Reviews and Conflict of Interest

You won't see me reviewing BDSM fiction on my blog anytime soon, because I wouldn't be objective. I'd be too tempted to write a snotty review of a book competing with mine. Especially if I didn't like it to begin with. Or maybe I'd praise a book if the writer had sensibilities similar to mine. That's not to say all writers who review books in their genre are unethical. Necessarily. But it is tough to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest.

There are plenty of reviewers who review despite conflicts of interest. These include well-regarded review bloggers who also offer editing services, and review bloggers who also sell author PR packages. Conflict of interest doesn't automatically mean unethical. Presumably a reviewer could ignore the fact that they are being paid (or have been paid, or will be paid) by that selfsame author to perform a different duty. But it is a conflict of interest, irrespective of claims of special safeguards.

Many reviewers are ethical, yet useless. They don't seem to have any standards. Amazon "Top Reviewer" Harriet Klausner is an infamous example. She reviews ten books a day, awarding most of them five stars. To be fair, in the early days of Amazon, she was a prolific, but legitimate reviewer. In the 1990s, I got the feeling she even read the books she reviewed. I doubt she reads them now. Another mass review source on amazon is Midwest Book Review. They award only five star reviews. 65,000 five stars to date. Can all 65,000 of those books really be extraordinary?

Outright scammy reviewers abound. These include the amazon "sock puppets". A sock puppet is an author who gives herself a five star review, often under a fake account. I recently read about an author who had given himself three five star reviews (out of nine reviews). The author was outed on the amazon forums, and suddenly two of the three fake five star reviews disappeared.

Reviews by family and friends are both useless and scammy. Here's a typical one:

This book is really really good. I couldnt put it down. I read it so fast cause the words just flow and I had to know what was going to happen next. Highly recommond this book. Awesome is all I can say!!! ;0)

Such reviews are pretty easy to spot because there will be a cluster of them, all posted within a few days. The reviewers will also have only reviewed that one book. Evidently no other book was as awesome!!!;0). Some authors will arrange review exchanges with other authors: if you give me a five star review, I'll give you a five star review. I consider this unethical. These reviews are often well-written, and are harder to ferret out as fake without doing some cyber-sleuthing. Fake review determination is truly a science. But if a book sells a few copies a month, yet has 51 five star reviews, you can bet the author is gaming the system.

The author who has no friends or family can always buy a fake review. Only five bucks!

See also:


Red Adept: Reviews and Editing
It's Promotion but is it Smart?
Erotic Anthology Editor also Erotic Romance Reviewer
Name that Sock Puppet Amazon Forum
Harriet Klausner Appreciation Society Blog
Midwest Book Review Talks About Amazon.com

Exploitation of Self-published Authors

I've been seeing a disturbing trend in recent months. Traditional reviewers and agents (and even other authors) are sensing there's money to made off self-pubbed dreams of making it big.

Charging for book reviews:

Kirkus will provide a 300 word review of your self-published book for $425. Not only that, but Kirkus promises you will also: “get your book discovered and proudly wear the title, Published Author.” In capital letters, even.

Publishers Weekly will consider reviewing your self-published book for a $149 "processing" fee.


Literary agents acting as self-publishing "consultants":

The Mediashift blog describes several of these intermediary agents who will "package" your self-pubbed book for a percentage. The Bookends Agency just announced it's also jumping on the bandwagon.


And finally, an example of a self-published author exploiting other self-published authors:

An Amazon forum spam queen provides a website listing random "indy" titles. She also provides these bonuses: referrer amazon links, and listing her own books first.

Mangement Skills Reviews

I've got snippets of a few recent reviews of Management Skills for ya!

From Over a Cuppa Tea

I think I nearly fainted when I spotted this book, Management Skills by January Rowe available for review in Netgalley. Good Lord, the title surely fooled the readers...is definitely NOT a self help book or a business related... there’s only hot, sizzling, sexy stuff inside.

From Michelle R. at The Romance Reviews

...a brief but powerful novella. The memorable characters were among my very favorites...I was so sad to set my Kindle down and bid the two goodbye.

Thick Skin and Bad Reviews

Bad Reviews

Authors are supposed to have a thick skin in order to survive. First, there's the loneliness and tedium of writing draft after draft, figuring out what to write. That's followed by years of rejections. Finally, if a writer is lucky, comes the thrill of publication. And after that, the horror of bad reviews.

I don't have thick skin. When somebody hates what I write, it hurts.

My One has gotten plenty of unfavorable reviews (good ones, too). Some readers are revolted by Briony's exploration of S & M. A handful of reviewers are even indignant, as if I've tricked them, promising one thing and delivering another. I'm not sympathetic. My One is pretty clearly labeled as BDSM fiction. What do readers think the SM in BDSM stands for? Soft and Mild?

On a happy note, there's a "Books with the Hottest Sex!" list on goodreads (a social book cataloging site). My One is on the list!

My book may be revolting, but it's also sexy. So neener, neener, mean reviewers.

Redbook

Redbook, the venerable women's magazine, has gone kink. The July 2010 print issue offers articles titled "28 Hot Little Sex Life Ideas" and "Sexy Movie Night". Among the suggestions to heat things up in the bedroom: read literotica (a free erotic fiction website) as a couple, and watch the "S & M" movie Secretary.