The Truth About Paid Reviews Might Not Be What You Think

I have paid for a book review. Most authors have too, in one way or another. If this fact shocks you, then you might enjoy a piece from Wired that digs into the misunderstood world of paid reviews and why it has become so prevalent across books, movies, hotels and just about any other experience that you can read an online review about.

The first reality check you'll get from this piece is perhaps the one that's the most important. Paying for a review and paying for a positive review are two different things. One is certainly unethical. The other has become a necessity in many cases for independent artists. Ok, at this point you might be wondering: why not just submit your work and wait for it to get reviewed on its own merits. Surely the best work will get reviewed the most, right?

Sadly not. Instead, the most well-funded work or that with the biggest distribution or highest profile names attached gets the attention. Smaller independent artists and productions are just not noisy enough to break through. But there are multiple programs that exist to help them have a chance. Kirkus runs a paid review program for books with the same editorial standards as their usual program. Independent film reviewers selectively accept commissions to offer their truthful reviews for payment.

The key here, I think, is the editorial integrity of the review. If the payment is an incentive to cover the time for a reviewer to consider a piece of work, but can still write anything positive or negative that they wish, I happen to believe there is nothing wrong with that. What do you think?