As with most of my discussion posts, todays topic is brought to you by my muse, Twitter.
I mentioned on Twitter earlier in the week that I received an interesting book proposal or book pitch. And this was met with some surprise, not the part about the “interesting” pitch, but that I receive requests for reviews at all.
Actually most of the books I review at The Story Siren are the result of a book pitch. Basically that means that the author/publisher/publicists/third party publicity/etc. contact me about a novel that they would like to offer for review.
I’d say the majority of the pitches I receive are from third party publicity companies. Which is an absolute 360 from when I started blogging. (That could be a whole post in it’s own!)
However, a good number of the pitches I receive are from publicists that I’ve built a professional relationship with. They know the type of books I like and are sure to highlight books that might not be on my radar but that I may enjoy. Other times I’ll have an author that may be familiar with my blog, or an author that knows I am familiar with their novel and they’ll contact me for review. These are greatly appreciated.
Unfortunately, not all pitches are made equal.
There has been some discussion on this topic before. You can read a post that Lenore of Presenting Lenore did.
I’m going to briefly highlight some points in her post and then address some additional issues.
A Good Pitch:
- Addresses the receiver by name.
- Shows that the sender knows something about the blog.
- Isn’t a copy and pasted email.
- Doesn’t bog the reader down with information. (Is this a review request or an advertisement campaign?)
- Doesn’t ignore the reviewers policies, such as no e-books, no self published books. (Often a waste of time for the sender and receiver.)
- At least includes the title(s) of the novel(s). (A summary of the books or an author website are good too, but not always needed.)
- How do you decline a request nicely?
- Should you reply to every request?
- I accepted now what?
- Doesn’t ask for everything. Try to limit your requests to “new/upcoming” releases. (Requesting backlisted titles, can come across as being greedy and slightly clueless. Although if a backlisted title is coming out “new” in paperback, exceptions can be made.)
- Realizes that authors DO NOT have a stack of advance readers copies at their disposal. You’re better off asking the publisher. (You can read (almost) everything you need to know about arcs at this post: Advance Readers Copies: What You Need to Know.)
- Don’t post list after list of books you are getting for review and then don’t post any reviews! This goes for In My Mailbox too. It just makes you look bad and and it looks like you are just in it for free books (this type of behavior doesn’t go unnoticed.)…. unless of course you list books you buy, get from the library, win from a contest, etc and clearly state that!
- Authors link reviews on their websites! (or if they’d rather do it privately, send a “thank you” email)
- Authors comment on our blogs!
- When authors argue with our opinions or berate us in our comments section.
No related posts.
I like this post. Since I'm a new blogger, this is going to help me a lot! thanks for sharing!
I like this post. Since I'm a new blogger, this is going to help me a lot! thanks for sharing!
Always so helpful & informative.
Thank you Kristi!
Always so helpful & informative.
Thank you Kristi!
Great post! I'm not a huge fan of receiving a form letter asking for a review (unless it's from a publicist that I know). It's one of the biggest turnoffs for me and consequently it's hard to give an unbiased review when I already have negative feelings about the book.
Great post! I'm not a huge fan of receiving a form letter asking for a review (unless it's from a publicist that I know). It's one of the biggest turnoffs for me and consequently it's hard to give an unbiased review when I already have negative feelings about the book.
Almost all bloggers who receive ARCs include them in their IMMs and never review them. I think it's selfish of them.
I really like the information on this post. It will help us all improve.
Thanks Kristi!
Almost all bloggers who receive ARCs include them in their IMMs and never review them. I think it's selfish of them.
I really like the information on this post. It will help us all improve.
Thanks Kristi!
This is superfical but I like when a pitch includes the book cover. Also I've noticed a lot of the time there isn't a link to the publisher's site or amazon or the author's site, just even one of those is always nice to be able to instantly read something else about the book.
This is superfical but I like when a pitch includes the book cover. Also I've noticed a lot of the time there isn't a link to the publisher's site or amazon or the author's site, just even one of those is always nice to be able to instantly read something else about the book.
