Book reviews Reedsy
Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion998 views III. Goodreads Readers > Is Reedsy Discovery A Scam? Comments Showing 1-39 of 39 (39 new) post a comment » date message 1: by Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) (new) May 13, 2020 05:02AM I'm not sure where the best place was to post this. I received an email about Reedsy Discovery Reviewers Program and I'm wondering if it is a scam or genuine. Here's the message in question: Hi there, Did you receive Colman Keanes invitation to join Reedsy Discovery as a book reviewer? If youre still undecided, you might like to know a bit more about how it works. As a reviewer, youd be given exclusive access to our library of ARCs in exchange for writing reviews on Discovery. Any reviews that you write for us, you can cross-post to your blog and social media accounts as well! And since Colman recommended you, youll receive a $50 welcome reward after publishing your first review. Side note, I did get an email from them prior to this one with similar wording. I also got laid off from my job and so really need some money right now for family members and their essential shopping. What should I do? Thanks! reply | flag * message 2: by Michel (last edited May 13, 2020 05:39AM) (new) May 13, 2020 05:37AM reply | flag * message 3: by Cathy (last edited May 13, 2020 05:40AM) (new) May 13, 2020 05:40AM Ironic that I see your post this morning. Yesterday my publisher (Tellwell Publishing) sent me my media kit and referred me to Reedsy Book Blogger (a service within Reedsy Discovery) to have them read, review and blog my book. If my publisher referred me to them then I'd say they're legit. Good luck reply | flag * message 4: by Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) (new) May 13, 2020 05:48AM Ironic that I see your post this morning. Yesterday my publisher (Tellwell Publishing) sent me my media kit and referred me to Reedsy Book Blogger (a service within Reedsy Discovery) to h..." Michel wrote: "My first impression is that this is a scam. To offer a cash reward for publishing a review is one suspicious indicator of it. Also, offering a review for money is against the rules at Amazon and on..." Thank you both for replying! reply | flag * message 5: by Opal (last edited May 13, 2020 06:43AM) (new) May 13, 2020 06:31AM reply | flag * message 6: by Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) (new) May 13, 2020 06:36AM Same here! That will help me make my final decision for sure :) reply | flag * message 7: by Bruce (new) May 15, 2020 09:08AM reply | flag * message 8: by Linda (new) May 15, 2020 11:18AM reply | flag * message 9: by David (last edited May 16, 2020 09:21AM) (new) May 16, 2020 09:21AM 4. Can I pay for someone to write a Customer Review for my book? No. We don't allow any form of compensation for a Customer Review other than a free copy of the book provided upfront. If you offer a free advanced copy, it must be clear that you welcome all feedback, both positive and negative. If we detect that a customer was paid to write a review, we'll remove it. The only type of paid review that Amazon supports is an editorial review. An editorial review is a more formal evaluation of a book usually written by an editor or expert within a genre, but can also be written by family and friends. If you've received an editorial review of your book that youd like to post to the Editorial Review section of your books detail page, please visit our Author Central Help Page. reply | flag * message 10: by Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) (new) May 16, 2020 11:52AM That's good to know! :) reply | flag * message 11: by Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) (new) May 16, 2020 11:54AM I'm not sure where the best place was to post this. I received an email about Reedsy Discovery Reviewers Program and I'm wonderi..." Fantasyryus wrote: "Alice-Elizabeth (marriedtobooks) wrote: "Hello! I'm not sure where the best place was to post this. I received an email about Reedsy Discovery Reviewers Program and I'm wondering if it is a scam o..." Thanks for commenting! I just realized that I wasn't very clear in my original post. I'm a blogger and bookstagrammer, not a published author. :) reply | flag * message 12: by Jim (last edited May 16, 2020 03:34PM) (new) May 16, 2020 12:06PM Within the extremely competitive literary field, novice authors are tempting targets for scammers to contact directly or encourage contact through websites and literary periodicals. Rule of thumb: If something sounds too good or easy to be true, it isn't true. reply | flag * message 13: by Anne (new) Oct 21, 2020 01:50PM reply | flag * message 14: by M. (new) Oct 21, 2020 02:20PM Ha, I knew it, the exact same thing happened to me. 3 rounds of editing, content edit, manuscript evaluation, etc. Then Reedsy says it needs to be edited before they will "Launch it", and also recommended that they offer editing services...I'd say that pretty close to a scam. reply | flag * message 15: by Penelope (new) Oct 21, 2020 03:07PM reply | flag * message 16: by Michel (last edited Oct 21, 2020 08:14PM) (new) Oct 21, 2020 08:13PM I agree with you, Penelope. Someone should write because they enjoy writing or because they feel that they have something important to say, not because they want to make money out of it. reply | flag * message 17: by Penelope (new) Oct 22, 2020 01:48AM reply | flag * message 18: by Helen (new) Oct 22, 2020 03:56AM reply | flag * message 19: by Michel (new) Oct 22, 2020 06:07AM That is so right! Another major factor of importance for a writer is patience. Building a readership takes time, lots of time. It took me eight years to build my readership (I post my stories on Free-Ebooks.net) and I can