Written on February 14th, 2009 at 12:02 am by Darren Rowse
How to Get Free Books to Review on Your Blog
The following post on getting free books for review on your blog is by Nick from the cooking blog Macheesmo.
Regardless of the subject of your blog, it is probably the case that there are hundreds or even thousands of actual books written on that same subject. If done correctly, reviewing these books can be a great resource for your readers and also offer you a simple way to expand your library and possibly make a few extra bucks if you have an Amazon Affiliate account.
Of course, books can be expensive so it doesn’t make sense to buy all the books you want to review – especially if you are doing one a week. The library may be a good solution but they might not have newly released books which are the exact books you will want to review.
Publishers want to give you a copy of the book
This is one of the easiest ways for publishers to get the word out about a new book. For each released book, a good number are printed for “review copies.” This means that they are sent for free to reviewers, like you. In exchange, you introduce your audience to the book.
No site too small
I started doing reviews of cookbooks on Macheesmo when I was getting only about fifty visits a day. Publishers were still happy to send me review copies. Access to even a small audience for the price of shipping and handling is worth it for most publishers.
Finding Publisher Information
Once you have a book that you would like to review, the easiest way to find the publisher information is to search on Amazon for the book. Once you are on the book’s page, you can scroll down to find:
These are the product details for Darren’s book, Problogger. Make a note of the Publisher, and also the ISBN-10 number.
Google the publisher to locate their website. They will most likely have a section on their website, sometimes under the contact or FAQ section where they will mention how they want to be contacted for review copy requests.
Making contact
Publishers will be very specific on how they would like to be contacted. Don’t try to trick them. Just use whatever method they ask for and they will most likely respond. While sometimes they will list a phone number or email address, the most common contact method, by far, is fax.
More specifically, they request a fax on “company letterhead.” I would say 80% of publishers will request this before sending out a review copy.
Have no fear. This request is easy to meet. Simply type up your website name and address information in a header and footer and right a concise letter that includes: The name of the book you are requesting, the ISBN-10 code for the book, a little bit about your website, and maybe why you think your readers would enjoy the book you are requesting.
Fax it away and you are all set. Typically, the publisher will contact you in a few days if they are interested.
Because I am super nice, I’ve included examples for both a letterhead and a fax cover sheet below:
- Sample letterhead (pdf)
- Sample fax sheet (pdf)
Writing the Review
It should go without saying that when you get the copy you requested, you must actually write the review. If you intend to keep writing reviews in the future, it would also be in your best interest to write a good review.
Note that I didn’t say positive review. I said a good review. You should not feel inclined to write positive things about the book just because you received a free copy. If you write a fair, honest, and professional review, most publishers will respect your opinion.
Also, it is worth the time it takes to send the publisher a note via email after you hit publish. If you wrote a thorough review, they might offer to send you other books on the spot!
Keeping Track
Start a spreadsheet and keep track of all the publishers you have contacted and which ones responded positively. If there are one or two publishers who have not sent you review copies in the past, then it may not be worth the effort to ask for newer books.
Most likely, you will establish a relationship with a few different publishers and eventually they will start contacting you asking if you would like to review a new book.
Book reviews can be a real benefit on a blog, but they do require some time. As with anything, if you are going to do it, I would recommend spending the time to do it correctly. Your readers, and publishers, are not stupid.
Spend the time to request books that you really think your audience would enjoy, and then spend even more time writing quality reviews of those books, and you will be able to provide a real service.
Tags: Book Reviews
103 Responses to “How to Get Free Books to Review on Your Blog” - Add Yours
Eleanor Ross
February 14th, 2009 12:22 am
What an excellent post, this is something I will introduce onto my website, Thank you, Eleanor
http://www.learn-spanish-with-ease.com
Big Slick Design
February 14th, 2009 12:27 am
I considered doing this on my blog, but I just don’t know if I have the time.
Perhaps if I limit it to 1 review per month…
Thanks though, I didn’t really realize how eager publishers were to get us to review their published books.
I guess this could apply to any relatively cheap product, too.
Martijn
February 14th, 2009 12:27 am
This is actually very interesting, thanks for this post.
But since I am not US based the cost of shipping would probably require an audience in the thousands instead of the low fifty’s.
