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Havent been on my email for a while. Turns out it was better to just avoid it.

I have received about 15 offers to review my books from Uni Graduates or people with 40K followers, no mention of money as yet but they all offer a money back guarantee?

Anyone else receiving this sort of spam or is it all genuine and a path that people follow?

Personally I just enjoy writing so the success or failure of my books are not something I have on my agenda. Although I suspect I am one of the few with that view :)

There are so many spam reviewers that contact anyone who has written a book and promise you a review, or that they have some magical team of reviewers etc. I have been really reluctant myself to bite at any of that. I also enjoy writing so I would rather take it slow and easy than do something silly to 'get ahead'.

Sounds like a good business model though if you want money fast, got to be enough desperate people out their who will jump at it :(

Yes, I've had them. Different name but exactly the same wording. Isn't that a bit stupid? Lots of emails from supposedly different people with the same words? Shouts SCAM to me.
Anyway, I ignored them at first, but now I dump them into my spam folder. You can also block them.

Beware, Douglas. You might send money and your book and not receive a review. They get a book and money, you get nothing at best, or be out of pocket if it's a physical book. Or, if it's an ebook, there is the potential for piracy.
I had a query from someone who said they 'would love to write a review for your book'. They gave an email address to send it to, so I stupidly sent then a copy. I heard nothing from that date. I had asked for reviewers here, though.
They didn't ask for money, but said it was free. Several other authors have also had similar experiences.
I am now wiser. I should have smelled a rat when the title of my book wasn't mentioned.no one seems to know what the supposed reviewer gained except a free book. But it could have been a means of getting copies for pirating sites. I don't have the time to trawl these sites to see if my book is there, but I now look at all these offers with suspicion, which is a pity for all the genuine reviewers.

Douglas wrote: "Havent been on my email for a while. Turns out it was better to just avoid it.

I have received about 15 offers to review my books from Uni Graduates or people with 40K followers, no mention of mon..."

Ignore them. All scam. I agree with you completely about writing. What happens in your heart and head is what counts.

I used to get a lot of those offers, but I always reported them as spam and created some rules, like if an email comes from a person with a certain name (because those repeated a lot, like Cheryl) or has a certain subject line, they should be automatically sent to spam. Haven't been getting them for a few months now.

I think the best strategy is to ignore them and report spam. I don't know if they are able to actually provide reviews, but even if they are, Amazon might delete them because they have a policy against paid reviews. If you want reviews, it's better to find readers who like your genre and are interested in your book. You can give it to them for free and ask for an honest review.

Getting reviews is a way to find the people who would really enjoy your book. Another part of that is communicating who your book is not for. In the end, you decide if anyone else might enjoy your work. If you think "yes", then you need to do the work to get the word out.

However, the "I will review your book" messages really seem to be scams. I have reviewed a few (dozen) books, and I pick what I want to review. If your book looks like something I'd enjoy reading, I'll contact you and put enough in the message to hopefully convey that I'm not a scammer or a uni grad with an MFA in reviewing books, or whatever.

There is usually a level of risk with any endeavor. If you're willing to take a slow and steady path, work with people you know are people. There are lots in this group that put out their books and are dying for reviews. Go read and review those that interest you. Market your book to those who might enjoy it. Accept that some people are scammers, and move on.

Seems to be this is a popular pursuit by scammers and Alina mentioned Cheryl who has so far sent me three emails.

I did buy a book from one of the people I am friends with on GR (IE friend status if not actual friends) and tried to read it. The reason I bought it was that if they spent their time creating it then I should at least buy it rather than receive a free copy?

Tbh the book was awful and I decided not to publish the review as my rating of one would not be a good thing for the person. Besides that what I don't like others may well.

But I did see someone on GR publish a review only with the words "Bag of Shit" so maybe I am either to soft or the lady reviewer was just insane?

As mentioned, it's a writer-focused scam attempt. And like many scam approaches, it tries to prey upon emotions, ambitions, and hopes. It's sad to see happening but not at all unexpected and, unfortunately, likely to continue.

