A couple of weeks ago I read the third installment of a series I really loved. I will refrain from sharing the name of the novel and its author.
Like any reader, as soon as I finished reading, I wrote my review. When I tried posting it on Amazon (I did buy the eBook, just like any normal and decent human being would), I received a rather concerning email.
I will not share the screenshot of the email as it does contain the title of the book and name of the author. In its place I have copied the body of the email below.
Dear Amazon Customer,
Thanks for submitting a customer review on Amazon. Your review could not be posted to the website in its current form. While we appreciate your time and comments, reviews must adhere to the following guidelines:
http://www.amazon.com/review-guidelines
Here I was, thinking I had included an expletive, or mentioned a brand name within the review. I went back and cross-referenced it against the review I posted on Amazon’s sister site Goodreads, and didn’t see anything wrong with it. I tried to upload it again. Immediately, I received the below message.
Sorry. You’re not eligible to review this product. For more information, read the Customer Review Guidelines.
I thought for a minute, and figured maybe there was an issue with their website… So I tried to input a review for another book by another author, and received the same system message I shared above.
I wrote an inquiry to Amazon regarding the issue. To my surprise, this is the message I received the following day.
Hello,
We cannot post your Customer Review for (book title deleted) by (author name deleted) to the Amazon website because your account activity indicates that you know the author.
Customer Reviews are meant to give customers unbiased product feedback from fellow shoppers. Because our goal is to provide Customer Reviews that help customers make informed purchase decisions, any reviews that could be viewed as advertising, promotional, or misleading will not be posted. To learn more about this policy, please review our Customer Review Guidelines (http://amazon.com/help/customer-reviews-guidelines) and FAQs (http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=201077870).
We encourage family and friends to share their enthusiasm for the book through our Customer Discussions feature or Editorial Reviews feature. To start a Customer Discussion visit the Meet Our Authors forum and enter your discussion title in the Start a new discussion box. You’ll find the forum here:
http://www.amazon.com/forum/meet%20our%20authors/&cdForum=Fx2UYC1FC06SU8STo have your Editorial Review posted to the detail page, e-mail it directly to the author so they can add it for you.
If you believe you’re eligible to write a Customer Review for this book, send additional details to review-appeals@amazon.com.
We hope to see you again soon.
Best regards,
Harm J,
At this point I am dumbstruck. “I know the author.” That is quite an erroneous and quite presumptous assessment, so I went through the painstaking process of escalating the issue to their Review Appeals Department. At this point, I’m pretty upset.
Greetings,
I am appalled with your recent email message stating a review I wrote could not be posted because my “online activity suggests I know the author.” (Online purchase: X by X eBook.)
This response is ludicrous. I am a writer and published author. I understand the Indie Community is a small one, and among our circles, rubbing elbows with peers is not an uncommon occurrence. I am also a blogger and reviewer who also buys books. When I’m not writing, I am reading and reviewing. My reviews are one hundred percent unbiased, regardless if I have rubbed elbows with peers online. I would like to know who is providing you the information that suggests I may know the author.
That’s a two-edged sword; knowing of an author online, and personally knowing an author in real life are two different things. By your definition it would mean that bloggers such as myself are being barred from reviewing books they legitimately purchased, which in turn contravenes with the notion that reviews for a verified purchase are highly encouraged.
I am left speechless as I don’t know any authors on a level you are suggesting. I merely follow authors on Social Media: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, tsu, and on your partner site Goodreads. I interact with these authors during takeover events. I am an avid reader and I buy my books like anyone else does.
Your claims are unfounded, and as a paying consumer, I demand my review be posted. It is unfair to the authors whose work I love, to be punished for a claim that simply cannot stand. I don’t know any authors on a personal level.
Expecting your prompt response,
Ms. Santiago
(Amazon user: x@x.com)
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
I was hoping for a better outcome. It took them a week to answer back. To my dismay, this below screenshot is the response I received today.
