Free Book of the Day: Ruse & Romance by S.G. Rogers

Unjustly labeled a flirt, Kitty Beaucroft is in need of a fiancé. Lord Philip Butler’s father wants him to settle down before he can become a landowner. With no intention of following through, Kitty and Philip enter into a temporary engagement as a means to an end. Unfortunately, someone knows the truth and is determined to expose them. Will the ruse turn into a romance before it’s too late?

Review: "The portrayal of scenes and characters will have one mentally hanging on the edge of one's seat in this showstopper as the story flows seamlessly from one of intrigue to one of page-turning baited breath in an effort to see if romance can bloom." - InD'Tale Magazine

"[A]bsolutely delightful...unashamedly indulgent..." - Historical Novel Society

Amazon Purchase Link: Click Here

Amazon KDP unpublished 4 of my titles today! All at the same time!

It is indeed a rainy day for me today! And it also has thunderstorms. Why? Well, I have just received an email from Amazon KDP stating that they have removed 4 of my books because they were misleading to customers! Dang! And you know what! Those 4 titles were the ones selling the most!

Now what? I don't know! I guess I will have to create something else. All I know is I am not giving up.

Anyway, here is the email I received from Amazon:

Hello,

During a quality assurance review of your KDP catalog we found that the author of the following books you have published is misleading to our customers.

Title: A. J. Banner: The Good Neighbor (Readers Spotlight Series Book One)    (ASIN: B013EZB8LW)

Title: Paula Hawkins’: The Girl on the Train: A Novel  (Readers Spotlight Series Book Two)    (ASIN:B013F9NXPG)

Title: Wally Lamb: We Are Water: A Novel: (A Happy Readers Perspective) (Readers Spotlight Book 3)    (ASIN:B014EIMVMI)

Title: Sabrina Paige: Luke: A West Bend Saints Romance: (A Happy Readers Perspective) (Readers Spotlight Book 4)    (ASIN:B014EVWZM6)

The above books have been removed from sale until you make the requested changes.

If you have any questions regarding our quality assurance review process, please write to title-submission@amazon.com.

Best Regards,
Phillip M.
Amazon.com

Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.
http://www.amazon.com/your-account
______________________________
Connect with KDP and other Authors and Publishers:
Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/KindleDirectPublishingFollow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/AmazonKDP 

Yes I know exactly why the titles may be misleading. I clearly understand that part, that's why I am not mad at amazon. They are doing a great job, aren't they?

Jeff Bezos - The New Indie Author looking for readers just like any ordinary indie author

Whatever he is up to, we all know it is going to affect the way books are written or read!

In an experiment dubbed “The ordinary indie”, Jeff Bezos the Amazon guru has published a book as a completely new Indie Author, perhaps to see the world through their eyes.

Many indie authors cannot afford to pay for a professional editor, advertising and marketing to get their books far and wide in a short space of time...  

...And this is what the multi-billionaire has done: instead of taking advantage of his billions and of course his platform as the founder of Kindle Direct Publishing, CEO Jeff Bezos has written and published two books in a series that give a limelight to readers of books. He basically showcases reader reviews on random bestselling books on amazon.

And what does this have to do with authors, bloggers and business owners? Everything!

The books are really "no big deal'' type of books in every way. The book covers are self-made, there are no pre-release reviews, there are no big names endorsing the books. Literary, the books look nothing more than what a stay-at-home mom or dad, or a less than $25 000.00 per year person can produce, with minimal help. 

What is he up to? Nobody really knows, except that he is cooking something and it will probably change the Kindle Direct Publishing world for the good or worse for some indie authors who have been complaining about the publishing wing being too harsh in dealing with them.

As of this day (August 6, 2015), the CEO has published two books in the series:

1. A. J. Banner: The Good Neighbor (Readers Spotlight Series Book one)

2. Paula Hawkins': The Girl on the Train: A Novel (Readers Spotlight Series Book Two)

A few “clever” authors, bloggers and business owners are taking advantage of this venture and have started changing the pen names they use as reviewers on amazon to their author name(s), book titles, blog titles and business names, in an attempt that should their review be picked for publication, their business is automatically marketed for free!

