Who is Harriet Klausner.... - Page 2

Ben Thornton · 09-17-2011, 06:06 AM

There's a Time article. It seems that publishers will send a lot of books to the top reviewers, so that could be one incentive. Also, her profile says that she became a "freelance" reviewer, so she's getting paid for reviewing somewhere, if not on Amazon.

Apparently, Amazon will send out samples of all sorts of stuff to top reviewers to get some reputable reviews in place.

anamardoll · 09-17-2011, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Thornton

There's a Time article. It seems that publishers will send a lot of books to the top reviewers, so that could be one incentive. Also, her profile says that she became a "freelance" reviewer, so she's getting paid for reviewing somewhere, if not on Amazon.

Apparently, Amazon will send out samples of all sorts of stuff to top reviewers to get some reputable reviews in place.

Yeah, I'm one of them. It's not nearly as lucrative as you might think.

But, believe me, there's no way this is all one person. Someone did the math once, and just typing up her reviews should be too much for one person to accomplish, let alone the actual reading and writing part.

Having also said that, when someone receives a free book in exchange for a review, the reviewer is (legally) supposed to disclose that as a protection to customers. Which is why I said that "she" could possibly be in violation of that rule, but no one has been prosecuted for it, afaik.

You don't get money or referral fees from your reviews on Amazon; it's not like blogging as an Amazon Associate, so I'm not sure how this could be a profitable scheme. And if "she" is being paid per review, I'd be interested in knowing how that works precisely. I've never had a publisher contact me about a (secretly) paid review, and with good reason: if I told anyone, it would look bad. Big name publishers don't really need to pay people for reviews, anyway -- if they give away free copies on NetGalley, someone will write a glowing review for free.

So it's all very puzzling from a profit perspective.

carpetmojo · 09-17-2011, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by afa

I don't think she is a front for a publisher. For one, it would have been noted a long time ago that all her reviews were of books released by Publisher X. And I don't think it's a group of publishers, either, because they're in competition with each other. I don't see them sitting down and jointly creating such an elaborate scheme.....

Ah, but if they rubbished other publisher's books - and the odd "throw-down" of their own, it might be seen to be commercially as A Good Thing ?

anamardoll · 09-17-2011, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

Ah, but if they rubbished other publisher's books - and the odd "throw-down" of their own, it might be seen to be commercially as A Good Thing ?

She basically doesn't give anything except 4 and 5 star ratings, though.

boydcarts · 09-17-2011, 08:00 AM

Just out of curiosity, I decided to compare "her" reviews on Amazon against reviews on B&N's site. I chose the book "Evolutionary Void" by Peter Hamilton. The text of the review was the same on both sites, but on B&N "she" gave the book 5 stars, while on Amazon, the book only got 4 stars.

Ben Thornton · 09-17-2011, 09:06 AM

The thing that undermines her reviews for me is not the possibility of a Dark Secret, but rather the fact that thousands of reviews that are all very positive have no value - the whole point of reviews is to separate the wheat from the chaff, but if every review is positive, it tells you nothing.

Catlady · 09-17-2011, 10:03 AM

Blurbs from Harriet Klausner's reviews have often appeared on book jackets. I presume she is paid for the use of those.

anamardoll · 09-17-2011, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

Blurbs from Harriet Klausner's reviews have often appeared on book jackets. I presume she is paid for the use of those.

Interesting, I did not know that. Are these reprints or first runs where the quotes appear, do you know?

crich70 · 09-17-2011, 02:38 PM

From some of the posts it sounds like she's the equivalent of "Alan Smithee" who often directs movies at various movie studios. I understand he's retired now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Smithee

Catlady · 09-17-2011, 04:02 PM

Here are two articles about Harriet Klausner.

http://www.suck.com/daily/2000/06/08/

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1...-email,00.html

anamardoll · 09-17-2011, 04:05 PM

Quote:

He's a male chauvinist pig!

You know, I hang out with a LOT of feminists, and I've yet to hear a woman use that term seriously in real conversation, let alone in a serious interview.

That interview set off all kinds of "this is a dude writing" alarm bells. Just sayin'.

Quote:

"I have one basic criterion: A book should entertain me and take me away from the rest of the world."

Thank god everything she reads does that for 'her'.

DiapDealer · 09-17-2011, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Having also said that, when someone receives a free book in exchange for a review, the reviewer is (legally) supposed to disclose that as a protection to customers. Which is why I said that "she" could possibly be in violation of that rule, but no one has been prosecuted for it, afaik.

