I always wanted a big brother, but this is not at all what I had in mind! Another indie author speaks out on the Amazon review policy.

Before I start, let me discuss my credentials for writing this post. Mind you, I am a microscopic flea on the most minuscule plankton in the vast ocean of authors, but I have published five books on Amazon.com, soon to be six in October. I write erotic romance under the name Phoebe Alexander and contemporary women’s fiction under the name K.L. Montgomery. So I  believe my experience with the world of self-publishing and particularly Amazon’s publication platform, Kindle Direct Publishing, qualifies me to speak on this issue.

You may have heard about the Change.org petition circulating which is asking Amazon to rethink the policy of not letting people who (supposedly) know the author leave reviews on books. It’s sparked quite a bit of outrage in Indie Authorland, and I am right there in the thick of it. I had two reviews removed from my book Mountains Wanted in the past week. I had 55 reviews and now I have 53. It took me 2.5 years to accumulate those reviews.

I know not everyone is a fan of the whole self-publishing trend. Even I have been critical of it at times, but, by and large, I think it’s a good thing as far as the Democracy of Ideas is concerned. And due to this trend, I have created a platform to share my talents with a much wider audience than may have been possible if I had relied on traditional publishing.

So here are the points I’d like to share:

1. Amazon refuses to disclose how they determine that someone is an author’s friend. Their policy states they don’t allow reviews from “family members” or “close friends.” Just because someone is a follower of mine on social media does not make them my “friend,” and it certainly does not make them a “close friend.” In fact, chances are pretty good I’ve met very few of the 1100 or so people who “like” my author page in person.

2. I can’t get most of my friends and/or family members to read my books. Neither can other indie authors. Why? Because most people DO NOT READ. The world of readers and authors is pretty small in the general scheme of things, so there is a pretty good chance we are going to bump into each other once in awhile, especially with the whole shared interest thing. On another note, my entire family has disowned me because I write erotica, so I can guarantee you they’re not leaving me reviews.

3. I “met” quite a few of my beta readers and advance copy reviewers because they sought me out on social media after reading one of my books. So because they sought me out and enjoyed my work, they are now not eligible to leave reviews? Basically, I’m being punished for having people enjoy my work. That sort of seems antithetical to the whole purpose of publishing, does it not?

4. Several other sites allow reviews from ANYONE. Facebook allows friends and “likers” of a page to review businesses all the time. I don’t believe I’ve heard any complaints regarding other sites such as Yelp, Trip Advisor, Google Reviews, etc. where people who interacted with the business owners online were not allowed to leave reviews. Rather, people interact with businesses online all the time. Then they leave reviews about their interactions. That’s sort of the point.

5. Amazon’s company Goodreads allows anyone to rate a book. They don’t even have to write any words. They can just leave a star or 5 stars and don’t have to have any good reason for doing so. Why would Goodreads have a different policy than Amazon? And for the record, I find Goodreads reviewers to be way harsher than Amazon reviewers.

6. Consumers are really not that stupid. Just like terrible grammar and spelling in a review might lead someone to believe the review may not be terribly valid, a bunch of really sycophantic 5 star reviews are going to set off alarms as well.

7. Isn’t everyone allowed to have opinions about books? Isn’t that a wonderful democratic ideal? Some of my most critical “fans” are people I know in person, and no, not all of my advance copy reviewers have given me glowing 5 star reviews.

8. The indie world is already a tough enough place to gain any sort of recognition without Amazon making it that much harder. I thought they were supposed to be supporting indie authors, not making it harder for us? After all, don’t they make a TON of money off of us? And all they do is provide the mechanism for purchasing an e-book. We provide the actual product and yet they get, at the minimum, 30% of the profits.

9. Who is this policy protecting? So someone may be suckered into buying a book that has a really high rating but is actually a piece of garbage. Most indie e-books are priced at around $2.99. So that sucker is out less than $3. I’m sure we’ve all wasted a lot more money than that falling victim to brilliant advertising schemes. So you put $2.09 in the pocket of an author. Even if you didn’t like her work, couldn’t you at least appreciate the fact that she invested her time and energies into creating something?

Finally, I’ve read a lot of comments on articles related to the petition slamming indie authors, calling us everything from fame-seeking to self-indulgent and who knows what else. I’m guessing most of these commenters have never read an indie-authored book. And I’m certain none of them have ever written their own books. And to them I only say this: “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”