Hmm, I wonder if I should start listing the sources for my IMM books. I don't want to look like a lazy reviewer for not reviewing a lot of IMM books, because the books I haven't reviewed are books I traded for, or bought (many of which are impulse buys I won't get around to for a while), or found at Strand, etc and I feel a lower obligation to read/review those books in a timely matter since I obtained them myself and they weren't sent for review… so maybe from now on I will be more specific.
Personally the requests I tend to ignore are those that clearly ignored what genres I said I will review on my blog. I guess maybe I have to put my reviewing information in a more noticable place? Because I've gotten requests about genres I literally never read (adult nonfiction, picture books, things like that) and I tend to just not reply at all.
Hmm, I wonder if I should start listing the sources for my IMM books. I don't want to look like a lazy reviewer for not reviewing a lot of IMM books, because the books I haven't reviewed are books I traded for, or bought (many of which are impulse buys I won't get around to for a while), or found at Strand, etc and I feel a lower obligation to read/review those books in a timely matter since I obtained them myself and they weren't sent for review… so maybe from now on I will be more specific.
Personally the requests I tend to ignore are those that clearly ignored what genres I said I will review on my blog. I guess maybe I have to put my reviewing information in a more noticable place? Because I've gotten requests about genres I literally never read (adult nonfiction, picture books, things like that) and I tend to just not reply at all.
Thanks for a great post. I consider myself still a newbie, almost 6 months and just hit 100 followers.
I received my first request last week and I do think I will enjoy the book so I was excited.
I received another 2 days ago and I have been considering it but unsure if I will actually read it, maybe I will ask for more information before accepting or declining.
I would not want to get overwhelmed as I am a mood reader and would not want to feel pressured into reading and writing a review.
Good protocal advice thought, thank you.
Thanks for a great post. I consider myself still a newbie, almost 6 months and just hit 100 followers.
I received my first request last week and I do think I will enjoy the book so I was excited.
I received another 2 days ago and I have been considering it but unsure if I will actually read it, maybe I will ask for more information before accepting or declining.
I would not want to get overwhelmed as I am a mood reader and would not want to feel pressured into reading and writing a review.
Good protocal advice thought, thank you.
You're so great! Thanks!
You're so great! Thanks!
Kristi,
I'll offer a perspective from the pitching side
While we publicists love to hear back – pro or con – we also know that many reviewers are inundated with pitches and email in general.
But for those of us who do strive to be on target with our pitches, using email is not always the best way to notify bloggers of new books. That's where Book Blogs on Ning comes in handy, as well as other reviewer groups and mailing lists in which reviewers can opt-in to receive regular updates. I like using such lists because I know the members have chosen to receive the emails (I send out monthly updates to one group) and they can opt out at any time.
And thank you for mentioning that books received for review should be reviewed! It does cost the author money to have books sent out (they typically have to purchase a certain number of books from their publisher and then pay for the mailings on top of that) and so we really want send books only to those who have the time to post a review.
Thanks for such an informative post!
Kristi,
I'll offer a perspective from the pitching side
While we publicists love to hear back – pro or con – we also know that many reviewers are inundated with pitches and email in general.
But for those of us who do strive to be on target with our pitches, using email is not always the best way to notify bloggers of new books. That's where Book Blogs on Ning comes in handy, as well as other reviewer groups and mailing lists in which reviewers can opt-in to receive regular updates. I like using such lists because I know the members have chosen to receive the emails (I send out monthly updates to one group) and they can opt out at any time.
And thank you for mentioning that books received for review should be reviewed! It does cost the author money to have books sent out (they typically have to purchase a certain number of books from their publisher and then pay for the mailings on top of that) and so we really want send books only to those who have the time to post a review.
Thanks for such an informative post!
