Just Plain Bad-Karma Review Scam

I share spam and scam alerts in my SharingwithWriters newsletter and sometimes I let them do double duty by posting them in this blog, too.  Here is one from a recent newsletter:

Scam Alert: OMG! Talk about using the Web for evil purposes! Authors beware. This review scam is the polar opposite of Zen Marketing that we should be using to benefit our books. Do be on the alert and check your online bookstore buy pages frequently to be sure it isn't being used against you. Here are details from The New York Times:

 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/business/a-casualty-on-the-battlefield-of-amazons-partisan-book-reviews.html .

If you should become a victim of tactics like these, there is a pale blue box on your Amazon buy page with links for reaching Amazon people to request changes. Use those links. Don’t rant. Amazon folks are just like anyone else. They’re more likely to help those who remember their manners—including thank yous. (-: 

If you'd like to subscribe to my newsletter, just put SUBSCRIBE in the subject line of an e-mail and send it to HoJoNews@aol.com.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .