Kirkus Media LLC

At this time, I have been contacted directly by Kirkus Media LLC regarding complaint ID [redacted] , however my complaint has NOT been resolved because: On 2/ [redacted] the company sent me a matter of fact answer to my complaint I have attached their response I feel like on social media they mislead alot of people Their reviews are all negative on there so I know I am not the first person to complain They use the word reviews I received one review I do not mind it was nasty I assume they feel since they have your money what difference does it make I don't think I am another [redacted] but I feel you can be factual without downgrading the writer Everyone that has read my book feels it is interesting and readable [Your Answer Here] In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above Sincerely, [redacted] ***

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted] , and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because: [Your Answer Here] All I have to say is that Kirkus should fire the reviewer and institute changes in the "policies" that hamstring authors whose works the reviewers have misunderstoodChange your policies so that authors can communicate with you about reviews with which they disagreeThen, you can hand those responses on to the reviewers, who can then re-consider their commentsI still say that your service is a waste of money when this situation arises [redacted] In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above Sincerely, [redacted]

Dear Revdex.com, Kirkus Reviews received a complaint from author [redacted] regarding our review of her book, “The Revenge of Liam MCGrew”, on March ***In our response to the author, we explained the inherent subjectivity of a reviewPer our Customer Agreement ( [redacted] ), which the author consents to when placing an order, we cannot allow the author to make changes to the review, unless it contains factual inaccuraciesIf that is the case, the editors will assess the merit of the complaint and provide a solutionWe believe this issue has been resolved, though no changes to review could be approvedWhile our reviewers are anonymous, the reviewer in question has many year of writing experience and writes for other well-known national publications in additional to KirkusIn addition, and per our website ( [redacted] ), all reviews contain summary to give readers proper context.Here is a transcript of our decision letter to the author, which includes a point-by-point summary of her complaint, and an account of our response, along with the review of the book: “Hi Maribeth, I hope this email finds you well and thank you for your patience in this matterI have provided your comments to the Indie Editors, who have carefully considered your concernsIt is Kirkus Indie’s policy to address those matters related to factual inaccuracies and, while we understand your dissatisfaction, the items you listed were directly related to our reviewer’s opinionAs you know, book reviews are inherently subjective in natureSometimes the author’s intent for his or her work will not align with the reviewer’s experience.Here is a point-by-point response to your concerns:Author complaint [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] *** [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] ***ResponseThis is subjectiveIt is Kirkus’ editorial style to refer to an author’s most recent previous work upon first mention of his or her nameThis is subjectivePlease refer to our website, where the contents of a Kirkus Indie review are explained in detail: [redacted] This is subjectiveOpinion-based analysisThis is subjectiveOpinion-based analysisThis is subjectiveDue to a hard word count, the reviewer will choose to focus on elements he or she found relevant and importantThis is subjectiveSee #5We’re unable to make any changes to the reviewWe do understand your frustration and disappointment, but we have certain editorial guidelines that we followIf you have any further questions, please feel free to reference our Customer Agreement or contact me directly.Thank you for understanding and best of luck with your work”Review: [redacted] [redacted] A thriller that’s a better character study than a mystery.---We encourage the author to reach out to the editorial team with specific concerns regarding the factual accuracy of the review, should she feel that her work was inaccurately portrayedAll concerns regarding the reviewer’s opinion will not lead to a modification of the reviewThis is stated in our agreementThank you for your time and consideration,All my best, Michael V [redacted]

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted] , and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because: The business deceptive in what it offers a client I will continue to let people know who think about this service what it does Businesses that scam people always have an answer already in placeI ask my accountant if I could take this off as a charitable contribution since I got nothing for my investment You will not make any money trying to make money by deceiving people In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above Sincerely, [redacted] ***

