# "The Book Machine" website / membership (?)



## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Tried to search here and google to see if anyone has received one of these emails:



> Dear Travis Hill,
> 
> Browsing Amazon, your book, It's Better This Way that it was publish in 2013 November, caught my eye. The cover and the description are really interesting and I would like to include your work in the launch of a new website called The Books Machine that aims to solve the two main challenges faced by authors today: lack of visibility on Amazon and scant reviews. The Books Machine is an innovative platform that connects authors and readers as we hope to incite a major change in the way books are presented to the public.
> 
> ...


Is there anyone familiar with the site/organization? I have no opinions of it being a scam or anything like that, but I have to admit always being suspicious when unsolicited offers show up in my mailbox.


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

I received (and ignored) the exact same email.


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## NoCat (Aug 5, 2010)

Looked like a typical get money from desperate author scheme to me. I dumped it in the trash.


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## CelinaGrace (Nov 20, 2013)

I got one too. The fact that it had a grammatical mistake in the very first line was enough to alert me to the fact that it was probably dodgy.


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## 鬼 (Sep 30, 2012)

Ha! So you're expected to gift your book to all of the readers who request it and then, pay $30/month for a membership. Oh, and it's only Kindle books and the readers have 30 days to do their reviews.

Blah...

http://thebooksmachine.com/howitworks.html


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## psolares (May 31, 2014)

I receive newsletter from them but I never joined the club. Some topics are interesting though, but anything that cannot be discussed on Kboards for example.


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## Incognita (Apr 3, 2011)

I got one, too. Once I read far enough to see that they were expecting you to "gift" books and pay $30 a month on top of that, I deleted the email. I was slightly tempted to write a reply explaining how flawed their business model is, but then I decided I had roughly a gazillion better things to do with my time.


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## katherinef (Dec 13, 2012)

Got one too. They even copy/pasted my date of publication wrong. I went to check the IP of the sender, and it said Argentina, so maybe that explains weird grammar. I won't be joining.


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## Jill Nojack (Mar 7, 2014)

I got one and just knew I'd find a thread about it already today 

I figure what the heck, they are offering a free six months to our very select, very special little group, eh?

My first book is now permafree, so it won't cost me to gift it. Bear in mind there is no way I would pay $30/month to offer ARCs. However, StoryCartel is now at $30/book, I believe, and it doesn't generate much in the way of high quality reviews for people who haven't sent their own mailing lists there to get the book.

The IP address of the poster may not be representative of the company. Plenty of companies outsource this kind of work. Not that I'm defending typos (other than my own).

I'll let you all know how it went in 6 months!

Jil


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

StoryCartel was a complete waste of time for me. Almost fifty persons reading a book and not a single one of them left a review. 

As for this Book Machine stuff... I'm sure you all get a bunch of these here and there. I'm right now telling some girl from Storyfinds.com to %@#$ off for the second time. She sends out emails talking about how your book is so good it has won either an award or a free promo slot on their site (but somehow it ends up costing $30). 

In this new age of self-publishing, we're going to encounter a lot of dumbass scams that are easy to see through, a lot of scams that might seem fishy, and a lot of scams that are downright evil in how they use an author's need to succeed against them. 

But this is why I always post these scams (and this might NOT be a scam) and see what everyone else has to say.


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## amyron (Jul 11, 2013)

I got one of these today too, and they still haven't corrected their typo. I'm thankful you posted the thread. I won't be joining either.


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## C. Gockel (Jan 28, 2014)

Sniffles. I didn't get that email. They don't admire my work. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## KL_Phelps (Nov 7, 2013)

C. Gockel said:


> Sniffles. I didn't get that email. They don't admire my work.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


lol I'm in the same boat


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

My mystery pen name got the invite as well. I signed up since it's free for 6 months to invited authors and there was no request for cc or other payment details. If my book gets reviews out of it then great, but if it doesn't then no harm done. After the 6 months is up, I'll just unsubscribe. I'll let you all know how it goes.


