Paid Book Reviews-- What Do You Think?

[Christy Pinheiro]

Since the FTC has decided to have review bloggers disclose their freebies; what do all of you think of paid reviews?

I mean, I’m really happy to get book reviews for free, but I think that many of us would be happy to pay in order to get a review in a timely manner. And I don’t think that means the review has to be positive—believe me, I used to give people bad news about their taxes, but they got a bill from me either way! So what do you think of paid reviews??


Indie Book Reviewer List

(I edited this discussion on 10/30-- since it was woefully out of date. I also added the indie book reviewer questionnaire so that book reviewers who want to be in the Indie Reviewer "Yellow Pages" can send it to me and be included in the listing)

[Christy Pinheiro]

Hi Mark;
Thanks for your response. I really see it as a business decision, and the free reviewers are such a cheap gamble that I try to use as many as I can. I spend $400 a month on Adwords to promote my published textbooks, so free publicity from The Midwest Book Review seems like an incredible bargain.

I know when you are starting out, or paying out-of-pocket to promote, everything seems expensive, but if the book is high-quality, it makes sense to promote it to the book blogging public and other review websites.

Christy

[Mark Whiteway]

Hi Christy,

I get the impression that you write non fiction to a niche market, so I could see where that could work for you. Fiction, no matter how captivating or well written, is a much harder sell, particularly if you are a virtually unknown author. I agree wholeheartedly that free book reviews are a great form of advertising, but at the risk of sounding cheap, I work on much smaller margins, so I need to try and make every book count!

Having said that, I have decided to give Midwest Book Review a go, even though it is rather against my better judgement. You may be sure that I will share my experience with you!.

Who knows, this could lead to a whole new thread on Midwest alone!

Mark Whiteway

[Petula Wright]

I think being paid to write a review has its negatives and positives. I've worked for print magazines where I've written book reviews and had to adhere to a certain format and include certain information. I prefer not to stick to any format when I review a book for my blog; just depends on how I feel at the time. Will paying book reviewers make authors and publishers more demanding? I'm sure it'll require the book review writers to establish strict guidelines. For instance, reviews of a certain number of words cost XYZ amount, etc., or have a standard fee per review and they're all the same.

I recently read a blogger's post that said she was no longer doing free reviews unless she wanted to and I respect that. I agree with those who said that the book is payment, but for those of us who make a living as writers getting a free book doesn't pay the bills. I absolutely love doing book reviews when I have the time to read... :-) ... so I doubt I'd ever implement a firm I'll only write book reviews for pay policy. Great topic.

[Maria Hesh]

This is one of those arenas in which I change my mind -- not daily, but someone will make a good point and I find it valid. Then someone ELSE makes an opposite point and I find that valid, as well.

I think my bottom line would be, in terms of blogging and reviewing goes: how much do I trust the reviewer? Does the reviewer only give glowing reviews? I visit lots of book blogs, and I have seen many negative reviews. (Plus -- and I could be WAY off base here -- it seems to be that mostly reviewers get the book, as opposed to money, for the review.) I just read one yesterday for a book in which I was mildly interested. The review made me cross it off my mental list, before it ever got to an actual "under consideration" list. Who wants to read a book with lots of filler dialog? Not me. I also think my bloggers fiercely protect their reputations and their blog sites, which will help keep them "honest."

Just my two cents...

[Mariah Jones]

Into the lion's den I step. I am a "paid reviewer." There...the forsaken words have been spoken. I love books. I love to review books. I am an independently published author and I love to write. I also love to eat, feed my children and pay my bills.

When I look at a book as a potential candidate for a review, I ask that the author sends off a brief overview of their book for me to review. If the author can't spell, has no concept of grammar and the overview doesn't make any sense, I kindly decline to read the rest of their book. I do this for two reasons. A.) If you send me a book about molecular based stem-cell regrowth I am not qualified to review your work. plain and simple. There are plenty of subjects I know nothing about. B.) Why would I want to review a book if I can already guess I am going to give it a bad review? I don't want to read it if it stinks more than sun-baked gym socks any more than you want to see what I would write about it in a review.

