I’ve been following a perplexing thread on Amazon’s Kindle boards. Some of the posters in this thread believe authors degrade the utility and integrity of the Amazon review system by asking their family and friends (AKA sock-puppets) to post reviews (AKA shills) of their novels without disclosing that they are a friend or fam somewhere in the review. Click here if you’d like to read the 75+ pages of comments. No? Then I’ll summarize.
Basically, these readers feel that eventually reviews will mean nothing because so many authors are engaging in the sock-puppetry behavior described above, along with other unethical practices. As they point out, most friends/family won’t risk their personal relationship with the author by telling the world in their review that the novel sucked more than a hungry newborn. And unless a customer is told the reviewer is a sock-puppet, they might blithely believe every glowing, hyperbolic word.
Some contributors to the thread say they never read the reviews, only samples of the book, so they can judge for themselves about the writing quality. Others say they only read the middling, 3-star reviews, and ignore the 5-star reviews as probable shills. As a customer, I typically read both the good and bad reviews and take into consideration how detailed and well-written they are, as an indication of how much thought the reviewers put into them. Then again, maybe it’s only an indication of how much the sock-puppet likes the author and/or is terrified they might not be friends anymore if they say they didn’t like it.
I have to admit, I did not even consider asking my peeps to disclose that they knew me when they posted a review of The Scourge. I was too busy being thrilled that: 1) they agreed to purchase and read my novel, and 2) they liked it enough to take the time to review it. I guess I figured if they didn’t honestly like the book, they just wouldn’t review it. Which has happened plenty of times. People say, “I’m about to start reading your book!” and then I never hear another word.
But in the interest of ethical behavior, let me publicly state that some of my reviews on Amazon are from kind and well-meaning family and friends. Others are from strangers. I value them all. But I’d like to encourage any of you to go back into your review on Amazon and put a statement that you know me personally, if you so choose. And moving forward, friends and family, please consider disclosing that you know me in your reviews. Strangers, you may also feel free to say you don’t know me : )
As a reader, how would you feel if you found out a novel you purchased on Amazon had reviews posted by non-disclosing friends or family of the author?