Amazon has crossed the line.
I pay for my eBooks. I take the time to read and review books I love. The Big Brother mentality Amazon is employing is appalling, and crosses an ethical line of unfathomable proportions. They are not God, and are censoring my passion for the written word. Because of them, I will not be allowed to write and post any further reviews on their site, regardless if I paid, or not. It is a disservice to readers, and a back-handed slap in the face of all authors across the board.
What quantifiable and verifiable ways is Amazon using to determine if I know the author of a book, or not? The fact that they refuse to elaborate as to how I “know the author personally” is highly concerning.
This is what happens when you are a published writer, and write reviews for the books you paid for.
This is wrong, and it has to stop.
It is censorship at its finest. I have interacted with a couple hundred authors over the past year; from events to signings, authors and writers rub elbows during networking sessions. This does NOT mean I know you personally. Knowing someone personally is bearing knowledge about them, from say… their favorite color to their social status.
Amazon, you have spat in the face of those authors and writers whose work deserve praise and recognition. I am shocked and appalled. At this time, I will discontinue writing peer reviews. I will complete my list of pending reviews, and will cease from posting them on Amazon.
I’m truly sorry, but my wings have been clipped.
Don’t hate me for it.
Blame Amazon for their questionable business practices.
Feel free to post your comments below. I’m eager to read your thoughts.
-i
Please share this blog post if you think this business practice is unfair.
#ExplainYourselfAmazon #Censorship #QuestionableBusinessPractices #AuthorsDependOnReviews #ClippedWings
imy santiago 
Reblogged this on Barbarian Writer and commented:
I’m not sure why these events are transpiring, but it makes me nervous about when (if) I get my work ready, where to publish to get reliable reviews.
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That’s really creepy. It isn’t Amazon’s job to monitor your social life.
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1 (888) 280-3321
Amazon.com, Inc., Customer service
Customer Support:
U.S. and Canada: 1-866-216-1072
Spanish Support: 866-749-7538
International: 1-206-266-2992
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I’m thinking about how this would have worked.
They have your email address since you’re a customer, they have the author’s since they pay him/her. Since they also own goodreads, if you both use the same email address there, and are “friends” there, then this would be the most likely source of your problem. Are you a friend of the author on goodreads, and using the same email address there?
If not, then the problem gets tougher. I don’t know much about social media sites, so I don’t know if Amazon could scrape everyone’s email addresses from twitter, facebook, and/or Google+ and map relationships. Even if they could, I’d be surprised if they’d waste resources doing so for the purpose of blocking reviews, although they might do this if they had some marketing use for the data, in which case they might then use it for this secondary purpose.
If none of the above is the answer, then my ideas start getting weirder. You both have a cell phone app that records whether you’ve been within five feet of each other? Packs of bloodhounds wearing GPS collars, each dog tracking a customer around the city? Look behind you now, do you see a large dog?
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Thank you, Ms. Santiago & Chris Graham (TSRA) for this important alert. I have had the same experience with several Author Reviews I attempted to post on amazon, from who I purchased the books (both print & Kindle). I did not follow through, as you did. I just had an experience which was far more unsettling. On 19 June 2015, I posted a PROMO on MY webstite for my books (‘David Janssen-Our Conversations: Volumes I & II’) where the purchaser would receive a copy (4th. Edition-Softcover) of ‘DAVID JANSSEN-MY FUGITIVE’ ABSOLUTELY FREE! These books have been selling well and received over 20 Five Star Reviews. This Promo was limited to MY website & U. S. Residents only. I posted this promo on MY website, 2 facebook group pages & 1 Yahoo group page dedicated to “THE FUGITIVE” and several Book Blog sites. I did NOT post this promo on any of the amazon ‘Author & Reader Discussion’ forums or Goodreads.
