I love getting books for review. I love talking to authors and publicists. Quite a few have become friends. Many of them are just plain wonderful – they know what I like, they thrust amazing books into my hands, they share my excitement about literature. And this post is not about them.
This post is about those authors and publicists who refuse to read my About this Blog where I go into great depth about my review policy, including how to contact me, what I do and do not read, and how far out reviews are in the queue. I took a lot of time to write that post. I thought it would not only help me, but it would help authors and publicists decide if my blog would be the best blog to market a particular book. Of course, if someone would just take five minutes perusing my blog, they could probably figure out very quickly my likes and dislikes.
I have tried to make things as easy as possible. Right on the front page of my blog is a link to my review policy. My email is there too. I think the least an author or publicist should do before pitching me, is to read my policy. It would also help to actually read a couple of my reviews and scan my reviews page to see what types of books I generally enjoy.
I do not monetize my blog. Although I am an affiliate with Indie Books, I have not made one cent since I started inserting book links on my reviews (several months now). That is fine. I never started my blog to make money. I do it for the sheer love of books. I review every book I read. My husband said to me, just the other night, “Wow, by the time you’ve actually read a book and reviewed it, and linked it all over the place, you’ve spent hours and days on just one book.” Yup. And I don’t mind. Really, I don’t. What I do mind are people who approach me as though it is my job to accept their book for review just because they want to sell a book. I have a job. It is not reviewing books.
I finally decided to write this post, at the risk of annoying some people, because I am tired of my in-box filling up with queries for books which are clearly not books I would be interested in reading. When I write in my review policy that I don’t read science fiction, paranormal or fantasy books, then please do not ask me if I will accept your vampire book set 300 years in the future. It is a waste of your time and mine.
Further, I do not consider a long-winded comment which describes in detail your latest self-published book, along with a request for me to review it, a query. I consider it spam. And I will treat it that way. If you want me to seriously consider a review request, then please send me an email. I promise I will respond to it.
I feel I should also mention something about self-published books. It is a rare thing these days for me to accept one. I cannot say I never accept self-published work. I do. But, I need to know that it is a book worth my time. Is it in a genre I typically read? Has the author had their work published in literary magazines? Did they employ a professional editor? Have others read the book and liked it (and by others, I mean bloggers who I respect, or traditionally published authors whose work I have read)? I am aware that trying to get one’s book traditionally published is a challenge even for the best writers…but, my time is valuable, and I also have to rely on my experience with self-published work which has been (mostly) not good, with very few exceptions. Which leads me to one more gripe…
Please, if you are an author, do not get upset if I did not like your book. My reviews are always honest. But I try to also be fair. I promise, if I did not love your book, I will be kind when I say I did not love it. I always try to link to more positive reviews of a book I didn’t enjoy in an effort to be as fair as possible. Accepting your book for review does not guarantee a gushing endorsement. That said, my opinion is not the end all be all – it is just my opinion. I don’t pretend to be a literary genius, I certainly accept that books I don’t like others may love. When I talk about a book I don’t like, I stick to what did not work for me in the writing. It is not a personal assault on the author.
I do not want this post to come across as bitchy. I am actually a really nice person. I appreciate thoughtful queries. I appreciate publicists and authors who understand that I have a busy life and cannot always accept every book offered. I love when a publicist queries me with a personal note and thinks that a particular book is one I will swoon over…and they want to put it into my hands because they think it will add something positive to my reading experience. I love when I post a review and link it back to an author or publicist, and they respond with a thank you.
Because, honestly, I love being a book blogger. My life is richer for it. I have met some people through blogging who I now consider dear friends.
And, I suppose, this is why I find myself frustrated with those out there who do not get what bloggers do. I don’t know any book blogger who is getting rich writing book reviews. We do it for the love of reading. Seriously, if a book is not one I would consider buying in the bookstore, I will most likely not accept it for review…because, after all, reading for me is still all about the enjoyment of the written word.
If you have stayed with me for the entirety of this post, thank you!
If you are an author or publisher wishing to consider my blog as a review resource, thank you…please read my review policy and then drop me an email if you still think this is a book I would enjoy.
