How to buy ineffective advertising for your book
Great post today in Slate on paid book reviews.Seems that Amazon's BookSurge isn't content merely to overcharge self-publishing authors for the privilege of printing their books. Now they want to charge hopeful authors a big wad of cash for fake book reviews.
Aspiring authors are being led to believe that a paid review from someone who wrote some bestsellers a few decades ago will make a difference.
Paid reviews aren't criticism, they're advertising.
The most interesting add-on BookSurge offers is, for $399, a personally crafted review written by "New York Times bestselling author, Ellen Tanner Marsh." (Ellen Tanner Marsh's bodice-rippers Reap the Savage Wind and Wrap Me in Splendor graced the New York Times trade- paperback bestseller list in 1982 and 1983.) Not surprisingly, many BookSurge titles boast enthusiastic reviews by Marsh.
Geez, where is BookSurge getting its authors? High school detention hall?
Labels: book publicity, book reviews
posted by Steve Weber at 1/22/2007
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2 Comments:
Hi Steve,
Great Post!
I actually was sent this by my publisher, Kristina Van Overbeke at Mill City Press (with whom I recently talked about purchased reviews). In addition to other things, in her typical very professional and ethical manner Katrina addressed "journalistic integrity," which is what I think this is all about.
In addition to being a university professor, for 33 years I also was a licensed psychologist -- trust me, over the years I saw my fill of psychologists who we affectionately referred to as "who--s." For a fee, they would say whatever their client wanted to hear in a psychological evaluation. Oh well, I suppose every barrel has its share of bad apples -- thank you for pointing them out!
With thankful appreciation,
Bill
I happen to be one of BookSurge's authors. I published Church Website Design through them. I found most of their services to be worthless, but for only $99 I was able to get a highly specialized book published and made available on Amazon.com. I am uncertain if I will use the service again, but it has worked well so far. Some of what BookSurge offers is not over priced. In traditional publishing these fees are paid by a reduction in the author's royalties. With BookSurge they are paid up front, but because many of these books do not sell as well as books that are picked up by traditional publishers, the authors may never sell enough books to recover the cost of these services. This, I fear, is the nature of a system that allows both good and bad authors to be published.
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