GUESS WHAT . . . sales plummeted on my site and on Amazon! I could not understand it! Now I think I do! I have spent then entire day deleting all the promos from various sites, I think Edward Snowden may have slipped back into the United States and is working for Amazon!
Thank you for this enlighteninh post.
Best,
Mike Phelps
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THANK YOU, MS. SANTIAGO & CHRIS GRAHAM (TSRA) for postiung this. I have had the exact same experience with Amazon. WORSE – on 19 June, I posted a Promo for my books (‘DAVID JANSSEN-Our Conversations: Volumes I & II’) where if purchased directly on my website, the buyer would receive the Fourth Edition (Updated) Softcover of ‘DAVID JANSSEN-MY FUGITIVE’ by Ellie Janssen & Michael Phelps. I posted this promo on my facebook page, two facebook groups dedicated to ‘THE FUGITIVE’, one Yahoo group and various BookBlog sites. I DID NOT post the promo on any of the Amazon ‘Discussion forums’ or Goodreads.
GUESS WHAT . . . AMAZON must have found out, because sales plumeted . . . on my site and amazon! YES, it appears to me that Edward Snowden has slipped back into the United States and is working for Amazon!
Best,
Mike
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And yet, I know of one author who got a one-star review because the buyer couldn’t get the book to download on her Kindle and Amazon absolutely refused to delete it, despite the fact that it had nothing to do with the quality of the book. That’s what is infuriating — all the downside of reviews with “integrity” and none of the protections.
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Shared the post from Facebook. I work in a small indie new & used bookstore in a small town. As you can imagine, we arent big fans of Amazon either!
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I just believe in fairness and equality. Amazon needs to look deeper into this, and hopefully reform their policies. I applaud them for trying to weed out paid reviews by third party sites, and unethical positive/negative reviews, but somewhere in their absurd practices they are deleting legitimate verified purchase reviews.
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Reblogged this on jessicawrenfiction.
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Reblogged this on Winter Bayne.
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Reblogged this on Rebirth of Lisa.
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Reblogged this on Jen Winters is an Indie Author and commented:
I will review and keep reviewing and if Amazon censors me, I will make my platform for reviewing the go-to place for my followers.
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Reblogged this on I Read Encyclopedias for Fun and commented:
While this doesn’t change my intention to publish with Amazon, it does make me have second thoughts about putting my reviews on Amazon (I haven’t yet, but I’ve do on my blog and Goodreads).
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Reblogged this on noordin400's Blog.
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Reblogged this on The Gothic World of Author Nicola C. Matthews and commented:
Yes, it is disgusting. By Amazon’s definition, I am best friends with Anne Rice, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Laurel K. Hamilton, and Charlaine Harris. But what do you want to bet that these same rules do not apply to the reviews that are being posted for trade authors? What do you want to bet that this same thought and review process does NOT apply to ANYTHING other than independently published books? I’m not going to bet anything, because I’m pretty sure that even though I follow Anne Rice across all social media outlets and have even had a few discussions with her through said media, I can post reviews of her books until hell freezes over because she is NOT an indie author.
It is times like this that I wish Amazon had never jumped on board the indie train. I made a lot more money and had a lot larger fan base BEFORE they made it so easy for someone to push publish, for fake reviews to be posted by street teams, and for dishonest authors to send their minions to wreck havoc on other authors’ works.
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Reblogged this on Tele's Word Bites and commented:
Amazon hasn’t done this to me on the few books I’ve added reviews too but this sort is all too familiar. Whilst they freely allow reviews that bully authors or trash their works they do this?