Dear Revdex.com, Here is our initial response to this complaint: On February ***, 2016, we received the following complaint from author [redacted] with regards to a review she purchased for her book, “Romance and the Real Estate Spy”: “I received one review not reviewsI don’t think that is quite the understanding from your advertisingI totally agree with all your statements except a fewIt is fiction so I don’t think many people noticed the GPS and computer problemYou could have included more good things than bad so I could use it for advertisingVery disappointed considering the cost of your serviceSometimes I am not very smart when it comes to wanting to do the right things.” Upon receiving this answer, Kirkus Indie’s Editorial Assistant, [redacted] V [redacted] , reached out to the author for more information about specific concernsThe author replied by reiterating the same concerns, at which point, [redacted] drew the author’s attention to our Customer AgreementWhen an author places an order for a review, he/she consents to the Customer Agreement which, at no point, indicates – and neither does our website – that the client will receive multiple reviews of one same workMoreover, per our agreement, Customer AcknowledgementsCustomer hereby acknowledges and accepts that: CReview SubjectivityThe Review is subjective and shall be based solely upon the reviewer's review of the content of the Book and reading experience; the reviewer may pass on an opinion in the Review based upon such reviewer's subjective interpretation of certain aspects of the Book including, but not limited to, the interpretation of the characters or the construct of the Book; and Customer's intent and the reviewer's experience in reading the Book may not be alignedAs [redacted] explained to the author, reviews are inherently subjective and sometimes a reader’s experience may not align with that of the authorWe encourage the author to reach out to the editorial team with specific concerns regarding the factual accuracy of the review should she feel like her work was inaccurately portrayedAll concerns regarding the reviewer’s opinion will not lead to a modification of the reviewThis is stated in our agreementThank you for your time and consideration, ---- The status of this complaint has not changed and we now consider this case closedThanks so much and all my best,

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ***, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:
Neither the reviewer nor Kirkus has answered my complaintThe reviewer's comment that my novel is an "overstuffed" novel disregards the fact that it is a dystopian, alternate-universe, romance, futuristic, religious-discussion, humorous, murder-mystery, cross-genre novel, not "overstuffed" at allIt is unusual as a cross-genre book, yes; unique, no.Also, Kirkus' policies should let authors respond anonymously to the reviewers' reviews in order to help them understand the books a little moreKirkus keeps referring to their policies, but those policies should change to allow the authors to at least respond to the reviewers to help them understand the nature of their writings when they misunderstand the books, as I believe was the case hereI don't care who the reviewer isIf Kirkus' policies let me respond anonymously to the reviewer before he or she wrote the final, publishable form, then, the $I paid would be worthwhileIt's just frustrating when we cannot communicate about what we consider a misunderstandingAs it turned out, it was wasted moneyRegards, *** *** ***Therefore,
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above
Sincerely,
*** ***

Author complaint: “The resulting review merely summarized the book’s plot and added a sentence of evaluation.”Kirkus’ response: As mentioned in both our customer agreement and frequently asked questions page, our reviews are mostly summaryIn response to our FAQ “how much summary will be in my
review?” our website states: “Summary content is a fundamental element of Kirkus' reviews, because Kirkus aims to help consumers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, agents, movie producers, and other influencers discover new books and authorsTo achieve that goal, we offer enough summary content to give context to our criticism and help readers decide if the book will be of interest to themAcross all sections of our magazine, our reviews include significant summary content as well as professional opinion-based analysis of the work.”Customer agreement: ***FAQ: ***Author complaint: “The reviewer totally misunderstood my book by stating his/her opinion.”Kirkus’ response: Book reviews are inherently subjectiveAs detailed in our customer agreement: “The Review is subjective and shall be based solely upon the reviewer's review of the content of the Book and reading experience; the reviewer may pass on an opinion in the Review based upon such reviewer's subjective interpretation of certain aspects of the Book including, but not limited to, the interpretation of the characters or the construct of the Book; and Customer's intent and the reviewer's experience in reading the Book may not be aligned.”Author complaint: “The review should have taken into account the cross-genre nature of my book”Kirkus’ response: Kirkus reviews are short, capsule reviews, which has been our style for more than yearsReviewers must balance summary and analysis in fewer than wordsThis word count requires reviewers to focus on select themes, topics, and elements of styleAuthor complaint: “However, my complaint is that Kirkus Reviews’ policies prevent me from communicating with the reviewer to inform him/her about why the review completely missed the point and the form of the novel” Kirkus’ response: According to our customer agreement, the review process is completely anonymousIt is against our policy to inform the author of their reviewer or give the author any of their reviewer’s personal information. Review: A murder mystery set in futuristic “New Tehran” explores the differences between Muslim and Christian theology.** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** * *** *** ** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** * *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** * *** *** * *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** ** *** *** ** * *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** * *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** * *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** ** *** * *** *** *** *** *** * *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** ** * *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** * *** *** *** *** *** *** * *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** ** * *** *** *** *** *** * *** ** *** ** * *** ** *** *** ** * *** ** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** * *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** *** * *** *** ** ** *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** * *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** * *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** * *** ***
* *** *** *** *** *** ***

