As An Author, I Take Time To Leave Reviews

 It's my way of paying it forward for the reviews I receive, because every indie author hopes for honest reviews, but no indie author wants to be trapped by the prospect of being asked to write an honest review as a favor. So, I pay it forward. Don’t ask me to review your book. But appreciate it if I choose to. Screenwriting is a different story, but we had better know each other well enough before you ask.

But that's not entirely why I'm writing this post. I recently reviewed a rather popular self-help book on Amazon, and because of Amazon's rules and regulations about book reviews, my review was denied. Indie authors can offer a litany of complaints about Amazon's policies when it comes to garnering reviews, but this occurrence highlights the company’s ignorance and over reliance on algorithms when it comes to determining what is an acceptable review.

The book I read was The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck. Don’t @ me. That's the title. It was a NY Times bestseller, and the title admittedly intrigued me. So I bought it on a whim, and I enjoyed it. It wasn’t earth shattering, revolutionary advice for me, but it resonated when it came to some points that I believe to be true. So I rated it and wrote a review. Here it is, posted on BookBub. 

It's the exact same review that I tried to post on Amazon, except that Amazon had the option of including a title. I referenced the title of the book in my title of the review (asterisk* included), and the review got declined because of policy issues. The policy? Profanity...

Seriously. Amazon bots "carefully reviewed" my review and found a swear word (asterisk* included) that deemed it inappropriate for people who might have checked out this book. Seriously. Of all the things I could give a f*ck about, this one inspired me to write this blog. Even funnier is that they allowed a one star review from a reader who goes by the name Scumbag... Don’t believe me? Here it is.

Algorithms are incredibly flawed. Bezos, if there's the slimmest chance that you might read this post (humor me here) fix this. Your review policies are flawed and overreaching. And I'm telling you this as a reviewer, not an author!

Okay, rant over. Time for me to leave the past behind and find something better to give a f*ck about.

Here's something that might interest you if you stayed with me to the end of this post. A book giveaway! You can enter a Goodreads giveaway between February 15th and February 28th, 2021 for a free hard copy of my latest, Prophet Reborn, the thrilling sequel to Perfect Prophet. The first book is hard to come by in paperback, but you can purchase it here. It’s widely available at the online retailer of your choice as an ebook. Good luck if you choose to enter, and thanks for your support!

GOODREADS GIVEAWAY LINK