Paid Book Reviews — Worth It or Waste of Money?

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In a recent conversation in another group, the topic of book reviews came up and some shared how they were having difficulty getting them prior to publishing the book. It got me thinking as I too have been working on getting reviews for my latest book. While I have several already, most are from friends and colleagues who likely would not write anything other than praise just because we are friends.

Do you use paid book review sites? And if so… which ones have actually been worth it?

I know reviews are gold for authors — but the whole “paid reviews” space feels a bit like the Wild West.

On one hand, there are legitimate editorial review services (think industry-style reviews you can use in your marketing). On the other…

Paying for reader reviews on platforms like Amazon can actually violate their policies and even get your account flagged or banned. But there are companies that have people who do book reviews for you (for a fee)

And then there’s the other issue: Some services promise reviews but don’t guarantee any results

Others may deliver reviews that don’t move the needle And unfortunately, scams in the publishing space are on the rise, especially targeting indie authors,

That said… there are platforms authors use successfully, like review communities and discovery sites where you’re often paying for exposure rather than a guaranteed review.

So I’d really like to know (and maybe so would others).