First off, thank you so much to everyone who shared Monday’s post on the publishing process in GIF form. I seriously did not anticipate that response when I posted it, but it certainly made for an exciting Monday!
Meanwhile, publishing tongues were wagging this week in the wake of a NY Times article about the (apparently very lucrative) world of fake online book reviews:
In the fall of 2010, Mr. Rutherford started a Web site, GettingBookReviews.com. At first, he advertised that he would review a book for $99. But some clients wanted a chorus proclaiming their excellence. So, for $499, Mr. Rutherford would do 20 online reviews. A few people needed a whole orchestra. For $999, he would do 50.
There were immediate complaints in online forums that the service was violating the sacred arm’s-length relationship between reviewer and author. But there were also orders, a lot of them. Before he knew it, he was taking in $28,000 a month.
Some of the responses to this post, including Salon’s, aligned this practice with self-publishing, likely because most of the authors featured in the article, including John Locke, were self-published authors.
Art: The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs by Georges de la Tour
Kristin Laughtin says
It's cheating, deceptive, and skeezy. If it becomes a common practice (i.e. well-known enough that the average reader knows about it), all it will do is undermine honest reviews left by well-meaning people. Readers will start distrusting all reviews unless they know the source, so the practice will just end up being self-defeating.
Melissa says
The problem with paid positive reviews is that they are directly linked to sales, giving the book an artificial boost over other books that might equal in quality or the same. Once the product reaches a certain tipping point, it goes viral, such as the case of Locke. This is true of any product, be it a book, a blender or a miracle diet pill. So paid reviews are no big news to me, although I find this practice odious. I made the assumption that everyone knew that this was common practice but that it was being hush-hushed for some reason. Obviously, Locke isn't the only writer who's doing it.
Jennifer R. Hubbard says
What do I think about writers paying for positive reviews?
Well, they'd be fools to pay for *negative* reviews! (rim shot)
But seriously …
I've never done it and don't plan to. It doesn't surprise me that others have done it.
Mostly what I feel is a vague annoyance that this will probably draw the attention of the Federal Trade Commission, which maintains an ongoing interest in making sure that paid endorsements are clearly labeled as such. And I'm guessing the FTC may come up with more rules that will make it harder for those of us who aren't paying or getting paid to just give our opinions online without jumping through a bunch of hoops.
Jake Richert says
The only thing close to this that I've done is except an offer for a free e-file of a book in exchange for a written review (or two or three) right before the book's official launch. But I wasn't asked to write a positive review. (Though one of Mr. Rutherford's clients "commissioned hundreds of reviews and didn’t even require them to be favorable" subsequently becoming a best seller…so, hmmm. Maybe I'm a Rutherford.)
Some of those books were priced at $30+, but is that $30+ saved a commission (assuming I was going to buy the book at all at full price)? I've done this for authors that I liked and believed in, and I read the books first so I wasn't like the employ who lamented that she wished she had actually read some of the books she reviewed.
I usually examine the quality of the info and message in a review. If it's all positive (or negative) adjectives but very little about what the work specifically offers to readers (more specific than "it will change your life"), I'm just as in the dark as before I began reading the review. Isn't the point to shine light? Isn't the sign of a reviewer actually having read a work a detailed review? Though I also quickly check Amazon when I first hear about an author/book to see the reviews, I know that I'm risking a waste of my time when all of the reviews are more praise (or hate-speech) than anything of substance. I hope that others can see these fluff reviews for what they are.
The economy is still recovering. I don't want to punish someone for making a quick income for doing nothing illegal but I don't want to necessarily reward an author for putting their money into fluff reviews either. A potenital reader's savvy may be the best remedy for this.
Anonymous says
Seems to me like it's analagous to athletes using steroids or Hollywood promoting its own films.
MaryAnn Pope says
I understand the contempt for paying for positive reviews. As consumers we'd really like a safe place where we can get the honest truth about a product, whatever it may be, but the internet will never be that place. It is too easy to hide, to be anonymous, to be deceitful.
I read the NY Times article and this particular passage caught my attention.
"Consumer reviews are powerful because, unlike old-style advertising and marketing, they offer the illusion of truth. They purport to be testimonials of real people, even though some are bought and sold just like everything else on the commercial Internet.