At this time, I have been contacted directly by Kirkus Media LLC regarding complaint ID [redacted], however my complaint has NOT been resolved because:  On 2/** the company sent me a matter of fact answer to my complaint.  I have attached their response.  I feel like on social...

media they mislead alot of people.  Their reviews are all negative on there so I know I am not the first person to complain.  They use the word reviews.  I received one review.  I do not mind it was nasty I assume they feel since they have your money what difference does it make.  I don't think I am another [redacted] but I feel you can be factual without downgrading the writer.  Everyone that has read my book feels it is interesting and readable.
[Your Answer Here]  
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here] All I have to say is that Kirkus should fire the reviewer and institute changes in the "policies" that hamstring authors whose works the reviewers have misunderstood. Change your policies so that authors can communicate with you about reviews with which they disagree. Then, you can hand those responses on to the reviewers, who can then re-consider their comments. I still say that your service is a waste of money when this situation arises. [redacted] 
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

The business deceptive in what it offers a client.  I will continue to let people know who think about this service what it does.  Businesses that scam people always have an answer already in place.
I ask my accountant if I could take this off as a charitable contribution since I got nothing for my investment.  You will not make any money trying to make money by deceiving people.
  
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

The business deceptive in what it offers a client.  I will continue to let people know who think about this service what it does.  Businesses that scam people always have an answer already in place.I ask my accountant if I could take this off as a charitable contribution since I got nothing for my investment.  You will not make any money trying to make money by deceiving people.  
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Dear Revdex.com, Kirkus Reviews received a complaint from author [redacted] regarding our review of her book, “The Revenge of Liam MCGrew”, on March [redacted]. In our response to the author, we explained the inherent subjectivity of a review. Per our Customer Agreement...

