# FRAUDULENT WEB SITE MAKING ACCUSATIONS - LOTS OF YOU ARE ON IT



## Jay Allan (Aug 20, 2012)

Tom Harris, a fellow SF author (I think he is on KB) pointed this out to me.

http://zonalert.wordpress.com/2013/09/21/the-fiverr-report-on-melissa-foster-fake-reviews-fake-awards-fake-everything/comment-page-1/#comment-6

It lists many KBers claiming they bought packs of 500 fake reviews.

Here is an excerpt, along with all the names listed:

What about all the other writers who bought reviews from GettingBookReviews.com, Fiverr.com, and the many other paid-review companies? Tracking the paid-review accounts leads to some surprising names, like Ilona Andrews( fantasy author), R J Palacio (children's author), J A Konrath (mystery writer), Brandon Sanderson (fantasy author), Erin Hunter (fantasy author), and James Dean (children's author). Some predictable names too who purchased 500 or more reviews:

Debora Geary
Jasinda Wilder
Gail McHugh
Jessica Sorensen
Jillian Dodd
Rebecca Forster
Mary Campisi
Amanda Hocking
B V Larson
Blake Crouch
Aaron Pogue
Hugh Howey
Erica Stevens
Matthew Mather
Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Ryk Brown
Daniel Arenson
M R Mathias
David A Wells
T R Harris
Jay Allan
Mallory Monroe
Edie Claire
Stephanie Lisa Tara
K Bromberg
Tarryn Fisher
Cassia Leo
Michael G Manning
Emma Chase
H M Ward
J S Scott
A Meredith Walters
Bella Forrest

This is clearly a slanderous situation that needs to be dealt with. I know I have never even heard of this site. I barely even have 500 reviews total.


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## MegHarris (Mar 4, 2010)

This site also lists "Erin Hunter." As in Erin Hunter, the trad published author (actually authors) who wrote all those billions of _Warriors_ books my son loves? I really doubt someone like that would need to buy fake reviews.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

MegHarris said:


> This site also lists "Erin Hunter." As in Erin Hunter, the trad published author (actually authors) who wrote all those billions of _Warriors_ books my son loves? I really doubt someone like that would need to buy fake reviews.


Yeah, no kidding. My daughter read a ton of those books too. They are hugely popular and the kids who want them learn of them from other kids, not from Amazon reviews.

I also laughed to see Amanda Hocking on that list. She has had a cult like following since before Fivvr was even around, I think. Isn't that a rather new-ish site?

And Hugh Howey? Yeah, he sure needs to buy fake reviews.  Sounds like sour grapes to me.


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## Kay Bratt (Dec 28, 2011)

It might be ridiculous, but I know if my name were on there, I'd be sick at my stomach. Reputation is everything. This guy (or girl!) needs to be tarred and feathered.


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## mrv01d (Apr 4, 2011)

I imagine Fiverr will be all over this as well, it has to violate some kind of employee NDA. It's not good for business if they let violation of their customer's privacy stand.

M


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## KevinMcLaughlin (Nov 11, 2010)

Honestly, it is likely better to ignore some hole in the wall blog than it is to sue for libel (it's in print, so it's libelous, not slanderous - slander is spoken). The site's Alexa rating is so "oh my god NOBODY visits this blog" that you've probably given them more traffic by posting here than they've had in an entire year. 

Best bet? Ignore it.


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## KristenDaRay (Aug 4, 2012)

Amanda had a following because of fictionn (at least  I think it was fiction) she posted before on her blog. She had a big blog following which helped with her visibility. Plus she dominated and published 3 books in less than a month. She never needed reviews they just came to her.


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## MonkeyScribe (Jan 27, 2011)

I don't know most of those authors, but seeing Deb Geary's name on there makes me discount the whole thing. I have personal experience with her rabid fan base and can vouch that the enthusiasm and reviews are not fabricated.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

Fortunately, as Kevin noted, that site has an Alexa rating of over 5 million... meaning practically no one visits that site.


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## MonkeyScribe (Jan 27, 2011)

Harvey said:


> Fortunately, as Kevin noted, that site has an Alexa rating of over 5 million... meaning practically no one visits that site.


Until now.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Harvey said:


> Fortunately, as Kevin noted, that site has an Alexa rating of over 5 million... meaning practically no one visits that site.


Now they do.

ETA: Michael beat me to it.


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

Darn. My most popular book (downloaded about 50,000 times) only has 244 reviews. If my evil twin bought 500 reviews, I've been duped!


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## 41413 (Apr 4, 2011)

Incredible claims require incredible evidence or however the saying goes. The burden of proof rests upon the blogger, who has posted no contact information or proof that anyone on that list has done anything wrong. (Ilona Andrews and Brandon Sanderson? _Really_?)

Plus, if you look up any of those authors on a site like Sales Rank Express, you can track the sales history of their books over a long period of time and guesstimate how many reviews they should legitimately have, since there tends to be a predictable percentage of buyers who will review. Someone like Ryk Brown's volume of sales is consistent with his volume of reviews. Heck, that could be said for anyone on the list. If I were looking for review shenanigans, I'd be looking for people with a lot of reviews and much fewer sales than this noble list of indies.

It looks a lot like he went through the top 100 author lists in various genres and picked a few notable names - some of whom don't even have 500 reviews on their highest-reviewed works, I'd like to add. (Ninja ETA: Like Daniel "The Dragonborn" Arenson.)


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## dotx (Nov 4, 2010)

I think what the website is saying is that all these authors bought reviews early on, before they became popular and their fan base started posting reviews.


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## Jay Allan (Aug 20, 2012)

I just figured the KBers on the list would want to know. Hugh is on there, and Holly, and others I know are on this board.

Here's the complaint form for Wordpress.com. I don't know if it will accomplish anything, but those on the list might want to take a shot.

http://en.wordpress.com/complaints/


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## Jay Allan (Aug 20, 2012)

dotx said:


> I think what the website is saying is that all these authors bought reviews early on, before they became popular and their fan base started posting reviews.


But the point is, it's bogus. It says I bought 500 reviews from some site. I don't have all that many more than 500 reviews total.


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## Hugh Howey (Feb 11, 2012)

Looks like a list of people who have a lot of reviews.

I got an email today from one of the authors on this list who obviously, by his shock and indignation, has never bought a review in his life. Neither have I. I know Jasinda Wilder well enough to know she wouldn't be caught dead doing this.

I've dealt with these accusations long enough to be able to shrug it off. I always feel like pointing out that 6,000 reviews isn't a ton after 600,000 sales, but whatever. Almost all of those 6,000 people have now friended me on FB or follow me on Twitter, and they seem real enough.


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## Kay Bratt (Dec 28, 2011)

Hugh Howey said:


> Looks like a list of people who have a lot of reviews.


Looks like a list of very successful authors.
Sad that some people have to be haters, rather than focus that energy on their own career paths.


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## Christa Wick (Nov 1, 2012)

I think, at the very minimum, this site wrecklessly looked at accounts that did fake reviews and assumed all reviews they did were paid. However, might these fake reviewers have left reviews unpaid for on popular author titles to increase their fake rewview account's legitimacy? If I were creating a fake account as an author to give myself fake 5 stars, I wouldn't just fake review my books. If I were a horror writer, e.g., I'd leave 4s or 5s on Stephen King and so on, a few top indies, and ME. (Note, I think about how these things work, I DO NOT actually do stuff like that!!!)


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## C.F. (Jan 6, 2011)

modwitch said:


> All I have to say is that sometimes people say stuff on the interwebs that is not actually true ;-P


What?! Say it ain't so. There goes my entire belief system out the window .