*kicks away soapbox and returns to regular programming*
= Excellent
= Good/Very Good
= Okay read
= Not recommended
= Ugh! Don't waste your time.
Great post! So true!
Jill recently posted..REVIEW- The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht
Can I just say “preach it!”
Carrie K. recently posted..Peeta and Gale have been cast- discuss amongst yourselves
THIS IS THE POST I HAVE BEEN DYING TO WRITE … only you just said everything I would have (and much more articulately). Thank you, thank you, and thank you for this. I normally just delete these sorts of queries, but the other night, I started replying with a thanks, but no thanks … and then realized I’d spent an hour doing so, and then came the replies asking if I wouldn’t review the book, could I consider a giveaway or an author interview? NO!
Definitely going to link to this on my blog. Thanks again!!
Melissa recently posted..All We Have
I am so happy you wrote about this, because I don’t know if there’s something in the water, but I have been getting all sorts of failed queries in the last month. Authors or “publicists” leaving me long press releases in comments or links to their blog about their new publication. My contact form has seen a couple of requests where they completely get my name or blog wrong. The best was “Dear Beastie Books”…. Um.. who is that? Because a) my name is Cat and it’s pretty much written all over the place and b) my blog is BEYOND Books. Nice try.
I even got one mass email from a respected publisher that just started out with “Dear Book Blogger”.
I never know what to do with these things. The requests sent through comments on other posts just get spammed. I’m sorry, but that does not deserve a reply in my opinion. But the contact form emails to the wrong blog name? Do I call them on that or do I just delete and ignore? Part of me wants to rub their nose it, the rest of me just wants to be left alone.
My about me page says I do not want books to review at this time. No one seems to care about that.
Cat @ Beyond Books recently posted..Rambling Reader- When Bookstores Just Don’t Get It Yes- I Mean YOU- Chapters-Indigo!
Thanks, Jill
Carrie: LOL!
Melissa: After slogging through dozens of these kinds of queries over the last month, I finally just get fed up. I hesitated to post this because there ARE authors and publicists I adore – who do not make me want to tear my hair out LOL – and I didn’t want to offend anyone. But, I think the people who are the “offenders” know who they are, don’t you? Glad you completely agree with me
And thanks for the link love!
Amen! You go, girl!
Laura recently posted..The Sunday Salon- First Quarter Progress
Cat: Yes on all counts. Very frustrating. I have gotten email “queries” which just have “Review request” in the subject line, and then an attachment about the book. No signature, no hello…nothing. I just deleted that one with no response. Lately, when people “pitch” a book to me that is clearly not one I would accept (ie: e-book, vampire series, etc…), I simple respond with “Please read my review policy before contacting me.”
Laura: *smiles*
I hate those queries too, BUT I think it does say that writers are recognizing that book bloggers play an important role. So that’s a good thing! :–)
rhapsodyinbooks recently posted..Review of “Between- Georgia” by Joshilyn Jackson
Rhapsody: Ah yes, if there is a silver lining, that is it
I think it’s funny that the vast majority of books that get pitched to me are not anything I would ever be interested in reading. It’s pretty obvious to me which publishers/authors have bothered to look at my blog and which haven’t (especially the ones that don’t have any personal salutation or are just a flat-out pitch which is annoying- I don’t even respond to those). What’s even more amusing is that anyone would think we book bloggers are in this for monetary gain- I believe I’ve earned about five dollars for my links in four years of blogging! Wowee, how’s that for income? It’s laughable. Obviously we do it for the love of books, why some people can’t see that is just insane… anyway, just mean to say I agree with all of what you said.
How do you respond to someone who sends you an e-mail asking you to review a book that you’re not interested in? I’ve been bad. I just ignore them.
But I can’t think of a nice way to say “Hey, your book doesn’t sound interesting to me.” Advice?
Colin Matthew recently posted..Top 5 Least Favorite Books- Persuasion by Jane Austen – 5
I couldn’t agree with you more. I feel like my review policy is pretty simple and straightforward but what constantly annoys me is when people refer to my policy and say I know you don’t read this but… Oh come on!
Amused recently posted..March Review Book Giveaway Winners!