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## Jill Nojack (Mar 7, 2014)

CJArcher said:


> My mystery pen name got the invite as well. I signed up since it's free for 6 months to invited authors and there was no request for cc or other payment details. If my book gets reviews out of it then great, but if it doesn't then no harm done. After the 6 months is up, I'll just unsubscribe. I'll let you all know how it goes.


Yes, that was the tipper for me, as well. A scam would be asking for those details. Do I think it is a service that will actually be valuable? Who knows. But I've got nothing to lose being what will basically be a beta tester for their service.

The site is also well put together, and I was happy to note that everything was well described in grammatically correct English.


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

The book I put up there is one that sells hardly any copies anyway. I also don't plan on gifting the copies via Amazon, but providing a Smashwords coupon instead. There's no hard and fast rule that you have to gift it, just that they advise you to. As far as I can see, I'm not paying anything or losing anything. If I get some more reviews on this book, then that's good. It seems like another Netgalley service, only free (for now).


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## dmac (Jun 23, 2014)

Seems the sharks have begun to focus their attention on Kboards.

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,188987.0.html

With all of these sites offering "visibility" to authors for a small fee, it is any wonder we are not all rich and famous yet.


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## Windvein (Sep 26, 2012)

I'm glad to see this being discussed. I received the offer as well. I appreciate the six months of free membership, but I don't like the recommended Amazon gifting. (And I'm surprised they aren't making it required since later in the Reader FAQ they only mention Amazon gifting as the way to get the book and only books on Amazon may be in the program.) And they require authors give away at least 5 books a month. Shouldn't the author decide how many books they give away? I don't understand the minimum requirement, especially if an author is paying $30/month, they should be allowed to decide if they want to give away any books.



> 2.	Am I required to give my books away for free?
> 
> The Books Machine allows you to choose when and to whom you offer your books to and the number of copies you're willing to offer as free reads, with a minimum of 5 units per month.


http://thebooksmachine.com/howitworks.html#forminvi2

Plus, they require authors rate the reviewers. Considering this is supposed to be strictly based on whether the reader delivers the review, I don't understand why this isn't automated. I think their system should track the reviewers to see if the reviewer has fulfilled their commitment, not put the onus on the author.

I have not used netgalley so don't know how closely this resembles that service. It's certainly cheaper, but I don't know if it is something I need.

CJArcher, I'd love to hear how it works out for you when it goes live.


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## Heather Author (Sep 2, 2014)

Dear felow authors,

I copy below my answer on other threads.
From my personal experience as an indie author, I think that sometimes it takes time to understand when some new "marketing service for authors" is totally different in its concept and core aim and not the same that other services that are solely to put a book cover on a page and that's it.
Until today my own experience was very enriching and I admire the personal connection that finally I could create with them.

"Hello my name is Heather and I am an author of young adult novels. I wanted to tell you that so far I had an excellent experience at The Books Machine. They offered me a free membership for several months  not only to know the service, but also to take advantage for free original marketing tools to increase the exposure of my titles within the community and through social networks. They always answered my questions very quickly and have a very good service.
During the first three weeks, I got five requests of  real readers that wanted to read my novels and write an honest review.
On the other hand, the site is in full expansion and continuosly are adding innovative actions.
Is at least my experience and I wanted to share it with all of you.

Best!"


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## Raquel Lyon (Mar 3, 2012)

Any updates on this? (Just wondering how C.J. and Jill's trials went?


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## David VanDyke (Jan 3, 2014)

I got a similar email recently. They haven't fixed the typos in their come-on emails. I declined to try them out. There are plenty of good sites out there.


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

That first line is so awkward that I'd immediately dismiss the email as spam, most likely from somewhere in Asia, regardless of whether it's true and the service's actual value.


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## My_Txxxx_a$$_Left_Too (Feb 13, 2014)

Content removed due to TOS Change of 2018. I do not agree to the terms.


