editorial

List of Reviewers that Offer Reviews in Their Publicity Packages

Irene Watson

In response to last week's editorial about marathon and fake reviewers an author sent me this:

Can I suggest that you give us a list of the best pay review sites in your opinion.

What a great idea!   This is what I came up with: (I personally know these review services and communicate on a regular basis with them. And, I'm plugging my own sites too!)

Superior Book Promotions
Owned by Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph. D. in Literature, author of 4 novels, English Professor of Writing & Literature, Professional Editor & Proofreader, Speaker on Writing & Literature in US & Great Britain. He is the sole reviewer on the site.

Offers packages that include postings on his website, ezinearticles.com, Amazon.com, B&N.com. Reads manuscripts, galleys, review copies, or published books. Offers editing.

No fee listed on site. 

Rebecca's Reads
This site, started by Rebecca Brown, has been around since 1998. The site was on sabbatical from July 2006 until January 2008 when it was revived under new ownership.

Offers basic publicity package which includes an expedited review, posting on Amazon.com and featured for one month in their featured book section.  Add-ons include featured in new book news, author spotlight, eInterview, audio recordings, press releases, and live interview. Also gives out Written Arts Awards. Endorsements by Rebecca's Reads are often found in the mass market books. Has a team of reviewers.

Fee for basic package is $75.00. Add-ons vary in price. Offers limited number of free reviews.

Reader Views Kids  (Children's books only)
Owned by Reader Views. Only kids review for this site.  If the child is pre-school or early reader parents do assist in reading and writing the review.  The reviews must capture the comments and reflections from the children.

Offers packages that include postings on RVK website and Amazon.com.  Depending on the package purchased review will be posted on 12 additional sites.  Packages include review within 2 weeks, written and live interviews, features on website and newsletter, press release written and distributed. Additional add-ons available.

Fees range from $95 to $485, depending on the review package.  Offers limited number of free reviews.

Reader Views
In operation for 5 1/2 years and is managed by award-winning author Irene Watson.  Her team includes 22 active and dedicated reviewers; some since the beginning of RV.

Offers packages that include postings on RV website and Amazon.com.  Depending on the package purchased review will be posted on 12 additional sites.  Packages include review within 2 weeks, written and live interviews, features on website and newsletter, press release written and distributed. Additional add-ons available.  Also offers editing, book video trailers, literary awards program, Kindle conversion, e-Catalog sent to librarians, and pre-publicity packages. Endorsements by RV are often found in books on front displays in Barnes and Noble bookstores or in mass market books. RV is syndicated and reviews appear in USA today, Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, eHow and Livestrong.

Fees range from $95 to $485, depending on review package. Offers limited number of free reviews.

Pacific Book Review
Newcomer on the block but is dedicated to providing service to authors. Owned and operated by author Nicole Sorkin the review service is breaking into the industry very quickly. She has as a team of reviewers.

Packages offered are Standard, Express, Premium and Ultimate review services.  The Standard service would take 7 to 9 weeks to get the review and posted on their site.  The link goes to Amazon.com so that potential readers can purchase the book. The higher packages include postings on various sites and distribution of review plus features on the site. Offers video book trailer production.

Fees range from $185 for the basic review to $450 for the Ultimate service. 

Feathered Quill Book Reviews
Owned by award-winning Ellen Feld, author of five novels for young adults.  She and her team have been providing reviews for the past two years at a successful rate.

Packages offered include the Spotlight, Featured, and Standard.  Members of her team also provide interviews of authors and features
on the site and blog.  Reviews are posted on Amazon.com and B&N.com

Fees range from $50 for Standard to $125 for the Spotlight packages.

Book Pleasures
Owned by Norm Goldman since 2002. Since then the site has done over 5000 reviews and over 550 author interviews.

Package is called Priority, Fast Track & Quick Review Service. The package includes a review within 15 business days of receipt of book, e-interview and extensive coverage on various sites, including Amazon.com. The review also includes a link to author's website.

Fee is $119.  Norm provides only one package. Offers limited number of free reviews.

Best Sellers World
Owned by Nancy Eaton and is one of the oldest review sites on the Internet. She has several sites dedicated to book reviews and considers them as her hobbies.

