Has Anyone On Here Tried Indie Reviewers?

casey

There are several sites offering free independent reviews of self-published books. Most appear to be American. Has anyone on here ever approached one and if so what was the outcome?
Apparently they will review your books on Amazon, book blogs and other places. Any good?

Phots Moll

I've not tried anything like that. If you give it a go please let us know how you get on - reviews are always welcome.

Baggy Books

I'd be inclined to check one of the books back to Amazon and look at the free excerpt. If that's dire but earned good reviews you know the reviewers aren't reliable. You wouldn't want your work to be tarnished by association.

sallyj

I've used Readers' Favorite (US site - hence the spelling) https://readersfavorite.com/
They can take quite a while to do the review (unless you pay for an express service which I haven't done). Where they post the review depends on the reviewer, some will put it on GoodReads but others only put it on the Readers' Favorite website. But you can then quote from the review in your Amazon product description and also include it on Amazon.com via Author Central. Readers' Favorite don't post the review on Amazon.
As to whether their reviews are honest? I can't be sure.
I got 5 star reviews - so I'd like to think they are honest! After all why would they choose to be dishonest - I have not paid them anything, they do not get any commission from my book sales so what's in it for them? They have no reason to give dishonest reviews as far as I can see.
If a book gets less than 4 stars then the review does not appear on their website (if I've remembered properly).

casey

I did as BB suggested and checked out a book on one of the review sites. It was published in November 2013 and has 51 reviews. All are on Amazon.com none on Amazon .co.uk. Most reviews are positive but not all. One stated they had been given the book free in exchange for an honest review. I didn't read them all but all appeared to say it was a good read. Ratings varied but most were 5 star. Some had an issue with the character and another with modern language in a historical novel. None of the reviews were verified purchases. All were very detailed about the story but also very similar.
On reflection I feel I would rather have reviews from people who have bought the book and reviewed it. The others are most likely honest, but they wouldn't persuade me to buy the book.
I hope this is helpful.

Jamesmccreet

The matter of reviews is tricky. Aspiring writers don't need reviews; they need detailed critical feedback on work that may not yet publishable. If the work is of a publishable standard, reviews tend to be subjective personal preference. The ability to review is not necessarily the ability to criticise at a technical level.

casey

These are reviews on already published books. I think critiques for 'aspiring writers' are a different thing entirely. The best reviews, in my opinion, are those from people who have read and enjoyed the book. Those are gold. That's what I want for my book.