Do you (or anyone else) have any more information at all on this? My publisher doesn't know about it. If not, I'll suggest they email Vendor Central and ask.
Self-Publishing Q&A.
- Thread starter Amelia Faulkner
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Do you (or anyone else) have any more information at all on this? My publisher doesn't know about it. If not, I'll suggest they email Vendor Central and ask.
Gareth Lewis
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I had considered this, but wasn't sure how reliable any of the services were, or whether they class as buying reviews.
Thanks.
Cathbad
Level 30 Geek Master
First, load your shotgun with salt rounds. Then head on down to Amazon HQ...
Well, okay, perhaps that's not the best way...
If you find out let us know! @Gary Compton - any idea?
It might come to that, given that Amazon have never accepted, despite multiple proof, that their ****-ass system isn't updating correctly from Nielsen (and consequently is showing the wrong paperback price).
Will do!
Amelia Faulkner
Well-Known Member
What happens is that if your .co.uk title has zero reviews, it'll auto-display the top .com ones. Once you get .co.uk reviews, that goes away 
Why would you want .com reviews? Because the USA is by far and away the largest English-language ebook market on the planet. 345 million Americans, and even if only ten percent of them read that's still 34.5 million people. If only 1% of those read SFF, that's still 345,000 potential customers.
Statistically in the USA, more women than men read, and there are more black readers than white or hispanic.
A Snapshot of Reading in America in 2013
If you're still thinking white men outnumber black women readers in SFF, you're doing it wrong.
Next up, Fantasy sells better than Science Fiction:
Smashwords: 2016 Smashwords Survey Reveals Insight into the Habits of Bestselling Authors
Notably slide 24 of Smashwords' 2016 RT presentation (their 2017 one isn't online yet) lists Fantasy as their 4th best-selling genre, and Science Fiction as their 7th.
While extrapolation is a risky business, it's not unreasonable to deduce that if you write books which are inclusive, modern, and in the Fantasy genre, with over 100,000 words as your goal, you're going to do better than if you write 1950's-style testosterone-oozing Science Fiction with damsels in distress at 50,000 words. But it's also worth remembering that tastes in fiction differ between the UK and US market, with UK tastes leaning toward darker material with fewer cheery happy outcomes
Why would you want .com reviews? Because the USA is by far and away the largest English-language ebook market on the planet. 345 million Americans, and even if only ten percent of them read that's still 34.5 million people. If only 1% of those read SFF, that's still 345,000 potential customers.
Statistically in the USA, more women than men read, and there are more black readers than white or hispanic.
A Snapshot of Reading in America in 2013
If you're still thinking white men outnumber black women readers in SFF, you're doing it wrong.
Next up, Fantasy sells better than Science Fiction:
Smashwords: 2016 Smashwords Survey Reveals Insight into the Habits of Bestselling Authors
Notably slide 24 of Smashwords' 2016 RT presentation (their 2017 one isn't online yet) lists Fantasy as their 4th best-selling genre, and Science Fiction as their 7th.
While extrapolation is a risky business, it's not unreasonable to deduce that if you write books which are inclusive, modern, and in the Fantasy genre, with over 100,000 words as your goal, you're going to do better than if you write 1950's-style testosterone-oozing Science Fiction with damsels in distress at 50,000 words. But it's also worth remembering that tastes in fiction differ between the UK and US market, with UK tastes leaning toward darker material with fewer cheery happy outcomes
That's a change, then, because my amazon.co.uk page for Goblin Moon used to display reviews from both sites. This was not true on amazon.com, though.
However, reviewers can post their reviews on both sites. (But they have to go to each site to do it.) The reviewer may have to have an account on both, though—I'm not sure and can't test it because I do have accounts on both sites. I don't know if this is because I've bought books from both (some of the older books I wanted just weren't available in the US) or because at one point I had self-published a book through KDP in the US and the UK.
Maybe someone here can try it for a book they liked and see if it works for them.
But it's also worth remembering that tastes in fiction differ between the UK and US market, with UK tastes leaning toward darker material with fewer cheery happy outcomes
Ha! I'll keep aiming for the UK market then!
