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Booklist is a book review magazine that has been published by the American Library Association for more than one hundred years, and is widely viewed as offering the most reliable reviews to help libraries decide what to buy and to help library patrons and students decide what to read, view, or listen to. It comprises two print magazines, an extensive website and database, e-newsletters, webinars, and other resources that support librarians in collection development and readers’ advisory.

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Marketing to Libraries: Reviews as a Selection Tool

  • Reviews as a Selection Tool
  • The Library Market in General
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ALA Reviews

Booklist /Booklist Online reviews adult books (fiction and nonfiction), books for youth (children and young adults), and reference books and also newly released videos, DVDs, audiobooks, spoken word audios, and children's music CDs.

Booklist is a book-review magazine that has been published by the American Library Association since 1905, and is widely viewed as offering the most reliable reviews to help libraries decide what to buy and to help library patrons and students decide what to read, view, or listen to. It comprises two print magazines, an extensive website and database, e-newsletters, webinars, and other resources that support librarians in collection development and readers' advisory.

Booklist Online is the web version of the Booklist print magazine. The full  Booklist Online  database contains more than 170,000 reviews and thousands of features dating back to 1992 and 8,000 new reviews and related features every year.

A quarterly supplement to Booklist free to Booklist subscribers, Book Links magazine helps teachers, youth librarians, school library media specialists, reading specialists, curriculum coordinators, and others connect children with high-quality literature-based resources.

  • Getting Reviewed by Booklist Specific guidelines for submitting materials in various formats and types of materials for review consideration in Booklist or Booklist Online.
  • Getting Reviewed by CHOICE Specific guidelines for submitting materials for review consideration in Choice, the premier review journal of new academic titles.

Additional Review Publications

Librarians selecting materials for their collections scan many sources, including local publications and newspapers and consumer publications.  This list, arranged alphabetically, includes the major general sites and publications, with special aspects, such as "indie friendliness" indicated.

  • AudioFile AudioFile reviews unabridged and abridged audiobooks, original audio programs, commentary, and dramatizations in the spoken-word format.
  • Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books is a book review journal for librarians, teachers, parents, and others interested in new children's books. The Bulletin is a selective journal, reviewing approximately 900 of the over 5000 trade books published for children and young adults annually. Books reviewed include both recommended and not-recommended titles. Submissions from small and alternative publishers encouraged.
  • Foreword Reviews Foreword Reviews accepts pre-published or new indie books for review. more... less... Two services are offered: Foreword Reviews publishes about 150 objective reviews in a quarterly magazine; Clarion Reviews is fee-for-review service publishing 450-word reviews, with start ratings.
  • The Horn Book The Horn Book Guide and The Horn Book Magazine both review children's and young adult books that are published in the United States. The Horn Book Magazine also reviews audiobooks. Books produced by publishers that are not listed in Literary Market Place are not considered.
  • Kirkus Reviews Kirkus Reviews reviews adult fiction and nonfiction, titles for children and teens, and iPad Book Apps.
  • Kirkus Indie A review service designed for small and independent publishers.
  • Library Journal Library Journal reviews books, novel-length romance ebooks, graphic novels, zines, audio, video, and e-reviews (online databases) that have the potential to interest a broad spectrum of libraries.
  • New York Times Book Review The New York Times Book Review reviews books published in the United States and available through general-interest bookstores
  • Publishers Weekly Adult books reviewed in these categories: Nonfiction, Fiction, Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror, Romance/Erotica, Poetry, Comics, and Lifestyles (cooking, gardening & home, health & fitness, or parenting). Children's books reviewed in each issue.
  • Booklife, by Publishers Weekly BookLife is a website from Publishers Weekly dedicated to indie authors. The site provides a free and easy way to submit self-published books to Publishers Weekly for review.
  • School Library Journal School Library Journal reviews new children's and young adult general trade books, original paperbacks, and reference books from established publishers, as well as DVDs & audio recordings, reference products, and online resources.
  • Science Books & Films (SB&F) Science Books & Films, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, reviews current science-based books, videos, software, and websites for all age groups (K-College, Teachers, and General Audience)
  • SELF-e SELF-e is a discovery platform designed to expose indie ebook(s) to more readers via the public library, locally or nationwide. It is a collaboration between Library Journal and BiblioBoard®
  • Video Librarian Video Librarian reviews both theatrical and non-theatrical DVDs, including Blu-ray, that are new to the marketplace for public, school, university, and special libraries.
  • Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) VOYA reviews books for and about teenagers, aged 12 through 18. Independent, experienced reviewers who work with teens throughout the nation, write the reviews.
  • << Previous: Basics
  • Next: The Library Market in General >>
  • Last Updated: Apr 30, 2024 2:16 PM
  • URL: https://libguides.ala.org/marketing-to-libraries

booklist book review submission guidelines

Trish Hopkinson

A selfish poet, where to submit book reviews–60 lit mags/journals.