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This is really strange to me. I am fairly new at publishing on Amazon, thus basically am an unknown author whose books are at about #879,000 in their genre on Amazon Kindle. I have a really hard time getting reviews because people I don’t know can’t even ‘find’ my books. They are buried under the 879,000 books published before mine. Really? How threatening can it be for someone you ‘know personally’ to leave a review? I can’t easily coerce anyone to leave a review. I think my highest # of reviews after 2.5 years (on one single book) is 7 reviews. How many people have enough ‘friends’ that the posting of reviews by people they know could significantly influence their standing on the immense Kindle lists? Maybe there are some people who would go to such extremes as to review all their friends only to boost standing, but I believe that most authors want true feedback on their books. I think anyone should be able to leave a review on any book they have purchased and read. One would hope that a review is based on the contents of the book — if not, then perhaps there could be grounds for concern. But I agree that a reviewer should not be disqualified from writing a review just because they ‘know’ the author. It assumes bias, and I can see why that would offend you. I am certain it’s a difficult job to sort through such issues and I appreciate that Amazon is trying to keep things ‘fair’. But it seems that there could be a more reasonable approach, like a flag for review at a certain # of reviews. They could even flag reviews if a certain number show ‘relationships’ between an author and a reviewer (they obviously have that ability). For most authors, I can’t imagine how having acquaintances leave a review could hurt. Lord knows, we need all the help we can get.
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Reblogged this on Finder's Keeper's and commented:
wow… amazon seems to be growing a bit big for their briches .. making decisions and refusing to give clear and open reasoning for said decisions… as a writer, amazon worries me… when I start to publish, how can I avoid this problem? as well as the other various issues my fellow writers have noticed recently… dear amazon, we need more information
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if they want to make decisions about their belief in your personal life, then a clear and concise reasons for said decisions is not too much to ask
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Why does it matter when self published authors are selling their book for .99 or repeatedly giving them away for free?
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For any Indie writer, reviews are important. It’s not so much about the price point, but reviews can attract new readers, and potentially, agents and publishers. We Indie writers invest not only time writing a decent book, but marketing it as well. Sometimes one review can make the difference between selling books, or not. So having Amazon make associations when there are none raises a concern. I do not know the author the way Amazon claims I do. I’m confident I was reported by someone who wishes me ill, or wishes ill to the author whom I wrote a review for. But for Amazon to sit in a corner and send a bot response, without addressing the concerns I presented to them is not okay. Reviews matter, but in this instance, it is the method of determining whether or not I know the author that is the greatest concern of all.
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Okay, Imy, is this my opportunity to tell every relative or friend who asks me to read and review their book on Amazon that it is just impossible? I feel your distress, but…….mixed emotions.
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While I do agree that a) reviews are important and b) the most concerning aspect of this discussion is *how* the Zon determines a relationship exists, I can understand their POV on the overall issue.
As a published author, you aren’t *an average customer.* You are an author. You have insights and expertise that change how and why you write a review. (At least, in their mind.) It strikes me that your reviews should be placed in the “Editorial Review” section vs. the starred “customer reviews” section. Just thinkin’ out loud. I do agree though that “it is the method of determining whether or not [you] know the author that is the greatest concern of all.”
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Wow. Very interesting.
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I haven’t read the previous comments, so this may have already been said.
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of this happening to people who have bought the book and Amazon refuses to allow that reader to upload a book review. And then if they or another reader (or the author of said book) contacts Amazon about it, Amazon flat-out tells them that any further perusal of this matter will result in having their account with them closed as well as having said author’s account closed.
It seems that if you are an author, you are now not allowed to leave book reviews on Amazon.
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Sadly, I think that is the case. One thing I believe Amazon is failing to understand that just because we are published writers, it doesn’t mean we stopped being readers. Personally, I love to read, and I purchase my books on Amazon just like everyone else. If I pay for a product, I should be allowed to review it. I can assure you, had my review been negative in nature, Amazon would’ve allowed me to publish it. Some say writers should not be allowed to review the works of authors as it falls somewhere in the fair competition stipulations on their site… Sadly, some well-deserved reviews will not see the light of day. I will post on Goodreads, and that site is now owned by Amazon, so it’s only a matter of time before they start deleting authentic reviews due to the high volume of unethical positive/negative reviews posted on both sites.
