Failing as an Online Book Reviewer

So it’s been 2 months now since I began reviewing books.  I’d say I’ve been having mixed results. I had to work my way up from level 0 in order to qualify for paid review options.  In order to do that, I had to do several volunteer reviews.  Well, nothing wrong with that.  I mean, I want to improve my reviewing skills after all.  

I made it to level 2 and the new options opened up.  Unfortunately, I choose a book that was horrendous as my first paid review.  I mean, I really wanted to give up.  Terrible grammar–just awful. But I soldiered on and finished it.  I wrote a review and got paid $16.  Cool.  Then I won a $10 amazon card from the daily giveaway.  Cool.  A few more reviews, a little more cash and by the end of the month I made about $60.  

Then the bottom fell out.  I used Grammarly to edit another paid review and apparently Grammarly was wrong.  I had 4 grammar errors.  My reviewer score dropped to 0 again.  That will teach me to use only one grammar checker.  Well, as I liked what I was doing, I went ahead and started over again.

I worked my way up to level 2 again.  And for a second time, I picked a humdinger of a book. The information said it was 225 pages, but it really was 451 pages.  When I agreed to review it, I hadn’t paid attention to the fact that it wasn’t available in mobi format either, only in pdf.  So I couldn’t read on my Kindle. I had to sit in front of my computer to read.  It took me a week to finish, which for me is a long time.  I wrote the review and submitted it.  

One of the requirements was to write a private blurb to the author to demonstrate I had read the book.  Well, I had, so no biggy.  Only the author rejected my comment.  There was a “dispute” opened.  The instructions for the private blurb were to concentrate on the end of the book, which I did.  However, the author felt that didn’t prove that I read the book.  He wanted more “suggestions.”  I spent over an hour pouring over the notes I had written about the book (yes, I had NOTES) and sent another paragraph with things that could be improved on.  Then the author responded again.  I replied and wished him well, hoping that would be the end of it.  I waited a week and requested the dispute closed.  Apparently, the author wasn’t quite finished and sent another comment.  I responded and waited another week.

Then, to add insult to injury, the other book I reviewed was REJECTED based on that same private blurb requirement.  The moderator sent me an email.  “Though the book may have been read fully, it is hard to determine if it was by reading the private blurb. For this part, it is beneficial to give specifics of the ending and how it ties to the rest of the story rather than giving one fact and an opinion. Thank you.”

Well, I did read the book.  I didn’t comment specifically on the last chapter, but the end of the book in general.  Whatever. How is it that when I did confine my comments to the end of the book, the other author opened a dispute saying I didn’t read the book.  What’s a reviewer to do?

I sent an email to the site organizer with this information and asking what exactly I should include in the private blurb since I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. Furthermore, since the second book was reviewed on my site, but REJECTED by the moderator, I can remove the review, right?  I also suggested that the order of the whole setup be changed.  Instead of first submitting the link to the post on my blog, I should submit the private blurb.  Then if that blurb is rejected for some random reason, I am under no obligation to post the review.  If the blurb is accepted, well, then that’s just dandy, the review gets posted and I submit a link to said post to get paid.  I probably wasn’t as tactful as I could have been.

A few days later, I received a response.  The head mucky-muck of the whole shebang said yes, he would allow me to resubmit the private blurb and that in the future there would be an option to do so in the event of a rejection.  No comment about my proposal.

In my next submission, I commented on the final chapter and added if the moderator wished, I could summarize each chapter prior to the final chapter as well in order to prove I had read the book. I also included the link to the post but specified that it was scheduled a week later.  I know, I should just let it go and not try to be right–but hey, then I just wouldn’t be me.

Then bam and bam, two more rejects.  I swear that moderator has it in for me.  This time because the link didn’t work.  Well, this part was my fault.  I entered the link AND “scheduled for x date).  I had no idea that everything I wrote in that box would get turned into a link. I emailed the head mucky-muck.  He said he’d fix it.

I had submitted two posts with this process and the second post was rejected AGAIN.  And again it was my fault. The moderator decided to check the link two days before it was scheduled to be posted.  I emailed the mucky-muck.  I’m sure he’s tired of hearing from me.

Then, as sort of throwing a bone to a dog, I won the daily drawing for a $10 Amazon gift card.  Of course, I had to prove that I downloaded the free book, which I had, by forwarding the Amazon confirmation email, which I had saved.  Upon receipt, I was given the gift card and applied it to my Amazon account.

Then I did the daily Twitter retweets, which should earn me about $6 because I have so few followers.  

I worked myself up into a tizzy about this.  Then, when I calmed down, I figured that it’s a learning experience if nothing else. I did finally get payment for 3 of the reviews mentioned above for a total of $40 USD, including the retweets.  

I currently have 2 books to review and we shall see how long these payments take.  If it continues to be too many hurdles to jump, well, I’ll just concentrate on something more lucrative.

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