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Table of contents for Writing EthicsThis post is a follow-up to my last two posts and continues a conversation at Grow Your Writing Business. Amy Derby said she had seen ads for writers to post reviews on Amazon.com. That led me to share David’s experience. He read in John Kremer’s Book Marketing newsletter about a way to get more reviews on Amazon.com. Following this advice, David issued a news release that he would give a free autographed book to any reader (not professional reviewer, who, of course, could get a review copy for free) who posted a review on Amazon.com. He said he wanted an honest review of his book and would use the feedback to improve the second book in the series, which he’s working on now. He was hoping that people who had already the book would write reviews or other people would be enticed to read the book. If they didn’t already have a copy, they could borrow one, get it from the library, or order the e-book online. However, the press release got picked up and posted on several “freebie” sites, and a lot of people posted the review in the comments of David’s blog. A couple of dozen people actually posted reviews at Amazon.com. Many had obviously read the book and commented on specific aspects. But some just posted glowing words about it being a wonderful book. That was not the original intention - David was seeking honest reviews from people who had read the book. He was hoping to get a few more reviews from readers. He still thinks it was a good idea to do this and may do it again with future books. How can you require reviewers to actually read the book? Of course, it’s common for people to write good reviews for their friends. I don’t see anything wrong with this, IF the review is honest. I am always candid when I write a review (which I don’t do often). However, like my mother always told me, if I can’t say something nice about a book, I don’t say anything. I don’t write negative reviews. If I don’t like a book, I don’t write a review. What do you think about paid reviews, enticing readers to write reviews as David did, and asking friends to write reviews? The next post will cover the ethics of ways to improve Amazon ranking. Related Posts: Technorati Tags: writing ethics, book reviews
11 Comments » |
I have no problem with asking for reviews from users as long as there is no incentive for “the best” favorable review.
Now the paid review is kind of a gray area… as long as it’s an honest review, I think it should be fine.
Thanks, Mover. I agree that the key is whether the review is honest. Many bloggers write paid reviews of Web sites, blogs, products … all kinds of things, and few people have a problem with that as long as the reviewer gives an honest opinion.
No matter what the circumstances, I would only ever be prepared to write an honest review.
I would not write a paid review at Amazon, and was quite shocked to hear this happens, (as per Amy’s comment). I’m pleased I know though.
I wasn’t aware of paid reviews written specifically for Amazon, but if they’re not disclosed as paid, that doesn’t seem right. By the same token, I think paid blog posts should be disclosed. Even if the blogger is completely honest in the review, readers should know s/he was paid to write the review.
There are several review services that charge to write reviews that can be used at Amazon, on the author’s Web site, or in any promotional material. Some of these are divisions of companies that have written unpaid reviews for years (Foreword Magazine, for example). They say they offer the paid review service to give small press and self-published authors the opportunity for reviews, as most newspapers, magazines, and other major reviewers will not review any books except those by major publishers.
Other popular review sites offer free reviews - when they can fit the book into a crowded schedule. However, they also offer an express service (or a similar name) for a fee that will ensure the review is completed within a certain time frame. They say the review would be the same in either case - the only difference is when the review is posted.
There’s a lot of controversy about this. My own position goes back to disclosure - if readers know it is a paid review, they can decide for themselves whether or not to trust it.
Goodness, it is interesting to read what is going on in other worlds, such as the writer’s world! I never imagined these things were going on too. Sigh. Our world.
I’m sure this kind of stuff goes on everywhere.
I hate fake testimonials and firmly discourage them. The same with fake book reviews. I like honest-to-goodness real reviews. From the heart. Those are the kind I encourage you to get from anyone and everyone.
John,
Thank you so much for your comment. I’d much rather read a sincere testimonial or review that may be a little rough in the writing than a polished composition that is fake.
Hi Lillie,
Nice series of posts you’ve written on this topic. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog.
I don’t have a problem with someone paying for unbiased reviews, but I’d never take on a gig that asked me to make up testimonials or write a positive review. I’d also never write a review of a book I’d never read, as was the case with the job I was referring to in my comment on http://www.growyourwritingbusiness.com, where the job poster wanted people to write positive reviews and post them to Amazon.
I agree with your sentiments completely, Amy. Thanks for contributing.
[...] on this topic is going on right now at Grow Your Own Writing Business. Lillie Ammann’s blog, “A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye” has a lively discussion regarding writing [...]