When the author lies about his background

Looking at it a different way, what about using a pseudonym?

Since first time authors have a clean slate, publishers will often chose them over a midlist guy like myself.

So I was thinking of doing my next book under a different name. And if that didn't sell too well, using another one for the book after that. Maybe do my next six books under six different names. (No author picture, no bio obviously).

Is that a crime?

popmuze said:

Looking at it a different way, what about using a pseudonym?

Since first time authors have a clean slate, publishers will often chose them over a midlist guy like myself.

So I was thinking of doing my next book under a different name. And if that didn't sell too well, using another one for the book after that. Maybe do my next six books under six different names. (No author picture, no bio obviously).

Is that a crime?

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Quite a few writers have done this, with the encouragement and even insistence of their publishers, due to poor sales. Those who advocate for it insist it's easier to start with a clean slate than recover from poor sales.

I've never been convinced.

In any case, I've never heard of a writer doing it book after book. It's more common when several books have done badly and/or a writer wishes to change genres.

CheshireCat said:

It's more common when several books have done badly and/or a writer wishes to change genres.

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That's me in a nutshell (two nutshells actually).

BlueLucario said:

Okay.... What if you made over 100 accounts on Amazon and made 5 star reviews on your own book. Is that even allowed?

That guy sort of bragged about doing that too...

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BlueLucario said:

How do people usually get caught? Especially through fake amazon reviews, and the lies and all that?

Anyone know how Stanek got caught lying? How did readers find out it was all a fake?

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Anything like that will leave clues over time. For example, if none of the reviews have that "real name" label, or if all of them only review that book, or if the sales rank is modest and it hasn't been released for long but it has more reviews than most bestsellers, or if all the reviews have a similar voice or keep harping on the same things (real readers are interested in diverse things about the book) or if they are all five-star reviews or sound too positive, or if any negative review gets immediately answered by a very indignant positive review. If you get burned by amazon.com reviews, you mostly ignore them from then on.

Carrying on a campaign of fake reviews that wasn't detectable would take too much time and energy. If you've got that much time and energy, you'd profit far more by using it to write more books.

James D. Macdonald said:

You could make up a thousand accounts to post a thousand five-star reviews for your book on Amazon and you know what?

It wouldn't matter.

Amazon reader reviews are useless for selling books.

Their purpose is to get people, the reviewers, to come visit Amazon. That works out well ... for Amazon. For the writers, not so much.

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popmuze said:

Looking at it a different way, what about using a pseudonym?

Since first time authors have a clean slate, publishers will often chose them over a midlist guy like myself.

So I was thinking of doing my next book under a different name. And if that didn't sell too well, using another one for the book after that. Maybe do my next six books under six different names. (No author picture, no bio obviously).

Is that a crime?

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Nobody thinks that using a pen name is fraud. Even if you change it multiple times. Unless you picked a pen name meant to emulate a famous author (but, even then, your publisher would kill that idea, so it just wouldn't happen anyway).

Actually, I think making the fake reviews stuff is a good idea. I don't think there's any other way to promote the book.

Yakamo said:

Actually, I think making the fake reviews stuff is a good idea. I don't think there's any other way to promote the book.

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Please tell me you're kidding. That's not promotion AT ALL. Promotion isn't done by reviewing books on Amazon, that requires you to wait until the book is in print. If the book hasn't been promoted by the time it's in print ...A - it won't be in bookstores, because without promotion they won't know to stock it, and B - no one will know the book exists so they can buy it to review.

Books have to be promoted before they hit shelves or else you're already behind the curve. Advance copies have to go out to legit readers for legit reviews... BEFORE the book can be purchased on Amazon. Not everyone looks for books or reviews on Amazon and limiting your book's promotion to that one source cuts it off at the knees.

Fake reviews are fraud. You're presenting yourself as something you're not and intentionally giving false information.

I know. Stunning ain't it?

Step one:

WRITE THE DAMN BOOK.

Worry about everything else later.