When a review is picked, it features the reviewers name as seen on the amazon product reviews. Readers who purchase the book on amazon and a few other retailers will obviously have that information at hand. 

The biggest surprise has been that the books are also available at some of the retailers competitors; Barns and Nobel, ibooks, Kobo and a few others. They are not in Kindle Unlimited!

Click here to view book one and click here to view book two on amazon.com 

Write For A Living. Start Today

Attention writers, bloggers, authors, freelancers, and home job seekers

If you’re ready to earn a full or part time income from your writing like thousands of others, the next 5-7 minutes will be a critical turning point for you. We’ll show you how to avoid the mistakes many writers make and steer clear of scams, content mills, and other hidden pitfalls of writing online.

While many industries are still struggling from recessionary times, the one job industry experiencing EXPLOSIVE growth is online writing jobs. Companies NEED your help creating content to attract visitors to their websites, blog, and social media pages.

Every day, there are hundreds of quality companies and small businesses looking to hire writers for salaried jobs, freelance gigs and easy writing services. There are more opportunities than they can fill and we'll show you how and where to find them.

But more than that, if you want to take this even further, we'll teach you to leverage your writing skills to start your own business.  You’ll know exactly how to use your existing talents (or how to outsource the work to others), to create ongoing passive income from home...

My name is Ron Douglas.  I’m a New York Times Best Selling Author who’s sold over one million books and ebooks and been featured on Fox News, Good Morning America, and in People Magazine.

Click here for more information

Christian Grey of E.L James Grey: Fifty shades of Grey lashes back at bad reviewers on amazon

In what may be known as a lash back or troll back to trolls, Christian Grey has responded to bad reviews on amazon. He has quoted and responded to at least 50 reviews in what may become the battle of the titans. Though most of the bad reviews posted on amazon were directed to author E. L James, Christian has taken it upon himself to get justice. Visit here to see the publication by Christian Grey. 

ReBlogged: How to Price Your eBook on Amazon by Naomi Blackburn

I just came across this post on the Bad Red Head Media Website that is owned by Rachel Thompson, aka 'Rachel In the OC', and thought THIS IS SO IMPORTANT, I must share it with every indie I know. SERIOUSLY. The question of pricing is one big one that every indie author has to face and most probably experiment with.

For most traditionally published authors, the game is a little bit different since they do not have a say in the pricing of the book, but for the indie, it is part their job responsibilities.

Written by Naomi Blackburn, owner of The Author CEO, a consultation firm dedicated to helping independent authors navigate the development of strategic business plans and the marketing world, this post shares vital information that every indie author has to at least think about. Here is what she says...

It’s all about the royalties!

Amazon has a two-level royalty structure that is solely based on book price. One of my favorite articles on the how and why of e-book pricing (including such things as loss leaders), is another oldie-but-goodie written by The Future of Ink. Take a deep look at this article when determining the genre of the book you are pricing. This author makes several great points regarding price points as well.

What are your peers’ prices?

This includes doing research into indie authors who write in the same genre, and are at the SAME point in their career and the SAME level of visibility as a recognized author name. For example, an indie author who has achieved status as being an award winner or is on one of the big bestseller lists is going to be able to price their e-books higher than someone who is just starting out or has not yet achieved that status.

I will never forget a client that I worked with several years ago when I first started Author CEO. She had written a memoir, wrapped up in a pseudo true crime story. My mouth hit the floor when I saw that she had priced her book at $9.99 on Amazon. When I discussed this topic with her, she became flabbergasted and insulted that I would even...READ FULL POST HERE...

Indie Book Spotlight: Unbreak Your Marriage: Reconnect Your Relationship In 31 Days - Women's Guide

Simple Ideas, Radical Love Ripples

At some point in any meaningful marriage, we can forget our priorities and take each other for granted. When our lives are run by busy schedules, deadlines and long days, expressing love becomes more of burden instead of being part of who we are as lovers.

We forget the companionship of marriage and soon become roommates if not strangers to one another. As frustration builds, we start treat our loved ones as our enemies, because then they “would have” shifted from being our friend to becoming the source of our pain.