Mr. Liu estimates that about one-third of all consumer reviews on the Internet are fake. Yet it is all but impossible to tell when reviews were written by the marketers or retailers (or by the authors themselves under pseudonyms), by customers (who might get a deal from a merchant for giving a good score) or by a hired third-party service."
False product reviews isn't just something that self-published authors do, or even unique to the publishing world. It is just part of the on going battle between sellers wanting to attract consumers and consumers wanting fair, objective information on products they are considering buying.
As an aspiring writer who would love to make it my career, I understand where these self-publishing writers are coming from. From the NY Times article, there was reported more than 300,000 books self published books last year. How can a self-published author hope to be found in that haystack?
I think we all have this beautiful dream that if we write a great book our audience will find it, but it doesn't matter how great a book is, no one is going to read it unless they can find it.
So this whole thing about authors buying positive reviews is just an attempt to attract some attention in an over-crowded market. I don't blame them for trying.
Self-publishing is easy, but self-promotion is tough. That's one of the main reasons I want to go the traditional route. Yeah, I know authors have to do some self-promoting there too, but at least they have other people invested in their book for help.
Terin Tashi Miller says
I have never paid for a review, positive or otherwise.
But I know some published authors–or their publishers–do pay for reviews.
So I guess the real question isn't so much, to me, how do I feel about paying for positive reviews as much as paying for reviews at all, since most often a writer, or publisher, is more likely to pay a reviewer for a positive review than a negative one, and likely reviewers, and reviewing companies–not just the one mentioned in the article–know that.
So, like writing advertising copy for a product that may or may not be good for the public, I'm certain there are people merely offering their skills (persuasive writing?) for a fee. But I hope to refrain from the temptation, as the goal for me is to get readers–but not pay liars to get them for me.
As an example, I stole this from a website of a well-known (reputable?) reviewing "service" for authors. It comes from their service particularly for "indie" and self-published authors:
"Simply request a review by clicking the link above. You'll give us as much information possible about your book, choose whether you want standard service (7-9 weeks) or express service (4-6 weeks) and pay for your review (standard service $425, express service $575)."
When I was looking for/hoping for reviews, I was "shocked, shocked" to find ANYONE charging for them.
Now, I'm just adding it to the list of disappointments in what some in academe like to still call American literature, and what I see as marketing of just another product to make the marketers money.
ChulaSlim says
I never have and never will pay for a review. Although I've solicited free reviews, all of my reviews, both good and bad, are honest opinions and I've learned from them.
However I'll say that the ratings are a different matter. Many people search for books by ratings and the decision of a site like Amazon to promote your book weighs heavily on the ratings. Visibility also hinges on ratings. It's tempting to pay for high ratings regardless of the actual review, because it directly affects the success or failure of a book.
As for me, I'll let the readers decide.
Sam Mills says
1) I find this wholly unethical. Paying for a single rave review is dishonest. Paying one person to pretend to be 50 people? Ugh.
2) Uh, authors: this can really backfire. If I buy a book with mediocre reviews, and it is mediocre, okay I got what I expected. If I buy a book with RAVE reviews ("this is the best thing ever five stars!!") and it is mediocre? Then it seem even suckier by comparison. Sure you conned me out of the price of one book, but I will never give another one of your books a shot again– I'll just assume the rave reviews for your other books are by the same people (either fake, or holding very different standards than I do).
JDuncan says
Is it wrong per se? No. There are no rules in place for this kind of commentary. If one wants to pay for reviews, so be it. Free country and all that. It's a problem when there's no transparency. As a reader I want to know the basis of reviewer opinion. As it stands now, we have to make the assumption that the review is put up there honestly, i.e. they bought the book on their own, read the whole thing, and decided to produce an opinion about it. Once money is introduced, that honesty goes out the window. Objectivity is gone or at the very least, significantly influenced. Anyone who tells me they could be paid to give positive reviews and not have their reading experience skewed by this, I would say "bullshit." The brain just doesn't function that way.
So, while on one level, this practice is kosher, it's deceptive to the reader, and the biggest problem with that is, this practice only works if the deception remains in place. Once a reader knows there is influence, the validity of the review goes out the window. At least it does for me. I hope they figure out a way to stop this. Or, you know, maybe authors who do this will realize it's actually not very cool to deceive readers and stop doing it. Find your success through more worthy means.
