Review: A must read for any self published authors
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 6, 2013
Devastatingly honest account of the sub culture in the Amazon reviewing world. After self publishing a children's book and helping to promote a self published adult paranormal fiction, I never knew about Amazon reviewer protocol and perhaps could have saved myself a lot of aggravation. I had never read a review when purchasing a book for myself. I am an avid reader, but choose based on my interests alone.  It was with great fun and excitement I opened Amazon daily to see what people were writing about the books. I didn't realize that it was almost a competitive sport, and subsequently started reading other reviews from each book I purchased. Entertaining, and shockingly aggressive at times, I was surprised by many of the discussions born from reviews. I have started reviewing myself, and find too that when I get an unhelpful vote I wonder if it is genuine or done from spite to move people up the rankings. It is a sad commentary on where it can go when abused.This is an important book for any self published author and I agree with others who said there should have been a chapter on getting regular reader reviews as well. In a perfect world these reviews should serve as a beacon to guide people toward the right reading material for them to enjoy, and not an ego infested contest on who is achieving the highest vote.