Excerpt

When your marriage has become the source of your pain and when you regret having ever met your spouse, your life is under real fire! Your marriage is a significant part of your life and it has the power to affect and infect all other aspects of your life.
Since the first publication of ‘Unbreak Your Marriage: Reconnect Your Marriage In 31 Days – Workbook’ in November 2013, I have had an overwhelming response from people all over the world. I have connected with many men and women whose marriages had become their source of pain and it was because of their feedback that I was prompted to edit that publication, expand it and produce this publication, Unbreak Your Marriage: Reconnect Your Relationship In 31 Days - Women’s Guide, to help you get more clarity and courage to restore love and heal your relationship.
Using the simple intervention principles in this book, you will be able to “see” your underlying relationship problems that are driving your emotional and behavioral symptoms. Rather than point fingers and assign blame for having a bad marriage or wondering why you married the wrong person, you will be able to more clearly understand the origins of your struggles and better address your challenges with targeted, more effective strategy.

What’s it like to be your husband?

It is easier to assume that you know how your partner thinks and feels. Switching roles can sometimes work wonders. 

When having a disagreement and you are wondering why your partner is so blind to your wants and needs, try switching roles. 

You could say to your partner; “I am trying really hard to understand your angle but I am failing. Perhaps if we change places, I could better understand what you mean.” At that time switch places, physically. Then ask your spouse to be you while you are him in the discussion. Tell your partner to try and use the exact words and tone or pitch of voice that you used, and you do the same. 

Discuss whatever you were discussing in this switched mode. If used properly, this technique can be phenomenal.

For more info, visit:

Book Link: Amazon.com

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Brian-Mulipah/e/B00GVAA32I/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BrianMulipah

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BrianMulipah

Blog: http://brianmulipah.blogspot.com/ 

Amazon's Second Response to posting Unverified Reviews

Okay, so we all saw the first response I received from Amazon in regards to giving away free copies of your paperback, PDF or mobi files of your book in exchange for an honest review. The response was kind of vague and even brought in more confusion in regards to this matter and so I wrote back to them again in request for a more direct "black or white" answer. If you did not see the first response, please check it out here.

So, I emailed them again and received two epic responses. If you are an indie like me, you will love them both!

This is the unedited email I sent back to Amazon Author Central:

Hello,
I am a bit confused with your response to the idea of giving out copies on PDF, mobi, and paperback books in exchange for honest amazon reviews. 

Just so you know, I am an admin on a small Facebook Group of 3000 authors and we try to help each other with ideas and discussions of better marketing our books. I have been discussing with many of the authors and now we are even more confused. 

In this regard, I would like to ask if it is possible for you to answer the following questions with either YES or NO.  

Okay, so as an author publishing with Amazon KDP and I have the following questions: 

1. Suppose I attend an event online, can I give out a PDF or mobi file of my book to people I meet there in exchange for an honest review?
2. Suppose I attend a book signing event, can I give out paperback copies of my book to people I meet there in exchange for an honest review?
3. Suppose I attend an event online or in person and meet a lot of people for the first time. Can I give out copies of my book in any format in exchange for an honest review?
4. Suppose I attend an event and meet a lot of potential readers for my book and collect email addresses of people. Can I then email them my PDF or mobi files or post paperback books in exchange for an honest review?
Thank you very much for your time. 

And two days later, this is the response I received from them:

Author Central Amazon Your Account Amazon.com
Message From Customer Service

Hello Brian,

The answer to all 4 questions is yes. You can always give away copies of your books, in any format you like, in the hope that the recipient will give you an honest review. Even Amazon.com sends books to readers in the hope that a percentage of them will read and review the book. Smart authors will do this. Some will put a card or book mark in the print book as a reminder to the reader to leave a review.

Some authors will print cards that they can leave at coffee shops or hand out, that will allow a reader to down load a copy of the book. If you think they will read and review the book, it can be worth it.

There are many ways to market a book. It's good to see that you are working together to share them.

You can also join the CreateSpace Community to discuss promotions, distribution, marketing tips and tricks, sales channels and success stories with your fellow authors.

You can read the community posts here: https://www.createspace.com/en/community

I hope this helps. Have a great day!

Best regards,
Sunnie A.

About two hours later, I received another email from them. This is what it said:

Hello Brian, 

I hope this email finds you well. This is Kath from the Communities team. 

