Book Reviews

Why does everyone misunderstand a paid review? Let’s get into the myths. Also, scroll down for real time proof that paid reviews do in fact sell books.

MYTH A paid review is any review you paid for

TRUTH There are three types of paid review. Here, I list 1 and 2 (good methods) and 3 (stay away).

1. Professional editorial review service (Kirkus, SPR, BlueInk, Foreword, Indiereader, Reader’s Favorite) The reviews you buy direct from a professional review service should only be posted in your Editorial Reviews section as provided by Amazon for this purpose. They are considered a boost to

A mixed or negative review can be instrumental in development of an author’s career for many reasons, and even if published on Amazon it should not be regarded as a personal affront or an attack. Cate Baum outlines the main reasons your review could be surprisingly negative, and how can you deal with this?

This morning, two authors I worked with completely melted down at their (not at all badly rated) 3-star and 4-star review respectively. Full-on tantrums. Quite incredible. I understand they paid for their review, but this doesn’t mean they are entitled to a positive review, only an […]

A survey of over 300 indie authors worldwide from Kindlebookreviews.net proves unequivocally that while many self-published authors thrash out the “morals” of paying for a book review,  the presence of paid editorial reviews on your Amazon book page will help sell your book – and only a quarter of authors are strongly against the idea of paying for a review.

• The  vast  majority  of  authors  greatly  appreciate  the  value  of  honest  book  reviews,  and  believe  they  help  improve  the  credibility  of  their  book,  and  helps generate sales.
• The majority  of  authors  approve  of  paid  review  services  as  long  as  they  

With the fall in prices for trad published books, the indie Kindle goldrush may be over, so Cate Baum looks into Amazon’s algorithm and how its search engine works for authors and their books – and why Amazon reviews are not enough to sell a book – and maybe never have been.

There’s a lot of misinformation around about paid reviews, customer reviews, Fiverr reviews and the ethics and technical issues surrounding them for book sales. Frankly, I’m tired of the many forums banging on with the phrase, “I am totally against paid reviews.”  And yet the hallowed Amazon […]