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## blakebooks (Mar 10, 2012)

Great. Another list I'm not on. So much for improving my discoverability.

Thanks a lot. F#ckers.


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## M.W.W. Michael Wilkerson U.S. Vet (Sep 16, 2013)

Hugh Howey said:


> Looks like a list of people who have a lot of reviews.
> 
> I got an email today from one of the authors on this list who obviously, by his shock and indignation, has never bought a review in his life. Neither have I. I know Jasinda Wilder well enough to know she wouldn't be caught dead doing this.
> 
> I've dealt with these accusations long enough to be able to shrug it off. I always feel like pointing out that 6,000 reviews isn't a ton after 600,000 sales, but whatever. Almost all of those 6,000 people have now friended me on FB or follow me on Twitter, and they seem real enough.


Hugh Howey- I'm a U.S. Veteran, but you're my hero....


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## Joseph Turkot (Nov 9, 2012)

Propaganda of old at play here, directed directly at this board!


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## Edward W. Robertson (May 18, 2010)

The primary methodology appears to be "Well, I don't believe a book could have a rating that high."

No one can argue with that level of rigor!


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

modwitch said:


> Thanks. Much .
> 
> I just got pinged about this. All I have to say is that sometimes people say stuff on the interwebs that is not actually true ;-P


Nah. If it is on the interwebz it must be true.


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## Hugh Howey (Feb 11, 2012)

KayBratt said:


> Looks like a list of very successful authors.
> Sad that some people have to be haters, rather than focus that energy on their own career paths.


Yeah. Hell, I also got a few emails this week linking to an unnamed place where a *moderator* is still besmirching my name.

If any of you dare dream big enough, dream about having gaggles of haters and being at the center of conspiracy theories. It means you've made it.

(I also just spent twelve hours over the last two days hanging out with readers at a library here in Boston, and I can tell you that it helps to be surrounded by people who appreciate you or your work. It makes this other stuff look comical. And you have to assume that these people spreading hate and vileness in the world will never amount to anything, so you can direct pity rather than anger their way.)


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## Rykymus (Dec 3, 2011)

This is the problem with anonymity. No one can be held responsible for their actions. I'm not even seeing the name of the jerk wad who wrote this post.

Jeez, I never even so much as sent out an ARC, let alone buying reviews.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Edward W. Robertson said:


> The primary methodology appears to be "Well, I don't believe a book could have a rating that high."
> 
> No one can argue with that level of rigor!


On their The Amazon Alert page, they claim they check and double-check all their claim. Here's what it says:



> Anything written in this blog is the opinion of the blog creators. Our posts are not meant to defame, harass or personally attack any individual or company. However, as journalists, we intend to report what we've encountered while investigating fake reviews since 2010. Our promise to readers is that we won't post anything without careful research and double-checking the facts. Our double check ensures that at least two member bloggers have checked every post that we believe requires review prior to posting.


According to them, they are 'journalists'. However, hard reporting usually comes with facts, and I didn't see any in their article. Just accounts from someone who says they worked for Fivvr. We are supposed to take their word for that. 

Woodward and Bernstein, they are not.


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## Quiss (Aug 21, 2012)

Hugh Howey said:


> If any of you dare dream big enough, dream about having gaggles of haters and being at the center of conspiracy theories. It means you've made it.


Just great. Now I feel inadequate for not being on that list.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Hugh Howey said:


> Yeah. Hell, I also got a few emails this week linking to an unnamed place where a *moderator* is still besmirching my name.


Besmirching. Heh. Love that word.  I bet I know what site that is.


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## Incognita (Apr 3, 2011)

Quiss said:


> Just great. Now I feel inadequate for not being on that list.


Sometimes there's an upside to flying low and avoiding the radar...


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## JohnHindmarsh (Jun 3, 2011)

blakebooks said:


> Great. Another list I'm not on. So much for improving my discoverability.
> 
> Thanks a lot. F#ckers.


Likewise!!


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## H.M. Ward (May 16, 2012)

Psh. What an asshat. I saw Hugh and a few other ppl on there and thought there's no way in hell.

I've never bought a review. I can gather up a bunch of 1 star, I-hate-Holly-and-her-*[expletive]*-cliffhanger haters all on my own, thank you. I've not been on a fake list before. Correction, I've not been on a fake list that I've _seen_.

-----------------

Expletive?!?!!? What happened to the yosemite sam @!*%# method? I've been super bleeped.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

As soon as I get 499 reviews, I'm pulling my books so some anonymous idiot doesn't besmirch my good name. 

Then I'll republish under a different good name. That'll fool them. Right.


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## BrianKittrell (Jan 8, 2011)

blakebooks said:


> Great. Another list I'm not on. So much for improving my discoverability.
> 
> Thanks a lot. F#ckers.


Same thing I said, dammit.

From their website:



> Anything written in this blog is the opinion of the blog creators. *Our posts are not meant to defame, harass or personally attack any individual or company.* However, as journalists, we intend to report what we've encountered while investigating fake reviews since 2010. Our promise to readers is that we won't post anything without careful research and double-checking the facts. Our double check ensures that at least two member bloggers have checked every post that we believe requires review prior to posting.


Well, it's got to be true, right? They say it's true.

Highlighted one because I found it especially fun.

And http://five-report.blogger.com doesn't exist. Perhaps they haven't built their supporting evidence yet?



Hugh Howey said:


> If any of you dare dream big enough, dream about having gaggles of haters and being at the center of conspiracy theories. It means you've made it.


If our detractors are a sign of success, I'm more successful than you, Hugh. Get used to it. I have no time to let you cry on my shoulder. lol


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## Hugh Howey (Feb 11, 2012)

MaryMcDonald said:


> According to them, they are 'journalists'. However, hard reporting usually comes with facts, and I didn't see any in their article. Just accounts from someone who says they worked for Fivvr. We are supposed to take their word for that.
> 
> Woodward and Bernstein, they are not.


Well, those of us on the list who have never paid for a review in our lives (sorry, Kirkus!) know with 100% certainty that they are full of &%$#. This is the cool thing about being innocent. You get to know when the other person is lying.

Also: If you wanted to really defame someone, all you'd have to do is spend $50, buy that person 10 5-star reviews, and then provide receipts for the transactions. That's much easier than, actually, you know, writing a bestselling book of your own.


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## Kwalker (Aug 23, 2012)

I notice in the sidebar they thank "readers" for sharing, and making that post their most popular by far. This reeks of someone who wanted attention.


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

Dangnabbit! I bought 500 reviews. Why aren't I on that list?


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

I don't for one moment believe a word that site says. But, there will be people who will lap it up cos that's the way the world is. 

Should the named authors do something about it? Probably, but what, realistically, can they do? And by making a fuss, they draw attention to what may otherwise simply die the quick death it deserves. Does the site hurt them? If yes, it's minuscule. Such is the power of making it - a few unsubstantiated accusations will barely scratch the surface.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

What is even the point of a list like this? Outside of the industry, I imagine ~maybe 10% of readers know it's even a thing you can do and ~maybe .001% of those give even the tiniest portion of a rodent's posterior.

It's not going to hurt anyone, it's not going to help the blogger. It's just being an idiot into a blind void.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

To the OP.  This is just cruel and unusual punishment to my Kindle.  Now I have more authors to choose from.

Most of the ones you listed are very good writers.  I know they would not have to buy reviews.


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## blakebooks (Mar 10, 2012)

Here's my take.