ZK@WebTrafficROI.com
February 14th, 2009 12:27 am
This is the thing which I have not applied seriously. But I think if they are offering limited review to limited people than there is high chances of making money.
If everyone have that kind of book than why should anyone go to buy them … isn’t ?
TH
February 14th, 2009 12:31 am
It’s true about no site being too small; I get <100 people each day and yesterday I got an e-mail from a publisher offering a copy of a book. I honestly thought it was some sort of spam until I did a little research. What a delight!
Tommy Day
February 14th, 2009 12:32 am
Great article! I’m looking to do something similar with Blu-rays, particularly animation related blu-ray releases.
Keith Collantine
February 14th, 2009 12:38 am
A few more things:
1. Always send them links to the reviews you put up afterwards – even if it’s negative.
2. Do they want to offer competition copies? Are they happy to offer an excerpt for publication?
3. Think long and hard before deciding to use a rating system (stars, marks out of ten, percentage) and define what each rating means.
4. If you’re using Amazon Affiliates (or similar) including a link to where the book can be bought. I prefer to include a note making it explicitly clear to readers that I earn commission from the sale.
5. Call them up every now and then just to find out what they’ve got coming up. See if you can get pre-publication copies.
Jensen | CS-Weekly
February 14th, 2009 12:42 am
See, this is another advantage to be a blogger: Free books!
Thanks, Nick! Will consider reviewing some books when I get reading time.
Brian
February 14th, 2009 12:44 am
Excellent article. I was just wondering what you did with the book after the review. Do you ever offer them as a prize?
rikin
February 14th, 2009 12:44 am
Great tips. I was wondering if publishers have ever asked about the size of your blog before sending? I wouldn’t be surprised if they were fairly clueless about traffic metrics and all but I’m sure they’re catching on.
@TH has an encouraging comment since my site receives a little less than a 100 visits per day as well even though it’s only a month old. (Damn it why did I buy Outliers!)
Gori Girl
February 14th, 2009 12:44 am
Thanks for the tip! I do article & book reviews on my website all the time – and maintain a page called “Intercultural Relationship Resources” but I typically use the local library or just buy the books I’m looking to review. I never thought to see if I could get review copies from the publisher.
Martijn
February 14th, 2009 12:46 am
Interesting that my RSS feed for this post gives a Google advertising mentioning the following:
“If you hold a copyright in a book or other writing you might be affected by the Google Book Settlement”
http://www.googlebooksettlement.com
I guess that not all books are equally free.
Bill Masson
February 14th, 2009 12:52 am
Doing book reviews is a great way to build your traffic, but it doesn’t stop there, you can do reviews on just about everything that sells on the web. Your post does remind people that its a good idea to ask webmasters if they would like their product reviewed. I have found that in most instances site owners are more than likely to jump at the chance for your review and there’s a good chance of receiving there product for free.
jim
February 14th, 2009 1:00 am
“If you intend to keep writing reviews in the future, it would also be in your best interest to write a good review.”
You lose credibility if you do that, you can save yourself by only requesting or accepting books you believe will be good beforehand. Also, remember, it’s just a book. You can get books for free at the library.
Steven (Book Dads)
February 14th, 2009 1:04 am
If you can find library books that are relatively current and relevant, just start writing good reviews of them.
Eventually publishers and authors will start contacting you. We’ve never contacted a publisher directly ourselves and we don’t have a high traffic site, but we have more review copies then we can keep up with right now.
Isaac
February 14th, 2009 1:05 am
I should do more book reviews, but I don’t feel like I have the time. I do, however, have some time for movies. I wonder if the same or a similar process applies to DVDs? Anyone know?
Rachel
February 14th, 2009 1:21 am
It’s always easy when you have a blog like this one with high PR high traffic, and very intellectual readers, who interact with your blog and share with you their thoughts.
Felicia - I Complete Me
February 14th, 2009 1:29 am
This is great information. I am thinking about doing reviews but haven’t really decided what I want to review. I am going to have to look to see what books are in my niche and possibly become an amazon affiliate. Thank you for the information.
Jcolier
February 14th, 2009 1:33 am
What a great idea! This is yet another way to provide valuable information to my blog readers. I usually post a synopsis of a book I read that is relevant to my blog (www.joncolier.com), but getting a release of a new book is even better.
Thanks for the idea!
