when all this blew up I messaged GA and asked her what was going on(I am extraordinarily nosey and tend to go right to the source. I don’t like to get things second, third, fourth hand). Any how–GA did not blame, accuse, or bad mouth anyone. She simply said, “you don’t want to know.” She was more concerned for other people who were taking a beating than for herself. But that’s the kind of person she is.

I honestly feel like this is all one big misunderstanding that has gotten a lot of people hurt. And as artists it’s easy for us to get hurt. Most of us tend to wear our hearts on our sleeve.

Kindle, you sound to me like you’ve got your head screwed on straight and are savvy and cunning in the realm of marketing. I am in awe of your tenacity. One blog sends me hiding under the bed. I can’t imagine 90+. I’d have to go on prozac. The point is this. You have a shit ton to offer the writing community, I really hope you take this chance to share your talents. This dumb schmuck would love to get a chance to pick your brain and learn your tactics. Could you do a webinar maybe?

I really hope everyone can forgive each other and sing some kumbaya. Okay…I admit, that’s taking it a bit far. But you get the idea.
Life is just too short to stay angry and too much hurt already happens in the world today.

There you have it. My two cents. Now I’m broke.

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drm2115 says:
November 14, 2013 at 10:52 am
Andrienne, great post
If you can’t handle marketing have you thought about getting somone to help you
There are authors who have a loyal reader or blogger organize things for them

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Adrienne Wilder says:
November 14, 2013 at 4:06 pm
That’s exactly what I am doing right now. And to be honest, GA and Patricia both have been very generous in helping me in that area as well. But they have their own books to market and I can’t keep taking their time. (And they would give me their time so I am the one who has to say no) So I enlisted a friend, who suggested another friend. They have been a HUGE help.
But I still think there is a ton of things to be learned and no way to know them all. I know there are ‘how to’ books out there but I haven’t found them very useful. I was really hoping to see a “realistic” plan of action put out there for writer’s to utilize.

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J. P. Barnaby says:
November 14, 2013 at 11:36 am
Good Lord. I wasn’t going to weigh in on this because, frankly, I have enough to worry about with my own books. However – I met Kindle Alexander (the blond one – I’m sorry, that’s the only name I got) 🙂 She seemed nice, personable, and networked well, from what I saw. Second, using the name Kindle will elevate the search ratings for her book, it just will. Originally, that’s why I thought she’d chosen the name until she explained about her daughter.

Did they buy the reviews? I have no idea. I can understand the points Kris made in his post. I can also see the power of a huge blog tour because I myself have done that. (30 sites, not 70, but it’s still a screaming pain in the ass). This is how self-published authors launch themselves, they talked about it over and over at RWA – the power of blogger reviews, and I don’t disagree with that.

My take is – somewhere between story A and story B lies the real story.

I’m going back to my book now, which if I’m lucky will hit the 200+ Goodreads reviews and maybe 30-ish Amazon reviews that Aaron did. And I’m totally fine with that. <3

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Donya Lynne says:
November 15, 2013 at 11:08 am
I’ve known Kindle for years. She and I were both roleplayers at one time and were members of a roleplay group together. At that time, we had a bit of a bumpy relationship over some stupid crap someone else was stirring up, and Kindle and I almost didn’t come out of that as friends, but I’ll tell you this: She impressed me with her professionalism and humble attitude after the truth came out about what was really going on behind the scenes…and we’ve been friends since. She was the first person to have my back when someone else was stabbing it. Others simply believed the lies and abandoned me. That says a lot about Kindle for actually seeking the truth and wanting to do something about it on my behalf.

With that said, Kindle has an ENORMOUS fan following among roleplayers. Before she even started publishing books, she had thousands of followers, all of which who were devoted to her roleplay writing. As a former roleplayer who had a smaller following than Kindle’s, and who has seen my own success from my fan following, I know how powerful those roleplay fans are in book sales. Roleplay fans are a committed bunch, and they will propel a former roleplayer’s books far in the rankings. For authors who have never roleplayed, this is hard to understand, but for those of us who have, it’s probably one of the best things we did before getting published to make a name for ourselves and our writing. And Kindle is THE BEST I know at this. She cultivated her roleplay following much the way she is now cultivating the following for her books: by meticulously communicating with each and every one on a personal level each and every day.

Kindle is the hardest, smartest promoter I know, and I would LOVE to drink her Kool-Aid, because she is Wonder Woman when it comes to utilizing social media to build a following. I work hard to keep up with my fans and get it all done, but I can’t hold a candle to Kindle. That woman is on social media rocking it out seemingly non-stop. She’s always funny, always personal, and for the most part, she keeps her posts tied to her platform and to her writing, never deviating into political or personal social agendas.

It would be easy to be jealous of her success. Even I am envious at times when I see how successful she is. But she has earned every single book sale and five-star review she’s received, because she puts in ungodly, inhuman hours of work and effort to achieve her status. I don’t know how she does it, but I want to know, and I admire her tenacity and social prowess. I don’t know how she finds the time and is able to keep up with all the day-to-day tasks while still keeping in touch with her fans the way she does, but more power to her for never needing sleep. LOL. She’s like the Energizer Bunny.