This has me all kinds of curious about its basis in fact. "Legally" implies a law of some kind. Now I can understand that someone might be bound by a contract they are expected to abide by in exchange for the free book (depending on the publisher), but I just can't imagine any law being "on the books" pertaining to book reviews and free review copies. I could be wrong, though. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.

anamardoll · 09-17-2011, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

This has me all kinds of curious about its basis in fact. "Legally" implies a law of some kind. Now I can understand that someone might be bound by a contract they are expected to abide by in exchange for the free book (depending on the publisher), but I just can't imagine any law being "on the books" pertaining to book reviews and free review copies. I could be wrong, though. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.

IANAL, and I'm not sure what level of "law" an FTC guideline is, but the FTC guidelines were recently updated saying that bloggers and reviewers shall disclose (a) when they receive a product free in exchange for a review or (b) if they were paid in exchange for the review.

More info here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

Quote:

The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.

It was big news in the reviewing circles for awhile as everyone adjusted to the new rules. Before, a free review copy (even the ones that expire, like time-limited eBooks) wasn't always called out as such (I mean, it's free if you get it from the library, so what's the difference?), but now nearly everyone has their own boiler-plate tag to paste in.

ebusinesstutor · 09-19-2011, 12:29 AM

The reasons for the mistakes is likely that the reviews are farmed out to multiple overseas freelancers who are writing quickly where English may not be their first language.

You can see jobs like this in the freelancer web sites sometimes. People trying to gimmick the systems.

Skip Wyona · 09-19-2011, 08:31 AM

Interesting but dubious speculation here. Harrit Klausner has been around in the book world for a very long time. No matter what you or I think about her 'reviews' you all need to understand that 'reading' many books in one day is not unusual for a librarian. It is part of the training to get the idea of a book by skim reading as quickly as possible. I have never thought that her reviews are meant to be qualitative but simply the type of review all librarians do to get to know what a book is about for book talks and book promotions. Her written Amazon pieces are no different then the usual junk that passes as comment on Amazon except that at least she gives detail about the book's plot line. See http://www.booksnbytes.com/contribut..._klausner.html

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09-17-2011, 06:06 AM	#16
Ben Thornton Guru Posts: 900 Karma: 779635 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Device: Kindle 3, iPad 2 (but not for e-books)	There's a Time article. It seems that publishers will send a lot of books to the top reviewers, so that could be one incentive. Also, her profile says that she became a "freelance" reviewer, so she's getting paid for reviewing somewhere, if not on Amazon. Apparently, Amazon will send out samples of all sorts of stuff to top reviewers to get some reputable reviews in place.

09-17-2011, 08:00 AM	#20
boydcarts Connoisseur Posts: 85 Karma: 30 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Nook WiFi, iPad2	Just out of curiosity, I decided to compare "her" reviews on Amazon against reviews on B&N's site. I chose the book "Evolutionary Void" by Peter Hamilton. The text of the review was the same on both sites, but on B&N "she" gave the book 5 stars, while on Amazon, the book only got 4 stars.

09-17-2011, 09:06 AM	#21
Ben Thornton Guru Posts: 900 Karma: 779635 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Device: Kindle 3, iPad 2 (but not for e-books)	The thing that undermines her reviews for me is not the possibility of a Dark Secret, but rather the fact that thousands of reviews that are all very positive have no value - the whole point of reviews is to separate the wheat from the chaff, but if every review is positive, it tells you nothing.

09-17-2011, 10:03 AM	#22
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,418 Karma: 52613881 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	Blurbs from Harriet Klausner's reviews have often appeared on book jackets. I presume she is paid for the use of those.

09-17-2011, 02:38 PM	#24
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	From some of the posts it sounds like she's the equivalent of "Alan Smithee" who often directs movies at various movie studios. I understand he's retired now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Smithee

09-17-2011, 04:02 PM	#25
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,418 Karma: 52613881 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	Here are two articles about Harriet Klausner. http://www.suck.com/daily/2000/06/08/ http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1...-email,00.html

09-19-2011, 12:29 AM	#29
ebusinesstutor Star Gawker Posts: 526 Karma: 6944314 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Spruce Grove, AB Canada Device: Kindle Paperwhite	The reasons for the mistakes is likely that the reviews are farmed out to multiple overseas freelancers who are writing quickly where English may not be their first language. You can see jobs like this in the freelancer web sites sometimes. People trying to gimmick the systems.

09-19-2011, 08:31 AM	#30
Skip Wyona Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 21188 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: none	Interesting but dubious speculation here. Harrit Klausner has been around in the book world for a very long time. No matter what you or I think about her 'reviews' you all need to understand that 'reading' many books in one day is not unusual for a librarian. It is part of the training to get the idea of a book by skim reading as quickly as possible. I have never thought that her reviews are meant to be qualitative but simply the type of review all librarians do to get to know what a book is about for book talks and book promotions. Her written Amazon pieces are no different then the usual junk that passes as comment on Amazon except that at least she gives detail about the book's plot line. See http://www.booksnbytes.com/contribut..._klausner.html

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