tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post54523884912948469..comments2024-03-25T21:30:28.970-07:00Comments on <b>Smashwords</b>: Oyster and the KDP Select Party TrainDovetail Public Relationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-41216407581926878402015-10-23T18:59:00.281-07:002015-10-23T18:59:00.281-07:00
Hi Everyone, am Lucy from USA,
This was how me an...<br />Hi Everyone, am Lucy from USA,<br />This was how me and my Boyfriend became VAMPIRES. I got a guy from the internet called Mr. Barry who was a VAMPIRE so i told him that me and my boyfriend would love to become VAMPIRES so he asked me of my Name ,Country, Age ,State , address and in the next 3 days i got the blood sample through the DHL which me and my boyfriend took in the blood into our body and in the next 30 minutes we turned into a VAMPIRE so if you are interested in becoming a VAMPIRE. First: Vampires is not at all like in the movies or books, Sure. I understand. You are young; you have the whole world open to you. You can be anything that you choose if you apply yourself and try hard to work toward that goal. But being a vampire is not what it seems like. It’s a life full of good, and amazing things. We are as human as you are.. It’s not what you are that counts, but how you choose to be. Do you want a life full of interesting things? Do you want to have power and influence over others? To be charming and desirable? To have wealth, health, and longevity? contact the vampires creed today via email: vampirewonden@gmail.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00925905324624094100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-91605100237361404582015-10-20T10:27:00.771-07:002015-10-20T10:27:00.771-07:00Amazon said the names on the list was just the nam...Amazon said the names on the list was just the names of the Fivrr account users. They are just going to delete the bogus reviews, supposedly, rather than identify the review as fake and hope the thing is forgotten about.<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787761581356540351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-53486252500927514232015-10-20T09:27:57.504-07:002015-10-20T09:27:57.504-07:00If u go to fivrr today, you'll see that "...If u go to fivrr today, you'll see that "positive" book reviews are still for sale.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787761581356540351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-28563223060128582922015-10-20T08:48:52.569-07:002015-10-20T08:48:52.569-07:00Here's a site of where you can find a list of ...Here's a site of where you can find a list of the usernames named as defendants. Any of your reviewers on it?<br /><br />http://rulesforrebels.blogspot.com/2015/10/are-you-on-list-heres-list-of-fiverr.html<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787761581356540351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-25057321797171418392015-10-20T08:09:12.337-07:002015-10-20T08:09:12.337-07:00Brian,
Awesome! First time I saw it. I uploaded a ...Brian,<br />Awesome! First time I saw it. I uploaded a youtube video with a five dollar bill with Bukowski's face on it and Tom Waits singing "I'm Your Late Night Prostitute."<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DgZWkwJbsk<br /><br />I would like Amazon (change the name to Anaconda because they're choking the competition to death. They're even going after Etsy, a handcraft etailer) go after the "best seller" who got that way thru fraud. Maybe public shame with marking the reviews that are fake as "FAKE."<br /><br />A couple months ago, Alibaba, the Chinese Amazon had a scandal about the same thing and the stock dropped considerably. <br /><br />Here's the thing, a reader sees some "best seller" who has more reviews than Steinbecck with a higher rating, don't u think they could put 2 and 2 together? Apparently they can't. Time for Ammazon to step up and do it for them. <br /><br />Gracias for the post,<br />RobAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787761581356540351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-75243244242122531882015-10-19T22:20:49.235-07:002015-10-19T22:20:49.235-07:00I hope we all saw this: Amazon Sues 1,114 Fiverr U...I hope we all saw this: <b>Amazon Sues 1,114 Fiverr Users For Offering To Write Fake Product Reviews</b> http://marketingland.com/amazon-sues-1114-fiverr-users-for-offering-to-write-fake-product-reviews-147305?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed-main<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04472245159737924044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-50485454725430493772015-10-19T08:06:33.043-07:002015-10-19T08:06:33.043-07:00Tom,
And I deserve a smack down for saying too muc...Tom,<br />And I deserve a smack down for saying too much. I apologize.<br />Have a nice day,<br />RobAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787761581356540351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-16905116518255269562015-10-18T19:54:17.173-07:002015-10-18T19:54:17.173-07:00Robert, you are right about one thing, which is th...Robert, you are right about one thing, which is that I was bragging; I regret it, and rightly deserved a bit of a smackdown. Thank you.Tom Hilperthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16210290420650585892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-54608328768722715682015-10-17T19:05:42.867-07:002015-10-17T19:05:42.867-07:00Tom,
