Indie vs. Amazon
I recently published my first book, but as an author I made the critical error of linking my author account to my main amazon account. Silly me!
Little did I know that Amazon don’t actually allow authors to take part in book reviews of other authors. Strange!
It’s as though authors shouldn’t be reading other author’s books. I was completely surprised when I was advised by a fellow author (someone I’ve never personally met and only liaised with via online channels) that my reviews for his book had been removed. When I checked, many of my reviews had been deleted. Even the four star reviews were taken down. I would like to state that all of my book reviews have been detailed and constructive, up to two paragraphs about the book and my perceptions of the author’s work. I’ve never been paid to review, and these were not direct swaps for reviews of my own book.
So why would this retail giant pick on little old me?
When I sent a query to Amazon, their response was that apparently I have a ‘personal affiliation’ with the author – they are right – I bought and read their book. That’s it. I get nothing more from writing the review, except good karma, as I hope that others would do the same for me when they read my books. As an author I’m finding that actual reviews are hard to come by. Many buy and read the book, but not many take the time to post a review. Perhaps people only take the time to write something they feel aggrieved about, unless asked otherwise. However, reviews mean more sales, and more opportunities for your book to be showcased.
So why are Amazon making it so difficult for Indie Authors? This is the question I’m now hearing a lot through different author networks, and my eyes are wide open to the challenges we face as self-published authors, without big publishing houses paying for reviews. In fact, there are several petitions circling about, asking Amazon to review their policies. Still no word from the giant on that matter, however.
So what have I done? Well, I still love reading, and I feel strongly about reviewing the books I have read. I also want to encourage other self-published and independent authors, so I will continue to pick up their books first and foremost. I started asking friends if they could review on my behalf. But that is not sustainable, and I cannot purchase from their accounts.
What I have done is set up a very separate Amazon account. On top of this, I’ve installed a browser that protects and hides my computer’s IP address. So far it's working. I can read and review books – objectively – and I am back supporting other independent authors. But it is only early days, and time will tell…
As an author I live in hope that eventually Amazon will listen to its growing Independent Author base, and revise its review policy. Until then, I will encourage other authors to look for similar solutions and not to be deflated by brick walls that are being placed in front of us, whilst always supporting the independent author!