I run an honest business. I am very upfront about my fees. I am not ashamed of them. I charge $25.00 for a book under 150,000 words. I work mostly with indie authors. Regardless of what anyone might think, I DO NOT accept every work sent to me. I carefully read each and every book, taking time to note the merits and areas that could use improvement. I write an honest, individual book review for each of the books I agree to read. If I was just in it for the money I would accept every book sent to me and simply cut and paste the same boring review for each one.

My site is very indie author friendly with links for new and experienced writers. I also feature an author showcase each week, where indie author's can showcase their works and post and interview to help them promote their book. I am proud of the job I do. I see no reason why authors should feel shame at paying for a review of their work. If you want it to be quality and you want it to be done timely, then there should be no shame in this. I advise that any author who send out work to anyone should do their research. There are plenty of scams out there, but there are also a lot of legitimate services.

Regardless of what anyone may think, reviewing books IS MY JOB. I have chosen to make it so. I suppose when it comes down to it, there are a lot of businesses we could blame for charging us. You fall and break your leg and have to pay the doctor. How wrong is that? It wasn't like you chose to get hurt, but you still have to pay? When we die, the funeral home makes money. I hope I am getting my point across.

I chose to make reviewing books my job not to harm anyone. I chose it because it is what I love to do. Who says that doing what you love and getting paid for it is such a criminal act?

If you would like to take a look at my site and make judgment for yourself please visit me at http://www.goldencompassreviews.com

[ManOfLaBook.com]

Let me be the first to say that I think it's great that you are making a living doing something you love. Don't take offence to the discussion. I, for one, was talking about bloggers who do book reviews as a hobby and I think most of the posts here are in the save vain.

Now, I have some questions:
What do you do with the reviews?
Do they belong to you or the paying party?

[Mystee]

I think the biggest problem is, even if you are good -- if you're doing it for free, no one's going to offer payment for it.
I review a lot of books each month...I do indie authors, more than several publishers and more. All of a sudden I tell them I want to be paid? I'm not thinking that would go very well.

So really, if anyone ever did want to change over, you'd almost have to create a new *pen name* (so to speak) and a new site unlinked to what you'd been using. But then, what would you use as reference for how long you'd been reviewing and the content you did provide.

I think it's just a really confusing topic.

[ManOfLaBook.com]

The FTC rule doesn't bother me because I disclose how I got the book anyway.

Paid book reviews are a catch-22. Yes, it might guarantee that your book will get reviewed, but it could also be considered a bribe to give you a favorable review.

Personally, as a book consumer I'd put less stock in a paid review than in a non-paid review. As a blogger I will feel bad taking your hard earned money and than writing a bad review.

http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

[Gareth Wilson]

The trouble with going on the pay per review route is how dependable is the reviewer. Are they going to tell you the truth? Or are people going to refuse to pay for a negative even though the reveiwer has put the work in.

Personally I read for my own pleasure, I enjoy finding books that impress me enough to look for a new author or give me the chance to wave the flag so that others can discover the new talent.

Like others I enjoy getting the books and when I get a signed one that really makes my day. You do get the occassional addition such as a small box of chocs etc but to be honest my other half tends to get them whilst I read the book. LOL

[Gareth Wilson]

Thats the thing that gets me though. A person is not going to be happy to pay for a review that they cannot use, therefore you have to wait for the independent readers to get a fully honest opinion of the title. It is essentially marketing and thats about it.

Alas I also know that some authors do send out an E-SOS appealing to fans to either write their own permenantly high scoring reviews or to downgrade other people's reviews who have had problems with the book.

It's catch 22 to be honest but I think that paying for a review is going to be the wrong way to go.

[Freda Mans]

I read regardless, so whether I am paid pr not I will continue to review and give my opinion. I will admit, an added incentive couldn't hurt. Like you said, the book is guaranteed to be reviewed with cash involved.

[Susan Monteiro]

Even though I'm an author, I also review for a large reviewing site. We reviewers don't get paid but we get perks, such as free advertising and accumulated points which you can redeem for certain things. Also we get free books to read. I think that's generous enough and I really don't want anything more.