More Bad Book Reviews | Amazon's Raging Dumpster Fire

About this video

(Summary based on the Arabic caption track.) In another installment of his bad-book-reviews series, Dale L. Roberts reads and laughs at harsh or absurd one-star Amazon reviews to reassure authors that every author gets them, including bestselling authors making millions a year. Examples include an unverified review of ‘How to Avoid Huge Ships’ by John W. Trimmer complaining there is no Kindle version — a review 2,284 people found helpful — a review of ‘Crafting with Cat Hair’ from someone who tried crafting while the hair was still on the cat, a one-word-style takedown of Jeanine Cummins’s ‘American Dirt,’ a rant on Celeste Ng’s ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ attacking Reese Witherspoon’s book recommendation, and a review of Mark Manson’s ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’ calling it a drunk man in a bar giving his own version of Buddhism, which 487 people found helpful. He also covers Jen Sincero’s ‘You Are a Badass,’ Dave Ramsey’s ‘The Total Money Makeover,’ and the ‘Serial Killer Coloring Book.’ In a post-production note he says one featured review had already been removed, which he takes as proof Amazon is trying to improve its review system. The episode is sponsored by Kotobee, described as an award-winning interactive e-book authoring tool that exports to more than 12 formats.

Key takeaways

• Roberts’s premise: you can have 50 five-star reviews and still be derailed by one one-star review — every author, including top bestsellers, gets them
• Many of the mocked reviews are unverified purchases, meaning the reviewer may never have bought the book
• One featured review had already been removed, which Roberts cites as Amazon improving its review system
• Several joke or hostile reviews drew hundreds of ‘helpful’ votes — 2,284 for the ‘How to Avoid Huge Ships’ Kindle complaint
• His practical jab at reviewers applies to authors too: if you write publicly, proofread — he notes Grammarly is free

Episode details: published February 14, 2020 · 12:04 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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