Thanks for this video. Despite the raving, I was reading reviews that didn't add up to the hype. I remember reading a review for a book I read some years ago that didn't even discuss the book.
The quality is inconsistent. Kirkus has great reviewers, and some duds, as I found out. Which points to an editor problem: The duds should be flagged and rewritten, potentially by someone else if the original writer can't do it right. The standard should be: Could this be published in Kirkus magazine? If not, it doesn't get published.
From the blog post cited in the video: blogs.harvard.edu/lamont/2022/10/18/want-to-get-a-kirkus-indie-review-read-this-first/ "The big problem was quality. Kirkus claims 'qualified professionals' are reviewers, but for the most recent review my company paid for was not only an inexperienced amateur, Kirkus’ editorial process failed to notice anything amiss."
I just got a Kirkus indie review and it only summarizes the book, has at least 6 typos, and has 4 factually inaccurate statements regarding names and details in the book lol.
Kirkus Indie was once a solid service, but something happened in the last 2 or 3 years. I suspect this case was actually a "reviewer" using AI, coupled with extremely poor editorial and quality control. Terrible customer service. Definitely not worth it.
Standards at Kirkus have declined for sure. At this point, I don't think trained publishing professionals are running the store. It's either AI or outsourced to the lowest bidder. Disappointing.
Thanks for this video. Despite the raving, I was reading reviews that didn't add up to the hype. I remember reading a review for a book I read some years ago that didn't even discuss the book.
The quality is inconsistent. Kirkus has great reviewers, and some duds, as I found out. Which points to an editor problem: The duds should be flagged and rewritten, potentially by someone else if the original writer can't do it right. The standard should be: Could this be published in Kirkus magazine? If not, it doesn't get published.
Thanks for sharing your experience. This was helpful.
From the blog post cited in the video: blogs.harvard.edu/lamont/2022/10/18/want-to-get-a-kirkus-indie-review-read-this-first/
"The big problem was quality. Kirkus claims 'qualified professionals' are reviewers, but for the most recent review my company paid for was not only an inexperienced amateur, Kirkus’ editorial process failed to notice anything amiss."
I just got a Kirkus indie review and it only summarizes the book, has at least 6 typos, and has 4 factually inaccurate statements regarding names and details in the book lol.
Kirkus Indie was once a solid service, but something happened in the last 2 or 3 years. I suspect this case was actually a "reviewer" using AI, coupled with extremely poor editorial and quality control. Terrible customer service. Definitely not worth it.
Kirkus misgendered me lol. Since when does anyone think a Catalina is a he??
Standards at Kirkus have declined for sure. At this point, I don't think trained publishing professionals are running the store. It's either AI or outsourced to the lowest bidder. Disappointing.
Only 3 comments and 380 views? (Not just Kirkus doing a bad job of reviewing perhaps! Lol :)