What a
mess Amazon’s algorithms have wrought. By removing book reviews, the behemoth
company is quashing a writer’s chance to grow a readership and make money,
while inadvertently forcing readers to stop making friends!
Amazon is
out to silence click farms and punish authors who buy reviews, and good for
them! But in their zeal to stop misuse, their message to us is: don’t cultivate
friendships, much less name any of your online acquaintances buddies. Those of
us who have been busy building relationships with street teams, FB groups, and
blog tribes, are now faced with turning our backs on our friends, our fans. The closer we get to individuals in any of
those groupings, the more likely their reviews of our product will disappear.
The
lesson is clear: stop making friends/fans of authors and readers.
This is
so frustrating to those of us hoping to warm up an often impersonal social
media. Also giving me apoplexy is the
idea an author can’t be a reader! I read
a book a week…why can’t I write reviews that ‘stick’ for every story I read?
I don't mind if you commiserate, but perhaps it's best to move on to things friends CAN do for each other without retribution. My cover artist is busy designing FIRE IS NICE. What are your impressions of her draft, so far? Candid critique welcome!
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