Let me begin by saying I’m flattered. When I started Fresh-scraped Vellum in July of 2011, I never imagined authors would begin contacting me about reviewing their books. A few months ago, I received such a request. The book looked interesting and I quickly agreed to review it. Nowadays I’m getting several requests per week from authors and their PR folks to review new novels. I wish I could say yes to all these requests. But here’s where reality sets in.
Unlike some of the more established book review sites, Fresh-scraped Vellum is a one-man shop. Just little ‘ole me. And my biggest constraint in life is time, especially given my own writing schedule and my job as a practicing attorney for the past seventeen years. I wish I had more time to read, but I don’t. And my “to-read” list already exceeds a volume I could ever hope to conquer by year’s end. Also: (i) only about half my blog posts are book reviews; (ii) I typically only publish one or two such reviews a month; and (iii) I’m fond of reviewing books that have been around quite a while. In other words, there isn’t much shelf space on the blog for new material.
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| My bookshelves back home are jammed! |
So here’s the deal. Feel free to contact me (preferably by email) if you want me to read your book, and include a link to it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.com. If I’m interested, I’ll buy a copy (I like supporting fellow authors; there’s no need to send me a free copy). If I start reading it and it seems like it would make a good review, I’ll let you know. This means you’ve broken into my “to-read” list. This could also take quite a while, so if you don’t hear back from me, it simply means I may still be considering whether to read your book. If the book is clearly not the type of thing I read, I may let you know. And if you can’t wait a while to see if you break into my “to-read” list, let me know your time frame. If it doesn’t work with my schedule, I’ll be honest with you.
I hope this helps. Fortunately for authors there are a ton of great book review blogs, many of which have multiple reviewers. I have links to a number of them under the Blogs I Follow in the right-hand column. Best of luck to all—and again, I’m flattered.
Bob Milne
April 20, 2012 - 9:50 pm ·Nice approach – I like it.
I'm in the same situation, a solo blogger who has a career and a family (including a 9 month old) to put first. I don't have nearly the time to read that I used to, so it takes a lot to get into my TBR pile.
I feel bad for turning down a read, but I figure better to be honest with a no-thanks than to reluctantly take on an obligation and have the review suffer because of it.
Joseph Finley
April 21, 2012 - 9:40 am ·Bob, thanks for the comment. I didn't know how folks would react to my new review policy, so I really appreciate your view.
Selena York
April 22, 2012 - 7:15 pm ·A good idea that could easily turn sour…just my view. OR: Leave you out of pocket!There is always the 'doubt' element also. Will you provide proof that you actually did buy the book if asked?
Joseph Finley
April 22, 2012 - 7:35 pm ·I guess my view is that if I'm interested enough to think I'll actually read the book (let alone review it), I'll buy it – assuming it's reasonably priced. I've probably already bought more books on my Kindle than I'll ever get to; and if it's a writer I've gotten to know, I almost always support their cause by buying a copy. I hope no one thinks I plan on buying every book I'm contacted about. If so, hopefully this comments clears that up!