booklist book review submission guidelines

Reviews are a great way to prompt yourself to think critically about a work–to spend more time with something you love, or well, maybe don’t so much. You can check out the reviews I’ve written here , including Paisley Rekdal’s most recent poetry collection Nightingale , published by Copper Canyon Press.

Click here for review writing tips and “A list of places that like book reviews” by Alina Stefanescu.

If you like this post, please share with your writerly friends and/or  follow me on  Facebook ,  Twitter , or  Instagram . You can see all the FREE resources my site offers poets/writers on my  Start Here  page. 

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Categories: Call for Submissions , Poetry Reviews , Self-taught MFA

Tagged as: book reviews , chapbook reviews , No Fee Call for Submissions , Paying Call for submissions , Poetry Book Reviews

17 replies »

Hi! Please add Tinderbox to this?

OMG, how did I miss that! Thank you!

Excellent article. This team golfwell does free book reviews too https://www.teamgolfwell.com/free-book-reviews.html

Excellent article and very well done and thank you for taking the time to write this. FYI Team Golfwell does free book review https://www.teamgolfwell.com/free-book-reviews.html

Trish, this is fantastic. Thank you so much! You rock! This is a tremendous service to authors. all best wishes, Diane Frank

You're so welcome!

This list will really be useful to me and your other followers. Thank you so much!

Thank you, Trish, for your information and ever-present enthusiasm. If any book reviewers on Trish’s list would be receptive to reviewing new poetry titles (from 2 tiny indie presses), books whose Spring 2020 launch was crippled by COVID-19, I would be delighted to send you either or both — and also throw in a free dinner [by way of an American Express “Be My Guest” dining out certificate]. My two titles are an Elgin Award nominee “A Route Obscure and Lonely” [Wapshott Press; 62 pgs; speculative poetry] — and — “Concupiscent Consumption” [Red Ferret Press; 34-page chapbook; erotic verses]. Happy to send actual paperbacks and/or digital versions. You can preview these on Amazon.

Good wishes from New York, LindaAnn LoSchiavo

Hi, please add Prospectus to this list!

Will do! I will add it next week

  • Pingback: How to Write a Book Review in Ten Easy Steps (just kidding; it's not always easy) – guest blog post by Eileen “Mish” Murphy – Trish Hopkinson
  • Pingback: How to Write a Book Review in Ten Easy Steps (just kidding; it's not always easy) - guest blog post by Eileen "Mish" Murphy - Trish Hopkinson – What’s New Magazine
  • Pingback: My review of ‘The Truth Is’ by Avery M. Guess published by Diode + submission call! – Trish Hopkinson
  • Pingback: 6 Thoughts on Reviewing Poetry + tips & where to submit reviews – guest blog post by Alina Stefanescu – Trish Hopkinson
  • Pingback: 6 Thoughts on Reviewing Poetry + tips & where to submit reviews - guest blog post by Alina Stefanescu - Trish Hopkinson – What’s New Magazine

Thank you, Trish! This is a tremendous help to authors and reviewers.

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booklist book review submission guidelines

booklist book review submission guidelines

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booklist book review submission guidelines

Publishers Weekly Submission Guidelines

All titles must be submitted for review consideration via galleytracker and include a digital galley, and we ask that publishers also submit two physical galleys for each title for which galleys are available..

>> If you are a self-published author interested in submitting your book for review consideration, please do so via BookLife .

>> If you are a traditional publisher or a freelance publicist, you must submit title information using PW's GalleyTracker platform . This intuitive, easy-to-use system will assist you in submitting review copies (both physical copies and e-galleys) and allow you to preview and supplement title metadata, and also to keep track of the status of any title submitted for review as it progresses through the reviewing process. You can set up your free account here .

