Back in October, Amazon updated its customer review policy, and we briefly noted it as something not to worry about. But that doesn’t mean the issue hasn’t remained a hotbed of discussion and obsession as authors read the tea leaves of what reviews are deemed kosher and what reviews are destined for removal.
Let’s review what we definitively know and don’t know, because there’s considerable speculation and guesswork floating about.
- It is never okay to pay outright for reader or Amazon customer reviews. Never. Amazon has cracked down on sites and programs that facilitate paid reader reviews. Here’s the latest news article about it.
- In light of the above, book bloggers who accept money as part of paid blog tours are considered paid reviewers. These types of reviews should be added by authors to the Editorial Reviews section of their Amazon book page, not to the customer/reader review section. (And that goes for any kind of professional book review service you pay for, such as Kirkus, BlueInk, and so on.)
- It is acceptable for readers to review a book after receiving it free or at a discount as part of a giveaway, promotion, or pre-publication marketing campaign. (There’s some confusion on this point because such reviews are not okay with non-book products unless they happen through Amazon’s official Vine program.) However, reviewers must disclose in the review that they received the book free.
- It is not okay to leave an Amazon review because you expect to receive something in exchange afterward—such as a free book, a coupon or discount, a gift card, etc. Basically: there must be no incentive to leave a review. For a super in-depth explanation, see this.
- It is not okay to “trade” reviews with other authors. This is basically the same thing as writing an incentivized review.
- It is not okay to write very negative reviews of rival authors.
- To post a review, customers need to have spent at least $50 on Amazon. Yes, this is official Amazon policy. This helps prevent a lot of fake or dishonest reviews from people who never shop at Amazon and may receive payment to leave reviews.
And here are the areas of speculation:
- The status of Amazon affiliates: if you’re an affiliate, and you review a book on your blog and cross-post at Amazon, you may see your review purged from the site. There is no official statement from Amazon about this type of situation, but Amazon affiliates should keep their reviews and commentary strictly at their site (and/or at other social media sites), and avoid posting customer reviews at Amazon.
- It is not okay to post a reader review if you are, according to Amazon, “a relative, close friend, business associate, or employee” of the author.
This last point obviously raises a lot of questions about how close one has to be in order to cross the line, given how small the writing and publishing community can be. Some authors have taken Amazon’s language to mean that social media friends and fans who interact with them online cannot or should not review their work. This isn’t true based on the policy we’ve seen, nor is it true in our experience—plus many variables come into play, including how substantive the review is, whether the review is voted up or reported as abuse, and whether it’s a Verified Purchase.
Unfortunately, we can guess all day long at what plays a role in Amazon’s decisions—in this matter and many others—but we can’t know what Amazon doesn’t choose to reveal. The company likely tracks the IP addresses from which reviews are posted (which can quickly identify problematic sources of reviews) and uses a variety of automated and algorithmic methods to identify biased review sources. There will inevitably be false positives, which are frustrating, but even for non-techies, it’s not hard to spot the various digital breadcrumb trails that reveal disingenuous reviewing practices.
Bottom line: It’s fine to ask people you know to review your book at Amazon. In most cases, the worst thing that can happen is the review gets pulled. The best way to get reviews that stick is to encourage reviews from readers who purchase the book from Amazon, ask for reviews that go beyond sketchy statements (such as “I liked it! Five stars!”) and never participate in any quid pro quo (formal or informal) to generate reviews, aside from giveaways or advance review copies. If you do pay for professional reviews through industry outlets or blog tours, ensure those reviews appear only in the Editorial Reviews section. And if you’re doing something that generates dozens of positive reviews that look and feel flimsy, assume Amazon will be watching and judging.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
