Amazon News and Tips | Self-Publishing Review

Why 5-Star Reviews Aren’t Ideal for Self-Published Authors

For self-published authors, Amazon customer reviews are more than just nice-to-have — they’re essential. They influence how often your book is shown to readers, how it ranks, and whether someone clicks “Buy Now” or keeps scrolling. While racking up five-star customer reviews may seem like the goal, a wall of perfect ratings can actually hurt more than help.

In fact, readers today are savvy enough to recognize when a book’s reviews seem “too good to be true.” If you want sustainable success as an indie author, focusing on authentic feedback rather than perfect ratings is key.

Why High Ratings Help

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Cate Baum2025-04-28T10:22:38+02:00April 27th, 2025|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Book Promotion Articles|

Is Amazon Censoring Customer Reviews? Seems Like It.

Lately, there has been much said about censorship of writing in the United States. But now it seems Amazon has got on the morality bandwagon with the slashing of customer review content.

Amazon has rightfully always had its standards when it comes to customers writing product reviews. But now it seems that words used in reviews are being judged as “hate speech” when they are simple criticism or review of a subject discussed in a book.

Mary, a reviewer from Colorado, says, “I bought and reviewed a book about hitting fifty and reaching the Menopause. I was pleased to have […]

Cate Baum2023-10-03T16:47:26+02:00October 3rd, 2023|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon News and Tips|

What’s Happening With Amazon’s Ranking Right Now?

There’s something going on with ranking on Amazon again, and there’s been lots of speculation this week without much real evidence being posted on various blogs for authors. So we’ve done some real-life tests on ranking, and here’s a set of live findings so far on real book promotions, offered without too much speculation.

FINDINGS JAN 17 2022 – FEB 06 2022

Real data conclusions from Amazon promotions run in this period of various genres.

The main finding, and not always applicable, is that there is a general lag in ranking of about 18 – 24 hours right now on […]

Cate Baum2023-09-27T10:54:50+02:00February 8th, 2022|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon News and Tips|

Mythbusting – The Truth About Paid Book Reviews in 2021

Authors worry relentlessly about ‘paying for reviews.’ What are the concerns, and are they founded? What are the differences between the services offered online? Cate Baum, resident Amazon mythbuster steps in to calm your concerns.

When should I pay for a book review?

MYTH: NEVER! OR YOU AND YOUR BOOK WILL BURN!!

TRUTH: You should pay for a professional book review when you need a respected opinion to use as copy for promotional purposes. This is exactly what any author, from Stephen King to JK Rowling does when they hire a publicist. You then own the copy and can use […]

Cate Baum2021-08-03T07:25:11+02:00August 3rd, 2021|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Book Reviews, Mythbusting Amazon For Authors|

2021 – How To Get Amazon Reviews Without Breaking The Rules

There are various discussions about getting Verified Amazon reviews for your book, but there’s only one sure way that works.

While the humble mailing list has been touted in many corners of the publishing world, it still rules as the only definite way of selling your book and getting Verified reviews.

But not all mailing lists are equal.

Amazon Rules

While it seems easy enough to add friends and family to your mailing list, here’s what to bear in mind: Once they bought your book, you can’t keep touting them for business.

The second issue is that Amazon does not […]

Cate Baum2021-07-21T02:11:16+02:00July 20th, 2021|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Book Reviews, Newsletter Campaign|

How To Write A Good Book Review – The Amazon Review

In this series, we take you through the anatomy of a book review.

What does it take to write a book review? What are the different types and uses of book reviews? What is a Beta review anyway, and do you need one?

This second installment looks at how to write Amazon Customer Reviews.

How To Write An Amazon Book Review

Eligibility

An Amazon Customer Review must be written by someone who has read the book and has an Amazon account. You don’t have to have bought the book from Amazon. You can only review on Amazon if:

You have

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Cate Baum2021-06-28T03:14:46+02:00June 28th, 2021|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Book Reviews|

Amazon Starts New Royalty-Driven Story Platform

Amazon has announced a new platform called Kindle Vella in which authors can earn royalties per chapter.

A new way to earn royalties.

To access episodes, readers will purchase Tokens and use them to unlock episodes. Authors will earn 50% of the money readers spend on the Tokens used to unlock their story episode.

To make it easy for readers to find stories they love, the first few episodes of every story are always free!

As authors have often revealed short teaser books in a series in order to grab readers, this may be an alternative to that model. In […]

SPR2021-04-14T07:49:59+02:00April 14th, 2021|Categories: News|Tags: Amazon News and Tips|

How To Rank Higher on Amazon Without Selling Books

Seems like a dream, doesn’t it? Rank highly on Amazon, but sell no copies of your book? This very simple method of moving your book into a much more prominent position with minimal effort is the perfect way to get seen and sold.

Drowning in your Category

So why is it your book has sold a few copies, and yet you are still in the weeds on Amazon in your category? Simply, there are too many books in your category to ever be seen. The most full categories in Amazon are typically Science Fiction and Fantasy and Romance, and all […]

Cate Baum2020-06-25T08:10:33+02:00June 25th, 2020|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Book Promotion Articles|