Book Review and editing site

This site offers free book reviews and editing for a reasonable price:

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Malcolm

I won't comment on their editing since the main focus of their website is reviews, paid reviews. I've said this before: Never, ever pay for reviews, ever.There are a bazillion reasons why but it comes down to never, ever pay for a review.

I could go over the red flags this site puts up, but I wont bother. Just don't.

No offense to Malcom, I know you are trying to be helpful, but paying for reviews is not professional, or proper.

This is from the "Costs" page at reviewyourbooks.com:

Costs
Reviews are free of charge.
(Italics added)

Ann

alj wrote:

This is from the "Costs" page at reviewyourbooks.com:

Costs
Reviews are free of charge.
(Italics added)

Ann

I swear to god that ten minutes ago they had costs listed and now it says that. Weird. Thanks for the heads up.

In any event there are still several huge red flags with their services that should cause anyone to pause. I can detail them, if you like.

As you see, the reviews are not PAID for. As for the other red flags you see, what are they?

Malcolm

The only red flag that I see is that the reviews are not really reviews, but more like blurbs from the back jacket. I only looked at a couple, so I could be off.

cturkel wrote:

I've said this before: Never, ever pay for reviews, ever.There are a bazillion reasons why but it comes down to never, ever pay for a review.

What about sites that offer free and paid reviews? Would it be a bad thing to send off for a free one because they also offer paid ones? I'm asking because I sent my books to Apex, after reading that they did a good job of the anthology review... but they offer both free and paid ones.

My Utamaro book has gone off to academic journals, but academics are so incredibly slow... I'll still be waiting when I'm ninety. And there's no telling what they'll write when they do get around to it. Academics generally seem to like slamming each other. Perhaps that was unfair... it's not that they like slamming, they just don't like saying nice things. I hope none of them are reading this.

Same with Kirkus. Reviews don't charge; Discoveries do:

"Kirkus Discoveries, unlike Kirkus Reviews, is a paid-review service that allows authors and publishers of overlooked titles to receive authoritative, careful assessment of their books.
NOTE: Kirkus Reviews, an independent book-review journal, does not charge for reviews."

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Wow, I just checked out the list of books that Kirkus Reviews doesn't review. That's a long list.

Nice, except all the generas I write are in their "We do not review" catagory.

Here is why you should never pay for a book review, ever.

When someone does reviews for pay, they have an interest in keeping their customers, i.e. authors, coming back. They do this by giving a good review. "You should submit to this site, they gave me a great review!". Of course they did, you paid them to. If they were truly honest, they would give all kinds of reviews, good and bad. Bad reviews will discourage writers from submitting their stuff to them.

Even if they are well meaning, requiring payment gives off the stench of sleaze. A reader checking the review would have no way of knowing whether the review was good because the book was good, or if the author (or less likely, the publisher) paid them for it. The review site would have zero crediablity with publishers and readers.

The owners of the review site that charge have an interest in bringing customers back.

Now, I know of several sites that give free reviews and paid reviews if "you want to move up in our pile of books to be read". The paid reviews would come first and hence my first point.

The only thing you give a reviewer is your book to read, period.

Never ever pay for a review, nor do business with any review site that charges for reviews in any way, shape or form.