In an age of anonymity, you can libel others with seeming impunity. Hide behind IP masks. Sling mud as you like.

The damage of something like this is minimal, because most thinking humans are pretty adept at sorting idiocy from fact. You wouldn't know that based on our elections, but hey, ignore that for a moment.

Real journalists don't hide their names. They don't post libel. They offer hard evidence, or they aren't allowed to publish. Real journalism isn't about hatchet jobs. It's about the truth. Or at least, that's the idea.

I know Melissa. She wouldn't buy reviews. She doesn't need to. She has those that hate her, and those that love her, and both post reviews all the time. I also know quite a few of the folks on that list, and I don't believe for a second that they would buy reviews to push their agendas. Why? Because, for one thing, review buying hasn't worked, that I can tell, for two years. I've got 640 reviews on one book alone. Guess what? My sales for that series are about what they were when I had 50. So as far as I can tell, that ship sailed a while ago. Anyone stupid enough to pay for something that doesn't work should contact my psychic hotline. I guarantee it will help your sales. 

If someone's going to libel people, that someone must furnish proof. Not innuendo and strident declarations of veracity. There is zero evidence on that site of anything but someone with too much time on their hands and no decent outlet for their frustration.

BTW, I am kind of pissed I'm not on that list. I mean, come on, people. When can I catch a break? Probably the only time Hugh, HM Ward and I would ever be mentioned in the same breath, if not as a punchline or a curse.


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## SBJones (Jun 13, 2011)

Sounds like a place that deals only in gold pressed latinum.  Too bad all I have is a quatloo card.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Hugh Howey said:


> Yeah. Hell, I also got a few emails this week linking to an unnamed place where a *moderator* is still besmirching my name.


No one was supposed to tell you what I've been saying about you, dammit...



jljarvis said:


> That said, it's times like this when I wish we had a non-public KBoards forum where we could discuss issues like this without adding fuel to the fire (in the form of giving wrongdoers more publicity).


We actually have a "members-only" area....but anyone who is a member can go there. And becoming a member isn't terribly difficult, as you know.

Really, I agree with those who've said that this is a flea-sized site making an accusation. People are only going to know about it if links to it keep getting posted. And it only has credibility if people give it credence.

Betsy


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## mariehallwrites (Mar 14, 2013)

I've hit way more than 500 reviews and had someone write me a 1 star review on one of my books saying I obviously bought those reviews because they said:

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley/author to give an honest opinion, I was not recompensed in anyway. 

That could be what they're claiming are "paid" reviews. However, I've never paid for a single review. I do not buy gifts of my books and send them in mass quantities to people, that's counter productive to, you know, actually making money and stuff. 

And I've seen HM's and Hugh's fans in person, they are rabid. Sheesh... crazyness.


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## Al Dente (Sep 3, 2012)

blakebooks said:


> Great. Another list I'm not on. So much for improving my discoverability.
> 
> Thanks a lot.


I was about to post the same thing. It's like you know what I'm thinking or something.


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Nice to see there's no shortage of nuts on the internet. Now we just have a new crop of them, right? While I can't vouch for everyone on that list, I can vouch for more than a handful. So, yeah--calling BS. Sadly, the time, money, and effort it would take to fight it would probably just be a waste.


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## A. S. Warwick (Jan 14, 2011)

Had a brief look through the rest of the blog- it seems that if an author reviews another author's book then it must automatically be a bought review, or something like that.  I'm still trying to work out the logic of it all.

Whoever is behind the blog is very angry for some reason and is taking it out on authors in general.


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## Joe_Nobody (Oct 23, 2012)

How much is it for 500 reviews? Do I get a discount at 5,000? 50,000? 

Heck, let's all go out and buy 50,000 reviews. Then they can blog about Hugh and HM being such cheapskates, only having purchased a mere 500.


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## bvlarson (May 16, 2010)

As one of the names on the list, I'm shocked and annoyed. I've publicly and privately lobbied against purchased reviews, urging Nader Kabbani in person (he's the Amazon KDP VP) to crack down on the practice when I meet with him. They have done some work in that direction, but not enough yet in my opinion. 

Thanks to Tom Harris for alerting me. I've tried to contact the author of this article and make a rebuttal...no response yet.
-B. V. Larson


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## Linda Barlow (Jul 5, 2013)

A. S. Warwick said:


> Had a brief look through the rest of the blog- it seems that if an author reviews another author's book then it must automatically be a bought review, or something like that. I'm still trying to work out the logic of it all.
> 
> Whoever is behind the blog is very angry for some reason and is taking it out on authors in general.


Agreed. I looked all around the website, too. They consider a review to be "fake" if it's bought, written by a friend, written by someone you met at a booksigning, written by a fan, written by anyone who participated in a promotional contest you ran, written by anyone who obtained a free copy, written by that girl you ran into in the elevator, written by that guy in Indonesia who was in your last MMO guild...and so on.

How do they think the big trade publishers get reviews? Copies of books have been given out in return for reviews for, like, ever.


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## Melissa Foster (Apr 17, 2011)

I'm more of a lurker than a poster, but as an author advocate I do want to speak up. 

But first can I do a happy dance?    **I made a list with Hugh and HM?**  Wow, I must be doing something right. Oh yeah, it's a fake list. Darn it! Hugh and HM, it's an honor to share a spot with you under any circumstances 

Just wanted to say that by posting the active link you're giving him a big audience, so the first poster in this thread might want to consider removing the active link and keeping the info. Just a thought.

This person has been doing this for weeks. I had him banned at Goodreads for creating fake accounts, fake reviews, and threatening authors using the Goodreads PM system (hence their new cyber bullying policy). He began the nightmare back in August and attacked 50 authors, which is when they began contacting me. I advised to "ignore" and not engage. Unfortunately, the people who engaged and left comments were then attacked. The cowardly poster has two twitter accounts and has conversations with himself about being "ruined" and "ruining" others. He's got tons of websites set up and they all are copied and pasted from the Wordpress site--all set up with accounts not self-hosted. It's easy to accuse with no basis when you are anonymous. I think if you look around for an indie author who writes fantasy/children's work and is disgruntled about reviews being removed on his books (because he faked them) and being caught faking awards you may find the culprit. Just sayin'.  But hell, jealousy is the highest form of flattery and all that. 

Russell, thanks for posting about me. That was very kind of you xox 

PS: It's 1am and I suck at editing - so if there are typos, my apologies


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## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

Did the site mention John Locke, who actually has bought reviews? Did he just not use Fiverr? Maybe that's okay, then.

People just love to stir up crap. And those folks on that site are not journalists. Good grief.


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## TiffanyTurner (Jun 8, 2009)

Wow. Leave the board for a few days and look what happens. 
At least there are people out there that care to mention it to the authors here. That means there are people that really read their books. Wahoo! Wanted to name a positive.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

Why buy 500 reviews anyway when you only need like 20 for advertising sites?


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

Melissa Foster said:


> I think if you look around for an indie author who writes fantasy/children's work and is disgruntled about reviews being removed on his books (because he faked them) and being caught faking awards you may find the culprit. Just sayin'.


D*mn! Rumbled! OK, I admit it, it was me. I couldn't even get anyone to review my books if I paid them so I took it out on the rest of you. I'm sitting here in my island lair and I'm going to keep on doing it until you pay me ONE BILLION DOLLARS.