JDuncan says
And as mentioned elsewhere, paid review services like Kirkus, where there is no expectation for a positive or negative review, are not what I'm talking about. I'm only talking about payment for specific outcomes. I suppose this could work on the opposite end as well, where people are paid to 1-star books that are direct competition to an author. That's a scary thought.
Naja Tau says
I think it's a little white collar… because I really depend on reviews in order to make decisions about whether or not to buy a product!
It also seems impatient to pay for reviews. I only have one review for my first novel, but I wouldn't trade the richness of waiting for thorough and unbiased reviews for anything. I'm going to keep doing Kindle giveaways until I build up a buzz for my series.
As a consumer, it's gotten to the point where I won't even bother reading a book on Kindle that doesn't have extremely analytical and descriptive passages about what the book meant to them- whether positive or negative or a bit of both. (I've been totally burned by several four and five star Kindle books!)
So now, WHO reads the book is just as important to me as the book itself.
Mary Horner says
39Some television commercials are designed to look like regular programming, and some magazine and newspaper ads are designed to look like editorial content. But, they must identify themselves as ads. On a local news show that features extended features, many spotlight local businesses and a message is scrawled across the bottom that the segment was a paid ad. I don't have a problem if this information is made available to me. When it is not, then I question the ethics of the participants, and wonder what they are trying to hide.
Reticulan says
In general, I don't see anything wrong with an honest, paid review. Isn't Kirkus paid by the publisher? Otherwise, how do they make their money? If that's the way it works, how is that different from them charging an indie author for the same service?
Paying for a positive review is another matter entirely. That is dishonest, in my view.
Anonymous says
This happens for real?!!! To ask/pay for one review, as long as it's honest, seems okay, BUT 50??? Oh no, no, no! That is definetely unfair to those of us who go about our work the right way! And although I feel I've been smacked upside the head with a tennis raquet with this info, I'm also saddened that it doesn't shock me as much as it should. Wow, the things people will do for a buck and a review… 🙁 Not cool in the way of ethics…
Neil Larkins says
I agree with the majority here that it's wrong and for the most part, self-defeating for the author. If readers find out a positive review has been paid for they won't buy the book no matter how glowing the report. So, the money has been wasted.
[Incidentally, thanks for posting that painting. I remember seeing it at the Kimble Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas around 1992 or so. It was in a show with other classic Rennaissance paintings. A huge work – the characters nearly life size – and absolutely fabulous! Having tried my hand at painting fabric I can appreciate the accomplishment of this artist in making it look so convincing you think you're looking at the real thing.
Anonymous says
There will always be those fake glowing reviews and they are obvious. Smart consumers know how to machete through the BS. For example, I was excited to read The Tiger's Wife, but after reading a few amazing reviews I found the true ones. How did I know they were real? A common truth was in all of them, that the book was like short stories pasted together. I passed on reading it despite the "awesome" reviews and found another novel that was genuinely incredible.
Mike Ramberg says
Finally a guy starts making money as a writer and everyone's all, like, "Hey, he can't make money as a writer!" And he's all, like, "Sure I'm a writer!" And they're, like, "But you write fake reviews for books that probably suck!" and he's all, "They're real reviews for real books. What's your point?" And they're all like, "But the person who wrote the book is supposed to make money, not you," and he's all, like, rolling his eyes and stuff.
I'm not sure what anyone expected to happen, but this isn't much of a surprise.
Mira says
Nathan,
Thank you so much for noting that the bad press directed toward indie authors on this is skewed and unfair, since traditionally published authors have similar motivations and may have purchased Rutherford's or other similar services as well.
The New York Times has an anti-indie slant, and this article reinforces that by only naming indie authors.
The reality is that buying good reviews is an old tradition. Publishers buy reviews in journals through purchasing advertising, glad-handing and other sorts of tactics. Blurbs solicted on books are sometimes paid for, etc. Money may not always be exchanged, but there is plenty of tit-for-tat between authors, as well people soliciting friends and family who may not even have read the book, etc.
This is not something new, but Rutherford did it front and center, rather than behind the scenes, which brought it to everyone's attention.
Thank you for your fair response to this, Nathan.
