How I Choose Books to Review on My Blog

Writing is such a fickle activity. You spend all of this time crafting the perfect story to the best of your ability, dreaming and hoping that a large audience will one day read and rave about it, but then when it comes time to actually send it out to be read, you find your palms sweating and your confidence waning.

As an author, I’ve been there. I know the fear of sending my books out to reviewers and how painful it is to listen to any criticism of my work, even if it is part of a generally positive review. Even worse is reading a negative review and having that opinion put out there to potential readers.

Starting my own book blog allowed me to create the kind of platform for authors that I was always looking for from reviewers. I wanted my book reviews to be positive, reliable, thorough, and helpful. If I don’t like it, I don’t review it. And I wanted to put the spotlight on books in the genres that I’ve always loved reading, particularly indie books with grounded storylines, well-drawn characters, and, above all, strong writing.

But reviewing has taught me about how difficult it is to achieve these blogging goals. I find myself becoming more particular and having to turn down a lot of authors when I wish I had the time, energy, and ability to read, review, and love all of them.

As the popularity of my blog grows and I receive more requests for book reviews, given my limited time and space, I have had to turn down more and more books to review. It has been eye opening and has reframed my perspective of the writing process from a reviewer’s point of view. Below is my process on how I choose books to review on my blog.

How I started reviewing books

I first started reviewing books for other websites, such as LitPick and Horrorscreams Videovault. These sites would send me books to read, and I would offer my honest opinions about them. Unfortunately, I didn’t always like the books that I reviewed, and I would find even reading them to be a chore.

In response to this, I decided to start reviewing books for my own blog. The first few review requests were unsolicited. Some indie authors just decided to shoot their shot, and then I took them up on that offer. From there, I put out a few calls for reviews on social media and in my monthly newsletter.

The requests trickled in at first. Then, once I had my blog added to a few indie reviewer list websites, the requests started to pour in from both the authors themselves, their publishers, and their agents. Now, I tend to get a few requests each week.

My blog is a part-time job. And while I devote several hours to it each week, I only have the ability to post once or twice a week. Even if I did this full time, it would be hard to keep up with all of those requests. I would do nothing but read and review books, and I wouldn’t be able to honestly give a positive review to every book I read. Because no reader loves, or even likes, every book that they read.

Though a good chunk of my recent writing have been reviews, it’s not the only type of writing that I want to do. I love coming up with essays related to my personal interests. And of course, I have my own books to write and publish.

Interviews and guest posts

Eventually, I had to get choosy about the books I agreed to review, and that meant sending back more rejection emails than approvals. I would originally offer an author interview as a consolation prize.

More often than not, these authors would agree to an interview, and it brought a steady stream of content to my blog which helps tremendously, particularly because I do all of my own writing, editing, designing, and marketing for my blog. Having other authors contribute interviews counted as content that would allow me to keep a steady schedule without it being all on me to write up.

My initial interviews consisted of relatively general questions, and they got pretty stale after awhile. Stand alone interviews from unknown authors weren’t bringing in views and were not helping them to get the exposure they wanted, even if they included a book giveaway with the interview.

For awhile, I offered only guest posts to the authors whose books I rejected. But then my author interview series returned with a new format. Instead of having the authors answer the same questions, I created a list of 25 questions and let them answer as many or as few as they wish, as long as the final interview hits a particular word count.

Thanks to my blog views increasing over the years, these interviews now do a little bit better than the first run. And I also like to interview authors whose books I review. These interviews are different because the questions are tailored to the book I’ve just read as well as any facts that I read about in the author bios. So, I feel that they not only help to differentiate them from my indie author series, also called an Author Book Tag, just because it seems to be a more enticing buzzword in the modern online community, but they also punch up the review by providing a behind-the-scenes look to the reader.