Which makes it a part of doing writerly business. This leaves choosing to ignore it or taking some counter-measures, such as ones others have already mentioned on this thread. Your call.

In other groups I've seen where some writers are receiving such scams that are outright hostile and threatening. The most egregious ones amount to an extortion attempt. Fortunately, I haven't personally seen anything like that yet, but if I got one of those, I wouldn't hesitate to involve multiple authorities.

Yeh Todd, I have read the articles on the threats and the low ratings heaped on a few authors.

Which are unfair and must be demoralising, given the fact that for most authors here, the books are a labour of love.

My emails come from Cheryl, Gavin, and Mary Jane Anderson. They started appearing immediately as soon as I posted my book and haven't let up yet. I get one every day. The big red flag for me in these emails is the simple fact that I'm bcc'd.
I am new to the indie author game and I am one of those people dying for reviews but I would much rather have them trickle in and come organically. I did ask for reviewers but was looking specifically for people who enjoy the genre I write in.
I wish there was a way we could protect those who are more likely to accept review offers from these shady people.
And, no, Douglas, I don't think you were being soft. I think you were thinking about what you would want as an author. Do you want someone leaving a 1-star review on your page? I know I don't. But like you said, what you don't like, others may.

Trish wrote: "My emails come from Cheryl, Gavin, and Mary Jane Anderson. They started appearing immediately as soon as I posted my book and haven't let up yet. I get one every day. The big red flag for me in the..."

I'm just about done with my final edit. So I am just about to start marketing etc. This is a cautionary tale. Thanks for your comment.

John wrote: "I'm just about done with my final edit. So I am just about to start marketing etc. This is a cautionary tale..."

Unfortunately, your job doesn't stop once you publish. If you question an offer even a little bit, steer clear and move on.
Congrats on (almost) finishing your work and I wish you the best of luck with your marketing. I'm still learning as I go (just published my debut May 1st) but it is quite the experience. Enjoy it!

Oh, and for those questioning the "dodgy" review offers, since it is something that's appeared very recently in a thread here...
Don't ever, ever, ever give out a PDF copy of your book, no matter how genuine it may seem. If the offer is legit, the reviewer is absolutely able to receive an epub/mobi file of your work.

Trish maybe we need a union to protect us and hand out advice, personally I vote you should lead it :)

John - Their is nothing like the first time you hold your book in your hand, personally I grinned like an idiot the entire day. So well done and enjoy it.

Any supposed reviewer who asks for payment is a scam. Especially when they have no guarantee of your book being reviewed. They have your book plus your money. How can it be anything but a scam? Amazon TOS specifically mentions paid reviews not being allowed. If they were to find out somehow, your account could be in danger of getting suspended or your account banned.

Everyone should read the thread titled "phony reviews on ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨," under the author/reader group. Scams are everywhere on GR and they don't seem interested in stopping them. Many of us have had an extortion scheme run against us in which the scammer places numerous, vile 1-star reviews, all from private accounts, all within minutes of each other, all saying the same thing about different books. Then, we got an offer to "remove" them for a fee. We reported to GR repeatedly, and some have still not been taken down. Then there's the one you're talking about. I got 10, yes 10, from the same person within minutes of each other, offering to review, but not to send my book to them through any normal channels. Now, I'm getting bloggers who want to "review" my book. Don't trust any offers you get on GR and, if you choose to stay on the site, prepare to do battle to protect your work. GR is a joke!!

Never pay for reviews. Ever. EVER. If someone wants to review your book, they can pay for it. If you really want to, you can gift them a copy, but never pay.

So, did you all see this?

"As part of our commitment to supporting our community of readers and authors, we are currently investigating a small number of bad actors who have attempted a reviews-based extortion scam against some authors on ÀÏ»¢»úÎÈÓ®·½·¨. We do not tolerate this kind of behavior. If you have any information that might help us in our investigation, please contact us using our Contact Us form (/about/conta...). Thank you for your help as we continue to protect the authenticity of our reviews and protect our community."

Just what we've been saying all along. FINALLY, they are paying some attention!