[Insert pic of Dr Evil here]


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## Hugh Howey (Feb 11, 2012)

emilycantore said:


> They completely miss the point that fake reviewers who sell their services on Fiverr do write a bunch of one and two-line reviews to built the credibility of their reviewing account. And they always review well-known books. So it's not unusual for fake reviews to appear on best-selling titles.
> 
> I have one right now who reviewed a few of my books that I'm fairly sure is a fake: http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/AYU9LBZVMAE44/ref=cm_pdp_rev_all?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview
> 
> I guess if this person turns up as a Fiverr reviewer later on it can be claimed I paid for those reviews...


This might explain why reviews go missing for authors who don't buy or solicit reviews. I've had dozens of reviews disappear in purges, and I always assumed it was other authors leaving an honest review on a book they enjoyed, but in their genre and thus violating some policy. But if what you're saying is true, it could have been illegitimate 4 and 5-star reviews added on to make paid reviews look legit.

Even if this wasn't the case, it's a good frame of reference. You can choose not to feel crazy or upset when reviews go missing. Maybe they were bogus!


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## Annette_g (Nov 27, 2012)

So who can afford to buy 500 reviews? LOL! Certainly not me, I've not even got 50 for any of my books, the most I think is 12 for the one book. I don't think I'm on the list, maybe I need more reviews than that to be on this troll's radar.

I've reviewed books long before I wrote them, I still review them. I get review from netgalley, the author or publisher, blog tour organiser and amazon vine. But they aren't fake. I don't get paid for them or anything like that, just my opinion, and no they weren't all glowing reviews  But that's how reviews have been done for years - the reviewer gets a complimentary copy or galley, how else are they supposed to review it? If every reviewer was expected to pay for all those books, reviews would soon fall off.


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## Scribbler (Apr 27, 2012)

500 reviews eh? I'll have some of that.


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## Ruth Harris (Dec 26, 2010)

Inspires me to rewrite the famous line from Chinatown:  "Forget it, Jake. It's the Interwebz."


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## sarracannon (Apr 19, 2011)

This definitely sounds to me like someone who couldn't get their own career off the ground. Rather than continue writing and honing their craft, they spend their days scouring Amazon Top 100 lists and reading reviews, unable to imagine that someone really could *LOVE* another author's book so much they would leave a glowing 5-star review. It's sour grapes and attention whoring (whore-ing?) for sure, but it always sucks when people make accusations like this to get attention. It's like some people just don't stop to think that authors are real people with real feelings. Either that or they simply don't care.


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## Courtney Milan (Feb 27, 2011)

I feel exactly the same way about this as I did about the person who posted here a few weeks ago with vague claims of having "proof" and some random spreadsheet, but no actual data.

Buying fake reviews is such a huge problem, but I wish that if someone were going to make the accusation they did so providing all the "proof" they claimed went into it. If you're reviewing for profit, you're going to review books besides just the ones you do for pay. The books you pick to do so will be really successful ones, because those are the ones with visibility. So of course you're going to see some names on that list that are "big" names.

If you want to demonstrate that Konrath bought a 10,000 pack of reviews, take a screenshot showing where J.A. Konrath purchased them. Don't make insinuations about some vague guilt just because someone has a review done by someone who was done something shady.

People who buy reviews suck, but people who engage in slander without proof suck, too. I can't imagine when Brandon Sanderson manages to buy all his fake reviews between his book tours and his multiple epic fantasies written every year.


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## mrv01d (Apr 4, 2011)

I hope the authors named on that list make it very expensive for that list to stand. I'm concerned that uncontested smear campaigns will validate them as a way to beat back competition and that's the last thing the industry needs.

M


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## Catchy (Mar 3, 2012)

Daniel Arenson said:


> Darn. My most popular book (downloaded about 50,000 times) only has 244 reviews. If my evil twin bought 500 reviews, I've been jipped!


Let's take racist terms like "jipped" out of our vocabulary.


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## 41413 (Apr 4, 2011)

Catchy said:


> Let's take racist terms like "jipped" out of our vocabulary.


Huh, I just looked that up. I really had no idea that it's derived from "gypsy," which I also recently learned is considered a _very _offensive term for the Romani people. (Seriously, all those years watching Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, all that Cher, nobody told me that word was bad until I was 25 and confused as to why people were ticked off at Pacific Rim...)

For future reference, it helps to educate folks about _why _a word is offensive. Your reply comes off very curt.


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## Quiss (Aug 21, 2012)

smreine said:


> For future reference, it helps to educate folks about _why _a word is offensive. Your reply comes off very curt.


As a granddaughter of Hungarian gypsies, I'm more offended when it's spelled incorrectly.


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

Catchy said:


> Let's take racist terms like "jipped" out of our vocabulary.


Had no idea that was the origin -- sorry! Thanks for letting me know.


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

blakebooks said:


> Great. Another list I'm not on. So much for improving my discoverability.
> 
> Thanks a lot. losers.


LOL

Frankly, a lot of the KBers on the list should have even more reviews...I mean Hugh's broken the 1 million sold, so he's probably under-reviewed. I'm a believer that reviews don't really sell books. It's the word-of-mouth by the reviewers themselves that sell books (through their real blog posts, tweets, FB pages, etc.), so "fake" reviews equal zero sales.

The KBers on the list are all savvy enough to know this, so the credibility of the "outer" is out.


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## MonkeyScribe (Jan 27, 2011)

Quiss said:


> As a granddaughter of Hungarian gypsies, I'm more offended when it's spelled incorrectly.


I thought I had it figured out, but about six months ago a Romanian tried to explain to me why Roma was offensive, because it confused people about Romanians, most of whom are not of that background. I kind of blew that off, thinking maybe it was just racism, but then I heard an argument between two people who were at least partially Roma/Gypsy. It was fairly heated, and suffice it to say they each preferred a different term and adamantly so.

So now I'm more confused than ever. At least with Native Americans, you can always default to the tribe name and be sure of not offending.


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## cherylktardif (Apr 21, 2010)

Hugh Howey said:


> Well, those of us on the list who have never paid for a review in our lives (sorry, Kirkus!) know with 100% certainty that they are full of &%$#. This is the cool thing about being innocent. You get to know when the other person is lying.
> 
> Also: If you wanted to really defame someone, all you'd have to do is spend $50, buy that person 10 5-star reviews, and then provide receipts for the transactions. That's much easier than, actually, you know, writing a bestselling book of your own.


So very true. Makes you really wonder why someone would spend their days defaming others like this, doesn't it? Wanna-be writer who hasn't seen any success, perhaps?

Over 200,000 copies of my books are in the hands of readers, most from my success with Select last year. That's when the reviews started pouring in. More readers = more reviews. I KNOW I did NOT pay for over 500 fake 5-star reviews. Nor will I ever. I don't have to. If your books sell well, the reviews come in.

This coward hiding behind this no-name blog can only be pitied for the poor excuse of a human being he or she is.


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

cherylktardif said:


> This coward hiding behind this no-name blog can only be pitied for the poor excuse of a human being he or she is.


No pity from me. S/he chose this path. My sympathy goes to the writers defamed by such behavior and to all writers indirectly and unfairly tainted by it. The only pity I have is for readers naive enough to believe any of this misinformation to the point of acting on it.


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## cherylktardif (Apr 21, 2010)

Saul Tanpepper said:


> No pity from me. S/he chose this path. My sympathy goes to the writers defamed by such behavior and to all writers indirectly and unfairly tainted by it. The only pity I have is for readers naive enough to believe any of this misinformation to the point of acting on it.


As one of those authors, I thank you. And everyone else who has shown support via email/DMs! I appreciate it so much.