Dominique
February 14th, 2009 1:34 am
I have done a few book reviews on my site and they do help to bring in some traffic. If the publishers are unable to give me a hardcopy since I stay outside USA (Singapore) they would send a PDF version.
Cara
February 14th, 2009 1:35 am
@jim I believe you missed this part of the article, and I quote:
“Note that I didn’t say positive review. I said a good review. You should not feel inclined to write positive things about the book just because you received a free copy.”
He just means to write an intelligent review. Not a sloppy, typo-ridden piece of fluff.
Nick
February 14th, 2009 1:37 am
Thanks Everyone for the comments. Keith’s points are all good ones.
@Jim Notice that I say there is a difference between a “good review” and a “positive review”. What I meant by good review is taking the time to thoroughly review the book even if ultimately your review is negative.
Also, I touch on the library point: “The library may be a good solution but they might not have newly released books which are the exact books you will want to review.”
It’s not for every site and does require some work, but it can be a good addition if you have the time.
Talen
February 14th, 2009 1:43 am
Great information. Never thought about doing this but it’s definitely on my radar now. Sounds like this could work really well for a small niche site.
andy santamaria
February 14th, 2009 1:45 am
I really enjoyed this post! I can’t wait to try it too. What is the last book you read?
Michael
February 14th, 2009 1:49 am
An idea that had never occurred to me! Thanks for the info. One question: when you do this, do you utilize other sites to drive traffic to your reviews? For example, do you throw out an excerpt or link to your review blog entry on Amazon.com or similar?
Hendry Lee
February 14th, 2009 2:05 am
Thanks for sharing your experience in detail. It is helpful.
With a bit of due diligence, bloggers may also approach ebook publishers and offer the same review in return of a copy of the ebook.
I’ve done this — as a self-publisher — myself. But out of people who respond, only about 40 percent who actually wrote the review. Guess people don’t want to miss an opportunity but never have the time to read, let alone write the review.
TechMata
February 14th, 2009 2:26 am
Nice Tip!
I wonder if the reviewer really reads the book from cover to cover.hehe
Zippy
February 14th, 2009 2:32 am
At Champagne Living we are involved in Book Tours as well. Not only are you given books to review, but at times you can interview the author, etc. Just do a search for “book tours” and contact the companies. Not only do authors do LIVE visits in bookstores, but now they’ll do them on your BLOG!
Helmi Asyraf
February 14th, 2009 2:45 am
wow…i have never think about this idea….
Besides added more valuable and resourceful post into our blog, blog review can help us to create a brand as a not only blogger but book reviewer.
This will definitely increase our credibility as a blogger and our follower will definitely impress with us.
Thank you for the tips…
SEO Tips
February 14th, 2009 3:00 am
Interesting article, I shall try this out with some Internet Marketing books I think.
Too bad I didn’t try it with you book. :P
maya | springtree road
February 14th, 2009 3:02 am
awesome. i’ve wondered how to do this. about to turn on my fax machine…
Natasha @ Maw Books
February 14th, 2009 3:24 am
Well, that’s all I do on my blog is review books. At this moment I have 25 review copies waiting for me to read. In the past year, I’ve probably received triple that. At this point, books just show up on my doorstep and I’m not even sure how I got them! I should note, it’s not about just getting a free book. I could do that at the library. It’s about providing helpful information at the time people are looking for it (like new releases).
While, I have seen some websites requests faxes, I have never done so. Most requests are by email or direct contact with the author. At this point, most requests are the other way around. I receive several requests a day and I’ve gotten to the point where I turn down 90% of those. Most book bloggers have a relationships with publishers, publicists, and authors. Also, most books now go on a virtual blog tour. Once you establish that first contact, the rest comes easy.
I also have a disclaimer posted on my website that not all reviews will be positive. Free book does not equal positive review. But the review will be well written and worthy of the time that I spent reading the book.
FupDuckTV
February 14th, 2009 3:45 am
Nick,
Great article about book reviews. I proceeded over to your blog and checked out some of your book reviews. They are very well done, but I have one question… Why don’t you use a rating system? Two thumbs up, 4 out of 5 stars? I’m curious if that was by choice or just haven’t thought of that. I was curious if it had to do with hurting publishers and authors feelings? On my website, we review beer and we use a rating scale of 0 to 5 pints of beer. You get free cookbooks to review, we try to get free beers to review.
