We all do it to a certain extent—namedropping. Sometimes we do it to make us feel more important, to let people know we have a connection to someone who is super cool, because of course that means some of their coolness might then rub off on us. Maybe the simple reason is that we respect and admire the person we mention by name and want to acknowledge their accomplishments, with no desire for personal gain.
Whatever your reason for namedropping—you might want to refrain from doing it if you want to be heard—in a review that is—specifically at Amazon.
When writing a book review on Amazon, mentioning the author by name or writing the review in such a way that a reader might wonder if you know the author personally, makes your review a target for removal by Amazon.
Not long ago, I discussed this issue with a group of writers. One of the writers—a New York Times Bestselling author—writes a blog and publishes a magazine. He has bonded with his fans; they buy his books, leave reviews, and some call him by name. They feel they know this author—he is their bud—in spite of the fact, the author has never met them in person.
He has seen virtually hundreds of positive Amazon reviews vanish, for this very reason.
The moral of my tale—when writing a book review on Amazon, it you want to increase the chances it will remain up, write about the quality of the book, and leave the author out of the review.
