Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
The only thing you're allowed to offer in return for an Amazon review is a free copy of the product being reviewed. Any other form of payment is prohibited. So it's fine to offer people free copies of your books in exchange for reviews.
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For everyone thinking this is some huge lost op or that this would work for everyone, let's remember that the landscape is constantly changing. What worked 5 years ago for me is not working today. What worked LAST year for me is not working today. Some of the things that weren't working LAST year are working today.
Amazon changes its algorithms all the time. Readers get more savvy about such marketing techniques like Locke's. Some readers who got a Kindle (e-reader) two years ago bought everything in sight and then went back to movies/games/whatever. The kindle itself spurred sales of books for years because it was a cool new gadget. Amazon had a totally different marketing plan a year ago. Right now they are using freebies to gain market share and traffic. A year or two? ago, they added the "gifting" feature that spurred THEIR profits by authors buying and giving away review copies.
All this stuff is a bit like wondering what that mass is that is stuck in the garbage disposal. Is it from last week? Last year? Is it the cause of west nile virus? We'll never know. No scientists are going to come and examine it.
Locke's book and methods happened to catch on for him, possibly because of the timing, maybe because his books are good enough. But worrying about his writing and technique is about as useful as blowing bubbles and trying to read your own future.
No matter how much time you spend on his babble, it's time you could be writing. And in the end, that's the ONLY thing you control. Maybe the audience will find you. Maybe they won't. But no amount of dancing naked in the street is going to make you a best seller forever, and that is what his stunt amounts too--he's done his thing. His books will either keep selling or they won't. It has little to do with the rest of us. Those who buy indie books will keep buying them (whether we condemn his actions or not). Those who don't, won't.
Now, I gotta go get some writing done. Because in the end, that's the part that is up to me.