I didn’t know they existed until recently.
My first encounter went something like this:
- Guy messaged me on Facebook requesting a free copy of my first novel in exchange for a “great review.”
- I Googled him and didn’t see a blog or any “great reviews,” just puff pieces on Amazon.
- I Messaged him back politely asking him if he wrote for someone and/or managed a blog.
- He replied that he’s helped many authors out by compensating “influential reviews,” even listing several authors who use him as a beta reader and consultant.
- I hedged, suggesting I couldn’t find any evidence to corroborate his clout.
- He became defensive, pointing me to some of his Amazon reviews which were deemed “helpful.”
- I suggested he might want to rethink his approach. It sounded like he was scamming for free books.
- He went off, cussed me out. Literally.
- I refused his Friend Request.
- He apologized.
- I still refused his Friend Request.
The worst part of the whole deal: He claimed to be a Christian.
That incident probably explains why I’m gun shy when people write me requesting a free copy of my book for a review. For the record, I want my books reviewed. I will even send out free books to be reviewed. In fact, I like giving away books. Really.
But I can’t keep doing this if I don’t SELL BOOKS.
And unless you’re Publisher’s Weekly or some other influential book site, giving away books, especially to bloggers with limited influence, doesn’t benefit me much. If at all. Yes, the good will involved is inestimable. I’d love to forge a reputation as being a giving person. But at some point, giving away free books to everyone who asks is just stupid. I’m sorry if that sounds mean or egotistical.
Even worse, to me, is the reality that there are people out there — I’m not sure it’s even accurate to call them reviewers — who are building their libraries on the backs of author freebies.
Listen, if you want a free book just so you can gush over it, give me five stars, and increase your “reviewer clout,” don’t ask. And if you DO ask, please, please, have a little tact.
Honestly, as a reviewer, I find it tactless to even ask. There are two occasions in which I’ll ASK for a book free: if an author is having a contest, I’ll enter, OR if an author specifically ASKS me for a review I’ll ask for a copy, just because I don’t have the disposable income to buy books from everyone (even though I wish I did).
I’m happy to say that while I have been given copies (in some cases, even just pdf versions — after all, I’m reviewing the STORY, not the book cover), I’ve also bought a majority of the works I’ve reviewed.
Great piece, by the way, and a must for would-be reviewers everywhere!
As a reviewer, I think it’s tactless to ask the author for a review copy. I receive ARCs and review copies all the time, but I always get them from the publisher. Sometimes I approach them and sometimes they approach me, but I really don’t think it’s appropriate for reviewers to be asking authors for copies unless they know them well.
Kate, like you, I’ve been asked by publishers to review books and requested books for review from publishers. This is legit. Publishers want reviewers and usually don’t demand “good reviews” as compensation. I’ve reviewed for ThomasNelson and approached the review as I always do. Having an underlying motive to simply build our library, however, seems weird to me. Honestly, I wouldn’t dream of contacting an author and requesting a free book. Even if my site is very influential, that just seems tactless. Hey, thanks for commenting.
“But at some point, giving away free books to everyone who asks is just stupid. I’m sorry if that sounds mean or egotistical.”
Not at all. One of my indie friends uses a policy that she only gives out hardcopies to bloggers with a certain number of subscribed followers and uniques–it’s one way to keep it sane when she’s her own publisher. She’ll gladly email a PDF to anyone. But there’s got to be some legitimacy and boundaries in how we conduct these matters.
And he claimed to be a Christian… ouch.
Whenever I’ve given away free copies, I’ve been the one initiating the transaction. I search out likely reviewers and contact them with my offer. And what I’m hoping for is a thorough, honest review, not an automatic 5-stars. *sheesh*
Wait… hold that. I’d like to boost the number of reviews on Amazon, so I’m offering free signed copies to folks who take the time to write and post, regardless of rating. (although I assume if it’s one or two star, they’ll pass on my offer. 😉 )
Good luck, Mike.
And remember, the higher up on the ladder you are, the more your butt becomes a target.
Coming from the music industry, it’s common to ask promo companies, labels, and especially independent bands for review copies. Depending on the scope of the artist release you would need to have some kind of credentials. But not always.
So this is a different protocol for me. I’ve only asked for a book for review twice: once because the author solicited for them on his blog, and the other was on a non-literary forum and had just released his first book independently (which was quite good) and only implied a solicitation.
But, this guy sounds like a top-drawer clown. Isn’t it disingenuous to guarantee a positive review? What if he sincerely thinks it’s terrible?
It’s a book! How expensive can it be? Why would -anyone- need a free copy? Unless your novels are now going for 20 bucks a pop, I don’t understand why anyone would waste time begging you — the likely busy author — for a free copy.
I approach this from a different standpoint.
I’ve been a blogger for something like ten or 11 years now. I was doing this when only a few people were. In all that time I’ve gotten maybe a half-dozen things given to me, and I’ve never requested them if they weren’t first offered.
A lot of people came into blogging about six or seven years ago because they read about how it was a great way to get free things.
I feel about that the way a person would feel if someone opened a brothel in their subdivision. I take pride in being a good blogger; I enjoy the communities and friendships that build up around these salons. And I’m pretty much always irritated by the people who got into the gig to scoop up as much swag as possible.
–It’s inconsiderate of the people who give the products. In many cases the reviewers don’t really care about those products. More than one blogger resells review products on eBay after a cursory glance at the thing she’s supposed to evaluate.
