14 thoughts on “#MondayMeme #MondayBlogs

    • It seemed appropriate for August being Amazon Review Month. Glad you liked it. And WOW! You finished Rabbit’s story . . . and LOVED it??? I’m so happy! Rabbit really wormed his way into my heart, for sure. (And continued to do so in Harbinger, which is really his and Mac’s book). I’m excited to hear your thoughts.

      AND, tomorrow is my day to review for Bookin’ It, and I’m planning to review With & Wagic . . . erm . . . Myth and Magic. I’m going crazy with stuff piled up around here everywhere, both physically and virtually, but I’m SURE I can get it done for my Tuesday Review Day blog. 😀 (Fingers crossed it won’t be late!)

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  1. Fantastic and I couldn’t agree more! Side note, I just learned that if you post a review on Amazon prior to actually purchasing it (for instances of a critique for an author friend) Amazon does not update your review as a verified purchase. Still, a review is a review I guess.

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    • Just be careful when critiquing for a friend. Amazon does try to check those things out, and you can get on their wrong side. I usually tell anyone who knows me to include a disclaimer in the review, and so far, it’s worked well. But I never “trade” reviews with other writers, per se. And I usually try to leave a reasonable amount of time before reviewing someone who has reviewed me. (Easy enough these days, since I’m so far behind on my reading.) I don’t know if these things help, but I sure don’t want any readers (or amazon) to think I’m buying reviews and/or making tit for tat arrangements with other authors.

      Verified purchases are always best, and I admit I do limit the free books I give out, just to be sure things look above board. And I nearly always purchase any book I’m planning to review, for the same reason. Nice to see you here today, and thanks for taking time to comment, Jason. 🙂

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      • Thanks for saying and I agree about the trade for review thing. Admittedly I have in done so in the past but have long since stopped when I learned things like your graph shows. I realized then how wrong it was for these people to do so while others, like my author friend who’s working hard for reviews is struggling. That said, I think the end journey and future successes will be that much sweeter for my friend, and myself, over those who trade.

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        • Good points, Jason, and I don’t blame Amazon a bit for trying to be sure reviews are earned and not bought. Unearned reviews skew the whole system, and if left unchecked, would eventually result in readers realizing what’s happening. At that point, reviews would no longer have any value at all. And that’s something NONE of us wants to see, I’m sure. Those reviews are golden, and every new one just makes my day. I don’t even mind the less-than-perfect ones, because too many 5-star reviews can look suspicious.

          Hope both you and your friend see lots of good ones coming your way. And yes, you’ll feel much better about them when you know your writing earned them, and people are enjoying your books. 🙂 Good luck!

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  2. I completely agree with this as I have learned from being a small time author myself. I’m having a hard time with those not leaving reviews on my own work. As for other authors works, I do try leaving reviews on Amazon when I can, though I mostly leave the reviews on Goodreads.

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    • Hi, Jennifer! It’s great to have reviews wherever you can get them, but having them on Amazon can directly translate to moving up, which in turn, can translate to more sales. So I try to leave them there first, when possible. (And btw, I’m pretty sure I saw a lovely review of Swamp Ghosts the other day, with your name on it. SO grateful for that! Thanks!!!)

      And thanks for taking the time to comment on this post. Share the heck out of it! We have to make readers more aware of these things.

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      • I agree! I’m needing more reviews myself. And yes, that was me leaving a review. 🙂 I had left one on Goodreads, but didn’t think about Amazon till now. I also shared a picture of it on my Instagram account.

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