Great advice Kristi, I just started seriously book blogging. I'm very fortunate that SanDiego Comicon has really embraced publishing. I received over 30 arc's last year and was so grateful. Now I'm looking forward to this year to try to make some contacts with the publishing staff,thanks for taking time to respond, I really enjoy your blog
Great advice Kristi, I just started seriously book blogging. I'm very fortunate that SanDiego Comicon has really embraced publishing. I received over 30 arc's last year and was so grateful. Now I'm looking forward to this year to try to make some contacts with the publishing staff,thanks for taking time to respond, I really enjoy your blog
Great and inspirational post Kristi! I really agree with you on most of the points you mention here,especially when it comes to the IMM thing, I also noticed that there are bloggers that pay more attention to the arc's they get instead of reviewing them. (I hope I can be objective here, as I live outside US and almost never receive arc's)
Anyway, I really like that you post about this topics, thumbs up! : )
Great and inspirational post Kristi! I really agree with you on most of the points you mention here,especially when it comes to the IMM thing, I also noticed that there are bloggers that pay more attention to the arc's they get instead of reviewing them. (I hope I can be objective here, as I live outside US and almost never receive arc's)
Anyway, I really like that you post about this topics, thumbs up! : )
I don't think I've had a bad pitch before. Some have been so personal that I could not say no. Once an author direct messaged me on Twitter and asked if I would review their books because they liked a review I had written of another book which I bought. Flattery will get you everywhere with me! LOL I try to view every email as an opportunity and I always make time to reply politely whether it is a yes or a no. I also try to recommend other bloggers who do fit the book. I won't review anything scary but I know some who will so I put their blogs forward which although time consuming is really good for all concerned. The publisher or publicist appreciates my help and so will likely invite me to review a book again, they have a list of blogs so don't have to trawl finding the right ones, the other bloggers get to review a book they may not have done otherwise. Everyone wins!
I don't think I've had a bad pitch before. Some have been so personal that I could not say no. Once an author direct messaged me on Twitter and asked if I would review their books because they liked a review I had written of another book which I bought. Flattery will get you everywhere with me! LOL I try to view every email as an opportunity and I always make time to reply politely whether it is a yes or a no. I also try to recommend other bloggers who do fit the book. I won't review anything scary but I know some who will so I put their blogs forward which although time consuming is really good for all concerned. The publisher or publicist appreciates my help and so will likely invite me to review a book again, they have a list of blogs so don't have to trawl finding the right ones, the other bloggers get to review a book they may not have done otherwise. Everyone wins!
@Kailia & @ Catie S. Thanks for commenting. I’m glad this was helpful
@Cinnamon don’t be afraid to decline!
@Dahlia it is a problem yes. But also remember at the same time. There are reviewers like me, that have reviews scheduled out for months at a time, so the books I get this week, might not be gracing the blog with a review for 3 or 4 months….
@ Alea I do love covers too! lol. Although if one isn’t included i don’t consider it a bad pitch, but just an added bonus.
@Rebecca I have a lot of those too. I know I’ve mentioned sometimes that a lot of the books I receive for review aren’t ones that I even know where coming. If i didn’t have initial interest in them, i don’t feel obligated to review them.
and i must get to work!
will reply more!
thanks to everyone for commenting!
@Kailia & @ Catie S. Thanks for commenting. I’m glad this was helpful
@Cinnamon don’t be afraid to decline!
@Dahlia it is a problem yes. But also remember at the same time. There are reviewers like me, that have reviews scheduled out for months at a time, so the books I get this week, might not be gracing the blog with a review for 3 or 4 months….
@ Alea I do love covers too! lol. Although if one isn’t included i don’t consider it a bad pitch, but just an added bonus.
@Rebecca I have a lot of those too. I know I’ve mentioned sometimes that a lot of the books I receive for review aren’t ones that I even know where coming. If i didn’t have initial interest in them, i don’t feel obligated to review them.
and i must get to work!
will reply more!
thanks to everyone for commenting!
I have noticed some book blogs that post all these ARCs they have received on their IMM, and I hardly see any reviews on them. This irritates me because there are so many other book bloggers out there who would love the chance to review them.
Thanks for this post Kristi. I'm taking alot with me from this. Even put it as a favorite so I can go back to it.
I have noticed some book blogs that post all these ARCs they have received on their IMM, and I hardly see any reviews on them. This irritates me because there are so many other book bloggers out there who would love the chance to review them.
Thanks for this post Kristi. I'm taking alot with me from this. Even put it as a favorite so I can go back to it.
Um yeah, I got a package of picture books not that long ago. They will make a nice gift for my niece at least!
Um yeah, I got a package of picture books not that long ago. They will make a nice gift for my niece at least!
