alanjames
SWF Writers
Posts: 45
Joined: Apr 28, 2012 9:13:13 GMT -8
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Post by alanjames on Sept 13, 2012 0:26:38 GMT -8
Has anyone noticed, or is it just my imagination: I have checked "high sellers" on SW with the idea of finding what is selling well and how well these people write. It appears that many of these writers belong to a group or club. The members or friends of these groups give each other amazing 5 star reviews in great quantities; almost all 'one liners' right out of the can. This would seem to be expensive, since you must purchase in order to review on SW. I have also downloaded samples of said books and found that my suspicions may be correct, as many of these book are really terrible. Any ideas on this ? ? ?
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Post by Nathaniel Phillips on Sept 13, 2012 5:29:50 GMT -8
Expensive? Probably not. If they all belong to a club, they probably create coupon codes to distribute to any member of the club for a free copy. You log in, "buy" the book with your free coupon code, write your "review", log out. Total investment: $0 + 60 seconds of your life.
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ahpellett
Full Member
Read "Sleeping in Snow with Bears"
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Post by ahpellett on Sept 13, 2012 7:25:57 GMT -8
Aside from the short one sentence review similarity, what are you seeing that implies there is a club or group that is doing this? * * * * * Related, and intriguing: I just googled "smashwords review club" and saw this repeatedly. "For Premium Catalog reviews, allow up to two weeks. We apologize ..." I followed the link but saw no reference to the above text. I then did a text search using <ctrl>F and also did not find any reference to the text. Very strange, but it seems to me to imply there is something going on here.
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Post by Ted on Sept 13, 2012 9:04:48 GMT -8
Ahpellett, I googled your phrase and found it added to thousands of works by Smashwords authors. Some links were just 6 hours old. I suspect it's a google thing as none of the 20 odd pages I looked at actually had that phrase in it even though google reported it being there.
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Post by Ted on Sept 13, 2012 9:10:09 GMT -8
Amazon is even worse, Nathanielphillips. I'm a member of several linkedin writer/author groups and every minute there are amazon kindle authors seeking review swaps or the like. Review swapping and fake reviews have gotten so bad there are threads on linkedin against believing any reviews nowadays.
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ahpellett
Full Member
Read "Sleeping in Snow with Bears"
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Post by ahpellett on Sept 13, 2012 10:05:57 GMT -8
I had a thought after I posted my google post (see above) that perhaps the repeated google result was due to something that Smashwords is pumping out. I searched the google result "For Premium Catalog reviews, allow up to two weeks. We apologize" and found that it pointed to the SW FAQ. I searched on it there in the SW FAQ and did not find it, but my thoughts now are that the google result is erroneous and we are at a dead end on this clue. i.e. it was not implying there was any review (as in a reader's review) but rather a review for inclusion in the SW catalog. While I've struck out, Nathaniel still seems to have some good points, esp w/ regards to the Amazon forum.
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Post by Nathaniel Phillips on Sept 13, 2012 18:14:53 GMT -8
I believe the phrase "For Premium Catalog reviews, allow up to two weeks. We apologize ..." is someone speaking in reference to the recent backlog of books waiting for SW Premium Catalog acceptance, not premium book reviews :-)
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russellphillips
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Joined: May 4, 2024 1:54:46 GMT -8
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Post by russellphillips on Sept 13, 2012 22:25:09 GMT -8
I believe the phrase "For Premium Catalog reviews, allow up to two weeks. We apologize ..." is someone speaking in reference to the recent backlog of books waiting for SW Premium Catalog acceptance, not premium book reviews :-) It is a reference to the backlog of books waiting for premium catalogue review. If you click the "Comments/questions/customer support? Click here!" link at the top of any page on Smashwords, you'll see this notice:
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alanjames
SWF Writers
Posts: 45
Joined: Apr 28, 2012 9:13:13 GMT -8
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Post by alanjames on Sept 13, 2012 23:52:09 GMT -8
Thanks for the interest in my question. I did some more checking. When I went to the site (on SW) of several of the reviewers, I found that very often, every review they have given (sometimes 6 or 8) is exactly the same, word for word. Strange. I would rather have two or three honest reviews, than a list of bogus hype. I guess some folks think cutting corners is easier than working hard and learning to write.
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Post by Ted on Sept 14, 2012 7:04:56 GMT -8
Alanjames, it's not just SW with multiple copies of same review. I mentioned in my free ebook, The Backward Approach to Ebook Success, about fake reviews on Amazon carrying the same spelling mistakes and punctuation problems to reviews on Goodreads as well as Smashwords.
