Frequently Asked Questions

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Q: How do I rate and review a book for My Earnest Reviews (“MER”)?

A: If you have an account at BookStrand.com, you need to sign into your account. Then go to the “My Earnest Review” tab. From there, you can rate and review any book you have purchased. You can also access the “Rate/Review” page from your bookshelf by clicking the “Rate/Review” button next to any e-book you have purchased. If you do not have an account, click here to register for an account and to purchase and review books.

Q: How can I find existing reviews?

A: You can search by "Book Title," by "Reviews for Author," and by "Reviews by Author." As you type, the search box will auto populate alphabetically.

Q: How can I find other current reviews that are not displayed on the home page without having to search for them individually?

A: We provide a listing of the 500 newest reviews written by authors and 500 newest reviews written by readers. You can also click on the links in the review that will direct you to (a) all reviews written by a particular reviewer, (b) all reviews written for a particular book, or (c) all reviews written for a particular author.

Q: How are the "Most Reviewed Books" determined?

A: On the left side of the page, we display cover images of the twenty books that have received the most reviews in the past 21 days, regardless of rating score.

WRITING REVIEWS AND VOTING

Q: How will my name be displayed on the MER site for reviews I have written?

A: For Authors--Authors will have their pen names displayed for each review they have written. Authors will not be able to change their pen name to a nickname.

A: For Readers--Readers will have the option to leave their account name as default, which will be assigned a number. Or readers can specify a nickname. This option is available at the top of the page under the "My Earnest Review" tab located in the BookStrand.com account. Only one nickname is allowed per account. The nickname can be changed at any time. Changes to the nickname will automatically be applied to all existing reviews written by the account holder.

Q: Can I review a book without giving it a rating?

A: No. You must first select a rating, then you can write the review. The review must be at least 10 characters for it to post to MER.  

Q: Can I rate a book without writing a review?

A: Yes. You can rate a book without having to write a review for it. Any review with less than 10 characters will not post to MER.  

Q: Can I edit a rating or review after submitting it?

A: You can change the rating of 1 to 5 at any time. However, you cannot go back to the write-up portion and edit the review you have written. We recommend you use care to craft your review to convey what you earnestly want to say. MER will not monitor or edit reviews for grammar, punctuation or spelling.

Q: I don’t like the review I submitted for MER. Can I change my mind and revise or delete the review?

A: No. The review is permanent. Therefore, submit a review only after you have given it careful consideration.

Q: Can I indicate whether I like or dislike a review?

A: Yes. We have a Yes/No voting feature to indicate whether you like or dislike the review.

Q: If I like a review, how can I vote "Yes"?

A: You must be logged into your BookStrand.com account to vote or change your previous votes.  Each account is allowed only one vote per review.  

AUTHORS WRITING REVIEWS

Q: Can any author of any book write a review?

A: Any author from any publishing house who has a book listed at BookStrand.com can write a review. Your author account was created automatically when your publisher uploaded your book for sale.

Q: I am an author with a book listed at BookStrand.com. How do I get access to my BookStrand.com author account?

A: Contact [email protected]. We’ll verify your information and help you authenticate your login credentials.

Q: How do I input my “About the Author” information?

A: Authors can easily enter the information they wish to be displayed with the review in the “About the Author” text box located at the top of the page under the “My Earnest Review” tab in their BookStrand.com author account.

Q: Do I have to write a new “About the Author” information for each book I review?

A: No. The same author information appears on all the reviews. You can update it, and it will be applied automatically to all previous reviews you have written.

Q: Can I review my own books?

A: Yes. You can review your own book if your book is purchased from your author account. However, the MER site will reveal that you are an author reviewing your own book.

Q: Can I review my own books as a "reader"?

A: Yes. If you have purchased your book in a regular customer account, then your review will be displayed as a "reader review." Authors are limited to one review maximum for each of their own book. All additional author-inflated reviews will be removed.

Q: Siren-BookStrand authors can check their sales at BookStrand.com using their author accounts. I am an author whose books are published elsewhere but available for sale at BookStrand.com. Will I be able to check my sales at BookStrand.com using my author account?

A: No. Only your publisher has access to your sales data.

ADVERTISING ON MER SITE

Q: Can I pay to advertise on your site?

A: No. We don't accept advertising on the MER site.

Q: How can I promote my book on MER?

A: Authors can actively promote their books by reviewing someone else's book from their author account. Authors receive a spotlight and a random display of up to three book covers for each review written. Authors can review as many books as they want as often as they want.

REMOVAL

Q: I think a particular reviewer is nasty and is out to sabotage my work. Will MER remove the offensive review?

A: MER will not remove 99% of the reviews even if they may be considered as unflattering, negative, disparaging, sabotage, or retaliatory. However, if an author submits a petition for removal of a defamatory review, MER will investigate and may consider removing the review (1) if the reviewer has recently opened an account with only one book in the bookshelf that bashed the author OR (2) if the reviewer kept buying new releases by the same author they already made clear they don't like so they can keep bashing the author.

Q: Under what circumstance will MER remove a review?

A: MER will remove reviews:

1. containing profanity/foul language,
2. containing irrelevant information not about the book being reviewed,
3. mentioning or comparing other authors, titles, or series that have nothing to do with the title or the author being reviewed,
4. giving a blow-by-blow account of what happened in the entire book,
5. giving away the ending or a major spoiler,
6. making a defamatory statement about the author as if it is "factual" when it is actually false or can be proven false,
7. attacking or criticizing another reviewer for their opinion, potentially creating a flaming war,
8. reviewing a book negatively concerning something out of the author's control,
9. giving the book a negative review because of the pricing,
10. complaining about elements that "should not" be in a book when there are warnings that those elements exist (warning examples: book not a stand alone or is part of a running series, a male/female book also contains male/male sex scenes, etc.),
11. posting other links and attempting to direct readers off site.