Leanne Bridges says
I don't read reviews, and I wouldn't rely on them to help me choose a novel to read. I think that readers needs and wants vary so vastly that only I can be the judge of what I would and wouldn't enjoy. The blurb and a few randomly selected pages are how I choose. ( I don't have an e-reader, so it's just hard copies for me).
As for paying for reviews, it's a marketing tool used in many industries, but I do not agree with it. At all.
J.C. Martin says
Even an establishment as respectable as the Kirkus Reviews charge for reviewing indie books. Sadly, I see no feasible way of moderating this. I have heard of authors going it on their own, creating sock-puppet accounts to give themselves 5* ratings. While I don't do this, it sadly goes with the territory, and it's frustrating to think that for every hard-earned, genuine 5* review I get, someone else has dozens of phony ones that devalues mine.
Laura B. says
What – now we can pay to be popular?
Authors already have problems dealing with reviewers that offer opinions in the realm of sticky sweet or viciously hateful. The practice of paying someone to review you only makes me doubt the validity of a recommendation more. There was a time when choosing to purchase a book was a deciding factor based upon content of reviews by other readers. I guess that reliability is out the window! It's sad we've reached a point where marketability takes precedence over ethics.
Mehmet Erkurt says
It's hard for me to totally trust on reviews especially in my home country Turkey where literary magazines are so bound with publishing houses who pay for the advertisements they gave them. There is a quite close commercial relationship. Other reason, publishing sector is quite narrow, authors and reviewers mostly know each other, hence the reviews are more inclined to be positive. There are more recommendations and less critics. I am a half-publisher myself, but as a reader, I prefer to hear my friends recommendations than the reviews.
A. M. Perkins says
Pay for good reviews?
Pshaw! That's what family and friends are for! 😉
But seriously, this feels so wrong on so many levels.
Kat Sheridan says
If I were a sociopath (and nobody's been able to prove anything, so I'm sticking with "IF"), I would be laughing maniacally at all the darling, naive, self-righteous newbies while standing in line at the bank to cash my million dollar checks (like John Locke).
In the dark old days, before I learned much about how the real world works, I would walk into a bookstore and immediately be confronted with a large table stacked high with books, and some splashy sign saying something like "New and Notable!". And I would think "some intelligent, discerning book seller has read these books and thinks they are worthy of my attention!" Same with end cap displays. And books face out instead of spine out. I had not a clue in the world that a PUBLISHER PAID for this placement, this inferred endorsement, this implied "good review" of the work.
How is paying for a review any different than that? If your tradtional pubbed contract included something that said the marketing departmet would be paying for end cap placement, you'd be crowing to all your friends about it (I know authors, and I've been the recipient of such crowing emails from them).
And honestly, when you go to the grocery and see all those red and white cans of Campbells lined up at eye level, you don't really beleive it's because that soup is a better quality than the store brand on the bottom shelf, do you? I mean you DO know they paid for that placement, right? Is that unethical, or is it simply good business to do what it takes to improve ones "discoverability"? Whether it's front table placement or a paid review that raises your ranking, what's the difference?
The average reader (the millions how, sadly, DON'T read Nathan or the NYT), have no clue a review is fake or that a publisher paid for visibility. How can people yelp about "ethics", when ethics has nothing to do with it, and sales has everything to do with it. Aren't authors, especially indies, always reminding one another this is a business? And isn't it your business to sell books?
Do I think paid reviews are scummy? Maybe. Would I do it? Well, that "sociopath" thing hasn't been proven (yet), but no, I do trust my work and have to look myself in the mirror daily.
Sommer Leigh says
And this is why I have a handful of book bloggers I read regularly with similar tastes to mine. Good book bloggers leave positive and negative reviews and I love them for their honesty and analysis.
Kaila says
Not all that surprised, disappointed but ever since I read Matched, which claimed to be the best book since the hunger games, I don't trust them too much, or I just look at the source of where the reviews come from. That kind of sucks though. Very sneaky, and a cheat.
Daniel McNeet says
Nathan,
Word of mouth is best. Readers are smart. They will be able to check easily whether the author paid for a review. Then the reader can make a decision to buy. Buying a review does not mean the book is not worthy, just suspect.
K. M. Walton says
It's not how it's supposed to be. Plain and simple.