I left a comment on someone else’s blog the other day saying exactly the same thing (except in shorter form obviously). It annoys me to no end that I get requests for me to read people’s books. I know that I shouldn’t. It only requires a quick reply saying”No thanks I don’t accept books for review” but it still annoys me.
It annoys me mostly because my About Page Turners page (where you find my email address so people must read it) specifically says that i DONT accept ANY books for review anymore. I own 300 unread books that i know I want to read because I purchased them. So I don’t want to read books that I have no knowledge of.
I feel a bit for those people who self publish because it can be tough to get your book published, but the cynical side of me can’t help but be cynical and the quality of them even though I know how unfair that is.
Most annoying are the emails that have gone out to everyone and it is clear that the person who wrote it has no idea who you are. I am pretty short when i reply to those people. I do get emails from peopel sometimes who have clearly investigated by blog and their pitch to me demonstrates that they are familiar with the kind of books that I read – I appreciate the time they have put into it and I give them a much politer reply.
In any event, when I say “I don’t accept books for review” thats what I mean. Don’t email me asking me to read your book. I have recently changed my About page to try and make it clearer and so far that seems to be working. Fingers crossed it stays that way.
Becky (Page Turners) recently posted..The Messenger by Markus Zusak
I know what you mean. I recently decided to no longer accept review books, except for select historical fiction titles (my favorite genre) and I updated my review policy to reflect the change. This was two weeks ago and I’m still receiving emails offering me books that do not match the criteria. I’m not sure what the answer is… do we ignore the emails? It is quite frustrating. Hopefully, the requests will start tapering off. Like Becky said *fingers crossed*
Michelle @ The True Book Addict recently posted..MAILBOX MONDAY
LOL. I too have had a similar problem a while ago. Even funnier in a way (or more aggravating at times):
I happen to live in Eastern Europe. Almost as far away from the States as it can be. Which means that postage fees are pretty hefty (I do believe they sometimes cost more than the price of the book itself). Which is why, of course, publishers aren’t too much in a hurry to send me books (and I totally understand that).
Now, not only I have stated in my About page where I live, but back when I still had a Review Policy page up I also mentioned on it repeatedly (and with bolded letters) that I live in Eastern Europe and the whole P&P issue. Which doesn’t mean I didn’t get quite a bunch of enquiries about whether I’d be interested in reviewing certain books (alas, some of them quite cool), only to have the enquirer balk on me when finding out where I lived. Argh.
Actually, a sort-of-similar thing happened when I reviewed Midnight Sun a while ago (yup, I was quite into Twilight before the movie were made + before it turned mainstream). Now, since I got the pdf from the author’s site, the very first paragraph stated this, with a link to it too, in case anyone interested came along. The very first paragraph! And you would not believe how many comments I got on that post asking me where did I get the pdf from.
Which probably confirms the fact that we get shorter and shorter attention spans or something
Well said! I am getting an increasing number of inappropriate requests and it drives me nuts! It is getting so bad that I almost want to remove my contact form.
Jackie (Farm Lane Books) recently posted..The Nobodies Album – Carolyn Parkhurst
Yes, yes, yes. I get that there are a lot of book bloggers to get to know or explore, but it seems to me that it makes more sense to spend a little time trying to figure out which blogs make sense to pitch a book to before sending the e-mails to save yourself a little time.
There’s one publisher that I work with that I don’t mind the mass e-mails from — we had a good, personal relationship awhile back and they’ve shifted to a more mass pitching process, but work with bloggers really well.
Otherwise, I basically ignore pitches that are mass e-mails or start with the phrase, “I know you don’t read X, but maybe you’d consider MY book…” NO! Your vampire historical erotica romance novel is NOT the one vampire historical erotica romance novel I will read. Ok, end of rant.
Thanks for writing this Wendy, you are right on.
Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness) recently posted..Monday Tally- Graphic Journalism and Moby-Duck
Amen, sister! I agree that it can be frustrating when an author or publicist fails to read your review policy and then goes raving about a book you know there is no chance that you will enjoy. And I also totally agree about negative reviews. As I have said in several other places, we are writers too, and have the right to have our opinions (be they ill-informed or naive) respected. When I get all this backlash from an author or publicist about a negative review, it just irritates the hell out of me. You are right, we don’t get paid for doing this. We do it because we love books and want to publicize good books and be proponents of reading. Some people don’t understand this, and you would think, being in the business that they are in, that they would understand it.
zibilee recently posted..The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog- and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe by Andrew OHagan — 288 pgs
Jeane: thanks for weighing in – I agree, it is obvious which people have taken the time to get to know your blog, and which people did not even look at it. I don’t expect everyone to subscribe to my blog, but it only makes sense that if you want to develop a pitch, you need to at least understand who you are pitching. After all, if I was trying to sell my book to a publisher, I would do my homework and make sure that the publisher I was pitching was one who would be interested in my work.
Colin: That is always a sticky dilemma. But I have found honesty with kindness always works the best. I usually say something like: Thank you for considering my blog as a review resource. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am the best person to review your book as I do not normally read [insert genre here]…or something to that effect. Or…”This looks like a great book, but not one I would normally read.”
Amused: *laughs* exactly. I had one person pitch their book as a certain genre, and then change the genre of the book after I politely told him I didn’t read that particular genre (“well, it really is not in that genre, it is actually…”)
I do not think you sound bitchy, and I also like the way Jill thinks about this. That silver lining bit is important. But let me go a step further and say that my greatest annoyance is the receipt of unsolicited review copies. There have been a few gems but by and large I just look mystified upon the contents of most of these mailers. Then donate them to the public library if a finished copy. Hardly any of them hold any resemblance to the material I usually read.
Becky: It’s frustrating. I was talking about this with my husband last night, and I guess if I decided to ever stop accepting review books altogether (not in my plan just yet!), I would send an email out to the publicists/publishers who I most closely work with and let them know (as well as update my review policy) because I don’t really expect people to keep having to re-read my policy when it changes. But, for sure, first time pitches should be paying attention!
Michelle (True Book Addict): It is tempting to ignore them…but, I usually respond with a simple “Please refer to my review policy” with a link to it…and then decline the offer.
Kay: LOL! Well, I am sure this goes both ways at times. I think, in general, people are not very good about reading through things and following directions. Although, if you are really bad at it, it will come back and bite you in the butt. My husband pointed out that there are people who mass email their resume without doing their homework, and end up with nothing…whereas if they took the time to really examine who might be the best fit they’d save themselves a lot of time…and probably end up with a job!
Jackie: I’m sorry to hear you’re also having issues. I think this is a widespread problem for book bloggers (which is why I finally broke down and wrote something).
Kim: The way I look at it is – if your job is a publicist, or a writer, then part of that job is figuring out the best way to market your work. Why anyone would want to spend the time sending out emails to bloggers who clearly aren’t interested in your particular book, is beyond me. And it creates animosity. I have noticed a lot of bloggers just not accepting review books anymore…and I have to wonder if some of it is because of this issue. I spend at least 2 hours every two weeks responding to email queries. I would say at least half of those are inappropriate.
Heather: Exactly. Luckily, I have had very few unhappy authors coming back at me for a negative review (and no publicists)…I think in large part because I do my homework before accepting a book, and there are very few books I accept that I don’t enjoy. BUT, the ones that HAVE been upset have all been self-published and there has been no middle man (ie:publicist)…which is why I say in my review policy that I prefer to deal with publishers or publicists re: reviews!!! LOL!
Frances: Yup. I almost mentioned unsolicited books in my post, but I don’t get a ton of them. I don’t mind when a publicist who I work with and knows my likes sends me a great book unsolicited…it is like getting a gift! BUT, when I get stuff way outside my normal genre unsolicited, it baffles and annoys me. Like you, I give those away.
I couldn’t agree with you more!!! I’ve honestly been backing away from review requests because it’s starting to NOT be fun any longer. I thought you were very fair and thoughtful in your post and never once did I feel that you were “bitchy.” Thanks for standing up and saying what a lot of us feel too!!
