My Instagram accounts have blown up over a popular influencer with thousands and thousands of followers offering to review indie books for $1,000. These Instagrammers never said the influencer’s name, so I didn’t know who it was, but the closest thing I could find on it was this article. I hope this is addressing the correct controversy.

One of the Instagram videos I watched essentially said, “No one should pay for reviews. It’s illegal. And it’s disingenuous because it incentivizes reviewers to leave biased, more positive reviews.”

It made me think about the reviews I’ve paid for–editorial reviews. I bought four editorial reviews for The Name and the Key because I was uncomfortable with the editorial review section being empty on Amazon. Also, I wanted endorsements for the book ahead of its publication to build some trust with readers.

But do readers trust paid reviews? The Instagrammer I watched suggested they don’t.

The first to jump into the business of charging for editorials (at least, I’m pretty sure of it) is Kirkus Reviews (called Kirkus Indie for its paid reviews), who charges $450 per regular review and $599 for an extended review. Kirkus is basically selling you its reputation, and doesn’t guarantee positive reviews. In fact, you have the option of declining the review’s publication if you don’t want people to see it.

Another major publisher, Publisher’s Weekly, sells reviews through Book Life. They run at $399, and $499 if your manuscript is over 100,000 words. Once again, reputation is playing a big part of the cost here.

I asked myself: do I want to blow $400+ on one famous reviewer and not afford any more, or do I blow $400+ on multiple editorial reviews? I chose the latter. I went with Reader’s Choice, Literary Titan, American Writing Awards, and Independent Book Review. They cost:

• Reader’s Favorite: $59
• Literary Titan: $89
• American Writing Awards: $99
• Independent Book Review: $184 (fees vary from $179 to $499)

The reviews were overwhelmingly positive, a mix of 5-stars and award-winners and staff picks. (Two more contests are pending to see if I win or am a finalist). But…would readers wonder if I got good reviews simply because I paid for them?

According to this author, “[…] the market perception of paid reviews can be skeptical; some readers and professionals view them as less trustworthy.” This website says, “Industry professionals and some readers tend to distrust paid reviews because they associate them with vanity publishing practices […].” However, both websites listed a lot of pros for buying paid editorial reviews, too.

And a key point is that Amazon seems to treat paid editorial reviews differently than paid-for customer reviews, which are illegal and untrustworthy and will get your account removed.

My wallet will be the major decider of this, I think. The Step and the Walk is being published so quickly after The Name and the Key that I don’t think I can secure reviews in time, let alone four; The Fear and the Flame is an unknown at this point because I’m still writing it.

I hope I can get some feedback from my readers here: Do you trust paid editorial reviews? Do you consider paid editorial reviews disingenuous?