>> Children's titles have separate guidelines, below.

General submission guidelines

Submissions must be sent three (3) months—preferably four (4)—prior to the 1st day of the month of publication.

For all submissions, you must submit a digital galley using our GalleyTracker platform . We do not accept e-galleys via NetGalley or Edelweiss, due to our need to protect reviewer anonymity. In addition, if print galleys are available for a title, we ask that you send in two (2) copies for every title submitted for consideration. Submissions of a single copy will not be considered. Please note that we cannot accept galleys that are unbound. For poetry titles, please do not send physical copies; we review poetry titles from digital galleys only.

All galleys should have the following information on the cover:

- Title - Author - Price - Publisher and imprint - Format - Number of pages in the finished book - 13-digit ISBN - Month and day of publication - Distribution arrangements - Publicity contact information

An accompanying letter should contain a description or synopsis of the book, and any pertinent publicity information, including the author's previous titles, blurbs, or previous reviews. Book club, paperback, audio or movie rights sales, author tours of 5 cities or more, a print run of more than 10,000 or an ad/promo budget of more than $30,000 should be noted.

Please include a separate cover sheet or letter for each copy of every title submitted.

Finished books and bound manuscripts are acceptable for submission. Please clearly mark them "In Lieu of Galleys." Unbound F&Gs are acceptable only for submission of heavily illustrated books.

PW does not review periodicals, audiobooks, textbooks, technical manuals, reissues or new editions unless 70% or more of the content is new, reference books, books of strictly regional interest, travel guides, media and game tie-ins, journals, coloring books, devotionals and prayer books, or playscripts and dramatic works. Please do not submit partial or incomplete galleys.

Please address packages to:

Publishers Weekly Nonfiction Reviews [or "Poetry Reviews" or other relevant category] 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010

Children's book submission guidelines

Publishers Weekly reviews children's books in every issue. All of our reviews appear in advance of publication. Therefore, we request that titles submitted to us for review consideration be submitted at least four months prior to publication date. (We realize that this is not always possible; we will make exceptions when we can.)

All titles must be submitted via GalleyTracker and include a digital galley. In addition, when physical galleys or f&gs are available, please submit two copies to the address below. Physical copies without a GalleyTracker submission cannot be considered for review.

Only books written for children will be considered for review. Please do not submit books aimed at parents or teachers. Please note that we cannot review from photocopies or manuscript pages. If you do not have typeset galleys or F&Gs, then please submit a finished copy of your book as soon as possible. Again, we will try to make exceptions to our lead-time policy when we can. Only books with a national distribution channel in place will be considered for review. We do not review revised editions or subsequent titles in an established series. Please also note that we rarely provide full review coverage to children's guidebooks, activity books, cookbooks, or reference books.

All physical children's book submissions should be sent to:

Children's Book Reviews Publishers Weekly 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010

Digital galleys must be submitted through our GalleyTracker platform .

Along with the books, please include the following information: price, ISBN, age level of readers (in years, not in school grades), page count, and publication month.

Please bear in mind that we are able to review only a fraction of the children's books that are published each season; because of space limitations, we have to be very selective. Sending a book to us by no means guarantees you a review. But we look forward to seeing your submissions.

Guidelines for books from Canadian publishers

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booklist book review submission guidelines

How to Submit Your Book to BookLife Reviews and Publishers Weekly

A step-by-step guide for purchasing BookLife Reviews and submitting books for Publishers Weekly review consideration.

Is your book ready to be reviewed ? Great! Your BookLife account gives you access to two types of reviews:  Publishers Weekly  reviews (free to submit, not all books accepted) and BookLife Reviews (paid, guaranteed). Learn more about  which review is right for your book .

In order to have your book reviewed, you must have a BookLife account. (If you don't have a BookLife account, you can use this form to both create an account and submit your book .)

If you're already a BookLife member, here's how you submit a BookLife project for review.

Begin by logging into your BookLife Profile. (If you've forgotten your password, it's easy to reset it. Just click the "forgot password" link in the login window.)

Once logged in, choose the project you want to have reviewed.

On the project's landing page, you'll see three boxes towards the top with promotional opportunities. Choose the one that says "Get Your Book Reviewed!" When you mouse over the box, a panel will display comparisons between BookLife Reviews and Publishers Weekly  reviews , and at the bottom of the panel, you'll see a button that says, "Order One or Both." Click that button.