DaVe from FupDuckTV.com
Keira
February 14th, 2009 3:53 am
If you consistently review books, and are a book blog (or not), you should also have a section on your website under advertising or about or contact (or all three) directing authors and publishers how you read and review books.
Example: http://www.loveromancepassion.com/advertising/
Be sure to include review policies, wait time, how to contact, quoting policies, etc.
Mike
February 14th, 2009 3:54 am
Thanks Darren. It had never occurred to me, and I spend a fortune on books as well!
Thanks also Keith for adding what you did.
Jenn
February 14th, 2009 4:00 am
Thanks for the great tip for Book Reviews. After reading your post I immediately found the publisher for an upcoming book in 2009. I contacted them, made my request and got an immediate response.
They are sending me the book I requested to review and recommended another one for me to review as well.
Now I’ve got two new books in my field of interest coming to me plus great content for my blog. Thanks!
Neil
February 14th, 2009 4:11 am
Great advice. I’ve written a few reviews either on books I already own or I borrow from the library. This tends to mean that I’m reviewing older books. Thanks for a great tip on getting current books for review.
Abdulrehman
February 14th, 2009 4:30 am
Those are some nice tips, it’s always good to review books although nowadays e-book reviews are mostly common!
Talking Books Librarian
February 14th, 2009 4:41 am
Great idea! I will have to explore this further on my blog! :) Seems like it would be a good fit for my blog…. :)
Thanks for the idea!
Talking Books Librarian
http://talkingbookslibrarian.blogspot.com/
Jennifer W. (Simple Scrapper)
February 14th, 2009 4:42 am
Wow – I too had never knew this opportunity was available. I contacted 3 publishers in my niche today to request review copies. However, none preferred fax. I was offered 2 web forms and an email address.
ZK@WebTrafficROI.com
February 14th, 2009 4:48 am
@ Talking
Certainly this one is for you and I am sure you will be able to get maximum from this.
I am also thinking about this and want to have in my new blog. Extra money is always welcome :)
FFB
February 14th, 2009 5:32 am
I’ve been getting a rush of book offers lately! It’s been great. The only problem is keeping up and keeping interested in the books.
I’d suggest keeping notes of what’s interesting in a separate place than the book itself as you read (don’t mark up the book). This way you can refer back and when you are done you can offer the book to your readers in the form of a contest. Now the book can also help build your audience and possibly build links back to your site.
Another bonus is if your review gets indexed by the search engines. Then if someone is looking up the book they may stumble onto your site to see what you have to say. The more visitors the better!
Stuart Conover
February 14th, 2009 5:39 am
Nick,
Thanks for the great idea. Honestly when I helped run a game review site when I was in college I would do this all of the time for video games. I hadn’t thought to do this for books books but it’s a great way to expand content on sites and definitely something I’ll be looking into in the future!
SHEILA ATWOOD
February 14th, 2009 5:48 am
This morning I was making a list of books I wanted to review for my website. So this post couldn’t be more perfect.
Thanks for the exact info.
Cosmic? or something….
Martyn
February 14th, 2009 6:06 am
I wonder if I can get one of Darren’s books this way! ;)
infmom
February 14th, 2009 6:21 am
Hmmm… I have written quite a few book reviews, but I always get my “free copy” from the public library. Easiest way to get plenty of free books!
grokcode
February 14th, 2009 6:25 am
Thanks! This is a great idea. 2 of my most popular posts have been lists with mini reviews of the best books in my industry (software development). So requesting review copies and doing more “official” reviews in a great extension of that. Thanks again for the great idea. This never occurred to me.
Derek Clark - GeekPolitics
February 14th, 2009 6:32 am
I have gotten several books from publishers as well. It really is a great system for everyone involved. For the last review I did – http://geekpolitics.com/review-of-the-revolution-a-manifesto-by-ron-paul/ – the publisher also gave me 5 copies for a giveaway. What a great deal, I get a free book (that I really enjoyed) they get a good review, and 5 of my readers also won a free book. This also increased participation, traffic, and subscribers to the site.
Curt
February 14th, 2009 6:53 am
The effort sound like more work then its worth compared to just buying the books and writing reviews on my own.