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Reblogged this on Six Strings For Supper and commented:
As a writer, I understand the pain in getting a single review from a reader and when when Amazon starts playing big brother, it make life much harder for new upcoming writers who need to make their mark.
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Wow. That’s actually a little a freaky. Maybe if there were numerous online photos of you and the author together, and they were tagged, okay. Or if your social sites list you as “in a relationship with (the author).” But other than that, this is strange.
Hypothetically, if Stephen King gets to know some author, and then writes a review, is that blocked as well? I’m just curious if a certain level of fame is part of the algorithm.
Maybe you and the author went to the same school at some point? Though there are a lot of people who went to a school I attended, yet I wouldn’t say I “know” them.
Is LinkedIn involved perhaps? Many authors are listing that they work at “freelance writer,” and thus are “co-workers.” The fact that they’ve never met wouldn’t be relevant if that were the source.
If I unfriend and unfollow all the writers on my Facebook, Twitter, G+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and AboutMe… I’d have about 100 people left. If I then cut out all the readers and book bloggers, I’d be down to about 7 people.
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I’ve heard of them not allowing authors to post reviews for other authors. This is why I have a personal account, separate from my author account, that I use to post reviews. This, IMO, is complete crap that Amazon does this.
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Reblogged this on The Writing Chimp and commented:
Interesting, and a little scary!
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Reblogged this on jandomagala.
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This is appalling and as a writer I wonder how many of us have had reviews held back without our knowledge because of this. Reviews can be our life’s blood, we all know that without them books rarely sell and for Amazon to take this attitude is beyond belief.
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Reblogged this on Louise K. Smith and commented:
Reblogged from https://imysantiago.com/
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Reblogged this on Jo Robinson.
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Reblogged this on and commented:
Appalling actions by Amazon. Is it time to buy your books from another ebook seller to avoid this? Or is it a misunderstanding?
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I truly believe it is a poorly written algorithm that somehow tracks your social media activities and buying tendencies. Then the other part of me believes someone who wishes me ill reported me, or they wish ill towards the author whose work I reviewed. Either way, both are wrong. Let’s pray Amazon steps up, and review their policies to make them clear to both buyers and sellers.
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They are definitely wrong. It’s such a big system with so many authors and an awful lot of dross (sadly) being published by inadequate writers that reviews are essential to make sure the best ‘indies’ rise to the top. I bet they wouldn’t stop Lee Child’s personal friends posting reviews of his work. Maybe the purchase of Goodreads by Amazon was all part of the Amazon Nazi War Machine!
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I see this as a problem not just with Amazon. It definitely reeks of similar stench of FB’s photo policies. Or am I the only one?
We’re required to abide by XYZ rules yet we’re nit given the courtesy of knowing the specifics of the rules we’re supposed to live by. In what world is this fair? What defines “knowing the author” or Inappropriate photo”?
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You hit the nail on the head. Exactly. Amazon’s policies need to be re-evaluated. I understand they are trying to weed through the bogus positive/negative reviews, but in their processes, they are deleting and banning legitimate verified purchase reviews. From where I stand, that’s not okay.
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Well, according to this article on Forbes (http://tinyurl.com/ckafyro), your review might not have been about “knowing the author” but about “directly competing product”
The article’s author wrote about the earlier incident (http://tinyurl.com/9gzr29o) about sockpuppetry. So maybe AMZ is taking a policy that you can’t comment about a competitor because you’ll be in collusion? Re: the airlines’ alleged price wars?
Whether or not my conclusions are correct, AMZ enacted a stupid policy and they’re too big a company to care… Ironically, the original incident that triggered it was about the author being too big in reputation to care… So they’re really kinda being hypocritical…
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Yup i had the same issue exactly the same issue. i dont know what amazon is thinking what policy or algorithm they are using. i personally believe that independent writer and freelance writer like me suffer more because of this and reviews really help them to get notify and even if they earn few reviews amazon screws them. i hope amazon will fix this problem.