This leads to a form that asks you to select the review type(s) you're interested in and provide some additional information about your book or manuscript. This is also where you can upload or link to a digital copy of your book. ( Publishers Weekly  accepts print review copies. Both Publishers Weekly  and BookLife Reviews accept digital review copies.)

Complete this form, enter your payment information if you're purchasing a BookLife Review, and you're all set! You'll receive an email confirming your submission.

For more information, see our FAQs about BookLife Reviews and Publishers Weekly  reviews . And if you have questions about any of this, email [email protected] .

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booklist book review submission guidelines

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How to get major publications to review your book: 10 invaluable tips you’ll wish you had yesterday

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This is a guest post by Shelli Johnson and Alice Wisler

So you’re an indie author and wanna get reviewed? We've got some helpful tips for you!

We're focusing here on smaller venues for indie authors in particular. Bigger publications like Booklist and Publishers Weekly are fantastic, and you should absolutely try to get into them, but be aware that they only review a fraction (less than 10% I read somewhere) of the submissions they get–and that’s from all publishers. So you’re competing against the big legacy publishers, too.

By and large, most review sites want hard copies of the book at least 3 months prior to publication. Keep that in mind when you’re deciding when to launch and in what format to launch. Some will take ebooks, and some will review anytime, even after publication.

First, start at the Midwest Book Review website ; I used them as a source for nearly all the information that you’re reading here.

1. Don’t advertise it as a self-pubbed book

For starters, don’t advertise that it’s a self-published book, especially if you have your own small press. If they come out and ask, by all means be honest. And if they have a policy against reviewing self-published books, then you must tread carefully and choose whether or not you want to submit your book since that may be a policy coming from their legal department. But if your book can pass the it-looks-like-it-was-professionally-published test, then not mentioning it’s self-published will increase your chances of getting a review.

2. Feature stories are better than reviews

Having been a journalist for a number of years, I can tell you that book-review editors are not the only ones at a publication to whom you can send your book. You can try columnists. There are feature editors. If your book has a section tie-in (like sports or movies or fashion for instance), you can try the editors of a particular section. Try your hometown paper (both where you grew up and where you live now) or the alumni magazine of your college. You may get a review out of it. You may get a feature story done about you in which they plug your book. You’re actually better served with a feature article than just a simple review. You’re more likely to connect with readers, who will then go out and buy your book if they get to know something about you as the author.

3. Join the Independent Book Publisher’s Association

If you have your own small press, join the Independent Book Publisher’s Association (IBPA ~ find them here .) Not only will you join a network of other small publishers banding together to help each other but you’ll also give yourself an edge with some review sites (Midwest Book Review and Foreword Magazine for starters) who will automatically bump your book closer to the top of the review pile.

4. Call / email first

If possible, call or email a reviewer first to see if they have an interest in your book. You’ll save yourself time and money if they tell you no. Also, make sure once you’ve been given an okay to send it that you address it to the specific person you corresponded with and write Requested Material on the outside of the envelope.

5. Don’t give reviewers a reason to disqualify you

There are a lot of books vying for attention and only so much space/time in a reviewer’s calendar. They are looking for ways to whittle down their submissions; make sure you don’t give them a reason to disqualify yours right off the bat. Follow their directions carefully. If they want a press release, make sure you send one. If they want finished books, don’t send galleys. Make sure they review your genre of book before you submit. Follow their publication-date deadlines. And most importantly, make sure you include all your contact info: name, mailing address, website address, phone number, and email address. Also include book information: price, ISBN number, number of pages, and genre. And finally, send hard copies of your book in padded envelopes or in boxes. You don’t want them damaged before they arrive and risk an editor passing on them because they no longer look professional.

6. Send a cover letter with your submission

Make sure you address it to a specific person (the editor’s name, the book blogger’s name) and not Dear Editor. If you’ve gotten a good review from them for a past book, by all means make sure you mention it in your cover letter; something to the effect of how pleased you were with their review of your previous book, TITLE, and how you’re excited to be submitting your new book, TITLE, for their review.

7. Be aware of publishing cycles

All this information comes from James Cox, editor over at the Midwest Book Review.

Worst months to submit : October and November because you’ll be competing with lots of releases from major publishers.