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## Jill Nojack (Mar 7, 2014)

Raquel Lyon said:


> Any updates on this? (Just wondering how C.J. and Jill's trials went?


I forgot I'd done this! I saw absolutely nothing happen from it and left the site prior to the end of the trial. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say.

Jill


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## ufwriter (Jan 12, 2015)

I just got one from them wanting to advertise my book...But it's $20.


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## Raquel Lyon (Mar 3, 2012)

Jill Nojack said:


> I forgot I'd done this! I saw absolutely nothing happen from it and left the site prior to the end of the trial. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say.
> 
> Jill


Good to know, Jill. (Not good that you didn't get anything from it, just good to have the info.) Thanks for answering.


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## MyraScott (Jul 18, 2014)

I have to tell you, I was halfway interested until I got to the shill post from Heather Author.  Now I'm pretty sure it's a scam.


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## CJArcher (Jan 22, 2011)

I forgot about it until I received a response earlier this year that someone had requested my book - after several months of nothing. So I went to the site, only to find my account was no longer under the "free" threshold. I would have to pay - no thanks. I left it at that. A week or so later, another email from Books Machine said they were extending the free trial period. Hmmm. I did go in and send the requester the book, but I haven't bothered to see if I received a review out of it yet.


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## Kenzi (Jul 28, 2014)

I signed on for the free trial. You don't have to give any sensitive info, so I figured why not. Right away, I received three or four requests for reviews. I sent out the copies and got one lovely review posted to Amazon and Goodreads. The other reviewers haven't responded, and since it's been a while, I've written them off. If they do eventually write reviews, I'll be pleasantly surprised. It's not a big loss either way, since I'll give away free copies to anyone who asks anyway.

When it's time to pay for membership, I doubt I will. It's a nice idea, but I don't think enough people are participating yet to make it worth a monetary investment.


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## KateSparkes (May 6, 2013)

I'm on it--they sent me an e-mail offering a free membership before they started up, so I didn't see any reason not to. It hasn't cost me anything so far--literally nothing, since I can't gift through Amazon from Canada, and have to send the file directly to people's e-mail or Kindle. Inconvenient, but I suppose cheaper. I haven't got in trouble for it so far.

In terms of how well it works... I've been using it since the beginning and I think I've had 4 requests. Three left reviews in a reasonable time-frame, and I'm waiting on the fourth (just sent it a week ago). The system seems to work as promised. People can ask for books, and we're under no pressure to say yes. If we do, they read and review, or they get a bad reputation on the site. Kind of like R4Rs on Goodreads or something, except with more control over who gets the books.

They extended my free trial, and I accepted. I'm hoping it will become bigger, as it is a nice way to find people who are interested in your work. I don't think I'd pay for it at this point, but if it got bigger and I got more reviews, I'd think about it.


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## Saul Tanpepper (Feb 16, 2012)

Funny, I just got the form letter email for my perma-free, which they characterized as a Amazon Kindle Deal, whatever that is. Clicked through to find that I can pay $20 for the unique opportunity to advertise with them and, lo and behold, they've got a slot open tomorrow, doncha know. The site and their sample promotions actually look decent, and their Facebook page has over 12,000 likes, but their posts never have any engagement. Filing this away for now. They'd do better enticing authors if they just offered their unvetted services for free and let their initial success depend on word of mouth.


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## Guest (Feb 18, 2015)

Saul Tanpepper said:


> Funny, I just got the form letter email for my perma-free, which they characterized as a Amazon Kindle Deal, whatever that is. Clicked through to find that I can pay $20 for the unique opportunity to advertise with them and, lo and behold, they've got a slot open tomorrow, doncha know. The site and their sample promotions actually look decent, and their Facebook page has over 12,000 likes, but their posts never have any engagement. Filing this away for now. They'd do better enticing authors if they just offered their unvetted services for free and let their initial success depend on word of mouth.


