Author Support Group discussion

That's the title of this NY Times article.

"The F.T.C. said that beginning on Dec. 1, bloggers who review products must disclose any connection with advertisers, including, in most cases, the receipt of free products and whether or not they were paid in any way by advertisers, as occurs frequently."

I read this article out of general interest at first. Then several hours later (Yes, I'm slow today.) I realized "Hey. Wait a second. I send free products in return for reviews. So what's this really mean?"

I'm not really concerned. I don't think I'm one of the advertisers they had in mind. :) And I don't review books on my blog. And I have no problem if bloggers that do receive my book for free, disclose that.

Your thoughts?

The article mentions blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. But I wonder about the world of book reviews outside of these arenas. Would rulings like this ever affect reviews on Amazon or Goodreads? Something to ponder...

The Vine reviewers on Amazon (I am one) have a "what does this mean" link on each review. It explains that books are sometimes given to us for review. I am always careful to note that my review is based on an advance readers' copy, so I think I'm covered in that regard. Since, I copy-and-paste those reviews to Goodreads and Visual Bookshelf, that should suffice. If it is not an ARC, but a book I borrowed or purchased, I make no such annotation.

I think what the FTC is trying to do is crack down on people who are getting cash payments for reviews far more than they are the in-kind receipt of an ARC or eBook copy ... but in order to avoid loopholes, they are including those types of freebies as well.