Best months to submit: January & February for spring and July & August for fall, because there’ll be less competition from major publishers.

Days of the week: Do your best so your books arrive on a specific day.

Worst day: Monday–because there are more submissions on this day, your book will have much more competition for someone’s attention.

Best days: Thursday or Friday–less competition.

8. Keep good records and follow up

Know to whom you sent a copy of your book and on what date. Give them at least two weeks, then send a letter or an email asking if they’ve received your submission, and tell them you look forward to hearing from them.

If your book is reviewed in a timely fashion and they notified you of the review, put them in your “use again” pile. If they took a long time to review or never notified you of the review, put them in your “maybe use again” pile. If you never heard from them again, put them in the “don’t use again” pile.

9. Post a media kit on your website

At a minimum, your media kit should have your biography, high-resolution (300 dpi) pictures of both you and the book cover(s), a synopsis of the book, any press releases you may have, and contact information for you.

Make sure everything in your media kit/press release is professional, polished, and the very best you have to offer. Don’t send/post anything, ever, that you wouldn’t want to see in print later.

10. Thank reviewers

Send a thank-you note/email to anyone who reviews your book. They took a long time reading and reviewing your work so you take five minutes and write them a thank-you. This one is a must.

A side note on reviewers who want money

This one is your call. As a former journalist, I think there’s an inherent lack of objectivity when money is involved. That said, I also know that the bigger book review publications aren’t open to indie authors. Be aware, though, if you’re going to give them money to review your book, you most likely will NOT be in their main publication. In fact, you may only be listed on their website that may or may not have anyone at all looking at it. You will, however, be able to use that review in your own marketing, which may be worth the cost you pay.

Some review sites to consider

Free reviews:

ARMCHAIR INTERVIEWS

BOOK BLOGGER DIRECTORY (not a review site but a large listing of book bloggers you can approach for reviews)

FOREWORD MAGAZINE

INDIE READER

LIBRARY JOURNAL

MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

NEW YORK TIMES

THE BEST REVIEWS

Paid reviews:

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

About this post’s authors:

booklist book review submission guidelines

About the Author

Mel Storm INC

Hi Shelli and Alice,

Great article! It was very informative and insightful. Even though, I’m currently still working on my first book, this post is an awesome planning tool for when the work is complete. Thank you both for sharing such fantastic information with us; especially new authors like myself. Great stuff!!

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For immediate release | December 14, 2020

Booklist’s 2020 Top of the List and Editors’ Choice announced

CHICAGO — Every January, Booklist publishes Editors’ Choice: lists of the best adult and youth books, and audiobooks of the past year. From these lists, we further select what we call the Top of the List: the single best title in seven categories—adult fiction, adult nonfiction, youth fiction, youth nonfiction, youth picture book, and adult and youth audiobooks. For the first time, Booklist will name Top of the List winners for Graphic Novels for Adult and Youth.

Booklist has selected the 2020 Top of the List titles, the single best title in nine categories - adult nonfiction, adult fiction, adult graphic novel, adult audiobook, youth nonfiction, youth fiction, youth picture book, youth graphic novel, and youth audiobook. These nine titles were picked from Booklist’s larger best of 2020 list, Editors’ Choice. These lists are available in categories: Adult Books, Adult Books for Young Adults, Audio Adult, Books for Youth, Youth Audio, and Graphic Novels, the lists will be prominently featured in the December 15 edition of Booklist’s Read Alert Newsletter, as well as the January 2021 print issue.

Adult Top of the List

The very first Top of the List in Graphic Novels for Adults :

"Year of the Rabbit." By Tian Veasna. Illus. by the author. Tr. by Helge Dascher. (Drawn & Quarterly)

Top of the List Fiction:

"These Ghosts Are Family." By Maisy Card. (Simon & Schuster)

Top of the List Nonfiction:

"Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration." By Morgan Jerkins. (Harper)

Youth Top of the List

The very first Top of the List in Graphic Novels for Youth:

"Dragon Hoops." By Gene Luen Yang. Illus. By Gene Luen Yang and Lark Pien. (First Second)

Top of the List Picture Book:

"Nana Akua Goes to School." By Tricia Elam Walker. Illus. by April Harrison.(Random House/Schwartz & Wade)

Top of the List Youth Nonfiction:

"All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team." By Christina Soontornvat. (Candlewick)

Top of the List Youth Fiction:

"Burn." By Patrick Ness. (Harper/Quill Tree)

Audio Top of the List

Adult Audio:

"The Girl with the Louding Voice." By Abi Daré. Read by Adjoa Andoh. (Books on Tape).

