I self-published on Amazon KDP a few books but I have never dared to ask anyone to buy them, with one exception: when I run a promo for a newly released book, and set the price to $0.99, then I might ask some of my close friends and family members to purchase it for that price to help generate some traffic, which is equal to more attention from the Amazon algorithms. Similarly re: reviews, I'm having troubles to ask people to write reviews, although I greatly appreciate when they do.

Having these kinds of experiences with KDP, I do try to support my fellow writers, but I do that very selectively. And I certainly appreciate your thoughts on this subject, Leonard.