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Got my kirkus review today. Wasn't very negative or positive, and I think it missed a few points. I guess I'm asking if you guys who have done it had similar results? I know that they're harsh on indie authors, so I take the review as a good one.

Ahmed, did you pay for the review? Kirkus has paid reviews for authors and well as free. If you paid for it, you should've gotten at least a four star review.

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Kirkus reviewed my book on the meaning of the Qur'an by a so called expert in Islam (Muslim) but gave a very negative and contradictory review. The book certainly removes Islamaphobia and calls mankind to understand what Muhammad brought. I am not concerned for 99.99% of Muslims (followers of Muhammad)are ignorant of what they professed. The book is available on ISBN: 9781467883931,

R.P. wrote: "Ahmed, did you pay for the review? Kirkus has paid reviews for authors and well as free. If you paid for it, you should've gotten at least a four star review."

I must have missed something but where does Kirkus offer free reviews?

I just got two great independent reviews for Chick Flick. One was from Blue Ink reviews which then sends your book all over the place and one from Mom Central. Go to Deryn Warren on Amazon and see them. I hope they are there by now.

Deryn wrote: "I just got two great independent reviews for Chick Flick. One was from Blue Ink reviews which then sends your book all over the place and one from Mom Central. Go to Deryn Warren on Amazon and see ..."

Thanks for the infie, I'll take a look at Blue Ink - sounds great if they send it all over.

Here's the blurb from Kirkus I'm using on the Editorial reviews of my book, Lunen: Triblood

"Al-Sheikh describes each battle with skillful, graphic detail." -Kirkus Reviews

Ahmed did you get someone to edit your book? I found even the blurb a tad confusing, although the content is good. I wish you the best of luck but we all need editors, right?

I did get editing, as well as promo text creation. I believe it's the promo-text that may be the confusing part.

I paid for a Kirkus review last fall before the launch of my memoir, French Illusions, and it was a horrible experience. The reviewer hated my book and gave me a negative, hurtful review. If you check on my book at Amazon.com, you'll see that I currently have 29 four and five star reviews from readers. Don't waste your money on this inconsistent, unreliable service.

Ahmed, I would re write that part and have more luck. Linda, I checked for your review and didn't see it. Can you take it off once they put it on?

These reviewing sites charge a lot. Blue Ink appear to charge $395 for a 'standard' review. On top of that these sites sometimes give bad reviews. I would prefer to get enough traffic to receive 'natural' reviews. Otherwise do review swops to get things started, with other authors, on sites like goodreads.

I've been writing content for a few years on the Internet and I am able to make a modest amount of money from my writing.

If after experimenting with ebooks I can't make money then I'll go back to producing content (with advertising) on the Internet.

I suppose what I'm saying is that as writers I feel we we should expect a reasonable return on any investment we make. I can't justify paying for reviews with the amount I am earning so far!

Any thoughts?

Rik, people write for a lot of reasons. It you are just in ebooks to see if you can make a little money, then perhaps the internet stuff is a better choice. Certainly you understand the dynamic of it. Most people who write books, as opposed to content, are there to connect with readers (even if they hope to make money). And that takes time. If you don't have that patience, unless you find a hot topic, you probably won't get any significant result.

I went with a Kirkus Indie review. The advantage was a nice sound bite blurb to put on the amazon book page. But was the nice blurb worth the cost? It makes the book page look like a traditionally published book, which I think will help sales in the long run. But I would like to find other ways to find quotable reviews from authoritative reviewers.

Carmen, Did you view Kirkus as a branded review that had some edge? Why not submit to reviewers that review books for free? I am astounded that so many people are paying for reviews. Studies show that readers come less from reviews and advertising than other sources. I can't see Patterson buying a review and I think readers are catching on to the fact that reviews are a commodity.