Youth Audio:

"Clap When You Land." By Elizabeth Acevedo. Read by the author and Melania Luisa Marte. (Recorded Books).

The full Editors’ Choice lists will be available on December 10, 2020 in Adult Books, Adult Books for Young Adults, Audio Adult, Books for Youth, and Youth Audio.

About Booklist Booklist is the book review magazine of the American Library Association, considered an essential collection development and readers' advisory tool by thousands of librarians for more than 100 years. Booklist Online includes a growing archive of 200,000 + reviews available to subscribers as well as a wealth of free content offering the latest news and views on books and media.

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American Library Association

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booklist book review submission guidelines

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How To Make Sense Of Submission Guidelines

Submission guidelines have their own jargon and going through the process of submitting your literary works requires etiquette and professionalism. This article will help you understand the words involved in the process of making great submissions.

Multiple submissions: When you make multiple submissions, you are sending different pieces to a single literary agent or editor. For instance, when you send a novel and a collection of poems to one agent, you are making a multiple submission. There are few agents and editors who allow you to send several pieces for evaluation.

Simultaneous submission: It is the opposite of a multiple submission. In this case, you send your book to several agents or editors at the same time.

Payment: Literary journals are usually not in a position to pay writers because of limited funding. However, some of them might offer people who contribute to the journals some free copies of the journals. Others offer honorariums which are sums of money as a form of appreciating contributors. Others give contributors free subscriptions to their journals. Agents should not ask for money from authors and if they do, authors should tread carefully.

Reading period: This is a period of time within which literary magazines accept reading submissions. Reading periods are often used by university-affiliated magazines which only work during specific times of the year. Independent publishers have either monthly or all-year-round reading periods. Literary agents don’t have reading periods because they are always open for submissions.

Response time: This is the time an agent takes before getting back to you on your submission. This time is different for various literary markets. It is generally not a good idea to follow up with an agent after submitting your book for review unless there is a good reason. Some agents might take as long as one year and others reply within a few days or weeks.

Submissions manager: This is a database designed to track and manage submissions online. Submissions managers are particularly helpful to small literary journals. Many traditional agents, however, prefer query letters sent by email.

Sample copy: This is a copy of your novel that you offer a literary journal to find out if the editors in the network can buy your book. There are several literary journals that don’t require subscription.

Page count, word count, or line count

Most manuscripts are measured in terms of words. All word processors have a word count feature and authors should include the estimated word count on the first page of a manuscript. Page count is the number of pages based on the industry-standard formatting guideline. A manuscript should have Times New Roman font, 12-point character size, one inch margins, and normal (single) paragraph spacing. Line count is mostly used in poetry. The number of words or pages is not very relevant in poetry.

It is easy to understand how a publisher handles submissions when you look at their submission guidelines page. If the page has casual and easily understandable words and phrase, you should assume that the agents are too. However, if the page is standoffish and formal, you should expect no-nonsense agents.

San Francisco Book Review

  • Submission Guidelines

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Ever wonder “How do I get my book reviewed?”

You’ve finished your book. It’s been edited and published, and now you’re trying to figure out how to get it to readers.  While starting your marketing campaign usually (should) happens well before your book is finished, getting your first reviews can’t happen until your book is done (more on this later).

Many stores won’t carry a small press or self-published book that doesn’t have reviews from recognizable publications. Your challenge: How do you get someone to pay attention to your book among the hundreds, if not thousands, of books they see every month?

City Book Review , publishers of the San Francisco Book Review, Manhattan Book Review , Seattle Book Review , Tulsa Book Review , Portland Book Review , and Kids’ BookBuzz all have programs to help you. Kids’ BookBuzz is primarily for kids, tweens, and young adult books, but the other two will take almost any book you have (including children’s books). All reviews written for  Kids’ BookBuzz are done by kids under 18.

So how do you get your book reviewed by San Francisco Book Review?