AR says
It's inaccurate to call this capitalism. Where was the capital, the investors? This was just shady business. And I know some smart-mouth is going to pop up and say, "shady business" is redundant – but that's inaccurate, too. Or rather, it's hyperbole that's funny only until it's believed to be literal truth. Without business none of us can live. With dishonest business, there's a subtle theft of power.
Kat Sheridan says
AR, isn't the AUTHOR the investor? Capitalism doesn't mean some third party investing, as in venture capital. An author invests capital in himself.
thewriteedge says
How pathetic!! As a reviewer, I'm insulted that someone thinks s/he could bribe me to make him/her look good. And that person doesn't realize that the insult goes back to the work requiring the review. As the author/creator of your work, do you not have enough faith in your story that you'll let it stand on its own merit? If you're such an insecure writer that you feel like you need to pay someone off to say nice things about your work, DON'T BE A WRITER!!!
Donna Brown says
In a way, the relationship between a writer and a paid reviewer is similar to the relationship between a business man and a paid escort. A John pays the paid escort to gush over him and act like he's the most important person in the room. It's the same way with a writer and a paid reviewer.
Anonymous says
@ Kat Sheridan
"If I were a sociopath (and nobody's been able to prove anything, so I'm sticking with "IF"), I would be laughing maniacally at all the darling, naive, self-righteous newbies while standing in line at the bank to cash my million dollar checks (like John Locke)."
I'm no newbie, and I know it takes more than paid reviews to make a big book.
What you have to realize is that the majority who are making money on these paid reviews are the people writing them. The authors, for the most part, are wasting their time and money. The few who have made money this way are in the minority.
petemorin says
More troubling than the practice, I think, is the defiant attitude of some of the writers – "So what?" they say, with total disregard for this thing called "ethics."
Yet I wonder if the practice of big name authors' providing their endorsements is any less dubious – do they really read the book before exclaiming that so-and-so is "the next John Grisham?"
Whirlochre says
It's like paying a vampire to suck on your neck in the hope that all your friends will go WOW!
Chrystal says
I'm not too man at John Locke in finding an enterprising lucrative scheme. However, I am a bit disappointed that he felt the need to be ridiculously greedy – greed is always the downfall.
As a Book Review Writer, my time is valuable too and I would Loooove to get paid to review a book – Alas, I do not – I wonder is it because I attempt to write an honest assessment of what I thought of the book. Do note, in my reviews I never try to slam an author for their work, because although I may not care for it, other readers may. An honest review does not have to equate to a negative or nasty review.
Happy reading.
JG says
These "reviews" are promotions and should be categorized accordingly. Like when movies come out on dvd: "critics are calling "____" the #1 movie of the year", "a must-see"… These are promotional plugs not real reviews for the consumer and it seems to me that's exactly how these "buy-for-high" reviews are.
Also, a lot of big-name and blogger reviewers refuse to read self-published books so I think Indie authors are more desperate and willing to find ANYONE with any kind of platform to review their book. Any article you read about self-publishing always stressed the importance of getting your work seen and out there.
This said, I do think it's deceptive to the reader and another cheap shot by authors who maybe should have spent more time writing a solid, gripping novel instead of money for a (possibly) dishonest review. Are we loosing some integrity in the writing world?
JG says
These "reviews" are promotions and should be categorized accordingly. Like when movies come out on dvd: "critics are calling "____" the #1 movie of the year", "a must-see"… These are promotional plugs not real reviews for the consumer and it seems to me that's exactly how these "buy-for-high" reviews are.
Also, a lot of big-name and blogger reviewers refuse to read self-published books so I think Indie authors are more desperate and willing to find ANYONE with any kind of platform to review their book. Any article you read about self-publishing always stressed the importance of getting your work seen and out there.
This said, I do think it's deceptive to the reader and another cheap shot by authors who maybe should have spent more time writing a solid, gripping novel instead of money for a (possibly) dishonest 5-star review. Are we loosing some integrity in the writing world?
Jason Runnels says
I do think it is a little dishonest, whether by a self-published author or not. If the book is good, then there is nothing wrong with a little bit of "selling", but it still shows limited integrity on the author's part.
But should anyone really be so surprised? If we ask the front desk at a hotel where is a good place to eat, they have a glowing list of recommended restaurants usually paid for in kickbacks by, yep, then restaurants.
