Paying For Reviews

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frosteeman

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I'm in the process of getting my first novel self-published. The publishing company I chose to publish the book for me is now in the Marketing stage. The package I paid for has quite of bit of marketing attached to it, but interesting enough I received a call today about "How my book is good enough for Hollywood" to be interested. I took that revelation with a grain of salt. Bottom line is they wanted to know how much I wanted to invest in my book to make it go as big and as far as they ( the publishing company ) thinks it could go. Pretty sure this is just to get more money from me and that isn't going to happen. They want 1500.00 to get professional reviews for the back cover of my book. Any comments? I could use them. Thanks
 

Salt

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I did a fundraising project a while back and one of the things the money was going for was Kirkus reviews. I thought it would be a great way to build credibility and plus, the review would go up on the website, which would add to the exposure. However, I would suggest not to spend the money. Certainly not for that amount. If your book is good, you'll get reviews. You could try finding bloggers who are willing to provide free reviews.
 

Nymtoc

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Do not pay for reviews! :e2teeth:

The only worthwhile reviews are unbiased ones that come from objective critics and reviewers who have nothing to do with promoting you or your book.
 

leahzero

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The publishing company I chose to publish the book for me is now in the Marketing stage. The package I paid for has quite of bit of marketing attached to it, but interesting enough I received a call today about "How my book is good enough for Hollywood" to be interested. I took that revelation with a grain of salt. Bottom line is they wanted to know how much I wanted to invest in my book to make it go as big and as far as they ( the publishing company ) thinks it could go. Pretty sure this is just to get more money from me and that isn't going to happen. They want 1500.00 to get professional reviews for the back cover of my book. Any comments? I could use them. Thanks

I think you are getting scammed.

Sorry.

Money flows to the writer.
 

merrihiatt

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No need to pay for reviews, they will come, as others have mentioned. May I ask who is publishing your book? It sounds like it may be a vanity press (nothing wrong with that as long as you know their terms and conditions, track record, and exactly what you are getting for your money).
 

KTC

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Jesus H. Christ...run like hell!!!!


NEVER PAY FOR A REVIEW.

Connect with book bloggers and book reviewers on twitter. Go to their sites...read their guidelines. Email them and ask them if they would be interested in reviewing your book.

Christ! You can't hear the screaming in my head...but trust me, it's there!!!
 

fireluxlou

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Wow there is warning signs there from the go. I'd run like the hills tbh.
 

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Bottom line is they wanted to know how much I wanted to invest in my book to make it go as big and as far as they ( the publishing company ) thinks it could go. Pretty sure this is just to get more money from me and that isn't going to happen. They want 1500.00 to get professional reviews for the back cover of my book. Any comments? I could use them. Thanks

They've already robbed you; now they're trying to screw you.

Never pay for a review. The best way to get reviews is to ask for them, and offer a free copy of the book.
 

frosteeman

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Whose the publisher

No need to pay for reviews, they will come, as others have mentioned. May I ask who is publishing your book? It sounds like it may be a vanity press (nothing wrong with that as long as you know their terms and conditions, track record, and exactly what you are getting for your money).

Thanks for the response, I don't have a problem with telling you. The publisher is XLIBRIS
 

frosteeman

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A SCREWING

They've already robbed you; now they're trying to screw you.

Never pay for a review. The best way to get reviews is to ask for them, and offer a free copy of the book.

I don't feel like I've been robbed MED, they have done everything they said the would. I can't blame them for trying to get add on service revenue, but I'm no dummie. Just thought I would post about it to get people to talk about it. Thanks for your response.
 

Al Stevens

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XLibris has me on their list, and have been bombarding me with 50%-off promotionals, so they must be feeling the squeeze. I think you can negotiate, but I wouldn't do it at any price. Since they're the publisher and will make money if reviews deliver sales, I don't see any reason why they shouldn't pay for it. Obviously, it doesn't work, or they'd be doing it themselves.
 

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I heard about a gal just recently purchasing a review from Kirkus. It's very expensive--don't know the dollar amount. I suppose...the average reader wouldn't be able to tell if it was paid or not. And I don't know if they allow self-published or POD for a price, since Kirkus routinely reviews trade books for zero cost, aside from galleys or an ARC that the publisher sends in. In advance, though.

tri
 

Mustafa

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They want 1500.00 to get professional reviews for the back cover of my book. Any comments? I could use them. Thanks

Have you looked into how much it actually costs to get the reviews from Kirkus? I haven't but 1500.00 seems like maybe there's a markup? Also, I was always under the impression that those kinds of reviews were more for book buyers (like you'd find in libraries, or book stores). Does the average reader have any idea who Kurkus is? Or are you aiming at book buyers?
 

veinglory

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The average reader will find the review only on the "paid for" section. And they are often written without snippets you can quote (in fact the review may be purely negative). So I think the average reader often can tell, and some readers (myself included) will actually think less of a book where you had to pay hundreds just to get a review. I see it the same as paying someone to post an Amazon review. A good author with a good book shouldn't have to do it.
 

Al Stevens

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From the site posted above:

Simply request a review by clicking the link above. You'll give us as much information possible about your book, choose whether you want standard service (7-9 weeks) or express service (4-6 weeks) and pay for your review (standard service $425, express service $575). When you submit your order, you'll get a response from the Kirkus Indie team confirming receipt of your request.
 

Al Stevens

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The average reader will find the review only on the "paid for" section.
I'm looking at their reviews now. I don't see how to tell which ones are paid for.
So I think the average reader often can tell, and some readers (myself included) will actually think less of a book where you had to pay hundreds just to get a review.
Again, how? I see reviews there of books from reputable publishers. For example, Five Star Mysteries handles getting reviews for authors, and one of theirs is listed among the Critics' Picks. Just guessing, but why would the author have paid for that?
 
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Brenda Hill

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5 Star submitted my mystery, With Full Malice, to all the mainline reviewers, including Kirkus. They reviewed my book with no charge, but I've heard that some authors with POD presses may pay and get reviewed. Not sure, tho. I was also reviewed by Gumshoe, The Big Thrill, Mystery Gazette, etc.
 

veinglory

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Al Stevens

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Then depending on where you looked, maybe none of them are. The paid ones appear only in the Kirkus Indie part of the site. http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/indie/

And I do not see any major publisher there.

A small number earn a star and might get more coverage.
I looked at their main site:
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
and then clicked Books. That's where I'd expect most readers to start. When I click Indie from the books or home pages, it takes me to author services. I haven't found a click that takes me to the page you linked. Reason enough not to pay for the service. Readers wouldn't find the review.

Maybe it's broken.

ETA: Thanks for the link.
 
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Al Stevens

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5 Star submitted my mystery, With Full Malice, to all the mainline reviewers, including Kirkus. They reviewed my book with no charge, but I've heard that some authors with POD presses may pay and get reviewed. Not sure, tho. I was also reviewed by Gumshoe, The Big Thrill, Mystery Gazette, etc.
That's how it's supposed to work.
 
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