Review: Hardly a shocking "exposure" but entertaining and informative
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 19, 2014
As a Amazon customer and enthusiastic reviewer, I'm curious about how the reviewing system works for both buyers and sellers.  In spite of the presence of fake reviews, I still believe that the review system is honest and helpful overall. I am closing in on 400 book reviews and not only have I never been compensated for my efforts, I have never been offered a free review copy!  I refuse to believe that I am the only honest penny in this very large piggy bank.I should say that I'm not a numbers person and the author's charts and graphs don't show up on my basic Kindle and I probably wouldn't understand them if they did.  I'll take his word that a greater number of reviews correlates to a greater number of sales, although I was buying ebooks on Amazon for three years before I started reviewing and only then did I start reading other reviews.  Obviously, I'm in the minority on this one.As a reviewer of non-fiction ebooks (and that's ALL I review) I think that the percentage of fake reviews in that  area is relatively low, although I do see reviews which are clearly bought through Ffiver.com or some other source.  They are easy to spot because they are short (you don't get much for $5 these days!) and generic and usually not very well written.  If you click onto the reviewer's profile page, you will normally find that it is a one-off (the only review that the reviewer has posted) or one of a few reviews.  You will see the same books and products reviewed by all of these "professional" reviewers. I personally look for the word "awesome" and automatically discount any review that uses it, but that may be an age issue.I can't say that I was impressed with his argument that Amazon doesn't do more to stop fake reviews because the fakes bring in business.  Profit is certainly the main purpose of any business, but Amazon does allow unfavorable reviews (even unfair ones) and doesn't even limit them.  I was interested in his comments about relatives not being allowed to post reviews.  I have seen aunts, nieces, and nephews identify themselves as such in reviews.  In one case, the author's biological mother (who was featured in the book) wrote a review and it was published.I think that this author is wise in advising sellers to avoid trying to game the system.  As he says, all the five-star reviews in the world won't make a good book out of a lousy one. I have seen instances where publishers "over-sold" a book which then got bad reviews because of unrealistic expectations.  For many people who self-publish, simply telling their stories is the main goal.  Writing has always been and will always be a precarious way to make a living and every new author should accept that.I loved the section of funny reviews.  I stumbled onto the reviews of HOW TO AVOID BIG SHIPS some time back and wondered if anyone else was aware of them.  Many reviewers try to inject a little humor into the process and I am always happy to discover them.  Nice to see that this author has a sense of humor and that his investigation into the seedy under-belly of reviewing hasn't soured it.