Staci recently posted..Wickhams Diary by Amanda Grange
Everybody here is justified, of course, in feeling annoyed, especially if you were approached without courtesy. As a writer I am feeling an itch to defend my kind by saying that it’s just such an awful world in which to try to (disgusting phrase) “get attention”–it can lead to silly and desperate measures. But there is no excuse for writers abusing the opportunity you offer them. Thanks for the patience that is so obvious here, and please don’t pull out any more of your hair!
Shelley recently posted..Welcome
Like the others above — I have been feeling this way lately too! However, I don’t feel bad at all refusing people who have not taken the time to at least glance at my review policy. It makes me realize that they have gotten my name off of some list and are (literally) sending me a form letter with my name, etc. inserted. That said, it is annoying to have to take the time to graciously respond to them, though. And also offensive that they want me to do a favor for them by spending time reading, reviewing, and posting about their work without having the respectfulness to glance at my work (About Page) more closely.
Wallace recently posted..The Power of a Book
This is very well said, Wendy, and worthy of your soapbox!
It would most certainly behoove publicists to read a review policy and look over what books are being reviewed on a blog before sending out requests to review books that are quite obviously NOT a preferred genre.
My review policy is very simple, I’ll consider books on an individual basis, but then I don’t do many review books. Just yesterday I received a request to review a book that even a cursory glance through my blog would make it clear it’s not a preferred genre. I was just another name on a list of harvested addresses and no care was taken to see if I was a good fit for the book. Lately I’ve just ignored these kinds of requests, but I may borrow the reply you suggested to Colin.
I have accepted a few self published books that I like quite a bit, so I won’t say I will never accept them, but there have been some real stinkers too. (I just stopped reading one novel after 15 pages the other day – and allowing those 15 pages was being too generous.)
Lori L recently posted..Perdido Street Station
I’m so glad to read this post and the comments. I was feeling so overwhelmed by the ridiculous onslaught of queries lately that are entirely the wrong sort of books for my blog. After all, I write about books for all ages — so why am I getting pitched adult books/products (and I mean ADULT)? It just shows that they don’t really value our time — the time we end up spending reading so many irrelevant queries.
I’ve been thinking of fine tuning my review policy and now I’m even more motivated!
Kristen M. recently posted..New Release- Kat- Incorrigible
An excellent post! We’ve gotten a spate of pitches in comments lately, and I hate that. And of course, I frequently get pitched self-help and other types of books I specifically say in my review policy that I don’t accept.
I actually ignore all pitches I’m not interested in except perhaps on the rare occasion that it comes from a publisher I’ve been wanting to establish a relationship with. Otherwise, I hit delete immediately–and Jenny and I state up-front in our review policy not to expect a reply unless we’re interested, so I don’t feel bad about it. It just takes too much time to reply, especially when it’s clear that the book isn’t a good fit.
Teresa recently posted..The Shadow of What We Were
Tell it like it is, girl! I soooo agree. I get offers for books which are so obviously not my type of reading that you wonder where they got your email because they obviously haven’t been anywhere near my blog!
I’m Canadian and it says so right up top under my picture and yet I always get requests to review non-fiction books on US politics and healthcare. grrr that annoys me. I delete those
Or how about the ones that don’t even ask you to review the book; it’s just an ad for a new book telling you where to buy it. If I’d actually like to read that book, I reply back “I’m a book blogger are you offering me a review copy?”
Nicola recently posted..77 The Joy of Being a Catholic Child by Rev Jude Winkler
Great post. What we do is a labor of love with no financial reward (or negative, after paying for giveaway shipping, hosting, domain names, etc.). I don’t mind mass emails/pitches, but what does bug me is when publicists clearly don’t take the time to read my review policy, and like you said, pitch me something I state I won’t read. Waste of my time and theirs. ARGH.
S. Krishna recently posted..Book Review- The Scent of Rain and Lightning – Nancy Pickard
Thank you for posting this! Its something I’ve been thinking about recently, esp with the influx of inappropriate title offers in my mailbox. Can I also add that a cut & paste Press Release about a book is also a major turn-off. I don’t even bother responding to most offers, I just delete them as soon as I see the words “Suspense Thriller.”
This definitely needed to be said! For a while I was getting a ridiculously large amount of spam-ish review requests in my mailbox. I do treat them like spam and don’t reply to them – they go straight to the trash can.