You have a fair policy and set of requirements! I don't like mass emails and those lacking personalization and I can't imagine anyone else does, either.
You receive a lot of requests – I'd be curious what percentage of the books you receive arrive without a request?
You have a fair policy and set of requirements! I don't like mass emails and those lacking personalization and I can't imagine anyone else does, either.
You receive a lot of requests – I'd be curious what percentage of the books you receive arrive without a request?
What an interesting post, Kristi!
I received my first request to review a book late last year, and have received a couple more this year. I completely agree with you when you say you wouldn't reply to someone who is just advertising their book, as opposed to an author who's fairly new and would like to be reviewed and be under the spotlight like any other known author, and a household name author with a new book that was interested in our blogs and is offering a book to review.
I think it's a win-win situation when the author gets what they're after, and the reviewer enjoyed the book.
Also, living outside the US, I don't get many requests to review books, so I'm grateful to those authors that asked me to review them
What an interesting post, Kristi!
I received my first request to review a book late last year, and have received a couple more this year. I completely agree with you when you say you wouldn't reply to someone who is just advertising their book, as opposed to an author who's fairly new and would like to be reviewed and be under the spotlight like any other known author, and a household name author with a new book that was interested in our blogs and is offering a book to review.
I think it's a win-win situation when the author gets what they're after, and the reviewer enjoyed the book.
Also, living outside the US, I don't get many requests to review books, so I'm grateful to those authors that asked me to review them
I love how you manage to say so much and make it so clear. This is fantastic advice for bloggers and authors (and publishers/publicists) alike.
I love how you manage to say so much and make it so clear. This is fantastic advice for bloggers and authors (and publishers/publicists) alike.
Really good points.
When I pass on a request, I often spend a minute steering them towards a blogger that might fit their genre better. It builds my relationship with the PR person/author and passes the good feelings onto another blogger that may do their book better justice than I could.
Really good points.
When I pass on a request, I often spend a minute steering them towards a blogger that might fit their genre better. It builds my relationship with the PR person/author and passes the good feelings onto another blogger that may do their book better justice than I could.
Great post Kristi! I also really like it when publicists also include the book's press release in an attachment. Most of the information I need aboutthe book itself can be found in a PR, and it saves me having to look on Amazon or the pulisher or author's website. I also think it saves the publicist time to, they only have to attach a PR, so they don't have to go into as much detail in the actual email.
Great post Kristi! I also really like it when publicists also include the book's press release in an attachment. Most of the information I need aboutthe book itself can be found in a PR, and it saves me having to look on Amazon or the pulisher or author's website. I also think it saves the publicist time to, they only have to attach a PR, so they don't have to go into as much detail in the actual email.
I too hate pitches for books that aren't books I read, don't have my name, etc. I'd like people to actually look around my blog before contacting me! At first I felt bad about saying no, but now I have too much on my plate to accept everything.
I too hate pitches for books that aren't books I read, don't have my name, etc. I'd like people to actually look around my blog before contacting me! At first I felt bad about saying no, but now I have too much on my plate to accept everything.
Gwen – That's a great point. I often do that too, especially if I see that an author or publicist has spend a lot of time on their pitch, and I can't take their book, I'll pass them along a couple of links to blogs where I think they may be more successful. This has always worked really well!
Gwen – That's a great point. I often do that too, especially if I see that an author or publicist has spend a lot of time on their pitch, and I can't take their book, I'll pass them along a couple of links to blogs where I think they may be more successful. This has always worked really well!
As a debut author, I was asked to forward all ARC requests to my publicist at the publishing house. I was surprised at how much thought and care goes into sending ARCs (check out Kristi's post on ARCs – totally worth bookmarking)because of the costs involved.
If you're asking, of course you don't need to give a book a good review, but you should probably acknowledge it in some way.
As a debut author, I was asked to forward all ARC requests to my publicist at the publishing house. I was surprised at how much thought and care goes into sending ARCs (check out Kristi's post on ARCs – totally worth bookmarking)because of the costs involved.
If you're asking, of course you don't need to give a book a good review, but you should probably acknowledge it in some way.
Thanks for this post! It's a huge help in understanding more about ARCs.