I'm sorry for the inconvenience this might have caused you. 

Authors are allowed to provide free copies of their books to readers in exchange to their honest and unbiased reviews. 

However, to write a Customer Review, customers must have used their account to purchase an item from Amazon.com. Once their item has shipped, they'll be able to write their customer reviews on the website. (Free digital downloads don't count toward this purchase requirement.) 

Customers must have valid purchase on their account to be able to submit review for your book that you have provided for free. Customers are unable to submit any reviews on the website if the customers don't have Amazon account or don't have valid purchase on their account. 

I hope this helps. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Best regards,
Kath A.

Thank you for your inquiry. Did I solve your problem?
[Yes]    [ No]

Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.

Thank you.
Amazon.com

So now, the famous question remains the same: As an indie author, can I give out free copies of my book(s) in the form of paperback, PDF, mobi or any format in exchange for an HONEST REVIEW?

And the correct answer to that question is a BIG FAT_____

Amazon KDP's Response to posting Unverified Reviews

Okay, there has been a lot of talking in regards to Amazon removing product reviews on the basis of "you know the seller personally". Others have gone on to state that Amazon no longer accepts "Unverified Reviews". 

So, this is what I did, I emailed Amazon Author Central in regards to the issue and got a response. This is the email I sent to amazon:

Hello,
I would like to ask about the review system with kdp. It looks like there are some changes taking place and I would like to get clarity.
1. So, you say I should not ask for a review from someone I know? is this true or just a rumor?
2. Am I allowed to give away my CreateSpace paperback books or PDFs to a few readers in exchange for an honest review?
3. What does knowing the reviewer of my book personally mean? I understand if it is a relative, but how about if I meet people at an author convention or a book signing event and I give away a few books in exchange for honest reviews. Is this still not allowed?

I must admit; waiting for a response in regards to the above email was the longest I have had to wait when I contact them through Author Central. I normally receives responses in 5 minutes to 6 hours, but this time it took about 12 hours. So my assumption is that the representative there had to do a bit of digging for information. Anyway, this is the response I received from Author Central:

 Hello,
I hope this mail finds you well. I can explain this to you.
I can confirm that we do allow publishers to provide professional reviewers with a copy of the book by email for the purpose of editing, proofreading and helping with other quality improvements.
To help illustrate, here are a few examples of reviews that we don't allow:
1.A product manufacturer posts a review of their own product, posing as an unbiased shopper
2.A shopper, unhappy with her purchase, posts multiple negative reviews for the same product
3.A customer posts a review in exchange for $5
4.A customer posts a review of a game, in exchange for bonus in-game credits
5.A family member of the product creator posts a five-star customer review to help boost sales
6.A shopper posts a review of the product, after being promised a refund in exchange
7.A seller posts negative reviews on his competitor's product
8.An artist posts a positive review on a peer's album in exchange for receiving a positive review from them
*********
Issuing of books at those kind of events and those who receive the book can post their reviews.
However, apart from professional reviewers, they must have used the account to purchase any item or service on Amazon (free digital content doesn’t qualify toward this requirement.)
Be sure to take a look at the KDP Select Terms & Conditions here:
https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=APILE934L348N#Select
Reviews are removed from the Amazon.com website when they conflict with our posted guidelines here:
http://www.amazon.com/review-guidelines/
*********
I've forwarded your information  on CreateSpace paperback books to the CreateSpace team for follow-up. You should hear back from them in
the next 1-2 business days.
**********
Your understanding is highly appreciated.
I hope this helps. Thank you for using Amazon KDP.

About 6 hours later, I received the response from CreateSpace and this is what hey said:

Hello Brian,

Thank you for contacting CreateSpace.

I've checked and confirmed that you're more than welcome to distribute your books to others for review purposes. CreateSpace provides a platform for authors and other content providers to self-publish their work. We do not act as a traditional publisher, and do not hold rights over the content itself. We manufacture content submitted to fulfill orders placed through our distribution channels.
I certainly hope this information helps. Have a great day!
[Name Withheld]
CreateSpace Member Services

Best regards,

So, the question remains the same; Is it okay for you to give away your books in exchange for honest reviews? and the correct answer to that question is...