I entertain review requests. Make your request first before sending the entire book. Use the form below, but only after reading my requirements. Please note that I do reviews because I love to read; the reading itself is my compensation. While I will make every effort to respond to requests in a timely manner, life sometimes gets in the way. I will entertain only 3-4 requests per month. I could entertain more, but then I wouldn’t be able to give your work the attention we both know it deserves.
Here’s the deal:
1. Indie/Self-published:
As a rule of thumb, Indie means the publisher is not, or is not owned by, a publicly traded company.
2. Canadian:
This is not a fast rule, but simply to indicate that I give preference to requests from Indie and self-published authors who are Canadian residents. After all, one of the aims of this website is to give an ear to marginal voices. It is also worth noting that, because this is a Canadian-based website, I am under no obligation to comply with US FTC disclosure requirements. Besides which, they’re silly.
3. Format:
ARCs, galleys, ebooks in any format (epub preferred). I will not redistribute anything you submit to me.
4. Genre:
• General/Contemporary/Literary Fiction (Sample fiction reviews here and here.)
• Magic Realism
• No genre fiction
• Non-fiction (Sample non-fiction reviews here and here.)
When considering the submission of non-fiction, bear in mind my personal qualifications. I don’t know anything about economics or geology, so don’t request reviews for books about financing junior mining companies. I have degrees in English, Law, & Theology from U. of T., so send requests for books on things like literary theory or copyright law or soteriology.
• Poetry
I’m leery of poetry on ereaders, but if butchered layout won’t hurt the meaning, then fine. I’ll let you be the judge of that. If the poetry is self-published, be advised that I am merciless when it comes to poetry. Poetry is a discipline and its merit is quantifiable; it is not simply a gushing of the heart or an alternative to journaling for a therapist. Before submitting, consider some of my reviews of good poetry here and here to see how I treat it.
5. Ratings:
If I post the review here, there will be no rating, no one-star for this or five-stars for that. Reviewing is about engagement. You will be able to tell from the level of my engagement whether I thought the book was any good. However, if you have asked me also to post to Amazon, Goodreads or Smashwords, then I will use their rating system. I will notify you when the review is posted and links will appear on my facebook and twitter accounts.
6. Disclaimer:
My agreement to review does not guarantee that the review will be favourable. I reserve the right not to complete a review if the submission fails to meet the requirements outlined above, or if the quality of the submission suggests that it requires further work.
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