So, You Want to Review Books?
/I've found a way to share my love of books and it not cost me anything! Many publishers will give out new books in exchange for a blogger's honest review.
1. Establish
a blog. Many publishers require your blog be in existence and regularly updated for three months. I started out with Blogger.com and it is great for beginners. See Lifehacker's Five Best Blogging Platforms for more choices.
- If you have an established blog, then you're ready to proceed to Step 2.
- If not, then start out with reviews of books you've already read to fill in the three month requirement.
2. Send your request to available publishers. Let them know you're interested in reviewing books for them. They'll email you the offer or post it on their website, and you'll get a copy as long as they haven't ran out of copies. (See my next post for details on contacting book publishers.)
3. Put the requests on your calendar. Know how many chapters you can read in a day without overloading yourself. You want to enjoy the books you're reading. A fast read will result in a lousy and not-so-accurate review.
4. Follow the publisher's review posting guidelines. Where to find the guidelines will be available in the next post.
5. Write an honest review. If you didn't like the book, say so. That's what reviewing is all about. Readers want to know if the book is truly worth purchasing. However, do it in a manner that is polite and fair to the author.
Happy Book Reviewing!
~Tami