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Just a note, my dad also got this email, and he has never reviewed a book, only a film ‘Insurgence’ that he knows of, and he sure as heck doesn’t know anyone related to that 😉 I think their system may have gone a bit hay wire… expecting a office word to come out some time soon.
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Girlcott Amazon. For real.
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This made me smile. Thank you.
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Holy crap… This is especially disgusting when you consider that reviews like this one (http://www.amazon.com/review/R2ECMOMSVQT9TH/) are still up and allowed to continue. “I might be partial because the author is my son but I really loved it.” Yours isn’t allowed to be posted, but this guy is still allowed to do it when he admits flat out that he’s the author’s father.
I really wish I knew how Amazon was making this decision. As a reviewer, I have contact with a lot of authors. It’s kinda part of the gig. To make the decision that this isn’t allowed to happen is problematic for both them and the online reading community at large.
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*nods* Absolutely.
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Reblogged this on midnight rainbow and commented:
This thing here is serious, Amazon KNOWS if you know the author on a personal level. That’s very presumptuous of them.
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Let’s not be naive here. Amazon is neither a virtual marketplace, in the sense of an open, public arena, nor is it Big Brother. It is a private, commercial entity. It has the legal right to institute any policies that it wants, as long as they do not violate any law. It has access to the information that you give it access to. Read the Condition of Use and Privacy Notice.
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Thank you for your insight, Suzanne. Can you explain to me how Amazon determines whether or not I “know the author personally?” Surely it’s somewhere in the “Condition of Use and Privacy Notice,” right?
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Obviously not. No one but Amazon knows that. The point is, it doesn’t matter. They own the site. They make the rules. We play by their rules or we don’t play.
I quite leaving book reviews on Amazon years ago. I use Goodreads instead.
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Exactly. That is the point I’m trying to make. Rules should be clear. If Amazon is pulling data from other social media websites, they need to come forward and share that with all Amazon buyers and sellers. But they’re not, and legitimate reviews are being deleted because of some weird “algorithm” that doesn’t make sense. There are questionable reviews out there; the prime example of this are those associated with Haribo Sugar-Free Gummy Bears. Yes, they are hysterical reviews, but are they legitimate?
I understand Amazon is trying to crack down on troll reviews, street team reviews, purchased reviews, but somewhere in their algorithm writing, someone made a mistake. You cannot flat out accuse anyone of “knowing an author personally” without substantial and tangible proof… Unless you are monitoring social media activity and reviewing friends lists without consent… But I digress. The issue is not so much the review, it’s truly how Amazon comes to the determination that the reviewer is friends with the author.
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you do know that Goodreads is now owned by Amazon correct? After reading this post I went and checked, some of my reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads have been deleted, and I was not even informed.
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OK, Suzanne. So if Amazon isn’t nosing into all our social networking sites and running searches for any posts, favorites, reposts, retweets and private messages between an author and their social networking “friends”, then how the hell are they gleaning ANY connection between two people? You are insinuating that Amazon has gotten permission from us to go poke around our Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and other social networking sites while we’re off living our lives. That or they are straight out hacking our emails. Where did we sign up for that, exactly? And most importantly, Are you saying that Amazon has taken on the global chore of defining a social networking “friend” as “real life friend”? If that’s the case then I must be fricking famous AND in a relationship with several published authors who I follow and who follow me on social network sites, and, (GASP!) some have reposted my posts and even sent me private messages. Does that make me related to Christopher Moore? Kristen Ashley? April White? My God! I am awesome! That, or Amazon is a gigantic information whore that is completely out of control. So tell me, Suzanne, since you very well may work in the Amazon offices and sip smug coffee while laughing at the fools who are Amazon customers, do you also use such scrutiny over product reviews for the hundreds of thousands of items your company sells? Because there are MANY reviews of horrible products that could only have been written by the companies selling the products given the sycophantism of the item reviews. If you do this to readers of books, you damn well better be doing it to product reviewers too.
