08-30-2012, 12:02 PM | #91 | |
Maria Schneider
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Of course being paid for honest work is not bad. It's just hard to be completely honest in the face of various realities. Can some people do it? Probably. But suspicious will remain (at least by me because, well, shoot, guys, I write MYSTERIES. There's *always* a bad guy!!!) |
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08-30-2012, 12:23 PM | #92 |
Maria Schneider
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P.S. I don't even believe that Rush Limbaugh and Ted Rall and those cronies believe everything they spout. Their job is to keep an audience and keep that audience happy. If that means inciting or exciting the crowd, that is what they do even it means saying things that are very far to the left or right--or completely untrue. That is my point--editorials and "news" of the like is paid for work. And sometimes it is pure fiction.
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08-30-2012, 12:43 PM | #93 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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08-30-2012, 12:48 PM | #94 | |
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The OP did, but it took only a few posts for others to start claiming that Locke's behavior was no different from what traditional publishers do, and what's the big deal, who cares, this is way of the world, etc. |
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08-30-2012, 12:50 PM | #95 | |
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I can't figure out whether there really are some people who can't tell the difference between reviews and puff pieces or whether you are being trolled. |
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08-30-2012, 12:53 PM | #96 |
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Perhaps John Locke has inadvertantly done a small service to many naive people who base their book buying decisions solely on the number of positive reviews. I can understand that people being outraged as we may all have been sucked in by false or over advertising at some point.
Not justifying the behavior although I don't see it as much worse than most forms of mass advertising such as toy and candy ads aimed at small children or big companies being allowed to buy shelf space etc. in stores or provide free pop refrigerators to restaurants with the provision that only their brand is stocked. Helen |
08-30-2012, 01:06 PM | #97 | |
Maria Schneider
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Maybe we can just disagree, although I think we might actually be agreeing. |
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08-30-2012, 01:40 PM | #98 |
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An editorial is generally not signed by an individual. It's the policy/opinion/belief of the newspaper editorial board.
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08-30-2012, 03:25 PM | #99 | ||
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You'll find that pretty much everybody finds it to be wrong to some degree. And after you read that you'll then be able to make an informed statement about the general reaction of independent artists. |
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08-30-2012, 03:48 PM | #100 | ||
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I'm not talking about the entire universe of independent authors or people from other forums. I'm talking about the people HERE who have identified themselves as self-published authors, or who show book covers in their sigs, etc., which I therefore assume are independent authors. Quote:
And when a segment of independent authors here don't seem to care much about ethics, yeah, it reflects badly on them. |
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08-31-2012, 09:16 AM | #101 | |
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And thank you for alerting me that it is against Amazon's TOS... I know now not to try it myself. --another lost promotional opportunity... |
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08-31-2012, 10:03 AM | #102 |
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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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08-31-2012, 12:28 PM | #103 | |
Maria Schneider
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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. |
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08-31-2012, 02:14 PM | #104 | |
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Edit: Decided to ask Amazon directly. Their response was that offering a refund for an already-purchased book, in return for a review, is against their policy. Last edited by Steven Lyle Jordan; 08-31-2012 at 09:04 PM. |
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09-01-2012, 11:53 PM | #105 |
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Me too. I thought: "really, they're flaming Locke - this deserves a check-out," but no, I don't know anything about his namesake here.
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