Stop bragging. I checked out your books. If u...Tom,<br />Stop bragging. I checked out your books. If u made it from your writing ability, I would be very surprised. What a bunch of crap.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787761581356540351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-50256786855684098312015-10-17T19:03:30.729-07:002015-10-17T19:03:30.729-07:00Brian,
There's only so many book buyers with a...Brian,<br />There's only so many book buyers with a finite amount of money, which means that when a con artist makes a sale, he is taking it away from the honest person. <br /><br />If you asked the average buyer what convinced him to push the buy button, it was because of all the positive reviews. They don't know from shinola about how they're being lied to.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787761581356540351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-71737549920031068552015-10-17T16:57:08.278-07:002015-10-17T16:57:08.278-07:00Well, I appreciate you guys. I'd still like to...Well, I appreciate you guys. I'd still like to do better, but you've reminded me to be thankful that I've come this far. I've made enough money to buy bread, and even a car (but not a house).<br /><br />Cheers!Tom Hilperthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16210290420650585892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-35503465601733178212015-10-17T15:44:11.592-07:002015-10-17T15:44:11.592-07:00@Robert. Great insight there. Unfortunately the co...@Robert. Great insight there. Unfortunately the con-artists are racking in loads of cash from book sales while those who play by the book are still wondering how to sell and catch up...or at least buy bread :-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04472245159737924044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-50971285604465203992015-10-17T13:20:27.087-07:002015-10-17T13:20:27.087-07:00Tom,
I applaud your success. You've worked har...Tom,<br />I applaud your success. You've worked hard and played fair. Probably your books are worth reading as well, although I haven't tried one yet. <br />I hope to say one day "I broke even."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787761581356540351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-23947546940730242862015-10-17T13:11:45.610-07:002015-10-17T13:11:45.610-07:00Mark,
It would be a just and beautiful world if wh...Mark,<br />It would be a just and beautiful world if what u say is true, but experience is telling me a different story. Wish the reading consumer could figure it out, but so far the con has worked. Remember, it was only the little know nothing kid who said the emperor is naked.<br /><br />I like reading reviews of "best selling" con artists (can't use the word writer, they don't deserve it.) Those who give them one or two stars say things like "I can't understand why this gets so many 5 stars." Another one will reply to the one who can't understand "thanks for your review, I thought I was going crazy." I'm thinking to myself, "they know how to figure out the plot but they don't see how bogus this is. He got his thousand 5 star reviews, because he bought them."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787761581356540351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-80630710315072501382015-10-17T13:01:29.366-07:002015-10-17T13:01:29.366-07:00Brian,
I just did a Giveaway on GoodReads. 5 auto...Brian, <br />I just did a Giveaway on GoodReads. 5 autographed books (CreateSpace) mailed out to 5 out of 468 participants. My cost per book/postage/envelope/gas to post office was $10 per book. I had to spend an extra dollar for first class postage because I learned my lesson of sending a book out a cheaper way. )The cheap way was suppose to go to my friend in Tahachapi, CA. After a month I tracked it down. It went to LA by mistake, then up to W. Sacramento. Don't know where it is, been going on 2 months and he still hasn't gotten it.) I sent the 5 winners their book the day the contest ended on Oct. 5 with a polite letter asking for a review. Still not one review.<br /><br />I took a look at the 468 entrants' profiles. It looked like most of them were just into Giveaway contests and didn't read. I thought stirring the water some with the giveaway would help generate some sales to cover the $50 expense. No sales and so far no reviews. <br /><br />From my experience what Robbins and Burchard are saying, but not you my friend, sounds like more bull caca.<br /><br />Stay strong,<br />RobAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787761581356540351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-20250601622023962382015-10-17T12:50:35.796-07:002015-10-17T12:50:35.796-07:00Tom, re: other retailers supporting indies, if you...Tom, re: other retailers supporting indies, if you scroll back through the archive here at the SW blog, you'll see plenty of posts about promotions that featured SW authors at iBooks, Scribd and others. In the next few weeks you'll see another post regarding a big promotion I'm helping to organize at another retailer. At iBooks in particular, they're doing features every week that give indies big boosts, and they're doing it without exclusivity. There's a lot going on for the authors that stay engaged. And kudos for your sense of ethics. That alone will take you further.