If your book is within 90 days of the release date, you can submit it for general review (no cost). We typically receive about 4,600 books every year to review and ended up reviewing about 40% of them. If you are on a tight budget or want to gamble that we may select your book, you can give the General Submission a try.

booklist book review submission guidelines

– David Wogahn, President, AuthorImprints. com

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]If your book is more than 90 days past publication date, or you really want to get it reviewed and don’t want to just hope it’ll get picked up through the general review system, you can go through the Sponsored Review program. While there is some controversy about paying for a review, SFBR is a respected publication like Kirkus or Foreword Reviews and doesn’t provide vanity reviews for payment. You can expect the same level of professionalism from our standard reviews. And we don’t call out sponsored reviews any different than the other reviews.

Getting Your Book Reviewed from the San Francisco Book Review

There are a lot of different options for your book review, mostly around how long it takes to get your review back and if you want more than one or an interview as well.

Standard Reviews – Take 8-10 weeks for turnaround from the time we receive your book – Start at $199

Expedited Reviews – Take 3-5 weeks for turnaround from the time we receive your book – Start at $349

Get more than one review for the same book – you’ll get a discount on the normal cost of two or three reviews. From $325 to $575.

Add an interview – Podcast interviews for Audible Authors are $300 by themselves and adding them to an interview as a package drops the price of both. An expedited sponsored review and interview together cost $599, saving $50 from the cost separately.

– Terri Lee, Author of  Paper Castles

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COMMENTS

  1. Booklist, Booklist Online, Booklist Reader

    The best book reviews, readers' advisory, and collection development guidance from the experts at the American Library Association. For over 100 years Booklist magazine has helped tens of thousands of librarians as a book review source, and readers' advisory, collection development, and professional development resource.Booklist magazine delivers 8,000+ recommended-only reviews of books ...

  2. Booklist

    Episode #34: Summer Scares 2024 By Susan Maguire. This episode of Shelf Care: The Podcast is all about Summer Scares! The reading program, a collaboration between Booklist, the Horror Writers Association, United for Libraries, Book Riot, and NoveList, announced their title picks in February.Host Susan Maguire sat down with the folks behind Summer Scares to talk about the books they want you to ...

  3. Review Submission Guidelines

    For a book to be eligible for review consideration, it must be written in English and available, or about to be available, for purchase in the United States. Books submitted to BookLife Reviews can be up to 150,000 words long. There is no length limit for Publishers Weekly review consideration. BookLife was built to assist individual authors ...

  4. Booklist

    Booklist is a book review magazine that has been published by the American Library Association for more than one hundred years, and is widely viewed as offering the most reliable reviews to help libraries decide what to buy and to help library patrons and students decide what to read, view, or listen to. It comprises two print magazines, an extensive website and database, e-newsletters ...

  5. Booklist Blog (formerly know as The Booklist Reader)

    The Booklist Blog, formerly known as The Booklist Reader, offers freely accessible book and awards lists, author/illustrator interviews, resources, and news from Booklist and the American Library Association. Peruse the most recent posts in each of these categories below—and check back often for updates. The Booklist Review of the Day, posted ...

  6. Booklist Online Exclusive Reviews

    Booklist Online: The best book reviews for public libraries and school libraries, and the best books to read for your book club, brought to you by the ALA Unfortunately, your access has now expired. But there's good news—by subscribing today, you will receive 22 issues of Booklist magazine, 4 issues of Book Links, and single-login access to ...

  7. LibGuides: Marketing to Libraries: Reviews as a Selection Tool

    Booklist/Booklist Online reviews adult books (fiction and nonfiction), books for youth (children and young adults), and reference books and also newly released videos, DVDs, audiobooks, spoken word audios, and children's music CDs.. Booklist is a book-review magazine that has been published by the American Library Association since 1905, and is widely viewed as offering the most reliable ...

  8. Where to Submit Book Reviews-60 Lit Mags/Journals!

    Where to Submit Book Reviews-60 Lit Mags/Journals! By Trish Hopkinson on June 11, 2020 • ( 17 Comments ) The listings below are literary magazines and journal I found which do not charge submission fees and accept unsolicited submission of book reviews. A few are paying, some are print publications, some require a query before you send a ...

  9. Publishers Weekly Submission Guidelines

    The reviews of Canadian books appear in PW's regular review section. To submit a Canadian book for review consideration, follow the general guidelines above for adult titles and send to: Canadian ...