([redacted]), which the author consents to when placing an order, we cannot allow the author to make changes to the review, unless it contains factual inaccuracies. If that is the case, the editors will assess the merit of the complaint and provide a solution. We believe this issue has been resolved, though no changes to review could be approved. While our reviewers are anonymous, the reviewer in question has many year of writing experience and writes for other well-known national publications in additional to Kirkus. In addition, and per our website ([redacted]), all reviews contain summary to give readers proper context.Here is a transcript of our decision letter to the author, which includes a point-by-point summary of her complaint, and an account of our response, along with the review of the book: “Hi Maribeth, I hope this email finds you well and thank you for your patience in this matter. I have provided your comments to the Indie Editors, who have carefully considered your concerns. It is Kirkus Indie’s policy to address those matters related to factual inaccuracies and, while we understand your dissatisfaction, the items you listed were directly related to our reviewer’s opinion. As you know, book reviews are inherently subjective in nature. Sometimes the author’s intent for his or her work will not align with the reviewer’s experience.Here is a point-by-point response to your concerns:Author complaint [redacted] 
[redacted] 
[redacted]
[redacted] 
[redacted] 
[redacted] 
[redacted] 
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted] 
[redacted]Response1. This is subjective. It is Kirkus’ editorial style to refer to an author’s most recent previous work upon first mention of his or her name.2. This is subjective. Please refer to our website, where the contents of a Kirkus Indie review are explained in detail: [redacted] 3. This is subjective. Opinion-based analysis. 4. This is subjective. Opinion-based analysis. 5. This is subjective. Due to a hard word count, the reviewer will choose to focus on elements he or she found relevant and important. 6. This is subjective. See #5We’re unable to make any changes to the review. We do understand your frustration and disappointment, but we have certain editorial guidelines that we follow. If you have any further questions, please feel free to reference our Customer Agreement or contact me directly.Thank you for understanding and best of luck with your work”Review: [redacted] 
[redacted]
A thriller that’s a better character study than a mystery.---We encourage the author to reach out to the editorial team with specific concerns regarding the factual accuracy of the review, should she feel that her work was inaccurately portrayed. All concerns regarding the reviewer’s opinion will not lead to a modification of the review. This is stated in our agreement. Thank you for your time and consideration,All my best, Michael V[redacted]

At this time, I have been contacted...

directly by Kirkus Media LLC regarding complaint ID [redacted], however my complaint has NOT been resolved because:  On 2/** the company sent me a matter of fact answer to my complaint.  I have attached their response.  I feel like on social media they mislead alot of people.  Their reviews are all negative on there so I know I am not the first person to complain.  They use the word reviews.  I received one review.  I do not mind it was nasty I assume they feel since they have your money what difference does it make.  I don't think I am another [redacted] but I feel you can be factual without downgrading the writer.  Everyone that has read my book feels it is interesting and readable.
[Your Answer Here]  
 
 
 
 
In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Original complaint 9/**: “I paid Kirkus Reviews $375 to review my new novel. The resulting review merely summarized the book’s plot and added a sentence of evaluation. Its summary at the end called my book an “overstuffed novel.” The reviewer totally misunderstood my book by stating his/her opinion. The review should have taken into account the cross-genre nature of my book. However, my complaint is that Kirkus Reviews’ policies prevent me from communicating with the reviewer to inform him/her about why the review completely missed the point and form of the novel. Kirkus Reviews wasted my money by having such restricted policies.”Author complaint 9/**: “I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has not been resolved…”In our original response we outlined our review structure, our reviewer anonymity policy, and the inherent subjectivity of reviews. As mentioned in both our customer agreement and frequently asked questions page, our reviews are mostly summary. In response to our FAQ “how much summary will be in my review?” our website states: “Summary content is a fundamental element of Kirkus' reviews, because Kirkus aims to help consumers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, agents, movie producers, and other influencers discover new books and authors. To achieve that goal, we offer enough summary content to give context to our criticism and help readers decide if the book will be of interest to them. Across all sections of our magazine, our reviews include significant summary content as well as professional opinion-based analysis of the work.”Adhering to Kirkus style, the review for Divided Together 2084 was majority review with a concluding sentence that offered the reviewer’s takeaway from the book. In response to, “the reviewer’s comment that my novel is an “overstuffed” novel disregards the fact that it is a dystopian, alternate-universe, romance, futuristic, religious-discussion, humorous, murder-mystery, cross-genre novel, not “overstuffed” at all” we remind you that book reviews are subjective. As detailed in our customer agreement: “The Review is subjective and shall be based solely upon the reviewer's review of the content of the Book and reading experience; the reviewer may pass on an opinion in the Review based upon such reviewer's subjective interpretation of certain aspects of the Book including, but not limited to, the interpretation of the characters or the construct of the Book; and Customer's intent and the reviewer's experience in reading the Book may not be aligned.”While we understand that you are dissatisfied with the review, it is against policy to allow the author to communicate with the reviewer. As stated in the customer agreement, the review process is completely anonymous. It is against our policy to inform the author of their reviewer or give the author any of their reviewer’s personal information. Review: A murder mystery set in futuristic “New Tehran” explores the differences between Muslim and Christian theology.I[redacted] 
[redacted]