<br /><br />Robert, it's not necessary to sell to your soul. The folks who do that or who try to cheat are ultimately discovered and pay the price. This is a long term game, and it's all about you and your readers. If an author can earn and deserve and serve a loyal readership, their ticket is made. If an author tries to cheat or mislead, they'll lose the trust and confidence of readers. I know John L. was one of the first to admit he used one of these services, but I think people give that act too much credit for his success. He writes books readers love to read. If any author buys a 5-star review and the reader discovers it's a two-star book, the reader will get their revenge and bring the ratings down in a hurry. It's virtually impossible to become a bestseller if the readers aren't propelling you there.Dovetail Public Relationshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-77872810579796408372015-10-17T12:08:54.523-07:002015-10-17T12:08:54.523-07:00In regards to reviews, I like how Tony Robbins, Br...In regards to reviews, I like how Tony Robbins, Brandon Burchard and a bunch of others in the Self-help genre do it. When they have a new book, they offer the paperback for free before it is published. They say we will give you the paperback copy for free as long as you just pay $7 for Shipping and Handling and they will send it to you anywhere you are in the world. My assumption is that the $7 does actually cover printing costs, because it does when you use CreateSpace. <br /><br />Of course they will then ask for reviews, but I think this is a legal way of business. So, they do not make money on those copies, but they do gain thousands of reviews. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04472245159737924044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-23479982444359210622015-10-17T11:51:31.204-07:002015-10-17T11:51:31.204-07:00Tom,
Happy to hear that u won't make a deal wi...Tom,<br />Happy to hear that u won't make a deal with the devil. I'm holding out as well. The peace is more valuable than the $ for me. Too bad it's a rigged craps game, but that's the way it is. If u find a way to the higher level that's legit, let us know. So far we only know what doesn't work.<br /><br />Derek,<br />If u take a look at all the posts under the topic of fake reviews there's an article that has a long list of "best sellers." Say it isn't so. These are the same people on youtube and elsewhere lying about how they made it. The book biz makes the used car biz look a Mother of Calcutta charity.<br /><br />Derek, 3 reviews as an experiment, you're forgiven my son. The ones who succeed buy thousands. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787761581356540351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-81763112122984708402015-10-17T11:19:10.629-07:002015-10-17T11:19:10.629-07:00I appreciate it, Robert.
So far I have 1200+ rev...I appreciate it, Robert. <br /><br />So far I have 1200+ reviews of my mystery series, 840+ of them 5 star and 280+ 4 star, and not one of them was paid. My congregation is tiny - the reviews didn't come from them. I think I got them by giving away 150,000+ ebooks for free.<br /><br />I'm happy with what has happened so far; I'm making a very helpful part-time income, all from Amazon. I would like to "take it to the next level" however, violating my ethics is not an option.<br /><br />I remain concerned that Amazon is virtually the only source of my writing income, but as I have said, none of other players seem interested in playing.Tom Hilperthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16210290420650585892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-19665445845958602742015-10-17T11:16:48.405-07:002015-10-17T11:16:48.405-07:00I support your view, Robert. As this article point...I support your view, Robert. As this article points to, buying reviews is BIG business, still! How long has it taken Amazon to take action on what has been screamingly obvious for a long time.<br />http://the-digital-reader.com/2015/10/16/amazon-files-suit-against-a-thousand-fiverr-users-for-selling-fake-reviews/<br /><br />As an aside, Amazon had their 'family, friends and fellow authors' clean out of reviews a couple of years ago, which lost a hell of a lot of reviews for self pubbed authors, but Amazon didn't go after paid reviews. I can vouch for this fact, because I DID buy 3 reviews from Fiverr three years ago as an experiment, and they are still showing on my book!<br /><br />So I can understand your view that only the cheats win.Derek Haineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16660770790492846319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-82830351163386658712015-10-17T11:09:25.901-07:002015-10-17T11:09:25.901-07:00Tom,
If u want to be successful financially as an ...Tom,<br />If u want to be successful financially as an indie, you're going to have to sell your soul the way the other successful indies have done it. You'll have to pay for the reviews and have the paid reviewers buy the ebooks at the same time to jump the book to the best seller list. <br /><br />I saw in your bio Tom that you're a Christian minister. Your congregation is only going to buy so many books. What's it going to be, money and fame or your soul?<br /><br />If u don't believe me that lying and cheating is the way the successful ones got that way, then google a few phrases like "John Locke paid reviews" or "fake reviews." That's a starting point.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787761581356540351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-55210192532369738462015-10-17T10:50:40.601-07:002015-10-17T10:50:40.601-07:00Thanks for the follow up, Mark.
