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Readers: why is important to have "verified purchase"?

Before three years I gave a lot of free books. I don't remember the number, maybe over 100. Did you guess how many reviews I got? About ten, not more. Also, some of my reviews were deleted by Amazon. The reason was: "there is no track of the book." What does it mean? When you see a mark above the review, that says "verified purchase", it means that your reader bought a book or got it with Kindle Unlimited. If your reader is outside of the USA, his review will appear also in one of the Amazon countries (16 in total), depending on which state he is in. Mostly my readers are from the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany.  When you ask for a review, as an author, you will offer ARC copy. That is a double-cross because you don't know will you get a review. If your reader is buying your book, it means you will probably get a review sooner or later.  Why is a verified purchase important? Amazon will not delete your review if this is a verified review. You are giving resp

Is there any use of Goodreads?

Every author needs a review. We all know how hard is to find readers who will buy and review your books. Mostly, people expect an ARC copy for free to review your book. We have 3 groups of readers: They take a free book, and never review it. They take a free book and review it on Goodreads or Bookbub or a blog. They buy the book and leave Amazon reviews. As every author is dreaming about Amazon reviews, many will get disappointed and try to get satisfaction in Goodreads. Goodreads is a minefield. There is a big mess that needs admins and bans. Everyone can create a page and leave a one-star review on your book, just to underestimate authors. Some people go even so far as to ask for money for their reviews or blackmail you to rate you with one star if you don't pay them. If you are a Goodreads member, you can notice the "currently reading " option. You can hope someone is reading your book.  Well, about 10 people will mark your book as "to read" or "currentl