I just got exactly the same deal and knew I had read something about them on here so found this post... Thanks for saving me $20


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## edwardgtalbot (Apr 28, 2010)

I got the email from them today. It does seem like an actual legitimate site not a full on scam. However, this is the email I sent them:



> I appreciate your email. As far as advertising goes, I won't generally spend $20 on a site unless a number of authors I know through kboards.com have at least tried it and had some semblance of results. I found a dozen threads on kboards and while I don't agree with some of the more negative comments, there's really no evidence of any results.
> 
> One note - I signed up for your email as a reader just to get an idea of how the service comes across to readers. It seems very clear from the welcome email that English is not the first language of the person who wrote it. In addition to the typos, the language is awkward and in several cases grammatically incorrect. Normally this would not be something to worry about, but when you are trying to promote the written English word, it is. It would not surprise me if you find some authors willing to pay, but you are really hurting your cause by appealing to writers with something so poorly written.
> 
> ...


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

So... got another email from these guys today offering to promote "End of the Line."

Anyone have any updated info/details/experiences with The Books Machine? $20 is chump change, but I would rather spend it with say BookBarbarian (which netted me ~100 sales on a $.99 promo the other day) or ENT as I at least have a good idea of what kind of return I will get.


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## Penang (Jun 28, 2011)

It is a huge hassle. I gifted 2 books, and one was never even accepted so it's money sitting in Amazon cyber space. The third request I had I emailed prior to gifting and it was a fake address. I contacted Book Machine and they said there's nothing they can do to stop fake emails. Now I get weekly reminders to send the book to the fake reviewer who requested.


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## Maria Romana (Jun 7, 2010)

edwardgtalbot said:


> I got the email from them today. It does seem like an actual legitimate site not a full on scam. However, this is the email I sent them:


Thanks for telling them exactly what I was thinking. It's also concerning to see soooo many likes (25K) on a Facebook page with virtually no engagement. Smells very much like fake likes to me, but even if the likes aren't fake, the people obviously aren't seeing the posts or emails, so it's a no-go for now.


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## William_Stadler (Nov 8, 2013)

I joined about a year ago when they were just starting out, so it was free for me. 

It's not worth the service, even though it's free. I've had about 3 people read my books, and they've all left reviews, but the website is impossibly hard to use. And the reviews happen so infrequently that you forget the sequence of clicks you have to press just to say "Yes, you can review my book." 

My books are still available on the site, but I most certainly do not pay 30/month for the service, and if I had to do that, I would not be a member.

Also, they give you a chance to advertise your book for like 10-15 dollars. I shrugged and gave it a shot. Not worth it. I got absolutely no downloads. Just wasn't worth the time. So it's not a "scammmer" site. It's just not an effective site.


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## Kate Rothwell / Summer Devon (Jul 25, 2013)

THANK YOU... the Kboards are becoming an invaluable resource because of threads like this one. I used to visit preditor/editor and the watercooler over at Absolute Write but you guys are as good.


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## Adomwrites (Nov 2, 2015)

ufwriter said:


> I just got one from them wanting to advertise my book...But it's $20.


I received the same thing. Promotion in their newsletter for $20. Anyone tried this with them?


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## Jonathan C. Gillespie (Aug 9, 2012)

I'm going to conduct a little thread necromancy here, if that's OK. I got an email from these folks a few days back and googled about them, and came across this thread. The reason I'm reviving this thread is the email still touts "25k" Facebook followers, which indicates to me the "reader base" hasn't really grown.

I don't have anything against these folks, but just FYI it seems things likely haven't taken off over there.


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## David VanDyke (Jan 3, 2014)

It appears their service is just as dead as this thread.


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## jaehaerys (Feb 18, 2016)

Man, indie publishing is just a cesspool right now.


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## CaileeFrancis (Aug 4, 2017)

I got an email from them today about a book of mine that's under another pen name. It's currently ranking fairly high (free) as I'm using my KDP Select free days right now, so I'd say that's how they found it. I was going to reply and say no thanks, but I might just leave it be because it seems to be the same letter so many other people have gotten.


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