There is one thing we can all do, and that's report the blog for abuse (defamation). Not sure if Wordpress will remove it, but I think there's a good chance. I have already done so. http://en.wordpress.com/abuse/


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## Lanie Jordan (Feb 23, 2011)

Ugh. Pitiful.

And honestly, one of the first lines of the blog had me laughing out loud: "As a former marketing executive, I was a natural for the role, as I facilitated *I recorded every dirty detail for Zon Alert.*" (Bolding mine.) Sorry, but saying something like that takes away any credibility you'll have with me. Ever.

I know many on the list are KB'ers, but I don't personally know any of them, so I can't say what people do or don't do. But blogs like this are really disheartening--not just the posts themselves, either. The fact that people set out to harm others, out of what? Jealousy? Because that's all it says to me. Jealousy. Or the fact that some people aren't happy unless they're bringing others down. I feel sorry for them, because that's a really crappy way to live your life. All that negativity isn't healthy.

I'm really sorry for the authors on that list, that their names are being dragged through the mud by this person(s).  But I'm pretty sure anyone who knows and reads y'all won't think twice about it. And I also agree that sharing the link around probably isn't going to help the matter any, because the more it goes around, the more people will see it and want to comment on it, whether good or bad. All it does it gives them publicity they DON'T need.

ETA: Typo.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Saul Tanpepper said:


> The only pity I have is for readers naive enough to believe any of this misinformation to the point of acting on it.


Truthfully? Most readers won't even know about it. This reader certainly wouldn't have had it not been posted here. This thread has probably made far more people aware of it than ever would have been before the thread.

Betsy


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## DarkScribe (Aug 30, 2012)

LisaGraceBooks said:


> LOL
> 
> Frankly, a lot of the KBers on the list should have even more reviews...I mean Hugh's broken the 1 million sold, so he's probably under-reviewed. I'm a believer that reviews don't really sell books. It's the word-of-mouth by the reviewers themselves that sell books (through their real blog posts, tweets, FB pages, etc.), so "fake" reviews equal zero sales.
> 
> The KBers on the list are all savvy enough to know this, so the credibility of the "outer" is out.


You don't believe that reviews sell books? I have never purchased a book without looking at reviews and know no one who has. There are millions of books available online, far more than any bookshop in the past and the only criterion available for an initial assessment is the review rating. If reviewed well I might then look at sample pages, but never if the book was not well reviewed. I am one of those who initially raised the "Amazon review gaming" issue after I saw John Locke's reviews. I was the first to publicly accuse him of falsifying reviews.

This is a huge issue and Amazon has been moving slowly and seemingly rather reluctantly on it. One way or another it is well past time it was resolved.


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## DarkScribe (Aug 30, 2012)

cherylktardif said:


> So very true. Makes you really wonder why someone would spend their days defaming others like this, doesn't it? Wanna-be writer who hasn't seen any success, perhaps?
> 
> Over 200,000 copies of my books are in the hands of readers, most from my success with Select last year. That's when the reviews started pouring in. More readers = more reviews. I KNOW I did NOT pay for over 500 fake 5-star reviews. Nor will I ever. I don't have to. If your books sell well, the reviews come in.
> 
> This coward hiding behind this no-name blog can only be pitied for the poor excuse of a human being he or she is.


It apparently is not one person, there are several claiming credit. Although the stated purpose behind their actions seem valid and above board, the reality is that they are making accusations founded on little more than guesswork. There is definitely some undisclosed angst involved regarding Melissa and one or two others.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Just to balance the board, I do not use reviews to buy books and neither does anyone else I know in real life.   I personally use blurbs.  
I only have one or two people online (not counting the authors I know on here) that if they say hey you need to try this book, I probably will.
Now if someone asks for my opinion of a book, I will tell them what I think.


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

At the risk of derailing the OP, regarding reviews and their effect on purchasing decisions:

1. I'm _more _inclined to buy a product that has a lot of reviews
2. I'm _more _inclined to buy a product that has been reviewed well
3. I'm _less _inclined to buy a product whose reviews I don't trust (for whatever reason)

I don't think these are wildly off-base statements. In fact, I think they probably describe many, if not most, consumers. So do campaigns such as those linked to in the OP have a dampening effect on potential buyers of those names listed? Absolutely. Will this particular campaign? Who knows. Whether the blog gets a lot of traffic or a little is irrelevant. Whether readers believe it or even know about it is irrelevant. Whether you can dismiss it because you personally don't use reviews to make decisions is irrelevant. All that's relevant is whether the accusations are true or false and whether or not they might have an effect on any buyer.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

The best way to kill something like this is to ignore it. I know that's hard to do if you're one of the authors listed. But passing on the link, visiting the site, or even discussing it or sending angry emails to the blogger gives him what he wants. Attention. Significance.


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## Hudson Owen (May 18, 2012)

Frankly, I don't see how you could purchase 500 reviews, not ratings.  What would it cost, more than a dollar per review?  Who would write these reviews?  Book Rooster, slammed by me and others, only promises 10 reviews--which it almost never delivers on.  Five hundred?  I don't see how it's possible without spending $$$$$.


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## P.C. (Peter) Anders (Feb 6, 2013)

My sympathies to those affected, and a microsecond's sigh of relief that I am a long way--perhaps light years--from being on any such list.


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## RuthNestvold (Jan 4, 2012)

cherylktardif said:


> There is one thing we can all do, and that's report the blog for abuse (defamation). Not sure if Wordpress will remove it, but I think there's a good chance. I have already done so. http://en.wordpress.com/abuse/


Done. I may not be on that list, but this really bugs me. I'm not particularly successful, but even I was recently the victim of a nasty troll blog post. Yes, we should ignore these kinds of folks, but my first reaction was a stomach ache that wouldn't go away for several hours. It's amazing to me that some folks are cruel just for the fun of it.

So yeah, put me in the camp of those who are not envying those on the list, even if it means I don't have the 500 reviews to make it there.


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## Charmaine (Jul 20, 2012)

This isn't going to get any steam. Don't worry about it.
There is a new plagiarism scandal breaking for a bestselling author, so I'm sure everyones energy is going to be there.
Also, readers really don't care about stuff like this.
This is more damaging to the writers relationship with other writers than anything.
Honestly if a book was good, I wouldn't care if they bought reviews.
Also, I only pay attention to in depth reviews either way.


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## Elizabeth Ann West (Jul 11, 2011)

I was torn about this issue at first because a few of the names are authors I have had private go arounds about ethics and book marketing. There's a whole group of us who have been burned by this person and privately we shared the link thinking "Finally, xxxxx is being called out!" But then I got to looking at the REST of the posts and saw a number of names on there that aren't even authors, they are people with book review sites who review a bunch of indie books all the time. It doesn't make them shills or sock puppets, it makes them book reviewers. We all know it's not by merit books and movies get reviews in the major publications, if by networking and yes, sometimes, from an exchange of money.

Anyway, since I HAVE readers are my disposal, I wrote this to try to help stop the message that all indies are unethical, review buying people. My name isn't on the list (and yes, like previous posters, part of me kind of wished it was... LOL, all press is good press, LOL) so I can't be accused of protesting too much etc. The reality is most readers don't even know that if I pay $50, I can say my book was considered for a Pulitzer Prize...

http://thecheapebook.com/live/fake-ebook-reviews-and-how-to-stop-them/


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## Melissa Foster (Apr 17, 2011)

Karma is a b*tch, and the owner of that website is about to find that out. 
A concerned citizen contacted Fiverr's legal department and received the following verification of the false accusations. Please share this publicly and stop the hatred! I've removed her name to protect her from being attacked as we were.