Eddie Gear
February 14th, 2009 7:33 am
This is wonderful! I follow your every post. This is great news to me. I used to do a lot of review in the past. Is there someone I can contact so that I can get back on the track to do reviews?? Thanks for your help.
Cheers,
Eddie Gear
Kay Rennie
February 14th, 2009 7:35 am
Good article. I’m a published author myself but hadn’t considered approaching publishers for review copies. The PDFs are also very helpful. Saves time puzzling over what to say. Well done!
Real Web Today.com
February 14th, 2009 8:35 am
I started out with a few website reviews and have moved on to other topics. There are a few books that cover topics mentioned on my blog and I just may give this a try. Thanks for sharing.
Simona Rich
February 14th, 2009 8:59 am
Wow, what a post. The most useful post I have ever read! I sincerely thank you for this great information! I would never have imagined that I could possibly request books this way!
Thank you so much.
Jonathan
February 14th, 2009 10:01 am
I’m going to try this
erin
February 14th, 2009 12:37 pm
I think this is a wonderful idea but I’m left wondering. What do you do if you get the book, read it and think it’s horrible – or at the very least find significant flaws in logic. Do you still write the post? Do you send the books back? How do you handle it?
Jake
February 14th, 2009 1:01 pm
Great information. My blog is about many different interesting things and I will have to give this one a shot. Thanks!
Sara
February 14th, 2009 1:11 pm
It would seem that beyond the obvious benefits to bloggers in terms of free books, content for the blog and a potential income stream, this also gives the blogger a chance to stay current on researching fresh ideas, sometimes ahead of the crowd in the case of pre-published book reviews.
Thanks, good read.
ModernPainter
February 14th, 2009 3:14 pm
Great post, I am about to start reviewing books on learning art and art materials and this is perfect, thanks,
Gabriel
Christian Lin
February 14th, 2009 4:14 pm
This is a great idea Darren. Definitely useful, I’ve been wondering how to request for books to review (related to my blog topics – home comforts) as a reference and also for a post topic.
Does anyone here feels an obligation to write a good review (especially first few reviews) in order to get “approval” or more books to review in the future?
MikeM
February 14th, 2009 5:12 pm
Excellent suggestion and insight. I hadn’t thought of this. A good way to get books I am interested in, create content for my blog, and potentially learn new things from the books I review. Very cool.
Ravi Ahuja
February 14th, 2009 5:59 pm
Great tip to learn more and give a review on a book but maybe this will not work for the blogger from different countries. Mostly I have found that many books are not available in my country and I have to order them on Amazon like Darren’s book Problogger which I was not able to find in India.
Nate @ Money Young
February 14th, 2009 6:15 pm
Great post Nick. I’m def. gonna be using this!
-Nate
Neil Matthews
February 14th, 2009 7:19 pm
That’s amazing, I always assumed review copies were for big media not litttle niche sites like ours.
I’m off to try and blag a few books now
Carrie, Words To Mouth
February 14th, 2009 11:34 pm
I host an author interview talk show (podcast) and companion blog called Words To Mouth. I post audio shows, written interviews, and guest book reviews. My tagline is: Where Readers Meet Authors Beyond the Printed Page…and Win FREE Books!
I’ve built some nice relationships with publishers, publicists, and authors and follow much of what is shared here. I wanted to add that another traffic-building approach for me has been offering a book giveaway contest. You can either ask the publisher to send you two books or better yet, have them hold on to one copy and send them the winner’s name when the contest is over. They usually are happy to send the book directly and you save of postage. I have my community share comments or voice mail messages and subscribe to my e-newlsetter in order to be eligible to win.
I invite you to check out my site. I’m always willing to consider posting well-written book reviews with a link to the reviewer’s site in an effort to help each other cross promote. Plus, it cuts down on my work to provide quality content to my readers.
Great post! Thanks.
Tumblemoose
February 14th, 2009 11:36 pm
Awesome info.
I would not have considered this at all, and if I had, I would not have known how to go about doing it.
I’m making it the first thing on my to do list for today.
Cheers
George
Nick
February 14th, 2009 11:43 pm
@FupDuckTV I did consider creating a rating system, but chose not to do so. My main reason was the vast difference in cookbooks. I would have a hard time rating them and I think I would be spending too much time worrying about getting the rating perfectly right.