No reason you can't aim for both, Jo, and the US market is so much larger.
(And except for some scenes in AH, your writing really isn't all that dark compared to so much of what is out there.)
(And except for some scenes in AH, your writing really isn't all that dark compared to so much of what is out there.)
Amelia Faulkner
Well-Known Member
Yep. You not only require an account on both sites, but both accounts must have made at least one non-gift-card purchase. Accounts with zero purchases cannot leave reviews any more.
IKR? Alas the UK market can still be quite snobbish about self-published books, especially when it comes to trying to get publications to review them.
Minor exception: you can if you have an Author Central account with .com.
Amelia Faulkner
Well-Known Member
I'm just happy to have in some measure repaid my, erm, helicopter education.
Amelia Faulkner
Well-Known Member
opuscosmos
Member
Hi Amelia, thanks for all that useful information, its great to have someone lay out all the cards on the table and be honest about them. I have about four projects in progress and have come to terms with its not about the money (although that would be nice) but about doing what you love and sharing that creation.
I've recently submitted some work on Inkshares Nerdist Sci-Fi competition, mainly to test the waters and see what kind of response I would get. The response has been quiet to say the least. Inkshares do a lot of work for you but you need to get a solid readership in first before anything happens. Do you think this is a good way to get your name out there?
I've recently submitted some work on Inkshares Nerdist Sci-Fi competition, mainly to test the waters and see what kind of response I would get. The response has been quiet to say the least. Inkshares do a lot of work for you but you need to get a solid readership in first before anything happens. Do you think this is a good way to get your name out there?
Amelia Faulkner
Well-Known Member
The old adage in screenwriting is net points are for the birds.
Inkshares seems to have a great idea, but, oh, magically they give you a percentage of net, not gross, and that always makes my eye twitch. It doesn't take much Googling to find tales of woe from writers diddled out of fortunes by accepting a percentage of net not gross. I've personally not heard any tales from authors who have worked with them, so I can't actually comment, but I myself wouldn't send my work to that sort of thing.
I would suggest that it can (and should) be both. There is absolutely nothing wrong with earning money doing what you love. Unless what you love is murdering people. Then, no, you shouldn't get paid
Cathbad
Level 30 Geek Master
I would suggest that it can (and should) be both. There is absolutely nothing wrong with earning money doing what you love. Unless what you love is murdering people. Then, no, you shouldn't get paid
Are you restricting my creativity??
I do okay luckily - Inish is my only self published title so it merges with my published portfolio. Most reviewers are reasonably open to self published in that scenario.
opuscosmos
Member
The old adage in screenwriting is net points are for the birds.
Inkshares seems to have a great idea, but, oh, magically they give you a percentage of net, not gross, and that always makes my eye twitch. It doesn't take much Googling to find tales of woe from writers diddled out of fortunes by accepting a percentage of net not gross. I've personally not heard any tales from authors who have worked with them, so I can't actually comment, but I myself wouldn't send my work to that sort of thing.
I would suggest that it can (and should) be both. There is absolutely nothing wrong with earning money doing what you love. Unless what you love is murdering people. Then, no, you shouldn't get paid
Thanks Amelia, will have a deeper think about the inkshares submission and possibly retract my submission (come to think of it, I get a sense that they look after their own, i.e. folks who have been there from day one type thing, once an outsider decides to have a pop it suddenly turns commercial and not the 'in' thing to be associated with) and go down the Instafreebie route. It does seem to allow that allow the most freedom as an indie author.
I will definitely look forward to your kind words of wisdom.
Amelia Faulkner
Well-Known Member
Are you restricting my creativity??
I'm such a sh*tlord
I do okay luckily - Inish is my only self published title so it merges with my published portfolio. Most reviewers are reasonably open to self published in that scenario.
Excellent!
They may be lovely. It's just that net thing. Sets off the alarm bells like almost nothing else.
Next up: why I pull my hair out every time I see someone recommend Inkitt...
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