What is it with smashwords?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by alehel

Incidentally, is it possible to review a book on smashword even if I haven't purchased it? I use a kindle, so I'll be buying from the kindle store, but if I can put in a review on smashwords I'll do so.

Just by the way, you can get the Kindle format book at Smashwords, too, if you so desire.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by alehel

Incidentally, is it possible to review a book on smashword even if I haven't purchased it? I use a kindle, so I'll be buying from the kindle store, but if I can put in a review on smashwords I'll do so.

For paid books, you must purchase at Smashwords in order to leave a review. You can usually get a Kindle-compatible version at Smashwords, though.

[Frida Fantastic]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

For paid books, you must purchase at Smashwords in order to leave a review. You can usually get a Kindle-compatible version at Smashwords, though.

Yeah. I use a Kindle and I generally buy from Smashwords when the books have a .mobi. I just really like how everything is multiformat and non DRMed, so if I switch readers in the future, I still have the books. I just use Amazon to download the samples straight to the Kindle :P

Or if you purchase from Amazon, you can ask the author to give you the Smashwords edition for free so you can leave behind a review. I'm sure many authors would be happy to do so.

[anamardoll]

@Mel: 550 copies and zero reviews is not a cool ratio I think many people will leave reviews if the suggestion is planted well, e.g. the last page of the book, or a "get this book for free but please review" sort of exchange.

My I throw in my 2 cents?

I'm a reviewer at Amazon and am currently ranked at #109 in the new system. This means I get roughly 15-30 review requests a month just by email alone. It's REALLY difficult to keep up, and I pretty much tell everyone who sends me their book that it's purely luck of the draw if I ever review their book. (I hate this and wish I could do more, but....)

I *can*, however, give some advice from the reviewing side of the fence about what motivates me to read a certain book.

1. If you have good reviews on Amazon, take some time to check the reviewer's profiles. A lot of people have contact information in their Amazon profile: consider writing them a nice email, thanking them for their review, and humbly asking if they'd take a few minutes to post their review on Smashwords (SEND A LINK. MAKE IT EASY FOR THEM.) As a reviewer, this takes me maybe 5 minutes, but it's a nice easy thing to do for an author you like.

2. If you've sent the book out to reviewers specifically, don't BUG them or STALK them, but it is acceptable to establish a relationship with them - it's okay to send a very polite follow-up email, and if you have a good excuse to do so (like "here's an updated copy with a new cover" or "here's one with some corrections"), then that's always a good reason to politely remind the reviewer that you exist.

3. What format is your book in? I groan now when I get PDF copies from authors. PDF is great for manga and comics, but when something is a text novel, it needs to be in epub/mobi/not-PDF. PDF doesn't render as nicely on my readers and practically guarantees it gets sent to the slush fund.

4. Lastly, don't worry too much. If you're getting 550 free downloads but no reviews, it either means that your book sucks (i.e., people read it and toss it) or they haven't read it yet. You KNOW your book doesn't suck - you have good reviews on Amazon - so hopefully those free copies will eventually get read and reviewed.

EDIT:

For paid books, you must purchase at Smashwords in order to leave a review. You can usually get a Kindle-compatible version at Smashwords, though.

Ah, this is a dumb rule and probably explains your problem. That's a shame.

[Frida Fantastic]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

This means I get roughly 15-30 review requests a month just by email alone.

Heh. I get that per week. I'm not complaining, it's just that I can't contact all authors or else I'd have no time to read. I do my best to look at every description and sample (first few pages, and when I forget I'm just supposed to be sampling it, that's a good sign), and I select whichever one I'm interested in the most.

I receive both genuinely good books that just aren't up my alley, and books that are really awful, and if an author doesn't hear from me, it doesn't say much about what I think of their book. I let a handful know that I didn't select their book for review, but I can't respond to everyone @_@

[ApK]

Why do you folks do so much reviewing?
For the free books?
Is it a writing portfolio thing?

Is there something else in it for you, or just an obsessive hobby?

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by ApK

Why do you folks do so much reviewing?
For the free books?
Is it a writing portfolio thing?

Is there something else in it for you, or just an obsessive hobby?

Obsessive hobby.

I don't know a single reviewer that doesn't do it out of sheer love for the writing-publishing-reviewing system; certainly "free books" isn't nearly a good incentive since the good-book / bad-book ratio is, I'm afraid, not always very high. You do find some absolute diamonds with some new authors (Karen Nilsen, Jeania Kimbrough, etc.), but you also get lots and lots of books sent to you that are a major chore to wade through.

I had to institute a if-I'm-not-hooked-by-50-pages-I'm-not-finishing-your-book rule just to keep up. And I'll never get to the bottom of my to-do pile - I have hundreds of things in Calibre that I'll be lucky to finish between now and ten years from now. It's a little disheartening at times, but I do love the hobby.

Heh. I get that per week.

Phew. I hope I'm never so popular - I can barely answer the ones I get already. I love your avatar by the way - been wanting to say that to you for forever.

[Frida Fantastic]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Obsessive hobby.

Seconded. I have referral links on my blog and stuff, but I'd be kidding myself if I wanted to live off it. I'm learning a lot about writing and communicating to a specific audience, so I'm already being rewarded in that sense. I'm only 2 months into it, but right now, I see it as the coolest geeky volunteer gig ever.

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Phew. I hope I'm never so popular - I can barely answer the ones I get already. I love your avatar by the way - been wanting to say that to you for forever.

Thanks for the kind comment about the avatar, glad it's aesthetically pleasing :P I always wonder what people think about me since I have my avatar here, on twitter, and on my blog, and I talk about science fiction and fantasy all the time. It must be a bit of an anachronism coming from the avatar of Frida Kahlo. I should be talking about art, Mexico, how Trotsky was a sexy man.

Well, my submissions page clearly indicates that I can't respond to everyone. I've got a "If I want to review it, I'll email you back. Spend the rest of your time sending your book to other bloggers or writing, don't hound me" policy. The volume is pretty overwhelming sometimes, but it works in my favour because the more books there are in my inbox, the higher the chances of me finding something good and something up my alley. Right now, the demand for reviews exceeds supply, so author can't be demanding of a reviewer's time.

I don't claim to review everything I receive, it's physically impossible and I do have a life outside of books. I've been reviewing weekly, and it's a pace that works for me

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by bashfulbanshee

Thanks for the kind comment about the avatar, glad it's aesthetically pleasing :P I always wonder what people think about me since I have my avatar here, on twitter, and on my blog, and I talk about science fiction and fantasy all the time. It must be a bit of an anachronism coming from the avatar of Frida Kahlo. I should be talking about art, Mexico, how Trotsky was a sexy man.

Well, I admit it was a little confusing at first, but now that I've seen several of your posts it seems perfectly natural.

Of course, now if I ever went back and time and MET Frida Kahlo at this point, I'd probably expect her to talk sci-fi to me.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Of course, now if I ever went back and time and MET Frida Kahlo at this point, I'd probably expect her to talk sci-fi to me.

Being that'd you'd have just gone back in time, does that really seem like a stretch?

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by ApK

Being that'd you'd have just gone back in time, does that really seem like a stretch?

Ah! My goodness, that makes perfect sense! How did I not think of that????