Helen Baggott - affordable proofreading for eBooks says
I regularly review books and it's never occurred to me that I could charge.
If an author sends me their book and it's dire, I contact the author and explain why I can't recommend people buy it.
Yes, I could write a bad review – but I expect their friends and family will write a dozen good ones to cancel mine out and I don't have time to worry about it.
mtmcguire says
As a reader, yes, I look at reviews but it's usually easy to spot a fake.
To be honest, the blurb and the way the book is pitched on its information page tells me a lot about whether it's the kind of thing I want to read. If it's full of Neuro Linguistic Programming power words, or I'm being overtly sold to in any other way, I tend to pass. I certainly shy away from sweeping phrases about how good it is. I'll decide that, what I want to know is what the book is about.
If I'm hooked by the blurb it's usually enough, but I'll always have a quick squint at the look inside feature first. If there isn't a look inside I will be wary.
As an author would I pay for a review?
It depends… there are many impartial review sites who require a 'donation' before they will read your book and review it. I tend to avoid them but even so they are pay per review even if they are impartial.
However, I would never pay anyone to make their review favourable. Why would I? If I don't believe my writing can stand on its own why would I put it out there.
In a nutshell then:
1. People are smart enough to spot a fake review and authors who buy them only have themselves to blame if their books aren't up to scratch and they end up catching a lot of flack and looking like an arse.
2. It takes confidence to sell a book. If you need to buy a fake review, you don't have enough belief in your work; the chances are it isn't ready for publication.
3. It's cheating. Although I'm sure the interns in the big publishing houses end up writing them for the house names.
The thing is, the shelf life of an e-book is infinite. You don't have to be an overnight success. Frankly I reckon that if I've written a decent book, I'll stand or fall by what's in it.
Sorry, long rambly answer but that's my two pennorth.
MTM
Mia says
Are you sure this is relevant to reality? I paid for a review, and got a horrid result (two stars); I sent in my book to a reviewer for FREE and I got a wonderful result (four stars). I paid just to get reviewed, not to get reviewed beautifully!
Sheila Cull says
Hey Bransford.
Paying for reviews is like paying for somebody (not to cut or groom)but to look at your hair and say either, "Looks good," or, "It could look better, pay some more money, we'll see, then it might improve."
I think it's desperate, foolish.
You asked!
Later B-Ford
Mira says
So, it's interesting. From Passive Guy's blog, I found out that two authors recently admitted to doing this.
They are not indie, they are legacy published authors.
R.J. Elloy:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9515593/RJ-Ellory-detected-crime-writer-who-faked-his-own-glowing-reviews.html
And Orlando Figgs:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/7624186/Award-winning-historian-Orlando-Figes-I-posted-anonymous-reviews-on-Amazon.html
Thought folks might be interested.
Anonymous says
The quality of amazon reviews has dropped over the last couple of years. I've found that the most honest reviews are those posted within the first week of a book showing up. Once more than a week has passed, the reviews are censored.
Anonymous says
Paying for reviews is foolish. As soon as it's discovered, one's career is in serious jeopardy.
Fred says
Well, if you're gonna pay for reviews, or create suck puppet accounts to bolster your books and denigrate others, all I can say is don't get caught.
Anonymous says
I don't like this practice, but it is obviously effective. I myself read review of books I know nothing about to find out more, and am definitely swayed by an articulate positive or negative opinion. And the bad thing is – there is no way anyone can tell if these are genuine opinions or paid for. It is not something, as has been suggested in many comments here, that is ever going to be found out – you can guess all you like – for most reviews, we are never going to know.
Annette says
Very interesting comments. Some comments have been that they would depend on word of mouth. Question: whose word and whose mouth? In this day of publishing where we are all trying to gain some "ear and eye"for the word, we need to do what we can. When we hire companies to go on blog tours, and reviews are part of that this is in a way is part of paying for the review so that your or my book will be noticed for a nanosecond so that a potential reader will experience it. We are all finding our way to be noticed. Not to different to the "likes" and tags which change statistics on certain places. Write the best book you can and then find a way for the reading public to find you. Reviews work, from mom or dad, or friends and the occasional reader and perhaps even those who read for money.