A few thoughts. Fi...Thanks for the follow up, Mark.<br />A few thoughts. First, I admit, it's hard to forgo the cash I get from KDP-S when I don't see results from diversification.<br />Second, I'd love to hear more about how the other players help Indies. <br /><br />Amazon seems *proactive* in giving us help - even the recent changes in Kindle Unlimited benefit legitimate authors and limit abuse by people gaming the system. On the other hand, I email B&N about once a year asking for tools, and they basically give me some general info about ebook marketing that can be found on about 100K different websites. I see no opportunities for promotions, no way to be discovered, not even a way to pay for advertising on a small scale. <br /><br />I'll say it again, Amazon is successful because they believe that they can make money by letting Indies make money. I haven't yet seen that anywhere else - and frankly, I'd LOVE to. I'm here (Smashwords) because I recognize the long term danger of having only one horse in the stable. But no else even seems to be offering even a pony. Any thoughts?<br />Tom Hilperthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16210290420650585892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-70799341914991783592015-10-16T12:47:15.667-07:002015-10-16T12:47:15.667-07:00Hi Tom, thanks for visiting. Having worked closel...Hi Tom, thanks for visiting. Having worked closely with iBooks, B&N and Kobo now for about six years, I can say that their commitment to indies often goes underappreciated. These retailers do amazing things for our authors every week. Authors who cycle in an out of KDP-S are less likely to benefit from the full potential of the other retailers. I think a lot of authors tend to confuse market share with appreciation. Amazon controls 65% or more of the ebook market, so on average most authors should always sell more there. And with KDP-S, they've carved out a smaller subset of authors who will get more perks. Yet a lot of our authors are selling more outside of Amazon. Every author's experience will be different. To the extent you can crack the nut of diversification and avoid exclusivity as so many SW authors have, IMHO you'll face a more successful career in the long term. It can take years of toiling in obscurity, and even the best books aren't guaranteed to find readers. I know most authors agree with this in concept, but the sad reality is that it's really tough to build diversified readership, and the quick hit of KDP-S is enticing.Dovetail Public Relationshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-58549569458495584652015-10-16T12:41:57.355-07:002015-10-16T12:41:57.355-07:00I've read several of these responses. Currentl...I've read several of these responses. Currently, I have 3 short ebooks through KU. All can also be bought in a box set available everywhere including Amazon. Trying KU is my way of getting a sample of my work to the entire market. To be honest I don't see much action through KU. The majority of my sales come from actual purchases, including my Amazon sales. I'm not sure what that means but I love it. Reader's prefer to purchase not borrow my books. It impresses me. The shorts I'm pulling from KU once their time is up and redistributing everwhere but I may write and sell a book exclusively through KU to keep all markets covered.The Troubled Oysterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901579873842300816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-42256129626761946232015-10-16T11:37:52.529-07:002015-10-16T11:37:52.529-07:00Mark, I'm an indie author, and I want to be ho...Mark, I'm an indie author, and I want to be honest. I have been quite successful in gaining a solid fan base through Amazon, and my income from there has doubled every year. At the same time, I have a book published with Smashwords, and to date have made less than $100, and cannot seem to get paid even for that. I've made more money from the same book on Kindle, even without being KDP select.<br />For my other books, I was worried when KDP Kindle Unlimited went to the "pages read" model, but I actually ended up getting paid a little more per book than on the "10% of book read" model. It works out to roughly $0.20 less per book than an outright purchase not "a fraction of the amount" as you mentioned in your post above.<br />I can only speculate that some authors were producing 10 page books or book samples, and getting paid the full amount when customers read a single page; while people who got my books had to read forty pages for me to get paid. My income went from about $1.50 per KU borrow to now around $2.50; as I said, about twenty cents less than a straight-up ebook sale.<br />I don't love the idea of a near monopoly like Amazon seems to be moving towards, but Amazon has achieved its success because they do help Indie authors, while players like B&N and Apple seem entirely indifferent to us. <br />I like the Smashwords concept, but as yet, it still leaves a lot to be desired. Tom Hilperthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16210290420650585892noreply@blogger.com