Proxy server? Or else maybe I can email you the Kindle file. Then you can side load it? Since it's free, after all...
I'm gonna be that guy and say no but thank you for the offer and I will watch the thread with interest.
I haven't read the whole book, although I have read the free sample. In all earnesty, If this were any other author/book, I would not make fun of it. In fact, I think I wouldn't react at all, or at least leave him or her some polite and constructive feedback. But this is a one of a kind guy really. Having followed the whole discussion on goodreads when it first came out, and having read some interviews that he gave afterwards, there is little sympathy left in me for Dylan. I think all people should at least be offered some advice they can work with, and no good-meaning author that happens to have written a bad book deserves the japery that Dylan now receives, but when one is so self-rightious, would-be-elevated and, basically believes he is a one-shot prophet, well, one kind of asks for it. I have read the free sample with an open mind, and like I said, if this were any other human being, I would refrain from making fun of the work.
Not unless it has dudes playing football in tuxedos. But it really does cross that very rare threshold of so bad it's good. So you got to give him credit. That's a very special spot. You don't just end up there by trying to be that awful.
Appreciate he just didn`t do himself any favours at all, and maybe no-one would know who he was at all if he hadn`t reacted. Saying that it may be the most elaborate marketing ploy of all time.
Whenever I need a good laugh I just always come to this thread and read Dylan's comments. It's hilarious how big of a ego this guy has on him.
Not true. They can and will establish connections between individuals. And when they do, they will delete reviews.
I had heard from Konrath`s blog and he was writing about it, what he said pretty much agreed with you. They are pretty aggressive about it. I understand why but people also pointed out that some raters gave a one star review just to bring the average down out of spite or another equally abhorrent reason. Amazon have so far refused to do anything about that. There are ways around it but it isn`t easy.
I'm looking at a book right now that has 12 reviews, all of them from friends and family of the author. They've been up for two years. If Amazon know, they don't care! Maybe they only care once you're selling like Konrath.
Well, maybe, he is a big seller, one of the largest in the digital world, and he only sells digital now. It seems unfair that they would target only the big sellers, after all it`s the smaller sellers that need the help, not the larger ones.
Yeah, doesn't make sense to me either. It's the shitty books with five reviews, all glowing 5*, that they should be targetting. (I'm not bitter at all about being tricked into downloading those in my early Kindle days... not at all...)
Of course not, never thought it for a minute Apparently Amazon have some high tech way of collecting the information about your friends and family but with todays online networking sites they aren`t short of targets.
They're probably not 100% effective (or consistent). But Amazon has some of the largest databases in the world. Thus it's not difficult for them to connect individuals (customer A has bought a gift card for customer B, that or maybe they've already exchanged positive reviews). Unfortunately, it's not so easy for a writer to have negative reviews deleted (they lack merit, or the reviewer obviously didn't read the book). I'm saying most of this from experience. Amazon will not release details on how or why they delete reviews. And if you ask for specifics, they can become quite cranky.
Yeah, heard that too, very cranky. It seems a shame that the people closest to you aren`t allowed to rate if they really want to.
Well yeah but you do have to be pretty obvious: like buying gifts for each other, sharing an address, sharing a credit card, etc. I know the 12-review author in real life, but there is no way Amazon can connect us. If I left a review (which I wouldn't--the book isn't great) they would be none the wiser.
