Recently, someone asked this question in one of my LinkedIn groups “Are unearned 5 star reviews making Indie authors soft?” What do you think about authors paying someone to create a fake review? I didn’t comment because being in the book marketing business it’s hard to determine what a legitimate book review is. I’ve seen people have a large following on the Internet and publish a book and get rave reviews. Even though I don’t think it was the greatest book. You will see ot
her writers that you have worked with that give you a glowing review just because they have a friendship with you. It’s that unspoken language of I’ll do you a favor and maybe you will do me a favor in the future between authors.
What about family members that want to support you and gives you a great review? Does that count as a fake review? You can now go to websites and pay someone to give you a 5 star review. Is it wrong or is it just more obvious and straight to the point way of getting good reviews? Now that book publishing is so main stream it’s becoming obvious what authors will do to sell a book. Do I agree? It’s really not for me to decide but I do try to look at certain cues that a book that I buy might have fake reviews. Here is a list of things that I look for when I buy a book online.
- If it’s a new book, I look to see if it does have a lot five stars that was submitted in close range of each other.
- I usually look at some of the two stars and below to see if there is anyone that might of saw a pattern of fake reviews. Some book reviewers will tell you if they smell a skunk.
- There is no sure way to find fake reviews but do your research before you buy any book.