I like receiving review copies, but have cut back a lot on how many I receive, and finally changed my review policy to say that “I’m not accepting review copies at this time.” Honestly, I have still accepted a few here and there, but even with the publicists that are respectable I was having to say no to half a dozen offers a day (okay, not every day, but it sure seemed like it). Things have tapered off a bit in the past couple of months. I think that when I finally feel like I’m caught up and ready to take on more books again (almost there) I might post my full review policy again, but I don’t know. I’ve quite enjoyed the respite from the piles of review copies.
And more to the point, if I post it again will anyone pay attention to it? I have been offered so many supernatural, urban fantasy, and romance books that I sometimes think that no one reads the review policy. (I know that at least one publicist has because she noticed it changed, so she gets brownie points.)
Alyce recently posted..Indie Lit Awards 2011
Sounds like you needed to get that off your chest. I sometimes get queries that make me wonder if they’ve even looked at my blog or did they just punch “book blog” into Google and queried to whatever popped up.
I totally agree with Nicola- no US politics books please but I keep getting queries for them!
Chrisbookarama recently posted..Thoughts- Re-reading Jane Eyre- Happily Ever After
Staci: Thanks for your support – I am not surprised to see so many bloggers weighing in and saying exactly what I am saying…it is a problem.
Shelley: Thanks for weighing in as an author. Of course, not all authors act this way (in fact, I have met some WONDERFUL authors who I really want to help promote). I really do understand the desperation…on the other hand, I think acting professional goes a long way in getting positive attention for one’s book.
Wallace: You make EXCELLENT points!
Lori: Yup – I agree. I never say “never” when it comes to self-published books, but I am VERY picky about the ones I accept because I don’t want to waste my time reading something that is not polished.
Kristen: I occasionally “tweak” my review policy in response to the types of queries I am getting…I just wish someone would READ it! *laughs*
Teresa: I totally understand your policy of not responding to queries which are not in tune with your review policy (and actually, I would think the publishing world would understand that because I am not sure that they do not ignore publishing queries which do not “fit” with their guidelines). I tend to respond, if only to educate…although, I wonder if that even works! *laughs*
Nicola: I HATE when I get “ads” about a new book with a request to “share it with” my readers. Huh? Why would I promote a book I haven’t even read?
Swapna: Absolutely – I think it is clear, we all agree here!
Nari: LOL! I understand!
Alyce: I have been thinking, lately, of not accepting review copies except from publicists I have a long-standing relationship with (who know my likes and dislikes). The only thing that has stopped me, is that occasionally I get a request from a small publisher (who I don’t know) who is offering a great literary fiction title…
Chris: LOL – I definitely needed to get it off my chest. And now I feel so much better
Well said! What’s funny is just before I clicked on this post, I was grumbling to my husband about the same thing. Great minds think alike, LOL.
Anna recently posted..Mailbox Monday — April 11
Great post, Wendy! I don’t think you’re being bitchy at all.You’re just being honest about your review policies. My review policy is in-depth (I think) but sometimes I still get queries for things I wouldn’t like. I hate it when I receive a press release for a book and a publisher really thinks that I’m going to write about the book though they don’t bother to even ask me if I would like a copy of it.
Vasilly recently posted..Sunday Salon- Read-a-thon Hangover
Amen, sister! I so appreciate your honesty and straightforwardness about this issue. All the time, I get pitches (or even worse, unsolicited copies in the mail with a follow up email) for books that I clearly state in my review policy I do not read. It drives me nuts and wastes my time. Honestly, it takes all of 2 seconds to scan my bulleted list of genres I do and do not review. Yet it seems as though most publicists/authors don’t even bother to look at it. Usually I just ignore queries like this, or in the case of unsolicited review copies, go trade them at my local book exchange. It’s too much of a hassle to bother with.
Kate {The Parchment Girl} recently posted..Giveaway- A Place of Healing by Joni Eareckson Tada
Loved the post! Looks like everybody does. Maybe you should pass that soapbox around?
Happy reading!
Kristi recently posted..Texas Blue by Jodi Thomas – Book Review and Giveaway!