I've finished my novel - Monkey Arkwright - Page 3

Rob · 10-01-2018, 17:48

Thanks for taking the time to read it - even better, thanks for the review because they seem really hard to come by at the moment. Can't see it on Amazon yet, but I guess it's in the pending status. I'll look forward to reading it later.

An unexpected end it always a bonus.

Re: the lack of mistakes - that's good. As I previously noted, I must have gone through it 5 or 6 times with my daughter before publication, which is why I was really annoyed with the two stupid mistakes that I did spot in the first week!

EDIT - If your ID is Jockosjungle, then thanks that's a brilliant review (I kind of hope it's not because then I'll have another good review to look forward to, but that's being greedy).

Rob · 10-01-2018, 21:34

Sorry, also forgot to ask - any chance you can post the review on Amazon.com as well?

jockosjungle · 11-01-2018, 08:59

Copied the review over!

Rob · 11-01-2018, 12:01

Cheers - first review in the U.S.!

Torf · 11-01-2018, 13:06

Just bought it and sent it to my son's kindle (he's a YA reader and will get to it before me). Very best of luck!

jockosjungle · 11-01-2018, 13:25

You should have waited, it's free next week!

That being said I normally have so much Kindle credit, I did wonder about writing a book and buying it myself just to turn it into cash

Torf · 11-01-2018, 13:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbullivant

You should have waited, it's free next week!

That being said I normally have so much Kindle credit, I did wonder about writing a book and buying it myself just to turn it into cash

Saw that - but I can certainly spare a pound to reward a forumite

Rob · 11-01-2018, 17:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torf

Just bought it and sent it to my son's kindle (he's a YA reader and will get to it before me). Very best of luck!

Thanks Torf, it's much appreciated. Hopefully your son will enjoy it (he might come and ask you a few history questions afterwards).

Can I ask in advance if you can leave a review on Amazon when you/your son have read it? No rush, but good, bad, indifferent, I'm happy to take the criticism.

Thanks again.

Torf · 11-01-2018, 17:31

No worries. I've asked him to write a review.

Rob · 11-01-2018, 17:42

Cheers.

Taq · 12-01-2018, 12:43

Goodreads is also a good place to copy reviews over to. Amazon have a fairly aggressive policy of deleting reviews of anyone they find 'connected' to the author. They never seem to get rid of bad reviews though...
They don't seem to bother with Goodreads, though, which they also own. Probably because it's not a direct selling portal.

Rob · 12-01-2018, 12:51

I'm on Goodreads ...... but only because I'm an author. Not sure how many regular readers are on there though. Maybe we should all concentrate on building up bad reviews as they're not deleted! On a side note, I've joined a couple of Goodreads group where I've made a few sales, but as a by-product, I've found a thriving music discussion community ... a bit like it used to be on here, but sadly the amount of discussion on the Music forum seems to have taken a nosedive.

Got my 5-day FREE download coming up next week, so I'm interested to see how it pans out.

jockosjungle · 12-01-2018, 12:54

I'm always unsure whether to say that I

1. Don't know the author
2. Paid good money for the book

As most seem to be freebies and even stick "i received a free copy to review"

Rob · 12-01-2018, 13:01

Surely if you pay money for the book, regardless of who you are, you are entitled to an opinion on it? Probably stating that you DON'T know the author is raising an unnecessary flag - like the driver who assures the good officer that he hasn't been drinking, honest.

jockosjungle · 12-01-2018, 14:41

That's what I thought, you just need to get yourself to the level of reviews where they've obviously not just your immediate family! In Vitro Lottery has got 33 (not to compare, it's been out a lot longer) and when I see deals on stuff where they've not got many reviews, you wonder. But you'll get there I'm sure!

Taq · 12-01-2018, 20:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbullivant

I'm always unsure whether to say that I

1. Don't know the author
2. Paid good money for the book

As most seem to be freebies and even stick "i received a free copy to review"

Another major spanner in the works is that Amazon keeps changing its TOS.
For example, whereas "i received a free copy to review" was actively encouraged in the past, it will now, most likely, get your review deleted.
Due to abuse of the system, Amazon now doesn't allow freebies of anything in exchange for reviews. For books, you can give them away and if someone reviews it that's allowed, but not if it's deemed as a condition of the giveaway (if that makes sense).
Another thing Amazon tracks is IP addresses, so if someone and their family member both leave reviews from the same house, then both may get deleted. I fell foul to that one when someone from a review group's wife also read it. She'd even bought an extra copy!

Taq · 12-01-2018, 20:28

Gisela Hausmann is worth following on FB and Twitter - she's usually pretty up to date on the various things Amazon gets up to.

https://www.facebook.com/NAKED-Truth...5490208749151/

Rob · 12-01-2018, 20:29

Ouch that's harsh - 2 copies deserves 2 reviews.
I suppose that we have to take the rough with the smooth - yes Amazon are making money off our books, but where else would we be able to get our books in front of a potential worldwide audience?

Taq · 12-01-2018, 20:32

Very true. Amazon giveth, and Amazon taketh away.
Many writers would either never get their work out or have to spend thousands going through a vanity publisher (and then try and find a selling platform) before Amazon shook everything up.

Taq · 12-01-2018, 20:58

Another tip is to make sure you disconnect your Amazon account from Facebook and Twitter (otherwise they may start deleting reviews from followers or friends, even if the link came from them reading your book!). And when sharing links, always remove the tracker part at the end after the ASIN code, because they can use that too.

Basically, go full tinfoil hat