say that it was slow going at first. Those writers who keep asking for someone to review their books are only risking to get sucked into some kind of scam, like in this case. reply | flag * message 20: by Belynda (new) Oct 22, 2020 06:29AM In the end I formatted it myself and uploaded it to Amazon and voila it is available for sale. That of course is the next hurdle but I try not to think too much about how many people aren't buying my book. Everyone says we need to build a body of work and we will get readers. That we should concentrate on what we can control our writing and putting out a good product in a timely fashion. This is where I am putting my efforts. I've notices with the blog I started in 2018 that views have grown over time. If the same thing happens with my novels on Amazon (as I add to my catalogue and don't just rely on my first release). Over time I may have something. Today on my blog I quoted The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy and our good habits will compound over time - we have to give it time. If anyone would like to read the full post it can be reached at: belyndasbooks.com reply | flag * message 21: by Manoj (new) Dec 28, 2020 10:02PM [As a fellow author and (not regular though) reviewer, I can offer my free quick review once in a while but only for literary or sci-fi fiction. But please do not send the book to me without a prior appointment.] reply | flag * message 22: by Jim (last edited Dec 29, 2020 07:36AM) (new) Dec 29, 2020 07:29AM Very few novice authors ever achieve notoriety and commercial success within this extremely competitive field. That said; some have. There is no reason why you might not eventually become one of them. Keep in mind that self-satisfaction and pleasure are sufficient incentives to continue writing for as long as you wish. Like beauty, success lies within the eye of the beholder. reply | flag * message 23: by Julie (new) Dec 29, 2020 07:42AM reply | flag * message 24: by Guy (new) Dec 29, 2020 11:32AM I also tried their Discovery service for reviews and was completely disappointed. ZERO responses. If you can't guarantee a review, then don't charge. I am now slowly building positive reviews from readers and others, but as a fresh author, I wanted the exposure and will not use them again for that service. reply | flag * message 25: by Raegan (new) Jun 07, 2021 09:40AM reply | flag * message 26: by Edward (new) Jun 07, 2021 10:01AM reply | flag * message 27: by Guy (new) Jun 07, 2021 01:11PM The Reedsy Discovery Review service is not so good and a huge disappointment. It took forever for them to respond (longer than KIRKUS) and in the end the review was poorly written. I will never use Reedsy Discover reviews again. When I go into bookstores to talk about my books and I mention Reedsy, I get a blank stare half the time. When I mention my KIRKUS recommendation or BookLife (Publishers Weekly), then eyes open and ears open. A review service should (a) provide the reader with a trusted assurance from a respected source. (b) with any luck, a nice quote or two to use in marketing. I did not get either from Reedsy Discovery. reply | flag * message 28: by Jessica (new) Jun 07, 2021 01:22PM reply | flag * message 29: by Dale (new) Jun 14, 2021 11:51AM reply | flag * message 30: by Julie (new) Jun 14, 2021 12:00PM reply | flag * message 31: by Linda (new) Jun 14, 2021 12:53PM Thanks for sharing. Sorry it wasn't a better experience. I will not use it, then. reply | flag * message 32: by Amanda (new) Jun 27, 2021 02:53PM reply | flag * message 33: by Dale (new) Jun 28, 2021 06:37AM reply | flag * message 34: by David (last edited Sep 07, 2021 12:50PM) (new) Sep 06, 2021 08:38AM reply | flag * message 35: by Francisco (new) Sep 07, 2021 10:02AM Thanks, Francisco. reply | flag * message 36: by David (new) Sep 07, 2021 12:50PM reply | flag * message 37: by Francisco (new) Sep 17, 2021 02:38PM reply | flag * message 38: by Rob (new) Oct 11, 2021 09:47AM I wouldn't call it a scam, but it's definitely misleading. Some things to note: If your book hasn't launched yet, you can't get any reviews until someone reviews it. Yes, you read that right. It's a bizarre chicken-and-the-egg process that doesn't benefit anybody. If your book launches without any reviews on Reedsy Discovery, then it's ineligible for further reviews. You can only get ONE review. You read that right, as well. So you end up paying $50 for a review, which is against Amazon and Goodreads' policies. It's one thing if you're paying for the platform/service and multiple people can review, but if it's one-for-one, then you're clearly paying for it. Apparently, a reviewer did select my book to read. I'm still unclear on how this happened as my book hasn't launched yet and therefore, it's not available for people to review. I'm sure I'm missing something in the process, but that's in part because it's incredibly convoluted and misleading. Their other services may be fine (I haven't used any), but I'd stay away from the Discovery program. reply | flag * message 39: by Robert (last edited Oct 12, 2021 04:50PM) (new) Oct 12, 2021 02:08PM Bottom line, Reedsy doesn't feel like a scam to me, but then other than that limited initial engagement, I don't really have much experience with them: 1. They require $50 payments from authors (or publishers), for which, if you follow their instructions precisely, you will get exactly one review. 2. They promise and deliver promos for books submitted to them, though perhaps the conditions for them doing so are somewhat convoluted. 3. According to some on this thread, they pay $50 to reviewers, at least sometimes. reply | flag * back to top post a comment » Add a reference: Book Author
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