Authors Beware

If you are an author, it is ok and good to be proud of your work. However, it was pointed out to us what some people do. Using an example a book titled: Funding Foundations: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Nonprofit Fundraising Success: From Mission Clarity to Modern Crowdfunding: Build Trust, Tell Stories, and Secure Sustainable Support by Aaron Blevens. The book released May 13 of 2025 and still sits with no purchases or reviews, but it did have a review. One of our viewers brought it to our attention and we wish to use it as a teaching moment.

It was removed a few days after it was pointed out to the author, and by that we mean that this anonymous individual posted a 1-star review in order to talk to the author about this review that would later be removed. The author flagged the individual's review as inappropriate only due to the person calling them out and giving them 1-star. The review that this individual made that 1-star review for, was this:

The author, Aaron Blevens, reviewed their own book just two days after its release. The anonymous person who saved this snapshot and shared it with us then reported the author's own review and called them out with their own 1-star review.

So we will say this clearly: Do not ever, ever, review or highly rate your own works like this. It only makes you look very bad and will cause many to avoid your works in the future. You can say this sort of thing in a comment or in person. But when it is a review with stars or any form of rating system, no. Because ratings will boost your book, and purposely boosting your own works is a shameful thing to do. Earn that rating and those reviews; do not be like Aaron Blevens.

For this reason, Aaron Blevens is on our own personal "Author Shame List". If you wind up on this list, you will be ignored and disapproved from the start should you look to us for help with your works.