See, most people ARE good  xox

From: Fiverr Legal <[email protected]>
To: K (Name removed to protect from future attacks)
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 6:56 AM
Subject: Re: Sharing Private Fiverr Correspondence Online

Dear K,

Thank you for reporting this. This blog is a complete fake, including the "employee" who was never employed at Fiverr and the information provided in the blog, thus there is no breach of privacy since it is not real information. We do not promote reviews and never had employees promote reviews for us, and the users mentioned on the blog are not known to us. We do appreciate the fact that you took the time to alert us to this slanderous content.

Best regards,

Fiverr Legal Department

On Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 3:25 PM, K wrote:
Hello- I just wanted to alert you to the fact that this person is sharing private correspondence that he obtain while employed with your company on his blog. I believe this is against your privacy policy and may even be illegal.

(FULL ACTIVE LINK REMOVED TO KEEP FROM DRIVING TRAFFIC TO THEIR SITE) Zon Alert Wordpress

K.


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## Archer (Apr 25, 2009)

SIC 'EM!


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## vrabinec (May 19, 2011)

Follow the trail of who alerted who to the site and soon you'll have the culprit. The site is so obscure, there's no chance someone tripped over it accidentally.  Someone had to push this, knowing it would get linked in places like KB.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

So, reading that list, nearly every indie or hybrid author who has had any level of success is apparently guilty of buying reviews. There are a handful of names missing, but still. Are we then supposed to believe the only way to be a successful indie is by purchasing reviews?

Pfft. Whatever. I wouldn't lose sleep over this. Even if my name were on the list, I'd probably ignore it.

However, Melissa, as you were singled out time and time again, good job on dealing with it.


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

Melissa Foster said:


> Karma is a b*tch, and the owner of that website is about to find that out.
> A concerned citizen contacted Fiverr's legal department and received the following verification of the false accusations. Please share this publicly and stop the hatred! I've removed her name to protect her from being attacked as we were.
> 
> See, most people ARE good  xox
> ...


Right now there are 19 bloggers who liked this article. I generally don't read this negative stuff. I hope someone notifies the bloggers who "liked" it, that this anonymous person is full of it.


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## Melissa Foster (Apr 17, 2011)

Vrabinec, yes, that's what I hope my cyber investigator will do. 

Ty, I'm the one who had him banned from Goodreads because he was threatening authors using their PM system and he was posting fake reviews from fake accounts - and naming authors as fraud, etc. I have a big social media following, so I'm a draw (unfortunately at times like these). I ignored the first few attacks on me personally and he didn't like that. So he went bigger by including everyone else, hoping someone would post it and they did. So...here we are. 

My goal now is to expose him and shut him down. He will be a nice example of why cowards/bulllies can't win.


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## Melissa Foster (Apr 17, 2011)

LisaGraceBooks said:


> Right now there are 19 bloggers who liked this article. I generally don't read this negative stuff. I hope someone notifies the bloggers who "liked" it, that this anonymous person is full of it.


We don't know how many of those "bloggers" are his sock puppets either


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## Melissa Foster (Apr 17, 2011)

DarkScribe said:


> It apparently is not one person, there are several claiming credit. Although the stated purpose behind their actions seem valid and above board, the reality is that they are making accusations founded on little more than guesswork. There is definitely some undisclosed angst involved regarding Melissa and one or two others.


Yes, I had him banned from Goodreads (well, his sock puppet accounts anyway)


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## D.L. Shutter (Jul 9, 2011)

Since it's award season maybe KB should have a Linkbait award. I'm not sure how this website would do, pretty tough competition this year, considering the number of _*"All you indies still suck - please click my links"*_ blog posts we've seen.


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## Shane Ward (Jan 25, 2013)

The only place this will be alive is here, and we all know how fast a topic vanishes from the screen into the pit of thousands of topics... It will blow over, then everyone will forget....

Just like the Iphone girl.  

Shane


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## FMH (May 18, 2013)

vrabinec said:


> Follow the trail of who alerted who to the site and soon you'll have the culprit. The site is so obscure, there's no chance someone tripped over it accidentally. Someone had to push this, knowing it would get linked in places like KB.


I was thinking this as well... someone pushed this out there and is on a vendetta. For what? I'm guessing for not being a popular author.

Sad sad sad. Annnnnnnnnd pathetic.


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2013)

Anyone mentioned, I wouldn't sweat it. 

This is the game known as, "I wanna be where you are."


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## Lizbooks (Mar 15, 2013)

Shane Ward said:


> The only place this will be alive is here, and we all know how fast a topic vanishes from the screen into the pit of thousands of topics... It will blow over, then everyone will forget....


It's being posted more widely now. It's on Dear Author, which has a huge reader base.


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## JA Konrath (Apr 2, 2009)

Courtney Milan said:


> If you want to demonstrate that Konrath bought a 10,000 pack of reviews, take a screenshot showing where J.A. Konrath purchased them. Don't make insinuations about some vague guilt just because someone has a review done by someone who was done something shady.


I'm sitting at my desk and laughing. Out of curiosity, I checked out fiverr.com, and apparently you can buy reviews for five bucks each. Then I looked at how many reviewers list their services on fiverr.and found less than thirty.

So 30 people wrote 10,000 reviews for me? How is that even possible? How could anyone actually believe that?

What's especially amusing is that Author Central lets you check how many reviews you have. As of today, I only have 9108 reviews for my books, not the purported 10,000.

Not only is the dude who made that accusation a liar, but he's a bad liar. When lying, at least get the numbers straight.

I've never spent a penny buying reviews, let alone $50k. I've blogged about this at length. And the very idea of 30 people writing over 26,500 reviews for all the authors who were accused is preposterous.

I'm tempted, just for kicks, to take an idea a friend of mine had and offer $1000 to whoever can give me the name and address of the person who wrote that fiverr post. I bet someone knows who it is, or some hacker can figure it out.

I don't buy reviews. But I do buy legal muscle, and have three really scary lawyers on retainer. It might be fun to terrify the holy hell out of that pinhead.

If someone wants to attack me, attack the things I've actually done. And support it with evidence. And sign your name to it.


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

Jack Kilborn said:


> I'm tempted, just for kicks, to take an idea a friend of mine had and offer $1000 to whoever can give me the name and address of the person who wrote that fiverr post. I bet someone knows who it is, or some hacker can figure it out.


I'm going to pay someone on fiver.com $5.00 to find out who it is, give you the info. and pocket the $995.


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

Jack Kilborn said:


> I'm tempted, just for kicks, to take an idea a friend of mine had and offer $1000 to whoever can give me the name and address of the person who wrote that fiverr post. I bet someone knows who it is, or some hacker can figure it out.
> 
> I don't buy reviews. But I do buy legal muscle, and have three really scary lawyers on retainer. It might be fun to terrify the holy hell out of that pinhead.
> 
> If someone wants to attack me, attack the things I've actually done. And support it with evidence. And sign your name to it.


Problem with this is, it's like playing a game of Whack-a-Mole. Your grand would be better spent treating yourself to a nice dinner and a show. In Paris. Where you can laugh at the pathetic mor0n as s/he slips ever further into obscurity.


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## Melissa Foster (Apr 17, 2011)

Jack Kilborn said:


> I'm sitting at my desk and laughing. Out of curiosity, I checked out fiverr.com, and apparently you can buy reviews for five bucks each. Then I looked at how many reviewers list their services on fiverr.and found less than thirty.
> 
> So 30 people wrote 10,000 reviews for me? How is that even possible? How could anyone actually believe that?
> 
> ...


