May 07, 2008

That Never-Ending "Amazon.com Best Seller" Crud

Hi Angela!

Following is an email announcement that I received today. (Name removed) has been around for quite some time, and while he has done these special promotions to buy his latest book from Amazon on a designated day, this one is the most elaborate "giveaway" plan.

I'm curious what your take is on his methods.

This is nothing new and I, personally, consider it a scam. It involves manipulating the system just to be able to say your book is a best seller. Best sellers deserve that title based on the quality of the book, not based on how the author has manipulated the date and time of sales just to be able to say they have a best seller. In fact, saying your book is an "Amazon.com best seller" is a joke in the industry because of these ridiculous program. It can actually hurt an author's reputation later when readers find out what the author did to be able to say they have an "Amazon.com best seller."

You can read more about my thoughts on this topic here:
http://writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/002873_08102005.html