  10. Submission Guidelines

    Submission Guidelines. .Our General Submissions is for books that have been published in the last 90 days or will be published in the future. We accept: WE DO NOT ACCEPT DIGITAL BOOKS FOR GENERAL SUBMISSIONS (E-BOOKS, PDF, ETC.) We receive around 1500 books to review every month, and only review about 40% of what we receive.

  11. Booklist Online

    Booklist Online Content you trust…more ways to use it. From Booklist Publications, publisher of Booklist and Book Reader magazines.. Booklist Online is an essential book review site and a powerful collection development and readers' advisory tool serving libraries, library patrons, and book lovers. Complementing and expanding on Booklist magazine from the American Library Association ...

  12. PDF Book Review Guidelines

    Please adhere to the assigned length limits for your review: 600-800 words for a single book review and 1000-1200 for a two-book review essay. The word limits for essays comprising more than two books will be negotiated with the author. Should you exceed the word limit, the editors reserve the right to edit your review to fit the space available.

  13. How to Submit Your Book to BookLife Reviews and Publishers Weekly

    Complete this form, enter your payment information if you're purchasing a BookLife Review, and you're all set! You'll receive an email confirming your submission. For more information, see our FAQs about BookLife Reviews and Publishers Weekly reviews. And if you have questions about any of this, email [email protected]. ADVERTISEMENT. A step ...

  14. PDF Author and Publisher Submission Guidelines

    The best way to bring an item to the Library's attention is through reviews. A positive review in one or more of the major review journals (such as Library Journal, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist and Publisher's Weekly) will give an independently published book an improved chance for selection by Carnegie Library of ...

  15. How to get major publications to review your book: 10 invaluable tips

    Bigger publications like Booklist and Publishers Weekly are fantastic, and you should absolutely try to get into them, but be aware that they only review a fraction (less than 10% I read somewhere) of the submissions they get-and that's from all publishers. ... Send a cover letter with your submission. Make sure you address it to a specific ...

  16. Submit a book for review

    If you wish to submit a book for review consideration, please email a PDF of the galley, preferably at least two months ahead of publication, to [email protected]. Please include the publication date and any other related materials, along with links to NetGalley or other e-reader formats, if applicable. We accept physical book submissions ...

  17. Booklist's 2020 Top of the List and Editors' Choice announced

    CHICAGO — Every January, Booklist publishes Editors' Choice: lists of the best adult and youth books, and audiobooks of the past year. From these lists, we further select what we call the Top of the List: the single best title in seven categories—adult fiction, adult nonfiction, youth fiction, youth nonfiction, youth picture book, and adult and youth audiobooks. For the first time ...

  18. Book Review Site for Librarians in Public Libraries and ...

    Episode #34: Summer Scares 2024 By Susan Maguire. This episode of Shelf Care: The Podcast is all about Summer Scares! The reading program, a collaboration between Booklist, the Horror Writers Association, United for Libraries, Book Riot, and NoveList, announced their title picks in February.Host Susan Maguire sat down with the folks behind Summer Scares to talk about the books they want you to ...

  19. GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES AND BOOK REVIEWS Articles

    FALL 2018 ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW 237 GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES. AND BOOK REVIEWS Articles. Submission: Manuscripts should be submitted ELECTRONICALLY as an attachment in . Microsoft WORD (.doc or .docx, NOT .pdf) to Joy Landeira, Managing Editor, The Rocky Mountain Review

  20. Author Services

    Proofreading, Editing, Critique. Getting help with your book from a professional editor is always recommended but often just too expensive. We have partnered with a professional editor with 30 years of experience to provide quality writing services at affordable prices. Visit our Writing Services Page.

  21. Submission Guidelines

    Standard Reviews - Take 8-10 weeks for turnaround from the time we receive your book - Start at $199. Expedited Reviews - Take 3-5 weeks for turnaround from the time we receive your book - Start at $349. Get more than one review for the same book - you'll get a discount on the normal cost of two or three reviews. From $325 to $575.

  22. The Horn Book

    Review Copies *NEW GALLEY SUBMISSION PROCESS* As of December 11, 2023, the Horn Book has a new galley submission process. The Horn Book Magazine, a bimonthly publication, reviews children's and young adult books that are published in the United States.Publishers should send submissions of appropriate new titles in advance of publication date (preferably three months).