I review for Crimespree, January, Mystery Scene, and Spinetingler, which means I get ARCs sent to me by the Jordan clan, Jeff Pierce, Teri Duerr, or Sandra Ruttan. Which means your best bet is to ask one of them first.
With few exceptions, totally subjective and at my whim, I will not review books sent directly to me without notice. In fact, books that don’t quite fit the usual mold for me will get donated to charity unread.
I review crime fiction. I tend to shy away from cozies. That’s not disrespecting those who write them. I’m just not a good judge of what works and doesn’t for fans of that particular type of story.
I occasionally review science fiction, literary fiction, the odd nonfiction historical work, and even mainstream fiction. If you don’t fit into any of those four categories or the harder crime fiction genres, save your postage. There are plenty of reviewers out there who’d love to read your work.
I don’t write Amazon reviews. I have, but I don’t. Don’t ask.
If you are not going through the above editors or one I work with later, QUERY FIRST! The major houses are pretty good about that. Smaller presses, you need to pay attention. You have limited budgets and numbers of ARCs. A couple of you haven’t picked up on this yet.
Yes, certain houses and authors get a free pass. They also know I’m going to be honest about what they send me.
Given the limited amount of space I have, ARCs are going to be given away to charity, most likely Goodwill. If you want me to send an ARC back or give it to another charity, send instructions on what to do with it. Postage for returns are payable by the author/publisher/publicist. No exceptions. But do please let me know what you want done with your ARC when I’m done with it. Telling me to keep the book on my shelf forever and ever is not an option. I. Don’t. Have. The. Space.
I write an honest review. If it’s a negative review, it’s not personal. It just means the book didn’t work for me. I won’t take it personally if you don’t.
I generally don’t write negative reviews. If I don’t like a book, I’m probably not going to finish it. Conversely, if I don’t read your book, it doesn’t necessarily mean I didn’t like it. It probably means I 1.) said no, 2.) have no place to review it, or 3.) never got to it.
I’ve stopped reviewing close friends books, exceptions again totally subject to my whim. If I review, say, Dave White or John Scalzi (just a couple of examples), it will likely be here on the blog.
And finally, follow these rules and not only will I save space in my office, but you will save a lot of money on postage, not to mention avoid wasting valuable advanced copies and galley proofs.
About...
Jim Winter is an writer and reviewer from America’s Heartland. Jim Winter is annoyed with people who embrace or stir up fear. Jim Winter should find himself a hobby to stay out of trouble.
