To the writers here on Fluther, could you tell me how reviews and ratings of your books are vital?

Not, as I heard that some authors hire or pay for these glowing reviews which cheapens
the whole process.
Its not the review but the sales that is important .

Authors that need the good reviews can’t afford to pay for them.

@canidmajor: Just to play devil’s advocate and get the whole picture, you could just as easily argue that those who don’t need them pay them to increase their publicity, and I have a suspect who they may be…self-published You don’t find nothing else on Amazon. Am I right? :-)

There’s so much fog and fluff around the word “ writer” that it’s ludicrous to throw the word around. Reviews and ratings merely further cloud the smoke and fluff since those responsible assume the rank of “writer”. Who isn’t a writer?

@stanleybmanly: A writer writes, publishes a work, especially not for him/herself but for someone else to read. If not, (s)he’s not a writer.

So we here qualify?

I was told that once a person writes and sells the book , then they are considered a Professional writer.

@stanleybmanly: Let’s just say that a writer must publish his work to as many people as possible, if possible, in the form of a book or article.

Does fanfiction writers count? They publish work for many people to see, and they get reviews on the Internet. They only don’t get to profit from their work.

Firstly, writers write. When you get published you are an author.

Secondly, reviews are not written for the author, like some grade school teacher’s red ink comments. It is for readers to sort out what might interest them. Once they find a critic who has basically the same taste, they can narrow their searches.
Authors needn’t be concerned in the least about reviews.

Who needs to buy off anyone, when you can simply send a free hardback copy to Oprah?

@Patty_Melt Fun fact: my friend once asked me to collaborate with her to write a “review” for a book. At first I thought I was supposed to read the book then write a favorable review for it in exchange for some money. But then it turned out that my friend misunderstood the guy, he just wanted us to proofread the book (he was a Portuguese). Looking back, if it had really been writing a review, I think I would have turned it down. This was just a too unethical thing for me to do, even though I know I can totally write a good review for anything. It’s like asking me to provide fake scientific facts that weed is good for the health to trick people into buying it.