Thanks for this post! It's a huge help in understanding more about ARCs.
I just created my own book blog recently, so thank you for the advice. I'll keep this in mind for the future!
I just created my own book blog recently, so thank you for the advice. I'll keep this in mind for the future!
Thanks for the great post. As a book lover and aspiring fantasy author, I found it very interesting. I do think it's important to research the blogs and personalize the pitch because book bloggers don't have time to waste just like everyone in the publishing industry. As an author, if I do the research and individualize my request to you and other book bloggers, I'd hope to get a response. Authors have a limited number of books to give out for review and it's helpful to know if a blogger will really read and review a book before sending it.
Thanks for the great post. As a book lover and aspiring fantasy author, I found it very interesting. I do think it's important to research the blogs and personalize the pitch because book bloggers don't have time to waste just like everyone in the publishing industry. As an author, if I do the research and individualize my request to you and other book bloggers, I'd hope to get a response. Authors have a limited number of books to give out for review and it's helpful to know if a blogger will really read and review a book before sending it.
Excellent advice dear! Thank you much
Excellent advice dear! Thank you much
Another excellent and informative post for me to bookmark, Kristi. I’d add that book bloggers should have their selection policy and reading preferences posted in the sidebar or tab.
Good to see the blog advice link at the top of your blog. Mentoring is a great idea too.
Another excellent and informative post for me to bookmark, Kristi. I’d add that book bloggers should have their selection policy and reading preferences posted in the sidebar or tab.
Good to see the blog advice link at the top of your blog. Mentoring is a great idea too.
great post! I have recently started getting a lot of request by publicist, third party pitches and authors(the authors are usually unknown and wanting a little publicity)
I agree with the part about not wanting authors to argue about our opinions. I reviewed a book a few months back and even though I gave it a three star I got a lot of feed back from people who said it sounded good and would probably like to read it..yet the author emailed me wanting to know why I gave it a three, etc..I was like uh wow..my first complaint from a author..LOL
Stormi
Books, Movies, Reviews. Oh my!
great post! I have recently started getting a lot of request by publicist, third party pitches and authors(the authors are usually unknown and wanting a little publicity)
I agree with the part about not wanting authors to argue about our opinions. I reviewed a book a few months back and even though I gave it a three star I got a lot of feed back from people who said it sounded good and would probably like to read it..yet the author emailed me wanting to know why I gave it a three, etc..I was like uh wow..my first complaint from a author..LOL
Stormi
Books, Movies, Reviews. Oh my!
As usual your advice is very helpful, Kristi. Well except for the use my real name part(for the publishers visiting my blog I mean), I haven't used my real name on my blog so the publishers will struggle to find it. I guess people understand that my name isn't really Ladybug
As usual your advice is very helpful, Kristi. Well except for the use my real name part(for the publishers visiting my blog I mean), I haven't used my real name on my blog so the publishers will struggle to find it. I guess people understand that my name isn't really Ladybug
Great post Kristi and I have Make sure that when I get books to review and I try to make the time to read them.
I did get one self published book and read it but it wasn't my cup of tea. Thanks always for doing posts like these. I want your book fairy
Great post Kristi and I have Make sure that when I get books to review and I try to make the time to read them.
I did get one self published book and read it but it wasn't my cup of tea. Thanks always for doing posts like these. I want your book fairy
Thanks for such a great post! It's very helpful to me as well.
Thanks for such a great post! It's very helpful to me as well.
This is great! I'm also new to book blogging,and the review requests are starting to come in, but it's obvious that the people sending the emails do NOT read my review policy, and struggle with how to be both nice and still say No. Thanks for the advice!
This is great! I'm also new to book blogging,and the review requests are starting to come in, but it's obvious that the people sending the emails do NOT read my review policy, and struggle with how to be both nice and still say No. Thanks for the advice!
Thank you for this post! I've started getting a few pitches, and I got my first one that I'd like to decline – however, I really would like to work with this author in the future & wasn't sure what the "PC" thing to do was! So thank you
Thank you for this post! I've started getting a few pitches, and I got my first one that I'd like to decline – however, I really would like to work with this author in the future & wasn't sure what the "PC" thing to do was! So thank you