If I don’t rate, I can just express my opinion on the book and readers can make their own judgments. A cookbook that might be a 5 for one reader could very well be a 1 for another depending on cooking level etc…
That’s for the comments everyone and thanks to those of you who wondered over to Macheesmo!
Cheers,
Nick
shea
February 14th, 2009 11:50 pm
Great post. I love books.
Happy Valentines Day.
Kara Sorensen
February 15th, 2009 12:36 am
Wow, this is a great idea. Thank you for this post! I am going to check this out and start reviewing. I already read a lot, so this will be a good way to share with others.
Best regards,
Kara
http://blog.thefoodcraivngsolution.com
Corinne Edwards
February 15th, 2009 12:52 am
Dear Nick -
This is a great contribution. Publishers are not only eager to give you books to review but you may also get on their publicity mailing list. Be prepared if you do because you will be deluged with books.
I would just add one thing to your excellent suggestions. Call the publisher and find out the name and the fax for the publicity agent who is handling the book.
Send the review request directly to that person.
Olivia Mayer
February 15th, 2009 2:03 am
@thepyschsheet. Great idea. With the book world in turmoil, I’m sure publishers are exploring every option for publicity.
I also know product branders/marketers are on the look out for ways to tap blogs. Perhaps some of this same thinking might apply to products.
Thanks for revving my thinking cap.
Gary
February 15th, 2009 2:34 am
This is a very informative post and it works in areas other than just book publishing.
We do quite a bit of reviews on my site, comic books and DVDs, the great thing is we do have not had to spend a dime on getting the review material.
seosoeasy
February 15th, 2009 3:14 am
Perfect one!Never thought of doing this and i really thanks for your amazing idea.Sure i will implement this rules.
Make Money Online Tips
February 15th, 2009 3:38 am
This seems a nice job for book lovers. You have your cake and eat it too. I guess ill try this out or make a blog targeting books.
Alice
February 15th, 2009 5:27 am
Thanks for the great post! I work as a publicist at a book publisher and I’m constantly contacting bloggers to see if they are interested in reviewing. [It's funny because if I contact about 100 bloggers (whose blogs I have read and thought they would be interested of course), about 10 respond, and maybe 5 post a review].
We generally do contact by email. We like to have a link to the blog so we can look it up. Occasionally we may ask about the number of visitors/month, but we tend to focus more on the comments section — seeing that the blogger has an engaged community who values the blogger’s opinion. If you get at least 50/visitors a day, that’s a great fact to include in your query for a book. We like to know. Also if you’ve won an award or are part of a blog network, that’s something nice to include. Authors like to hear about things like that.
We are usually happy to do excerpts, giveaways, guest posts by authors, getting involved in book blog tours, and more. We really appreciate getting an email that the review has been posted so we can make a note in our records that the blogger does reviews [I've sent books to bloggers and then they never review them :(].
It is also great to have a clear review policy on the blog so (a) publicists know and (b) the readers know. Everything is transparent. We are happy to provide free books, but not to pay the blogger for a review (if we pay for something, that’s called advertising). [and yes some bloggers do ask us for money]
We agree that the review need not be positive, but it should show that you’ve at least looked at the book (bloggers love talking about book covers). It shows you are treating our books with respect if you took the time to really analyze them.
One final thing to add: it’s best not to request older books. Request books that have just been released. Publicists have a set number of review copies and of course most are available when the book first comes out. While they might have older books on hand, your best chance of getting one is a recent release. Check publishers websites for recent releases or a link to their catalog (all their books for a season and publication month is there too so you know when it’s coming out).
And international reviewers: most US-based publishers have international distributors who will send you a copy from there (so their UK distributor can send you a copy if you’re in the UK for instance).
Stacey Kannenberg
February 15th, 2009 5:29 am
I am a small children’s author & publisher who has been using the power of blogs to promote my books since 2004. Standing ovation to all the bloggers who have helped build my own “Google” footprint, leading to “number 1” rankings in search engines with over 700 mom blog reviews to date! I am trying to create a brand and those blog posts live forever on-line and some of those posts that were written back in 2004 still show up on the first page of many search engines.
