Book Review Policy
Welcome to Musings of a Bookish Kitty. My name is Wendy, aka Literary Feline. Musings of a Bookish Kitty is simply the place I come to talk about books and share other random thoughts. I strive to create an informal and friendly atmosphere where readers can commiserate, trade book recommendations, and discuss books and other bookish topics.
Reading is a passion of mine, but it is not my profession. My priority is my family, followed by my career (unrelated to reading and books). As a result, I read and blog when I can. I make no money and receive no compensation for keeping my blog up or writing reviews. I have my own stack of books to read in addition to any review books that may come my way. It is a continuous struggle to find a balance between the two.
Review Policy:
I am only considering review requests on a very limited basis at this time due to time constraints and other obligations.
What you need to know:
- I accept both e-books and print books, although at this time I prefer to review books in e-format.
- Sending me a book for review is no guarantee it will be reviewed on my blog.
- I accept books for review only when I think it will be a book I will enjoy reading. I read for pleasure and do not want reading to become a chore.
- I write only honest reviews of the books I read and review. I do my best to be fair in my reviews. When I do write a negative review, I try to find something positive to say along with the negative. I am a strong believer that while I might not like a book, it doesn't mean someone else will not like it.
- If I am unable to finish reading a book I have started, I will state so on my blog and list my reasons why.
- Because of other priorities in my life, I am not always able to get to books as quickly as I (or you) might like. I prefer not to read on deadline unless it's for a pre-arranged book tour. I need 3 to 4 weeks to prepare (read the book and write the review) for a book tour date.
- I cross post my reviews to GoodReads and LibraryThing.
- If you are interested in contacting me, please e-mail me at literaryfeline[AT]gmail[Dot]com.
Genres I will consider for review:
Crime Fiction (mysteries and suspense/thrillers)
Science Fiction/Fantasy (urban, traditional and paranormal)
Contemporary Fiction
Literary Fiction
Historical Fiction
Women's Fiction
Romance
Romance
Young Adult (fantasy/paranormal only, please)
Middle Grade
Types of books I WILL NOT consider for review:
Self-help books
Christian fiction
Erotica
ARC and Galley Copies: I do not sell the print ARC's sent to me. I sometimes do hold giveaways for the readers of my blog and will give away the ARC or review books sent to me. If this is a problem, please let me know ahead of time, and I will respect your wishes. E-galleys are deleted.
Disclosure: I review books I purchase myself, books borrowed from the library, and books given to me as gifts or on loan from friends and family. I also review books sent to me by publishers, publicists, and authors.
Privacy: For giveaways, I often request personal information in order to contact the winners and send them their prizes. Any information provided by participants in the giveaway is kept completely private and is never sold or shared with a third party unless the party is involved in the giveaway by way of providing and shipping the prize in question. All personal information obtained for a giveaway is destroyed upon completion of the transaction.
Rating System: I no longer rate the books I read on my blog, however, I do rate them on Goodreads. I rate books on a 1-5 scale, with 5 being outstanding and a 3 being good. You can refer to my rating system here for further explanation. All ratings are subjective based on my enjoyment of a book. I take into account writing, characterization, the plot, setting and my over all feel for the book. The opinions expressed in my reviews and in the rating are strictly my own.
Thank you for taking the time to visit. If you have any questions drop me a line at literaryfeline[AT]gmail[Dot]com.
© 2006-2021, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved.If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
Some very excellent points made here and a really great policy! I've been thinking about doing one of these myself, for myself if not anything else, just to give myself guidelines to what I will and will not read and review.
ReplyDeleteThis is very helpful, thank you!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic post. So much of it applies to me, esp. what you wrote about blogging/review books and the priority they have in your life. Well said.
ReplyDeleteI bit the bullet and posted a review policy a few weeks ago myself. Great job here, Wendy - very thorough!
ReplyDelete(Weird aside - do you think it's coincidence that I seem to be getting fewer review pitches/offers since I posted the policy?)
Very well thought out!
ReplyDeleteLooks like we avoid the same type books, except that I do read romance. Well, when I get to read at all...
My policy is no ebooks (they give me headaches) and I'll get to it when I get to it lol. I do things in order and I just now got to my 2009 reads! Very good and complete guideline!
ReplyDeleteI think this was a fantastic post with a lot of great information! Thanks for giving others some great information and tips. For me, I just like to post what I thought about a book. I've received 3 books from publishers which was a big surprise to me and I don't mind reading them and posting about my thoughts but if it ever got in the way of just having fun and enjoying my reading I would have to stop doing that. I love your blog, it's fantastic and I can see all of the hard work you put into it...and I thank you for it!!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a review policy Wendy. I hope you don't mind if I borrow some of your ideas when I eventually get around to writing my own.
ReplyDeleteBravo! This is wonderful and I want to "steal" it :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, it is very well thought out and you touch on so many points that I can relate to. Are you planning to add this somewhere on your sidebar? I never really thought of putting a book review policy because I never expected to receive books for review but now that I've been doing this for a while I probably should. You've given me lots of food for thought!
Betty - Thank you so much! That is so kind of you to say.
ReplyDeleteDavid - Thank you. I probably will iron it out more at some point in the future. I'll try to leave out the kitchen sink. :-)
You bring up a good point. This is a good guide line for me as well.
Paula - I'm glad you think so! Your article was a big help!
Tara - Thanks! I worried that I rambled on a little too much about that.
Florinda - Your review policy was wonderful. I wanted to copy and paste it, but I figured that would be bad etiquette.
That's interesting about the drop off in requests. It could very well be the reason. It'll be interesting to see if that's the case for me too.
Lisa - Thanks! Oh! I know it's hard for you to find time to read--you're life is so full already. Sneak a little in the next time the kids are napping. :-)
ReplyDeleteJen - That sounds like a good plan, Jen! If I had an e-reader, I think I'd be more willing to read e-books.
Staci - Thank you, Staci. You're so kind! I'm with you. I don't ever want my blog or reading, for that matter, to feel like a chore. It ceases to be fun at that point and that's not how I want to spend my personal time.
Kerrie - Please do, Kerrie. I spent quite a bit of time reading other people's policies and borrowed ideas from quite a few of them.
Iliana - Thank you! I have read so many good review policy's that I was thinking it would be easier just to steal someone else's. I was good though and tried to right one of my own. I did borrow bits and pieces of ideas from other blogs though.
I added a link to my sidebar. I'm thinking of a way I can make it more prominent though. Maybe figure out how to create a button for it and have it linked that way.
I think you did a great job with the review policy, Wendy. I don't fancy ebooks too, especially those over 200 pages.
ReplyDeleteAlice - Thank you, Alice! If I had an e-reader, I wouldn't mind reading an e-book. But printing them out or trying to read them on my computer takes away from my enjoyment of the book.
ReplyDeleteA very clear and honest statement, Wendy. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteClea - Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGreat review policy, Wendy. I've been working on www.TheDailyTail.com's policy as well. I think it's so important for us to have something like what you present here. It lets people know what they will find and what they can offer you. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteDaniela
It's funny, Wendy. I feel like we know each other - you've interviewed me adn reviewed my books. But I'd never read your policy statement till now! Well, it's about time, and I like what you said. If you're not being paid, why should you slog through something that isn't simpatico? I've always found your reviews thoughtful and informative, so what you are doing is most definitely working. Good job!
ReplyDelete