Conflict of Interest

Erotica isn't an easy genre to get reviews. Self-published authors as a rule also have trouble trying to get someone to write about their books. I've been writing down my thoughts on a file, trying to get a better idea of what is out there. It's almost like a review. I have been thinking about changing those thoughts into actual reviews.

Except then a friend of mine explained why he thought it was a conflict of interest to post reviews of another author's books. Those words weigh in my mind as I try to figure out all the details. His point comes from his experience in cars. One company might be looking for your loyalty to be only to that company for as long as they can.

I don't know how many other authors write reviews. I ought to head over to a writing forum like GoodReads to see who is out there reviewing. But writing isn't quite like a lot of industries out there. I don't expect a customer to buy books from one author only. I don't even expect customers to buy in only one genre. A lot of brands look for that kind of loyalty - buy only BMW or Dyson or Energizer. Use only Pandora or State Farm for your service needs.

When I look over the books I own, several authors have been my favorites. Each of them has a different strength (and weakness). All of those books have held my attention, though some do keep me up to read later than others. 

What are you looking for in a review? Would you follow what an author says in that genre? I assume an author in the genre keeps reading a lot of things to know what's out there and what is allowed within the rules of that genre. Where would that conflict of interest lie between getting reviews of other works out there and promoting your own work?