Reviews of each others' books

[Jo Zebedee]

Just picking up from a comment on Mouse's thread where a reviewer wonders why the Chronners don't review each others' books more. It's an interesting question. I don't, generally, provide reviews for a number of reasons:

I think a review by someone who already has knowledge of you comes across as impartial and weakens the writer - look at her, she had to call on her mates to get a review...

I've often betaed in some form and, as with Thad's, I'm mentioned in the acknowledgements (an exciting moment.) if I then comment or review how nepotistic does that sound?

I think there are multiple layers of support. I will order most Chronners' books either from the library or from Waterstones, to get them listed. I'll retweet anything I see, I'll pass blogs on, I'll facebook. I think these are all valuable means of support. I think these are more tangible than a review that could be seen to be biased.

If I do review, I review here and link to it - I did that with Thad's cos I love it so much I couldn't not review - because that gives multiple platforms.

But should we be doing more to support our Chronners? Should we all be reviewing each others? Or does that way lie madness?

ps a fiver per good review, guys, come autumn...

 

[Mouse]

I don't know the guy who reviewed mine, btw. I don't know his username here, or if he's still here, nor did I ask him to buy the book, or review it.

I've just started forcing myself to review m/m romance books in the hope that, if I happen to review someone who then happens to read mine, they'll return the favour!

edit: that sounds bad! I don't mean 'force' as in, they were awful and I have to make myself write something. I mean that, I don't usually review books.

 

[thaddeus6th]

I tend not to review books on Amazon and not so much on Goodreads (I'm involved as a mod for the Indie Book Club group there, and if I read a book that's Book of the Month I will leave a review).

There's also the fact that I dislike ratings. I prefer a review without a rating, so that the reader of the review can decide their own weighting for the stuff I liked and disliked (for some people a problem might be a deal-breaker, for others it might be a minor niggle).

I agree with your view. If people do want to review my book then (excepting family, I did tell the parents not to review my stuff) I won't stand before them like Gandalf and proclaim they shall not pass, and if they don't want to (for the reasons you mention or because they think it's a steaming pile of horse manure and don't want to seem mean) I won't complain.

Retweeting and the like is another kettle of fish. I'm reasonably active on Twitter (as you know) and quite like that sort of thing. I also make it a habit to 'like' reviews (regardless of rating) my books get on Goodreads, a hat tip to the reviewer for taking the trouble.

Cross-reviewing has various problems. Imagine you love mine, but I think yours is awful. If I lie, I feel bad. If I don't lie, I feel bad. One way gives your book an unfairly high rating, the other might make you feel like you're getting a rough end of the deal.

 

[tinkerdan]

You are right:

I think there are multiple layers of support. I will order most Chronners' books either from the library or from Waterstones, to get them listed. I'll retweet anything I see, I'll pass blogs on, I'll facebook. I think these are all valuable means of support. I think these are more tangible than a review that could be seen to be biased.

If I do review, I review here and link to it - I did that with Thad's cos I love it so much I couldn't not review - because that gives multiple platforms.

Though reviews might help sell on the framework in which you place them. Like help sell Amazon books. But not many authors endorse a lot of books and when they do it's more like an ad that gets appended to the book information.

So there's a thought if mouse controls her account there are places that endorsements from fellow authors can be inserted and those might be taken more seriously than the review.

To date as far as I know there is not as much freedom in that account in the UK site on Amazon but the US site has a lot more options.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

It turns out all my reviews are from close friends. I'm so naughty!

 

[Perpetual Man]

It turns out all my reviews are from close friends. I'm so naughty!

With friends like that....

I think I've reviewed at least one book by most of the authors here on the Chrons, and there will be more

 

[tinkerdan]

Well if that were still true...

It turns out all my reviews are from close friends. I'm so naughty!

...I would expect that would mean you have one less friend.

In all fairness my friends would be allowed to give me a bad review, but claiming I was using friends to get good reviews would be the straw...

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

For me there is no upside to this. You write a review and make it known, you get blasted with requests for five hundred more. (There's a reason book bloggers don't want to review all the books they get asked to!) If it's good you are automatically just boosting fellow authors ratings in return for similar back hander rewards. If it's bad you've bought yourself an argument with another author you know.

And then there's receiving a review. If it's good the immediate perception is that you bought it in one way or another. If it's not then you don't really want it.

Then, just to throw salt on the wound Amazon, and I assume others in time, won't allow an author to write a review of another book in the same or similar genre. They just take them down. And though you can write your reviews on other channels - none of them have the same reach as Amazon.

Sorry, I don't see any winning in this scenario.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[tinkerdan]

I've heard of this but...

Then, just to throw salt on the wound Amazon, and I assume others in time, won't allow an author to write a review of another book in the same or similar genre. They just take them down. And though you can write your reviews on other channels - none of them have the same reach as Amazon.
.

... I haven't noticed it happening. But then as a self-publisher I'm used to the notion that they really don't consider me an author so I seem to review whatever I want.

On the other hand there are some people who apparently don't really want 'honest' reviews and I have pulled a few just because they have gotten nasty about it.

Really though if you don't try to write the reviews and have them taken away by the system then you don't know.