–It’s arrogant. Unless you are the absolute cream of the crop and have superb critical thinking skills there is no reason you’d deserve to be paid for your review.
–It ruins blogs. People lose trust and desire to read if the magazine turns into 100% ads.
There are other criticisms too, most of which apply more to mommyblogs and big ticket items. (Yes I know people who’ve been GIVEN cars and refrigerators.)
I review books. I review other products from time to time–mostly things like e-readers and tablets–from the point of view of accessability for the disabled. I review them if I’ve bought them because that’s the point of a consumer review.
Now with books it’s slightly different. I’ve reviewed two books I didn’t pay for. (One was Patrick Todoroff’s.) I’d review others that were provided to me. But I generally feel uncomfortable reviewing a book I received without buying because I feel like I owe something in exchange. If I get a good sense about the author–again, Patrick Todoroff is a good example–then I don’t mind so much. But in most cases I’d just as soon pay for the book.
Mike, I bought your last book and I’ll buy the next one too. I did wait until Winterland was free because I don’t generally enjoy stories about the type of madness the blurb led me to believe was the central theme of the story so I didn’t want to pay to read it. I’ve bought several books by other authors who comment here; some I’ll review, some I won’t.
I’ll never ask for something; I’ve been poor too many years (not now, but in the past) and understand all to well how everyone needs money to live. If I’ve got it I like to spend it to keep society moving.
And yes, now I’m babbling so I’ll shut up.
Yeah, those authors aren’t supposed to re-sell them. That’s part of the agreement. So I give them away on my blog if I don’t keep it, donate it to my church library, or give them to our city library unless they are ebooks. I can’t loan my ebooks to anyone and I can’t give those away. There’s restrictions for that, too. So when I am done with an ebook I didn’t think was keepable to re-read, I delete them. Although, I haven’t figured out how to delete them off of my kindle touch. Argh!
How do you mean? Can you not delete anything from your ktouch?
You just press and hold on the book title in the home screen. A menu will pop up offering several choices, including “remove from device “
Ohhh….I’ll have to try that suggestion because I haven’t been able to figure it out or find the option. I’ll do that tonight. Thank you so much, Katherine!
You’re quite welcome. I should add that if it’s an Amazon-purchased book it will instead say “Move To Archived Items”.
I review a lot of books. Not once have I asked an author for a free copy. I wouldn’t even consider asking an author for a free copy. If they want to offer one, fine. But I don’t ask. That would compromise everything.
The only time I’ve “asked” for a review copy was when I saw a general offer and thought I’d be interested in the book. I’m always upfront about where I review (Amazon and Epinions) with links, so the person offering can decide if they want my review or not. And I always promise an honest review.
Then again, there are the authors who obviously spam me because of my Amazon reviews. They are so funny since quite often the book being offered has little to nothing to do with my taste, as you could tell by looking at my reviews for 2 seconds.
There’s enough publishers and individual blog tour companies that requesting free books from authors is not necessary. In my experience, I get my review books from author friends, publishing companies, and some self-pubed authors. They all know they take a risk if I review their book. The reviews are honest, and I only help writers who can write that I believe in. So yes…that’s a scam.
In fact, I actually had someone email me last year asking for me to do their homework. I believe that was a first for me. I didn’t know this person and that person got quite upset when my questions came suggesting doubt to their story until I realized they were asking me to cheat for them. LOL
And never have I requested a free book from an author. Since I enjoy reading, it’s fun to review. Occasionally, I even review books I actually buy.
A friend’s book was published recently, so I asked if his publisher could put me on the list for a digital ARC so I could review it at a group blog I contribute to. And of course I provided a link to other reviews we’ve done. I specifically asked for a digital version because that way the cost to the publisher is minimal. I did that mainly because I thought the exposure on the blog would be worth it to them. Was this the right way to go about it, given that I know the author? It’s the only time I’ve done that. Won’t do it again if that’s not appropriate.
Kristen, I want to promote writers I like, just like you. The limits we go to do that is a matter of our own conscience. I kind of think we’re talking about two different things here. Giving a book / writer exposure on our blog is one thing. Scamming for free books is another. It doesn’t sound to me like you’re doing that. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Thanks for commenting!
There’s no telling how many people that have contactedFiction Addict or even my site wanting to know if they could join us a reviewer only to realize all they really wanted was free books. If you want to be real reviewer with any credibility then pay the price: build some credibility, write consistently helpful reviews, be giving rather than taking.
I am on official and unapologetic crusade against writers wanting other writers stuff for free. At least we should know better.
And I’m still on a quest for everyone to include a way to edit one’s posts on their blogs. Cursed multitasking and appearing remotely coherent. 🙂
Im a book blogger and reviewer and Ive never asked an author for a free book. Most serious bloggers or at least those of us who have been doing it for awhile have outlets like NetGalley or are already on a publishers mailing list. Asking an author for a free book is a major blogger taboo…just like selling your ARCS or tweeting a bad review to the author.
Unfortunately there are tons of people trolling review blogs and author blogs for free books, take note that most of them are probably brand new to blogging or have no tact…..or like you said have no influence on the sale of said book.
Seems like a lot of effort to scam for a free book. Just lurk the Amazon Top Free Kindle books and there are publisher/writer promos there all the time – you could read for free the rest of your life if you wanted to and review away, no one is stopping you. Yeah, reviewers should not ask for free copies. (Mike, send me your next book free, preferably a hardbound limited edition copy.)
Notice I didn’t “ask.” 😉 JK’ing btw!