I’m not much of a marketing guru, but I do pick up on some tips from successful marketing campaigns. Whenever I listen to a podcast or a televised interview or YouTube video from an author, I find that they discuss very little about the book itself. Instead, they sell themselves as somebody who you want to get to know better. And if you do a good enough job of selling yourself, people will seek out other ways to learn about you. One way they will do this is to buy the book you’ve written.

This is a roundabout way of selling a book, but it’s also one that works. It has worked on me, and it works for the public. So, I now keep this in mind when crafting my questions and directing the authors I work with on how to answer these questions.

The same goes for guest posts. I try not to let them be overly promotional. Instead, they should deal with one of the book’s themes, a personal story, or writing tips. The reader should get something more than an ad out of a guest post. It should fulfill them in some way, and again, encourage them to want to learn more about the author and their work.

My calls for submissions

My review guidelines are located on my Contact page on my blog. It includes my preferred genres (picture books, middle grade, YA, horror, and memoirs) as well as the genres I tend to shy away from (sci-fi, fantasy, adult romance). But I still welcome requests in all genres because once in a while, I do make exceptions. The exceptions that you find on my “book review” page are examples of times when I was glad that I had made an exception.

But I should warn you, don’t expect that a book you pitch to me outside of my preferred genres to be the exception. And don’t be surprised if, after I take a chance, I get back to you and tell you I can’t finish the book or write a review. It usually has nothing to do with the quality of the writing. It usually has to do with the fact that the story just isn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean that other reviewers, and readers, would agree with me.

I also use a star rating system. Since I already submit a star rating on Amazon, Goodreads, LibraryThing, and BookBub, it only seemed right to include that rating on my blog as well. I only review books that I can rate three stars or higher. If I start a book and don’t like it, I will email the author and let them know that I could not finish. And I never request a hard copy of a book unless I’m absolutely sure that I’m going to like it.

Also, here’s a secret…

Five stars means I love the book. If, when I email you after reading and say that I liked it, it means that I’m going to give it a three-star rating. If I say, I really liked it, it will be a four-star rating. If I say I loved it, it will be a five-star rating.

Surprisingly, few authors have asked me to explain my rating over the years. Those who do tend to think that every review they receive should be a five-star review, and if that’s the case, it likely means that no one outside your friends and family have read and reviewed it. Goodreads is a particularly brutal place to receive reviews. People will rate a book one star for the most minor issues, such as colorful language or they don’t like an action that one character takes against another. So, if a reviewer gives you three stars or higher, consider that a win.

I also stay away from long books. If a book is over 400 pages, I’ll usually say no. Agreeing to read a book is already going to take hours of my time. Even a picture book, which only takes a few minutes to read, can still take hours to review, come up with interview questions, format, create a photo banner and Pinterest pins, schedule, and promote. So, I have to have a limit on the time it takes to read. You can read more about my thoughts on long books here: Why I Avoid Reading Long Books.

The pitches

That brings me to the pitching part of the review process. Query letters are big part of the traditional publishing submissions process, and a lot of publishers have commented on how few query letters are well written or adhere to their specific guidelines. I’m finding this to be true as well.

Some authors will send me a two-sentence pitch that basically asks, “Do you want to read my book or not?” If I’m lucky, they’ll throw in a link to the book’s listing on Amazon as well. But otherwise, it’s just a short blurb that they seem to have copied and pasted to every book reviewer they could find and hope that something sticks.

Others are overly promotional, listing their credentials, adding quotes from other positive reviews, and basically overselling their book, promising me that it’s the best thing I’ll ever read. They can be a bit much, even obnoxious, with this approach.

Some authors take the humble approach, telling me that I maybe, sorta, kind of will like it. It almost feels like a guilt or sympathy tactic, especially when they’re pitching a book that is not in one of my preferred genres.

Basically, all you need to do is send me a pitch, your Amazon link, and a few sample pages. Then, I’ll take it from there.

Sample pages

The element of a pitch that will essentially help me to determine whether or not I’m going to review the book are the sample pages. The author’s writing style is ultimately what will hold a reader’s attention. It can elevate a dry plot or make an overly complicated plot more manageable.

