I love this post by Kevin Brennan on the real cost of paid reviews, and it’s worth a good read. Like it or not, there are writers out there paying big bucks for reviews with the purpose of pushing their books up on the Amazon rankings, and sadly, it’s working. Sadder still, many of these books are poorly written, poorly edited (if even edited at all) and poorly executed.
Amazon has been working to lessen the impact but it’s still happening and it’s still a major problem because, as Brennan points out, writing is a business and where there is business there will always, always be people looking for ways to cut the work and maximize the rewards.
Enjoy!
The cost of doing (shady) business
By Kevin Brennan (Reblogged from What the Hell blog)
Book Launch Kickstart Boost – 50 Kindle Sales & Reviews for $250!
I don’t know. Doesn’t it seem slightly … unethical … to you? To pay $250 for 50 reviews?
(I’m not linking to the site because I don’t want to offer inadvertent promotion.)
Basically this is what Amazon has been cracking down on and what readers are rightly suspicious of. I happened on this deal as it streaked by on my Twitter feed the other day, noting that these folks promise to push your book to the head of the class in the Kindle rankings. It’s really just another pay-to-play scheme and must surely fly in the face of the Ethical Author Code.
Or does it?
Maybe it’s just a matter of degree, but if you can buy a review from Kirkus, why can’t you buy 50 reviews from this outfit? Neither Kirkus nor these guys promise positive reviews. You pay your money and take your chances.
Cinthia Ritchie 