I got the following request yesterday asking me to review a book. This email has only been edited to remove identifiable information (noted in brackets). Otherwise, this is exactly how the email appeared.

Dear Mrs. Daws0n;


I would like to offer you the opportunity to be one of the first to get the chance to review my new book [title removed] on Amazon. [title of book] was just released this week and needs positive reviews.

[blurb and link to book on Amazon removed]

I just lowered the price of [title removed] to only 99 cents for a limited time so you have a chance to buy your review copy at the lower price before I return the book to its normal price of $2.99. If you leave a good review on the book, I will make sure that you will be able to get the sequel at the reduced price too when it is released later this year.

Thanks for your time and I hope you love [title of book]!

I replied that I appreciated his interest in a review, but that I stopped accepting requests for book reviews over a year ago. I also pointed out that generally book reviewers don’t expect to purchase the book to be reviewed, but are traditionally given a complimentary copy. I recommended that, if he needed a lot of reviews in a hurry, he might want to consider a giveaway at LibraryThing and also directed him to Kindleboards.com to connect with other indie authors.

I thought I was being nice. Giving him a little encouragement and a push in the right direction. That was, of course, my mistake.

Julie;

Yeah well look if I was rich I could afford to give away books but I’ve got bills to pay so I don’t understand what the big deal is. Already I offered you the book for 99 cents Amazon only pays me 35 cents as it is at that price but I was willing to make less money for a review. I sent out dozens of requests and you are the ONLY person who responded so maybe you should rethink how you act.

I particularly like the “I sent out dozens of requests and you are the ONLY person who responded so maybe you should rethink how you act” part. I think he is right. In retrospect, I should have done what the other dozens of people did: Ignored him.