Self-published authors post information about their new books that they would like reviewed on Dan Poynter’s FREE Para Publishing newsletter – Marketplace, here is a sample, to get you started:
http://www.parapublishing.com/files/newsletter/PP%20Marketplace-January%202009.pdf
When you post a review on your site, also create a profile on Amazon and post it there as well. It gives you “reviewer” status and credibility. In fact, I was humbled and stunned a few week ago when my favorite author, Jim Stovall of The Ultimate Gift and Today’s The Day, personally emailed ME, after he saw my review of his book on Amazon, asking if I would like to receive his new book, Keeper of the Flame. I emailed back a reverent “yes” and have been emailing with him for the past few weeks! He was telling me about his new book coming up in April and another one in Summer. Let’s just say, I can’t wait…
Stacey Kannenberg
http://www.cedarvalleypublishing.com
Alice
February 15th, 2009 5:34 am
Here are some tips on requesting review copies from the Book Publicity Blog (publishers prefer the ISBN-13; the ISBN-10 has been retired).
http://yodiwan.wordpress.com/2008/08/12/requesting-review-copies-of-books/
http://yodiwan.wordpress.com/2009/01/26/why-havent-i-received-my-review-copy-yet/
Ara 13
February 15th, 2009 5:51 am
Right On! I have created a site for reviewers to meet authors and network. Check out freebooksforreview.com , a portal to two blogs. I am Ara 13, author of Drawers & Booths and I am trying to facilitate our grassroots efforts. Thanks. Ara
GreatImpression
February 15th, 2009 4:22 pm
I like this idea. I really hadn’t considered doing this. I’m not US based either. But many publishers would have local distributers outside the US.
I also have an up to date amazon profile that contains all my reviews, so it may be useful.
It’s something I’ll keep in mind – definately.
Robert T Kiyosaki
February 16th, 2009 2:10 am
Valuable information in this post. You outline another great way of monetizing blog writting.
Joshua Paine
February 16th, 2009 4:19 am
Check out http://brb.thomasnelson.com/ , where bloggers can sign up to receive free books from Thomas Nelson Publishers. It’s a new program, just launched at the end of 2008.
(Letterblock, my company, was involved in building the web app, but I’m not otherwise affiliated with Thomas Nelson.)
Food Woolf
February 16th, 2009 4:24 am
This is great information. I’m at the point now where reviewing books (especially cookbooks) is something I really want to do for my food blog. I just needed that first push to get me going in the right direction. Thanks for the nudge!
axel g
February 16th, 2009 7:19 am
Thanks Nick!
Very informative +_+
Miguel Wickert
February 16th, 2009 5:49 pm
Nick
Impressive, I wonder how many folks actually attempt something like this? Thanks for sharing. If I wrote a blog on theological topics I’d certainly employ these suggestions. Well done.
-Mig
Mark Daymond
February 16th, 2009 10:21 pm
This is such a good idea and feel quite excited about the prospect. I have really wanted to include some book reviews on my blog which has a very definite niche and there is clearly scope to include reviews. However, I have not had the funds available to buy the books that I wanted to review. If this works then I can see a whole new strand to my blog emerging!!
Thanks hugely!!
farouk
February 17th, 2009 12:00 am
brilliant post , ill never buy books again :DD
MsMayor
February 17th, 2009 12:21 am
This is really great information- I need something to spice up my site- thanks for sharing
T Edwards
February 17th, 2009 1:56 am
Now this is some awesome information. I will try this immediately. The commenters have left some valuable information as well, so thank you all!
T
se7en
February 17th, 2009 5:14 pm
Hay I do this with kids books…
I have always reviewed at least one book a week on my blog. Many of the large publishers are happy for you to blog a review, then pop the link on their review page. More traffic for you, more exposure for them – everyone wins!
Also, I have just got going with a publisher that is very happy to send more than one copy of a book to review so that I can use them as giveaways – more traffic, more product exposure!
Otherwise, the Picnic Basket – is a great site to get free books to review for kids: http://www.thepicnic-basket.com/
And a lot of their publishers ship all over the world for reviews – I know from experience!!! The one’s that don’t send around the world usually email back immediately so you know where stand.
Luke
February 18th, 2009 3:25 am
this is a really good idea! thanks for the useful article this was something i was planning to do in the future on my site but unsure of how to go about it….
now i have everything i need to get going
it’s good to see people sharing tips and advice for the benefit of everyone!