I'm meeting with a cyber specialist this afternoon at 4:30 and footing the bill for him and the attorneys to nail this guy and expose him. I have a strong idea of who it is. If you want to jump on board, just email me. There are a number of other authors on the list who are joining me. I don't care so much about what he says, I care more that while we're fairly thick skinned, other authors are not, and he attacked 60+ before us, so he's not done...


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## Joshua Dalzelle (Jun 12, 2013)

a) I'm mildly jealous I'm not on that list... seems to be a badge of honor, of a sort. 

b) I hope the culprit is exposed as I'm insanely curious about who would burn so many calories launching so many baseless attacks.


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## BlakeCrouch (Apr 18, 2010)

Melissa - I'd love to kick in some $$ for the fees to expose this person and see what other actions can be taken. Email me offsite and let me know what your plans are. I'm sure I'm not the only named author in that fiverr report who'd love to have some tax write-offs for taking this bully down. If people just stand by and let this kind of thing go unpunished, it's setting a dangerous precedent. It just makes you wonder what kind of idiot would smear a bunch of rich authors with the means to make their life a living hell.


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## JA Konrath (Apr 2, 2009)

Melissa Foster said:


> If you want to jump on board, just email me.


I'm in.

From the little I know about libel tort, we'll need to show proof that the libelous statements have been read by others. So take screenshots of your Twitter and Facebook pages where people are writing about this, and also the actual posts because they'll no doubt be removed soon.

Lying about authors is cowardly. Lying about authors who make millions of dollars a year is just plain stupid.


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## Edward W. Robertson (May 18, 2010)

Jack Kilborn said:


> I'm in.
> 
> From the little I know about libel tort, we'll need to show proof that the libelous statements have been read by others. So take screenshots of your Twitter and Facebook pages where people are writing about this, and also the actual posts because they'll no doubt be removed soon.
> 
> Lying about authors is cowardly. Lying about authors who make millions of dollars a year is just plain stupid.


If it helps the "read by others" part, I blogged about this yesterday. Figured a "report" like this this would quickly make the rounds, and even a quick glance at the authors listed made it clear the accusations were bogus.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Jack Kilborn said:


> Lying about authors is cowardly. Lying about authors who make millions of dollars a year is just plain stupid.


The guy/gal who did this would have been safer putting people like me on the list.  I would just gnash my teeth and wring my hands, but I'm not rich enough to do anything about it. Of course, he/she was going for the publicity of having big names on the list.

I hope you guys get whoever it is. It'll be fun to watch.


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## KaryE (May 12, 2012)

If you need screenshots, look on Facebook. I saw mention of it there with people discussing whether they thought the accused were guilty or not.  PM me for details if you like.


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## Melissa Foster (Apr 17, 2011)

Blake I have you on the email list now. Thank you. 

Mary, most authors would do that and many are. I want to stop him from hurting others. I'm used to being attacked (that sounds so wrong!), but you know what I mean. A target. 

Yes with Libel we need screenshots, which I have and hopefully everyone is collecting. I also have the initial threat sent using the Goodreads private message system


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Melissa Foster said:


> Blake I have you on the email list now. Thank you.
> 
> Mary, most authors would do that and many are. I want to stop him from hurting others. I'm used to being attacked (that sounds so wrong!), but you know what I mean. A target.


Yes. You guys are fighting the good fight.  Thank you!


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## CraigInOregon (Aug 6, 2010)

KristenDaRay said:


> Amanda had a following because of fictionn (at least I think it was fiction) she posted before on her blog. She had a big blog following which helped with her visibility. Plus she dominated and published 3 books in less than a month. She never needed reviews they just came to her.


Umm...

Amanda Hocking doesn't really need defending because her origins are a matter of public record on these boards.

Yes, I believe her career launch pre-existed Fivvr or whatever it's called.

I do not find evidence on her blog of her posting her novels there before they were published. So I'm not sure where you get that idea. The first time she posted fiction to her board was in 2010's Zombiepalooza event, and I think all of that was flash fiction by other authors she wanted to help out. (I was one of the fortunate 30!) By the time Zombiepalooza 2010 happened, Amanda was already a Big Deal, though not quite as big a deal as she eventually became.

Amanda got her start the *hard, honest way*: she sent review copies to individual book bloggers, one blogger at a time, and hoped for the best. She worked her tail off. I'm pretty sure she only published one book a month, though.... but she had, like, six books out in 6-7 months.

Also, I call highly suspect this guy's claim that Amanda "bought" 500 reviews, because most of her early, pre-Big 6 Publishing books don't even have that many reviews.

Except My Blood Approves, which is her first and oldest novel, and has a 3.8-star average (not good enough for review blogs that demand a 4.0-or-better rating) and has had over three years to accumulate that many reviews. There's no way the accusation against Amanda is legit.

Some of this is hard to follow because the Trylle books were republished so the date on those has changed on Amazon but here's her timeline:

March 17, 2010: My Blood Approves
April 25, 2010: Fate (MBA 2)
May 25, 2010: Flutter (MBA 3)
July 20, 2010: Switched (Trylle 1)
August 22, 2010: Wisdom (MBA 4)
October 05, 2010: Hollowland
November 15, 2010: Torn (Trylle 2)
December 19, 2010: Letters to Elise (MBA 4.5)
January 13, 2011: Ascend (Trylle 3)

I got an approximation of the original Trylle dates by scanning Amanda's blog.

Nine books in 11 months: And I'm sorry, but there was no "three books in a month" incident. Her first three books came out between March 17 and May 25, so that's three books in 10 weeks... still impressive, but hardly "in a month."

This is what helped Amanda Hocking launch her career and land her a Big 6 publishing contract.

Oh, and just an historical note: Amanda WAS the first indie to reach 1M ebook sales. John Locke came just a bit later, but Amazon poured a ton of PR behind him because he achieved 1M sales on Kindle-only, whereas Amanda did it across all platforms, and extensively blogged about her results, documenting those sales with screenshots.

Amanda hit 1M on Kindle-only shortly after Locke, but Amazon never did her the PR favors they did for Locke.


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## vrabinec (May 19, 2011)

WPotocki said:


> Anyone mentioned, I wouldn't sweat it.
> 
> This is the game known as, "I wanna be where you are."


The ones who HAVEN'T bought any reviews could sue for libel. Hopefully, it's someone who makes decent money or a minor whose parents are loded. Might pay for some cover art and editing that way.


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## CraigInOregon (Aug 6, 2010)

You know, this reminds me of a scandal from a couple months ago.

Anyone remember that "anonymous" blog by some piece of pooh who claimed to work for a Big 6 Publisher and set up a blog to write a single post called something like, "Sorry, but all indie books are still crap."

Called himself Panzer General Grammar Nazi or something idiotic like that.

This?

Has the same smell to it. Wonder if it's the same idiot...

If he/she follows pattern, expect the blog to disappear completely... probably by early October... the same way that other one did.


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2013)

vrabinec said:


> The ones who HAVEN'T bought any reviews could sue for libel. Hopefully, it's someone who makes decent money or a minor whose parents are loded. Might pay for some cover art and editing that way.


Did my remark sound like the authors whose reputations were called into question shouldn't take legal recourse?

Certainly didn't mean it that way. I meant that it was obvious what was going on.

Sorry.