I haven’t followed this story much aside from seeing a few comments here and there, but whoever’s dissing her might be better advised to chum up to Kindle and ask how she does it rather than speculate that she’s simply cheating, because anyone who’s known Kindle for any length of time like I have knows that her success is 100% attributable to her tireless endeavors to promote, market, and cultivate personal relationships with her readers.

We have an opportunity here to support another author, but instead, she’s being torn down without proof. That’s the really sad part of this story, and it’s unfortunately one that’s all too common in the GLBT genre. I see and hear more anti-author comments within the GLBT genre than in any other, when it’s this genre that I think needs to come together more than any other to make a name and place for itself within the writing community.

Thank you for this post.

Reply
Kindle Alexander says:
November 15, 2013 at 9:07 pm
In role play you never know who anyone is and you learn quickly that identities are as easy as starting a new facebook page – you better be nice to everyone! You Donya Lynne helped me through something very important, and we never knew who each other was in those accounts. I loved that and will always remember your help – even in the middle of the night, setting your alarm to wake up and get one. Thank you. And I’ll always remember this post. I’m so appreciative of your words here because you set the bar I try to reach. I’m not sure I’ve ever told you that. Everything you said toward me, is what I see in you and strive for every day. Swear!

This makes me smile and I think they listened to you. GA Hauser was interacting with me today on my page. She’s been my friend for awhile on that page. That made me happy.

So I’m not addressing any of the other, I just had to say thank you. Maybe you turned the tide.

Reply
Donya Lynne says:
November 15, 2013 at 9:24 pm
You think I set the bar, and I think you set the bar, so we’re even. 🙂 And I try to help out anyone who needs it, as much as is within my power. I was happy to help you, and you helped me, so again…we’re even. LOL. I only hope that anyone who thought you were cheating the system now understands you weren’t. If nothing else, hopefully my words here influenced that opinion.

Reply
Donya Lynne says:
November 15, 2013 at 12:00 pm
The only other thing I’ll add to this before heading off to chillax on my self-imposed vacation is this:

If an author wants to buy reviews, who really gives a flip? Who cares? That’s THEIR karma, not mine or yours. If they want to cheat now, they’ll pay later. Do I really need to get on a soapbox and denounce the practice? Do I need to take my time and energy away from my life, my current writing project, my fans, my sanity…just to create a crusade against review buying? Hell no. As we’ve just seen from this situation, it does nothing but create a whole lot of stress, grief, and distraction from what’s really important.

Will I ever buy a review? No. Do I think buying reviews is fair? No. Will my ranting about it and causing hurt feelings toward others, whether intentional or not, make the problem go away? No. Amazon and other booksellers are already well aware of the problem, and steps are already being taken to mend it, so do I need to draw even more attention to this issue to make sure the powers that be are aware of it? No. Do I need to trouble my fans with this by spraying it all over my Facebook page and blog? No. Will this problem ever completely go away? No, so why stress myself over it? Does another author buying reviews really, ultimately, and truly affect my skills, efforts, and success as an author? No. Plenty of authors who don’t buy reviews are highly successful, and I don’t see any of them bitching about the practice of other authors buying reviews. Would my efforts be better served by focusing on my writing projects, my promotion, my fans, my blog tours, my marketing, and my platform? YES! Resoundingly, YES! So there’s what’s important.

You can’t change the world, you can only change yourself. I can’t make another author who wants to buy reviews—who sees value in it—stop buying them simply because I don’t like it. And all I’ll do if I go public and out the author is turn a whole lot of fans—mine and the other author’s—against me. Even if I don’t name the author in my rantings, the author I’m ranting about (or another author or authors) could take exception and think I’m talking about them for one reason or another and retaliate. And then you’ve got a giant mess like this one. Is it worth it? If it is, by all means, let loose. But I’d rather not jeopardize what I’ve worked so hard to create by taking that risk. To me, losing my fans and my sanity isn’t worth it. This situation isn’t even about me, and it’s stressful. I can only imagine the stress and distraction this has caused to the parties on both sides if it’s this stressful to me.

So, that’s my two cents. Who give’s a flying flip if an author wants to cheat? If they’re going to cheat, they’re going to find a way to cheat. If they’re not buying reviews, they’ll use another method. They’ll find a way, so who cares if you defeat review buying? Before long, it will be something else—another evil to protest. But know this: Karma always comes back around. Have faith in that and focus on your own stuff.

Reply
Kindle Alexander says:
November 15, 2013 at 8:58 pm
I’m responding here first because I agree completely. You and I have seen Karma work first hand. Its swift and complete. And I love the idea that we be our own change. I agree with my whole heart. Well said Donya Lynne!

Reply
Donya Lynne says:
November 15, 2013 at 9:28 pm
Yep. Karma always gives paybacks. It’s a certainty in life. Sometimes it’s swift and complete, as you and I have seen in the past, and other times it’s slower in coming. But it always comes back around. It’s one reason I rarely get upset over things I have no control over, because I may not have control, but karma sure does.