Rebelious rules by Kristina Gallo

I got a review.  Every author will be delighted by reviews of his book. It means someone read it and posted an opinion. Reviews are hard to get because competition is big. Also, readers in Amazon read books from famous authors, and we, indie authors are getting a piece of cake. Probably you heard about this magic number of reviews. 20-25 reviews, your book will be marked as "you might also read". 50 reviews will bring you to mention in the Amazon newsletter. It looks tempting and authors are struggling to get a huge number of reviews, but in reality, things look different. 7 myths about reviews: Bad ratings mean that book is trash, the same as bad reviews. It is not true, as tastes are different. Someone can spit on your book because of the genre you write, or because this person doesn't like the author. Also, many trolls are around, who can't wait a chance to ruin someone's rating. Excellent reviews mean that book is a bestseller. It is hard to please everyone, a...

Getting an Amazon review is the biggest accomplishment for an indie author. Your book will get noticed as many as you get, especially if these reviews are from successful authors. Here is a catch: you need to spend 50 dollars a year on books to be a reviewer. Also, you must be careful what you post as a review. Your review is under conditions. You can't insult the author. You can't abuse the author. You can't be an author's friend to praise his work, you must be objective. Your review can't be a tool for revenge, to ruin the reputation of other's writers. If you don't follow the rules, you will be reported and Amazon might delete your account. Also, if you beg other authors for a swap, Amazon can forbid you to review. So, many readers will not spend 50 dollars on books. They will not have terms to leave reviews. Amazon is cleaning reviews once a year, their algorithm checking eligibility.  Also, some readers expect you will pay for their reviews. Some don...

Let's assume people want to support your books. There are some genuine souls who really want your success and they would love to help you. Good intentions are not enough, you need to know are those people are your readers or this support is only formal. What kind of readers you can meet? Some people will share your book links but never open them. There is no use, they do it automatically. People will congrats you, but they are not interested in what are you doing. This is a usual phenomenon, people want to support you for some reasons, but your books are not interesting them. Maybe a guy wants to approach you to flirt, maybe your friend wishes to support you, but their real intention is to be close to you, not to read your books. People will support you expecting you to do the same. "Read my book I will read yours" is a common deal, but not always recommended. You read his book, he never returned. Or he pretended to read, but you can see from the review it is only formal....

If you have a small business, you should invest in it. Nothing is for free, and the flower will not grow from the invisible seed.  This is the area I am still learning about. Where to promote your books and how much pay for them? Let's start with free services. If you ask a friend to review your book, he will do it, but is it objective? The more important question is, do you owe him a service for this? When you argue with a friend, will he delete his review and try to sabotage your work? Don't shit where you eat, so it is not smart to involve emotions in business. You never know if your friend really likes a book or it is just a friendship benefit. While you are still thinking about promoting your books, scammers will surround you like parasites and sharks. I have this problem daily. Different services and admins of promotional pages come to my social media and emails to offer their services and guarantee success for me. I have a common answer for all of them: If you were succe...

I f you are an indie author, you will get offers for paid reviews, sooner or later. Someone of money hunters will approach you through your inbox or in groups, offering their reviews for your books, in exchange for "small fees." Indie authors are struggling with book sales, but some reviewers are like vultures, trying to get money from authors because we need reviews as a marketing tool for our books. Some reviewers will ask 10 dollars for one review, some even more. I advise you: don't buy it. Don't accept it. Why? Paid reviews are not objective . Someone will praise your book, and you paid for it. Do you remember when you go shopping and a saleswoman praises you for how you look good in a new dress? She does it because she wants to sell a dress. So, if you paid for a review, it will be praised, because you give money. You will get 5 stars, and a person even did not read a book. Amazon will punish you . If they discover you paid for reviews, you are breaking their ru...

Every author will face a bad review for his book, sooner or later. You might have a perfect book, but there is always a reader who will think differently.  If you think that a good editor and translator will help you to change the audience's opinion, you are wrong. Your book is an investment, you paid an illustrator, editor, and beta readers, but still, this is not enough to be a bestseller. You got a bad review. What do I consider a bad review? 1 star on Amazon. 2 stars on Amazon. Receiving bad reviews doesn't mean that your book is a pile of rubbish.  The reasons for bad reviews might be different: It could be an act of revenge . Someone doesn't like you and he will spit at your book. The reader doesn't like this genre, yet he read and reviews. It could be trolling . Such people exist and mark many books with bad ratings, just to make a mess. It might be compensation. If you give an author a bad mark, he can do it for you too. Does a bad review have an influence on s...

I t has been three years since I uploaded my first book on Amazon.  If I knew then what I know nowadays, things would be different.  I made all the possible mistakes that indie authors could do, and this affected my status on Amazon, but not for so long. It was a good lesson. I did not edit the book. That is why my first review was one star. I did not order the cover. I use a Kindle pattern cover, that made book looks amateur. I did not make my Author page on Amazon.  After this, I gave a book on editing to an editor amateur. Of course, professional editors immediately guessed my editor is not English nor American. I try to explain to the reviewer that I edited the book later. Never talk to reviewers who give you negative reviews, they will not change their minds. Leave it their opinion, unless they are abusive.  I was asking for reviews from people I know. There is how I make mistakes because not all people are eligible to give reviews on Amazon.  I gave my boo...