Publisher Guide to Review Media

Good reviews can help the sales of your books enormously. Below are listed a few places that have reviewed SPD titles in the past and that come from a long tradition of print media. If you send review copies to only six places, we suggest those listed below.

Most magazines prefer to review books before publication, and you should make every effort to send your earliest copies of your books to these sources.

Increasingly, reviews in online media (including the online versions of the below) are as useful to sales of small press books as any print review.  We will not list online review venues because they are constantly changing, but we advise that you find books like the ones you are publishing which have sold well, and perform online searches to find out where they were reviewed online.  Even chatter on social media can help sell small press books, so turn over every (virtual) stone that you can!

Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly has extensive guidelines for sending review copies, but it is worth the trouble to read them carefully. At the same time, a review in PW is probably your best chance to see a real jump in sales. Please read their submission guidelines here.

Library Journal

Library Journal prefers to receive materials three to four months in advance of publication date. They will accept galleys, page proofs, manuscripts, or ebooks, and they are a highly desirable location to place a review. Please see their guidelines to submit materials for review here.

Booklist

Booklist is the American Library Association's review journal, and a highly desirable location to place a review. Specific guidelines for various formats and types of materials are provided here.

Rain Taxi Review of Books

Rain Taxi Review of Books is a quarterly print publication featuring reviews of literary fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, with an emphasis on works that push the boundaries of language, narrative, and genre. They tend to be extremely friendly to SPD titles. Details on how to submit a book for review consideration are here.

Boston Review

According to its masthead, "Boston Review is a left-center-of-gravity magazine of ideas: a magazine that aims to expand political debate, shift the cultural assumptions that frame that debate, and create greater space for political initiative guided by egalitarian, radically democratic, and culturally pluralist values." It also has an excellent track record when it comes to reviewing small press titles. Send titles to:

Boston Review
c/o Managing Editor                           
E53-407 MIT
Cambridge MA 02139

Or visit them on the web at www.bostonreview.net.