Swimturtle
February 18th, 2009 5:44 am
It’s great to be reminded of these simple, “old-fashioned” ways to get in touch with people and get what we need to do our jobs. It is so easy to forget nowadays that every business is run by people, and not machines, and all you have to do is find out who the person to contact is, then contact that person, act like a courteous human being, and chances are you’ll get an answer and, in this case, a book to review!
Thanks, Darren, as always your advice is golden!
Matt
February 18th, 2009 6:05 am
I reviewed a book once for one of my sites. It wasn’t a free review copy, just a book that I had bought and liked. A few weeks after putting up the review I was “ego googling” my name and found that the publisher of the book in question had linked to my review and posted a blurb from me on their site. I got a lot of hits from that link over the years.
The point is even if you can’t get free review copies posting book reviews is a good idea. Its like link baiting for book publishers!
Grace @ Sandier Pastures
February 18th, 2009 6:11 pm
Great post! But I wonder how many publishers are willing to ship their books for review outside the US? International shipping is so costly these days and I doubt they even consider if I tell them I live in DUBAI.
I have reviewed books through third party companies, however always have little chance because most publishers don’t want to send the book all the way to the Middle East.
Great tips though, I really need to relocate to the US to be able to have all these bloggy goodness!
John R. Sedivy
February 19th, 2009 5:40 am
I have been wondering how to do this for awhile now and just have not had the chance to look into it. Thank you for sharing your experience and information – I look forward to trying this and getting on my way to become a reviewer! Great article!
Trevor Carter
February 19th, 2009 11:38 pm
Great Article, it’s obvious when you know how.
I definitely have some ideas on the Books I would like to review.
Thanks for sharing this with us.
Ujjal Gupta
February 19th, 2009 11:47 pm
This is an interesting method to save cost of buying books which are to be reviewed and to develop relationships with publishers.
Two queries I have
a) Is there a copyright related issue if I am quoting extensively from the book in the review
b) Does this work (i) with the publishers and/or (ii) with your readers, if the review is of a book released a while back – say a year or so. Or should this be done only with recent releases only.
Jenny
February 20th, 2009 2:11 am
This was excellent advice! I followed up on it with a handful of publishers. Now I’ve got 5 advance copies coming from one publisher alone. I’d never thought of doing it before reading this post. Very cool.
EarlMobile
February 21st, 2009 5:26 am
Thanks for the advice!
I run a Berlin based blog about contemporary art since this is a topic I am really interested in. I really would like to review a couple of books about typography, design or contemporary art in general because I think this could find my readers’ interest. Unfortunatelly books related to art are very expensive and are published in quite small editions. Since I live in Germany I can’t imagine that local publishers would send anyone a free book for review purposes. Especially no art books.
So is there anyone who has experiences with reviewing books in Europe?
JK Properties
February 21st, 2009 11:34 pm
I am going to incorporate this to my blog as soon as possible.
Plus I really love reading.
Thanks for the great tip.
TheDutchSchoolKid
February 24th, 2009 5:12 am
I think it is great, but I live in the Netherlands, so American publishers have to ship it to Europe, will they do it (with me not having a big blog ;))
Sketchee
March 3rd, 2009 1:34 am
I used to check out books to review from the library before reading this post. Now I’ve received review copies of some really relevant books. I’ve also cross posted my reviews to Amazon. I figure that publishers will appreciate as much commentary as they can get.
For the questions about international shipping … I’m in America, but most European publishers have a North American office that handles these things. I would imagine that American publishers who have their books in Europe would also have European offices that you can contact and who wouldn’t have to ship to you internationally. It’s worth a shot, look around.
Mohammad Afaq
March 6th, 2009 11:27 am
Great ideas and I have to day that it is a great way to get knowledge free. I really think its worth a try, I will give it a try. In my case I write my ebooks and I will use these tips for my new ebooks.
Thanks Darren
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Mohammad Afaq
Free Website Traffic
Ara 13
March 23rd, 2009 12:28 pm
If any of you want Drawers & Booths, by Ara 13, an IPPY “Outstanding Book of the Year,” for free for review, email me at ara13c@yahoo.com with where you post your reviews. You can research me at Ara13.com and on Amazon. Thank You. Ara
Dawn
March 28th, 2009 3:00 am
I love the ideas you just put in my head!
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