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I can’t believe what I have just read. I too write reviews (not recently I must admit) as I think it is important and not enough people take the time to write them. I have reblogged on fordsthoughts.com
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Thank you, kindly.
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I recently had almost the exact same thing happen to me. I’m a published author and reviewed a friend’s book. It was an honest review. Amazon blocked me from commenting, saying they had evidence I received compensation for posting my review or that I was participating in review-for-review. Neither was true. I received a copy of the book from the publisher for review which is allowed in their community guidelines.
When I pushed for clarification, they replied with what they told you…basically, that they didn’t have to give any more details about such a unilateral, ridiculous decision. Super disappointing.
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I’m so sorry this happened to you. Hopefully down the road Amazon will revisit their policies. Until then, we are at their mercy.
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So… are they hacking emails to find “relationships” between reviewers and authors? Oh, yes. Amazon has officially crossed the line into an overlord position when they attempt to control the flow of product reviews. That in itself is the exact opposite of what they proclaim they are trying to avoid; biased behavior. Are they using social networking posts to determine the status of the “relationship” between the author and reader? What happens to those of us who follow an author and are followed back by said author if there is a direct message between you two? I follow several authors who have favorited and reposted my posts. Does this constitute a “relationship”. They didn’t even buy me dinner! And they would never know who I was if I was standing right in front of them because we have never met. Are social networking “friends” considered “real life friends”. Now there is a gigantic can of worms and Amazon is holding the shovel, ready to use them for bait to catch pretend abusers of something as mundane as an honest book review. Ridiculous
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Reblogged this on Word Ninja Girl … author, Mimi DiFrancesca and commented:
Holy hack, Batman. Is Amazon hacking our social networking posts to “discover” our connections to other people? And are our social networking “friends” considered “Real Life Friends”, making our connections a disqualifying factor for book and product reviews? What the hell Amazon? Big Brother has arrived.
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This makes me sad…
I put it out there on social media for you.
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Thank you, kindly.
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This makes me sad…
I put it out on social media for you.
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So does this mean that anyone that follows you, “as the author” is personally known? Social networking is how most of us self-published authors promote our books. As such, if a person is following you on Facebook, Twitter, Linkden, or any other social network, does that make them a personal friend? This is wrong in so many ways, and I am sorry to hear of it.
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I agree with everybody, yet I disagree. Amazon should be transparent. It is their right to make any rule they chose, and it is our right to know these rules.
One of my reviews was rejected recently on the grounds of rules I did not understand. My review did not contain any objectionable word or language. I took a second look at my review, made some changes and re-posted. Got the same rules thrown at me three other times before my review was finally accepted. That was my first time of encountering anything like that, and I have reviewed and posted over eighty reviews with them.
They must have a lot of rules that determine how to accept or reject a review. They did not tell me that mine was because I knew the author, just that there might have been things in the review that they considered went against their rules. This is why I said that they have to make their rules known in very clear terms.
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*high fives* Agreed!
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Reblogged this on <3……….Laura Crean………..<3 and commented:
Absolutely apalling. Also if you are just a self-published author who only has close friends and family buying your book at the start – how is it fair, if they can’t post reviews for you? I’m shocked! So if I am an author and I buy a book and like it – I can’t review it just because I’m an author and I might happen to know the author of the book I just read? That’s stupid! Just because you are a teacher, doesn’t mean you know all teachers on the planet or if you are a nurse you know all nurses etc. Utter abuse of power!!!
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Reblogged this on Michael Gunter's Tales of Today and of Yesterday and commented:
Personal feelings on Amazon aside, who would want to work with a company that pulls this sort of thing?
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Reblogged this on I am not lost… and commented:
I mentioned this both on my Twitter and my Facebook page, but this needs to spread as far as I can take it. Absolutely absurd, Amazon. Shame.
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