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## cherylktardif (Apr 21, 2010)

After careful consideration, I decided to blog about this. Sometimes the only way to stand up to bullies and trolls is to speak out, but I do respect those who find this too painful to talk about. Yesterday that was me. As long as you know the truth, F**K everyone else.

http://cherylktardif.blogspot.ca/2013/09/the-history-of-paid-book-reviews.html


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## JA Konrath (Apr 2, 2009)

Melissa Foster said:


> Blake I have you on the email list now. Thank you.
> 
> Mary, most authors would do that and many are. I want to stop him from hurting others. I'm used to being attacked (that sounds so wrong!), but you know what I mean. A target.
> 
> Yes with Libel we need screenshots, which I have and hopefully everyone is collecting. I also have the initial threat sent using the Goodreads private message system


Melissa, I know we were all wronged, but I just spoke with an attorney friend and this will take a lot of time and money, and it's a longshot.

It's smarter just to drop it and get on with our lives. This anonymous blogger has already hurt us enough. Do you really want to waste thousands of dollars, and lots of energy, just to get revenge?

With time the anger will fade. Let's all go back to writing books and stop worrying about all the mean people on the Internet.

Just sayin'.


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## CraigInOregon (Aug 6, 2010)

Jack Kilborn said:


> Melissa, I know we were all wronged, but I just spoke with an attorney friend and this will take a lot of time and money, and it's a longshot.
> 
> It's smarter just to drop it and get on with our lives. This anonymous blogger has already hurt us enough. Do you really want to waste thousands of dollars, and lots of energy, just to get revenge?
> 
> ...


Wise words, as always, Joe.

People falsely accused, like Blake, Amanda, you, and so many others... their reps won't be hurt for long because you all have truth on your side.

Meantime, all this troll would get is attention... the very thing he/she wants.

Real writers write.


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## Melissa Foster (Apr 17, 2011)

Jack Kilborn said:


> Melissa, I know we were all wronged, but I just spoke with an attorney friend and this will take a lot of time and money, and it's a longshot.
> 
> It's smarter just to drop it and get on with our lives. This anonymous blogger has already hurt us enough. Do you really want to waste thousands of dollars, and lots of energy, just to get revenge?
> 
> ...


It's been a long few days here in the cyber world and I have to say that I'm right on your heels, Joe. I need to concentrate on my writing. I've already lost 3 days to this crap. Thanks for giving me the courage to back out


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

CraigInTwinCities said:


> Umm...
> 
> Amanda Hocking doesn't really need defending because her origins are a matter of public record on these boards.


Soooo... how come you just posted ten paragraphs defending her?

 Sorry--couldn't help but poke you about that


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## CraigInOregon (Aug 6, 2010)

Anne Victory said:


> Soooo... how come you just posted ten paragraphs defending her?
> 
> Sorry--couldn't help but poke you about that


For the newbies, m'dear. For the noobs.

Also, a bit of hometown pride.

See, Amanda and I grew up separated by only about 8 miles. Though I was/am about 18 years older than her.

But we're both from a "nowhere" county in Minnesota, so I do what I can for a fellow "Mower County, MN" native who made something of themselves. 

In fact, I interviewed her in the summer that she was revving up to be the big deal she became. It's probably the longest interview anyone's ever done with her. I divided it into seven parts and ran it in October 2010, though we conducted the interview in August or so. (Before her trip to Chicago.)

You can still find the epic interview we did via email here: http://www.scriptsuperhero.com/2010/10/page/2/

Then, because I had a journalism background, I contacted radio stations, TV stations, and newspapers from the southern Minnesota area where we're both from, and put a buzz in their ear about what a big deal she was becoming. I helped get the ball rolling locally, just a pinch, in terms of local coverage of her.

My contribution was minor, but I did what I could for her.

Still tend to, when I see her misrepresented. Again: home county pride.


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## Harry Dewulf (Oct 4, 2010)

Hugh Howey said:


> If any of you dare dream big enough, dream about having gaggles of haters and being at the center of conspiracy theories. It means you've made it.


I just forwarded this quote to the Wearmouth boys... And I may have to put it on my website.


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## swolf (Jun 21, 2010)

Anne Victory said:


> Soooo... how come you just posted ten paragraphs defending her?
> 
> Sorry--couldn't help but poke you about that


Craig posts ten paragraphs on everything, whether it needs it or not.


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## CraigInOregon (Aug 6, 2010)

swolf said:


> Craig posts ten paragraphs on everything, whether it needs it or not.


 
LOL

You're talking about the guy (me) who asked Amanda 88 questions in an interview BEFORE she was signed to a Big 6 contract.... So....


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## Chris Northern (Jan 20, 2011)

I knew I wanted to say something about this but was struggling to narrow it down to what I think really matters. The I got an email letting me know about a paid advertising opportunity which lead me here: http://thecheapebook.com/live/fake-ebook-reviews-and-how-to-stop-them/

Maybe the following particularly, but also other things: -

1.) I assert no review EVER made a reader change his or her mind about a book AFTER they themselves read it.

I didn't like 50 Shades of Gray. I tried to read it on three separate occasions with the sample downloaded to my Kindle, and no dice. I didn't even get to the sexy parts, I found the main character boring. Therefore, I deleted the sample. At no time did it matter to me that other readers thought the book was 5 stars or not, or even if they read the book. I didn't like it based on the book's merits and my personal tastes. Now, is there an argument that I only tried that book because of the press it received because of the reviews? Mmmmm, maybe, but who cares? Other books I hear about because someone paid thousands to put the ad in a magazine. Either way IF reviews were paid for (and I have no proof for that specific book), it's just that, advertising dollars. Unless I personally know the person making a recommendation, I always wonder if an endorsement is paid.


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## WrittenWordMediaTeam (Oct 23, 2012)

This is awful. I want to go hug Melissa. And all of you on the list.

To quote the esteemed Ms Foster, #GoTeamNice.

<3 to you, Melissa!


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## Kathie (Jul 6, 2012)

This entire thing makes my stomach turn.  At best it's a sensationalist way to get attention, at worst it's a thinly-veiled attempt to stab at certain folks in particular.  I know that it's caused undo stress to folk who don't deserve it (I know a few people on that list and I'm surprised my jaw didn't dent my floor when it dropped seeing their names on it).  Authors are getting hate mail from folks because of something someone not brave enough to put their name on had to say?  IMHO this is no better than bathroom graffiti slander.  And while I understand that it's better for everyone to just step around the drama llama droppings and continue on - this will be forgotten about about as fast as it popped up, I hope - it still makes me very grumpy.


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## Melissa Foster (Apr 17, 2011)

Freebooksy_Taylor said:


> This is awful. I want to go hug Melissa. And all of you on the list.
> 
> To quote the esteemed Ms Foster, #GoTeamNice.
> 
> <3 to you, Melissa!


**Waves** Hi Taylor. Nice to "see" you. Thank you for your support xox


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

For those who don't know, Melissa Foster started WLC (Women's Literary Cafe), writes many guest articles for The Huffington Post on self publishing, and has been a proponent for the whole movement for several years. She generously cross-promotes, and still manages to find time to write. 

Obviously the sour grapester who is targeting her and other successful indies, is jealous. Pity him. But don't give him a voice, and when you see other bloggers spreading this mis-information, at least direct them to this thread for correct side of the story where they can read that he lied about his Fiver experience. 

I've been targeted in the past (not this viciously) and it's no fun. It's just like being bullied. I once compared it to being chased down a hallway in school by bullies.


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## Paul Draker (Sep 11, 2013)

The best policy is to ignore lying, attention-seeking ass-clowns.

Stirring up drama is exactly what they want.

I'm sure the troll/trolls are reading this thread with glee.


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