I'd bet a thousand dollars a reader is more likely to find fake reviews on Amazon than Smashwords simply because Kindle is more well known to first-time authors than Smashwords, and due to the much larger competition for readers on Amazon has caused authors to do all sorts of silly things to try and earn an income and gain recognition on Amazon.
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alanjames
SWF Writers
Posts: 45
Joined: Apr 28, 2012 9:13:13 GMT -8
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Post by alanjames on Sept 14, 2012 12:19:37 GMT -8
I'm sure you're right Ted. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to be satisfied knowing that the bulk of us have our morals adjusted properly. I tend to wear mine on my sleeve. Sorry if I'm beatin' a dead horse.
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motherspider
New Member
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Post by motherspider on Sept 23, 2012 12:43:38 GMT -8
It is unfortunate that a fairly large amount of authors are simply purchasing good reviews. I belong to an author's club and I know that we are very much trying to encourage everyone to give negative/constructive reviews privately so the author can fix the errors, and then give positive only if it really is a good read.
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Stephanie
Junior Member
Posts: 35
Joined: Oct 8, 2012 17:20:51 GMT -8
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Post by Stephanie on Oct 8, 2012 21:35:08 GMT -8
I have noticed a similar "scam" (not sure if that is the correct word here) - new books uploaded, and within days, an incredible slew of positive reviews - most posted the same day the book was purchased. In fairness, I also noted, for one author anyway, that those reviewers mentioned that they had read the book on another site initially. I am not sure, yet, what to entirely make of the rating/review process - so I'm only offering a different view at this point to add to the discussion. (I am not, by any means, condoning fake reviews.)
Achieving sales and positive reviews are the nature of the business. The fact that a retailer, and the industry as a whole, operates within a world of rating/review systems leaves the shopper at any of the retailers with the impression that it is a tool of some use in determining a good buy. I would, personally, even be a little more confident in my purchase from an unknown author if the book was rated favorably. Higher ratings/multiple reviews likely result in higher sales. There is motivation for authors to encourage reviews built into the system - it seems to be rolled into the "promotion of the product". The Stephen Kings and Dan Browns have positive reviews in hand before their cover design is even finalized. It is totally understandable why Indie authors would feel the need/pressure to promote their books in the same way.
Now, I usually buy books based on word of mouth reviews or I like the author and will read anything they write. If I stumble across one of those books on a retailer's site, but I have not purchased the book from that retailer (say Digital Fortress by Dan Brown), is it inappropriate to leave a review (if it is even possible without purchasing)? My initial thoughts are that my review is just as honest and valid, having read the book, as someone's who purchased the book from that retailer. And if that is the case, then an Indie author receiving positive reviews in the same manner is not really that different.
I know that in the short term, that pushes my new creation further down on the "notice me" list and gives an "unfair advantage" to the other new book, so to say. But consumers are smart. Whether it is a Dan Brown or an Indie author - even with the marketing tool of positive reviews, if the book actually sucks - that message will percolate and be heard loud and clear. (I know of many who are passing on the Fifty Shades series because of negative reviews.) Most books offer sample viewing - easy for a quick check before buying. The book that sucks will not likely earn any more further reviews beyond the ones "purchased" or offered by members of a "club". Maybe they are legitimate and maybe they are not, but such authors only know a limited number of people. The book that doesn't suck will, over time, receive more and more favorable reviews and eventually surpass those "purchased" reviews.
Is my logic flawed? To me, it seems that fake reviews are not really something to get too bothered about in the short term. An inferior book might jump out of the starting blocks amidst great fan fare and then crash and burn quickly, but a solid, good read will stand the test of time and prove itself.
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Post by Ted on Oct 9, 2012 8:40:26 GMT -8
Fake reviews suck the life out of reviews and has gotten to prevalent that I don't bother with star ratings or reviews when considering a book nowadays.
I'm with Stephanie, read the sample and if its garbage then all the 4 or 5 star ratings and all the glowing reviews mean nothing except telling me not to buy or even sample another work by that author.
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Jack Dash
New Member
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Post by Jack Dash on Oct 19, 2012 2:31:34 GMT -8
I agree with Ted. I never buy from a new author without checking the sample.
When looking for a new book, I ignore any book that doesn't have at least for stars and then I check the reviews and I don't bother scrutinizing to see if they're genuine.
If I'm still interested I check the free sample. I know within two pages if I want to read more.
A fake review may get my attention, but it won't sell me a book.
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