Ask any independent author and they'll tell you they are always on the prowl for reviews for their books. No matter how many readers buy your book and enjoy it, it is always a chore to persuade them to review it on Amazon.
Some will if coaxed or bribed, but they are few and far between. Still that won't stop most authors, myself included, from humbling ourselves for a 4 or 5 star rating.
Unfortunately, the problem with soliciting reviews is you don't know who's going to come out of the woodwork. I just received a 2 star review from a reader on my book, The Boys Of Northwood. The reader's chief complaint was that my book did not include places and events he wanted to read about. That's right, he punished me for not writing the book he wanted to read. Now I have his petty 2 star review floating around and mingling with my legitimate 4 and 5 star reviews. Worst yet, much like plastic products, this review will stick around on my Amazon sales page for the next 100 or so years, terrorizing my great grandchildren as it did me. I say we band together to protest reviews of a non-constructive nature. Short of unionizing, there must be some way to accomplish that.
Now, because of that opinionated reader, I must secure 5 or 6 more excellent reviews to counter-balance that bad one.
A writer's work is never done.
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