You excitedly finish a novel and can’t wait to sing its praises (or the desire to warn others to avoid it, save their money and even suggest a different author to read.) You decide this one is worth your time to review. Now you’ve put together what you deem is a wonderful review, summarizing the novel, the pro’s and con’s and any constructive criticism so others will know your opinion. You submit it to Amazon and move on with your life. Or so you think.
There have been numerous complaints of Amazon rejecting reviews. Receiving a message similar to this: “We removed your Customer Reviews because you know the author personally.”
Okay on the one hand, I understand and respect Amazon for making sure items, in this example-books, are not being bloated with 5 star reviews by well meaning family and friends. On the other hand, if the individual has submitted a well thought out review I think it’s unfair of Amazon to remove it.
Why can’t a family or friend be a genuine fan? I won’t even get into the how Amazon has linked the two. Talk about big brother conspiracy like theories. Incredibly creepy.
As I get closer to Widower’s Aura becoming live I worry about losing well thought reviews to Amazon’s scrutinization of my relationship with my first readers. Reviews are necessary in the writing community especially for Independent Authors like myself.
Personally, I don’t care for any dishonest reviews. I understand and accept that my novel will not be everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s ok. If you don’t like my novel and want to tell others not to read it, well that’s your choice. I’ll just go find a corner and rock myself. No really, write it. I just hope you can do it in a respectful manner. There’s no need to be mean just to be cruel.
If you haven’t heard about this, ask around. See if any of your go to authors have experienced this. If you are lucky enough to create an online or real life friendship with one of your favorite authors, know that your new friendship may block future reviews without further explanation.
Have any of you experienced this? Has your review been deemed too close to the source?
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