Dear Revdex.com, Here is our initial response to this complaint: On February [redacted], 2016, we received the following complaint from author [redacted] with regards to a review she purchased for her book, “Romance and the Real Estate Spy”: “I received one review not reviews. I don’t think that is quite the understanding from your advertising. I totally agree with all your statements except a few. It is fiction so I don’t think many people noticed the GPS and computer problem. You could have included more good things than bad so I could use it for advertising. Very disappointed considering the cost of your service. Sometimes I am not very smart when it comes to wanting to do the right things.” Upon receiving this answer, Kirkus Indie’s Editorial Assistant, [redacted], reached out to the author for more information about specific concerns. The author replied by reiterating the same concerns, at which point, [redacted] drew the author’s attention to our Customer Agreement. When an author places an order for a review, he/she consents to the Customer Agreement which, at no point, indicates – and neither does our website – that the client will receive multiple reviews of one same work. Moreover, per our agreement, 4. Customer Acknowledgements. Customer hereby acknowledges and accepts that: C. Review Subjectivity. The Review is subjective and shall be based solely upon the reviewer's review of the content of the Book and reading experience; the reviewer may pass on an opinion in the Review based upon such reviewer's subjective interpretation of certain aspects of the Book including, but not limited to, the interpretation of the characters or the construct of the Book; and Customer's intent and the reviewer's experience in reading the Book may not be aligned. As [redacted] explained to the author, reviews are inherently subjective and sometimes a reader’s experience may not align with that of the author. We encourage the author to reach out to the editorial team with specific concerns regarding the factual accuracy of the review should she feel like her work was inaccurately portrayed. All concerns regarding the reviewer’s opinion will not lead to a modification of the review. This is stated in our agreement. Thank you for your time and consideration, ---- The status of this complaint has not changed and we now consider this case closed. Thanks so much and all my best,

Good evening, Please see our original response to the complaint below, as we have no new information to provide: On February [redacted], 2016, we received the following complaint from author [redacted] with regards to a review she purchased for her book, “Romance and the Real Estate Spy”: “I received one review not reviews. I don’t think that is quite the understanding from your advertising. I totally agree with all your statements except a few. It is fiction so I don’t think many people noticed the GPS and computer problem. You could have included more good things than bad so I could use it for advertising. Very disappointed considering the cost of your service. Sometimes I am not very smart when it comes to wanting to do the right things.” Upon receiving this answer, Kirkus Indie’s Editorial Assistant, [redacted], reached out to the author for more information about specific concerns. The author replied by reiterating the same concerns, at which point, [redacted] drew the author’s attention to our Customer Agreement. When an author places an order for a review, he/she consents to the Customer Agreement which, at no point, indicates – and neither does our website – that the client will receive multiple reviews of one same work. Moreover, per our agreement, 4. Customer Acknowledgements. Customer hereby acknowledges and accepts that: C. Review Subjectivity. The Review is subjective and shall be based solely upon the reviewer's review of the content of the Book and reading experience; the reviewer may pass on an opinion in the Review based upon such reviewer's subjective interpretation of certain aspects of the Book including, but not limited to, the interpretation of the characters or the construct of the Book; and Customer's intent and the reviewer's experience in reading the Book may not be aligned. As [redacted] explained to the author, reviews are inherently subjective and sometimes a reader’s experience may not align with that of the author. We encourage the author to reach out to the editorial team with specific concerns regarding the factual accuracy of the review should she feel like her work was inaccurately portrayed. All concerns regarding the reviewer’s opinion will not lead to a modification of the review. This is stated in our agreement. Thank you for your time and consideration, All my best, Sent on: [redacted]