Hello, everyone.

THE DEMETER CODE is currently on sale for ‪‎99 cents‬ on ‪‎Kindle‬, ‎Nook‬, ‪‎Kobo‬, and ‎iTunes‬. My goal is to go below the 1000 rank on Amazon (not an easy task). After 24 hours, I'm currently at 5500.

So if you or anyone you know enjoys stories with conspiracies, martial arts, sex, betrayal, and revenge, then check out THE DEMETER CODE. Thanks again for your support and for spreading the word.

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Thanks,
Russell

You're Bent Out Of Shape Because A Few Reviewers Didn't Like Your Book. Boo-Fucking-Hoo!

Margo Howard

I came across an article in The New Republic written by former advice columnist, Margo Howard. In it she whines about Amazon Vine's review program and blames it for destroying her book, Eat, Drink & Remarry before it was published. Before writing this essay, I decided to read up on Ms Howard in order to find out a little about her so that I could write as much as an unbiased essay as possible.

Based on what I've found, she has an impressive resume. She's previously written for The Chicago Tribune, The New Republic, Good Housekeeping, and TV Guide. She's also written an advice column in Slate, Yahoo News, and the Globe. Her advice column, Dear Prudence, was also featured on National Public Radio.

For someone who was born in 1940 and who's had articles in syndication long before I wore my first diaper, I'm quite surprised that she's so naive—if not just downright ignorant—on how the pre-publication process works. In order for a book to be effectively marketed, pre-publication publicity is essential. Giving review copies to professional reviewers and to book bloggers before a book is released is one such common practice. However, Howard appears to only put Amazon's Vine program in her crosshairs. Rather than embrace the fact that not everyone's going to like her book, she's taken this "How Dare You!" childish response.  Are we to assume that Howard has joined the likes of James Patterson and other traditionally-published authors and author's groups in their frivolous crusade against Amazon? I couldn't help but wonder this because it didn't take me too long to find a review of her latest book, "Eat, Drink, & Remarry" that was recently published in the Boston Globe. What was interesting was that even this reviewer appeared to hate her book. One phrase actually stood out, "The only child of Eppie Lederer, a.k.a. Ann Landers, and Budget Rent a Car cofounder Julius Lederer, Howard grew up with such a mouthful of silver spoons, it’s a wonder she learned to talk." 

Ouch!

I doubt very much that Ms Howard will spend the remaining years of her life bitching about every bad review she gets. Trust me, she'll get many more. However, she's bound to also get a few good ones.

If Howard wanted to attack Amazon, a more valid criticism would've been for her to write about Vine's methods for matching products with particular reviewers. I've learned that the majority of people who don't like a book are those who aren't fans of the genre. For example, giving away a thriller novel to someone who typically reads science fiction won't necessarily yield satisfactory results for either the author or for the reader. Had Howard done this, she may gain more support. Instead, she comes across as a crybaby.

So Amazon wants to delete my review. I guess it doesn't help being an author.

Dear Amazon.

I appreciate everything you've done for Indie Authors. Your courage in taking the bull by the horns has helped to take a huge chunk of power from the dictators who've been running the publishing industry for decades, and given us authors a chance to get our work into the hands of readers. Furthermore, you've helped readers also because they now have more choice.

However I must question your latest move, which is clearly in response to the Sockpocket phenomena which has plagued the industry. How will this make a difference? You want to delete reviews written by other authors, however you'll leave negative reviews from people who've clearly not even read our books. Earlier this year I even wrote to you to complain about a reviewer who flagrantly gave away several major plot spoilers of one of my novels. However, you refused to delete that review knowing full well that it would negatively affect my sales. Fortunately I have many loyal fans who've willingly bombarded that reviewer with enough complaints that she removed the review.

You've done wonderful things to help out Indie Authors when you introduced kindle and KDP Select, but this latest decision clearly requires more thought. Authors who've enjoyed reading my novels have blogs and Facebook pages where they'll leave their reviews. The paperback version of my books are still available on the sites of your competitors, where they'll also leave reviews. As for your site, all I need to do is quote them in the EDITORIAL REVIEW section.

Hopefully your marketing team will meet again soon and come up with a better strategy. 

Sincerely,

Russell Brooks.

http://www.salon.com/2012/11/02/authors_cannot_review_authors_on_amazon/