In the past, I would assume that the synopsis alone would be enough to help me determine how the book would play out for me. As a result, I found myself unable to finish a lot of books and regretfully emailed the author to tell them I was sorry for getting their hopes up.

Those sample pages are like the first impression when meeting someone. They will help to gauge whether or not you’re going to like the book. If I don’t get sample pages with the pitch and the Amazon link doesn’t include them, I’ll reach out to the author myself for them before I officially agree to review.

It used to puzzle me when I was pitching to publishers as to how they could tell that they liked a book in the first five pages. Now, I get it. I only get a fraction of the submissions that even a small publisher receives. And yet, I can now tell within the first few paragraphs whether or not I want to continue reading. That’s how essential a strong open and solid writing style can be to the success of a book and why I highly recommend sending every potential reviewer sample pages.

The unfairness of rejections

I’ll admit, my reasons for rejecting a book can fluctuate with my mood, what I’ve been reading lately, and even an author’s lack of ability to properly pitch me their work. If I’ve just gotten three books to review in one day, those three books have inadvertently put themselves into competition with each other.

I already have my own personal TBR pile along with my professional one. And if that pile gets too long, it can overwhelm me. So, I don’t like to have more than three or four books in line to read at a time.

If I already feel overwhelmed with my review schedule, I’m likely going to be more particular about which books I choose to take on. Or if the book has a similar plot to one that I’ve just read, I may have to reject it for that very reason. I can only read so many books about a lost animal or a kid trying to earn money to buy something that they want. If a lot of authors are writing about a topic similar to yours, you may find that you have to have the best version of that story in order to get any attention for that story.

Subject matter is a big deal to me these days as well. I’m drawn to dark subjects, but if a book is going to be all about a character or the author experiencing a slew of dark experiences, such as drug abuse, suicide, rape, and/or domestic violence, I’m out. I’ve read a lot of these, and they don’t leave me feeling entertained or enlightened. They usually just wear me out.

I love funny books, but I say no to a lot of “comedies” as well. Humor is super subjective, and it’s very hard to make a book funny, unless you’re a famous comedian whose voice we all know and whose comedy style is very familiar. These authors tend to try to be funny in their pitch email, but it can usually come off as corny, obnoxious, or just plain unfunny, and it quickly makes me want to say no. Let your humor speak for itself in your sample pages.

An author’s platform

I like to get authors with some sort of social media presence, and I will always check out their website if they send a link. If that website seems like it’s not well-maintained and there are no links to social media sites, I might be hesitant to read and review.

As a small blogger, I need help promoting the review, and more often than not, I get minimal support from authors on this. So, if I know up front that I’m on my own in promoting their book, I’ll probably hold out for another author who might actually help me out.

Even authors who are represented by an agent don’t usually help out in this area. Agents tend to go silent after they send me the book to read. Even when I send them a link to the post and ask them to share it, I usually don’t hear back or receive a short email back stating that they will. But I don’t usually see that reflected in the post’s views.

However, lately, I am finding that there are plenty of authors without an online platform whose book review posts do well, sometimes even better than those who do help me promote. So, I have been easing up on this requirement. But I still encourage you to put together an email list, a website, or at least set up one social media account and try to gain some followers so that you can help spread the word.

Final thoughts on book reviews

Ultimately, what draws me into a book is the premise, the writing style, and a professionally polished product with a decent cover, a nice review request email, and one that meets my basic guidelines. That’s all there is to it.

This process tends to work for me, and it has given me the opportunity to discover great books, great authors, and help support the writing community. The books I’ve read have taught me what makes a great book, a great writer, and has confirmed that just because a writer isn’t signed with an agent or publisher, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t good enough to be represented or that their story is too quirky or not mainstream enough for the publishing industry.

It’s just that there are so few publication spots open that a ton of good writers fall through the cracks. And lucky for me, I get to root through those cracks and occasionally pull out some diamonds. They just have to help me dig for them.

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