There has been no small amount of buzz lately about review blogs and reviewers in general.
As an author, I can assure you that a decent "I didn't hate it" comment or two on Amazon or Goodreads or B&N or AllRomance Ebooks is a real "thank god I don't suck" sort of moment, especially when you are just starting out.
But when your books start getting picked up for regular reviewing on the "big sites" or even the sorta big sites, now that ladies and gents is nail biting time. And as an author who has had her fair share of "meh" and "oh hell no's" from some of the bigger sites early on my writing career I've been happy/lucky/thrilled/broke from bribery (KIDDING) to be the recipient of some very good, some would say excellent reviews lately for the Stewart Realty series which has received multiple Gold Stars, Top Picks and five stars/diamonds/kisses from many reviewers. And the Turkish Delights series is not far behind, plus Cheeky Blonde has been so well received I wrote a sequel to that sucker.
And I will admit that I paid for a review once. Once. Trust me that will never ever happen again. Ever.
But the fuss is about how so many reviewers have other lives (oh, the nerve). Ones that sometimes involve doing marketing work for publishers, or authors but who still want to maintain objectivity and legitimacy when they review books other than those for the publisher or author who pays them.
I was sort of heated about this a few weeks ago, but I'm over it. I get it. If a reviewer dislikes my characters and feels a need to make thinly veiled facebook rants about them well, this is America, that is the internet. Believe what you will about that reviewer's opinion. That is how it works.
And I've been on the receiving end of some anger myself, having submitted a review of a book I read...in a book club. I guess as an author I'm not allowed to have an opinion either?
So, bottom line is this: We all know what review sites we can trust. But what I have found as my Stewart Realty series overcomes the above mentioned various challenges because the bottom line is it does NOT follow traditional romance "rules" for characters or plot necessarily--I think if you read a book, any book, and you feel strongly about it good or bad, you are allowed to say whatever you want about it. And all you newbie authors best gird your loins and grow a few more layers of skin because it is rough out here.
For the record, the readers who are falling in made lust/love with the Stewart Realty crew and making it a top seller for Amazon in the family saga/ domestic life/urban fiction genres tell me they are going with the ultimate "review"--the recommendation of a friend.
Carry on writing, reviewing, blogging or whatever---just keep reading too!
cheers
Liz
NOTE: VEGAS MIRACLE, my smoking HOT menage romance is on sale for the Labor Day weekend!
buy it! http://www.amazon.com/Vegas-Miracle-ebook/dp/B007ZDVTZU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346259504&sr=8-1&keywords=vegas+miracle
As an author, I can assure you that a decent "I didn't hate it" comment or two on Amazon or Goodreads or B&N or AllRomance Ebooks is a real "thank god I don't suck" sort of moment, especially when you are just starting out.
But when your books start getting picked up for regular reviewing on the "big sites" or even the sorta big sites, now that ladies and gents is nail biting time. And as an author who has had her fair share of "meh" and "oh hell no's" from some of the bigger sites early on my writing career I've been happy/lucky/thrilled/broke from bribery (KIDDING) to be the recipient of some very good, some would say excellent reviews lately for the Stewart Realty series which has received multiple Gold Stars, Top Picks and five stars/diamonds/kisses from many reviewers. And the Turkish Delights series is not far behind, plus Cheeky Blonde has been so well received I wrote a sequel to that sucker.
And I will admit that I paid for a review once. Once. Trust me that will never ever happen again. Ever.
But the fuss is about how so many reviewers have other lives (oh, the nerve). Ones that sometimes involve doing marketing work for publishers, or authors but who still want to maintain objectivity and legitimacy when they review books other than those for the publisher or author who pays them.
I was sort of heated about this a few weeks ago, but I'm over it. I get it. If a reviewer dislikes my characters and feels a need to make thinly veiled facebook rants about them well, this is America, that is the internet. Believe what you will about that reviewer's opinion. That is how it works.
And I've been on the receiving end of some anger myself, having submitted a review of a book I read...in a book club. I guess as an author I'm not allowed to have an opinion either?
So, bottom line is this: We all know what review sites we can trust. But what I have found as my Stewart Realty series overcomes the above mentioned various challenges because the bottom line is it does NOT follow traditional romance "rules" for characters or plot necessarily--I think if you read a book, any book, and you feel strongly about it good or bad, you are allowed to say whatever you want about it. And all you newbie authors best gird your loins and grow a few more layers of skin because it is rough out here.
For the record, the readers who are falling in made lust/love with the Stewart Realty crew and making it a top seller for Amazon in the family saga/ domestic life/urban fiction genres tell me they are going with the ultimate "review"--the recommendation of a friend.
Carry on writing, reviewing, blogging or whatever---just keep reading too!
cheers
Liz
NOTE: VEGAS MIRACLE, my smoking HOT menage romance is on sale for the Labor Day weekend!
buy it! http://www.amazon.com/Vegas-Miracle-ebook/dp/B007ZDVTZU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346259504&sr=8-1&keywords=vegas+miracle
I know of at least one book promo/review that offers paid services. In their case, this group charges a fee for their services but the the fact that their service is fee-based has no bearing on the outcome of the actual review.
ReplyDeleteI haven't utilized their paid services but I was never under the impression that simply wanting to be compensated for their time and effort was an unreasonable thing.
I was recently appalled to learn that there would be scammers who would simply take money to post false/glowing reviews on sites like amazon.com.
Should we be dismissing the former, right off the bat?
What is the general consensus regarding the first type of fee-based review service that I mentioned above?