My experience with BookVillage after 6 months · BookVillage

My experience with BookVillage after 6 months

Hi Adriano,

I know you asked for a short message, but after about 7 months in the publishing space, I realized it was actually a good opportunity to step back and reflect a bit 😁

I joined BV in October 2025. I think I was among the first 100 users, it was totally free as I recall. Then I took the yearly membership, around early January (180$ a year).

I am adding 4 graphs that I use in my own Google Sheets dashboard, hopefully it gives a good overview and helps !

1/ Graph 1 = number of books I published

Just for context to understand the other graphs, 1st one in October 2025, now at 6 books since mid-March.

2/ Graph 2 = BookVillage progression

39 BV reviews received in total, for 64 given.

The dashboard says 37, I remember excluding 2 people from the ARC list, so mayb e that explains the difference. Or I just have wrong data in my google sheet !

The trend is not linear, but the last 2 months are clearly the strongest. Also, that weak 1-review month should not be overinterpreted: in Oct/Nov, BV was still very new to me, so I did not yet know if I could fully trust it, and I was not putting much effort into it. Then I changed my mind: they are definitely to be trusted 👍

3/ Graph 3 = review platform distribution

Obviously, I’m hiding the other platform names because this post is just about BV. The main thing to notice is that the BV share is growing, and I’m quite certain it will keep growing over the next 6 months! It will probably reach 40% at some point.

I know Adriano is a strong advocate of using only one platform. Personally, I still prefer to spread the risk across several platforms and adjust the velocity based on my own criteria, what I observe from their behaviour, my own situation, etc.

4/ Graph 4 = cost per review

Eventually the cost is really cheap, around 2-3$. Not the cheapest actually if you compare wioth some others. BUT I don't think this is the correct parameter to optimize for, tbh.

And yes, there is a peak at around $20/review for November. As explained above, it is simply because I got only 1 review that month.

For those obsessed with details: strictly speaking, it was actually $15 since it was a "free" KU review. But I keep $20 as an average to factor in the books I buy as part of the review process and as a fraction of my KU membership. Anyway it applies to all platforms, not only BV.

5/ Graph 5 = screenshot from my BV dashboard

Nothing specific to say, just info nicely displayed !

CONCLUSION :

What I like most about BV:

peace of mind because of the focus on removing bad actors
super clean interface
the 5-day minimum before a review can be posted ! (still don't understand why some other platforms still encourage to review as fast as the following day, and even limit to 4 days maximum... this is ridiculously so risky, makes no sense at all 😒)
quality / safety-first mindset
the feeling that the platform is built by somebody who actually understands the Amazon risk environment

What I wish for:

the choice is still limited, so hopefully more and more trustworthy publishers will join!

My ask:

never ever open any affiliation program, please ! 🙏 That is (partly) the reason why there has been inflation on all coin-based platforms...
add a new KPI: the percentage of "review stickiness" for my books. I understand you cannot give us the link to the reviews posted for our books because of Amazon T&C, but obviously you have that data internally, so you could at least provide it across all reviews, not at a granular level. A monthly update is largely enough. It would be a good indicator for me to follow (I probably can do it myself, 1 by 1, but that would be faster coming from you directly!)
increase the price, it will limit even more the bad actors

In summary, after 7 months, my conclusion is very positive. BV is definitely going in the right direction, and I will clearly increase my usage of it in the coming months. As of now, it is the platform that gives me the most confidence in the long run.

If I look at the bigger picture COST x VOLUME x RISK => they are by far #1 🏆

PS1: I have no special interest in promoting BV, apart from the selfish one of wanting more books from good actors on the platform !

PS2: well, that said, my sudden desire to be reflective and analytical today may have something to do with that potential 1-hour call with

@Adriano Ferrigno

😁

1 comment

My experience with BookVillage after 6 months