She offers an express review package whereby the review will be done within two weeks of receiving the book. The book cover will be featured for 7 days on her site. Nancy also offers two other packages which include additional promotions. Reviews are posted on Amazon.com.
 Endorsements by Best Sellers World are often found in mass market books.

Fees range from $95 for the Package A to $175 for Package C. Offers limited number of free reviews.

There are other review sites I have heard of offering packages; however, I don't know them and can't personally recommend them. The following three names were given to me by others. I've attempted to connect with these three site owners but my emails went unanswered.  I encourage you to check them out for yourself:

Sacramento Book Review
Their site says:
SFBR Sponsored Reviews is a paid-review service that allows authors and publishers to receive expedited reviews of their book. Your review will be placed in one of our printed publications (either San Francisco Book eview or Sacramento Book Review), placed on both websites, and on Amazon.com. You will also be able to use the review in your own marketing efforts. If the review is unfavorable, you have the option of trading it for an ad in one of our publications.
Standard Turnaround 6-10 weeks $125.00
Expedited Turnaround 3-5 weeks $299.00

BookReview.com
Their site says:
Our Express Review Service guarantees that your book is placed at the top of the reviewers' pile. At a cost of $175 per book, this service guarantees that one of our professional reviewers will read and review your book within 15 business days of receiving it. The review will be posted on BookReview.com as well as other sites and will be eligible to become a BookReview.com Book of the Month.
There is no disclosure of what other sites they post to.  They also have a New Author Listing package for $35.00. There is no review in this package.

Allbooks Review
It looks like they offer two promo packages but I'm having a hard time figuring it all out. Their site says:

We would like to state, we do not charge for reviews, we are promoting our Promo Package, which is based on the review.
This complete promotional package is available for the low price of $49.95 US or $55.95 Cdn.

Several authors sent me other links but when I went to the sites I couldn't find any humans disclosed in their "about us" page. For me, that doesn't work and shouldn't for you.  There are other sites, privately owned, that have been known as being fraudulent and I'm choosing not to give them any energy by listing them here.

The following sites, which are owned by publicity firms or other conglomerates, offer paid services as well.  From what I can see they don't offer any promotional packages other than paid-for reviews.  These are listed only for your information and research; I can't recommend them because I haven't had personal experience with them. They are:

Publishers Weekly
$149 processing fee which includes a 6-month subscription to the digital edition of PW. No guarantee your book will be reviewed, and if not reviewed there is no refund. (See previous editorial.)

Kirkus Indie Program (aka Kirkus Discoveries)
$425 for standard service (7-9 weeks) or $575 for express service (3-4 weeks.) They don't post the review anywhere but indicate that it "may be chosen to be featured in the Kirkus newsletter..."  No guarantee it will be.

Clairion/Foreword Reviews
$305 with a 6-8 week turnaround. I don't see where it says that they will post the review on any sites, including theirs, but you have an option to buy an ad on their site.

You can also check out:  Review The Book. This isn't a review site that offers paid packages but it does give you an opportunity to list your book and potentially get 5 reviews. The reviewers post their review on the site plus 9 other sites/blogs.  It's good exposure for only a $25 listing fee.  There is no guarantee that you'll get 5 reviews or any reviews but it's worth a try. The books aren't assigned to the reviewers therefore the reviewers choose which books they want to read/review.

Please keep in mind that just because I recommended the review site there is no guarantee you will get a 5-star raving review. I know each one of these reviewers/sites give their honest opinions and have no problem pointing out issues or giving a 1-star review.  But, one thing I do know is that they read the books and write their reviews according to what they got from the book.

If you know of any other sites offering publicity packages that include a book review please list them in the comments section.  List the link as well as your recommendations. Place your list of review services here. (Please do not include those that only give free reviews.)

PS - This is a warning.  You may get an email from Publishers Weekly announcing an awards program with a deadline of April 8th.  Just because the email came from PW doesn't mean they are involved - it only means they were paid to send out an email blast. It is known in the industry that the books aren't read and every one that enters gets an award.  No different than being wary of who you send your book for review to, be wary of legit or credible awards programs as well.

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