At the moment, I am receiving books from publishers to review monthly. Sometimes this means three, four or even more reviews due on the same day or within a few days of each other – as such, these reviews will take priority as I have dates for them, and contacts. I only review books I know I will enjoy, and these take priority.
Please note: I do not charge for review because it is unethical. I will never charge to review a published book. My guidelines are below, and I have written them to help everyone and help me assess where and when I can fit things in.
Please note: Given the volume of requests and books I receive, I am going to limit reviewing for self-published authors to those I have worked with before. This goes for individual authors and publicists, and the following should be adhered to so I can see if the book will fit in.
- I attempt to write honest, yet balanced reviews, and have focus areas listed below.
- Books from publishers take priority.
- Please send a detailed email, including a brief introduction to who you are, your book, and all the details:
- Title,
- Author,
- Publisher,
- Publication Date,
- Price (in Australian Dollars)
- Page numbers,
- Genre,
- Synopsis.
- Cover image
- Make it clear whether it is a review request or a sales pitch. Sales pitches will be politely declined.
- Please be clear about the format. I don’t have time to ask the same questions about format all the time. Please note that as I do not read ebooks, sending an ebook with your request could result in an instant delete.
- Sending just the genre or only the audience with no other information will be followed up by one request for more information. Failure to send more information will be an instant decline.
- To avoid this, please send all the above information and author website links in the initial email. Ensure that everything is included, so I don’t have to visit three or four websites to find everything.
- Please aim to use the contact form on my website – DMs can get lost and therefore ignored.
- Please make it clear whether you want a review, otherwise your email will be treated as a sales pitch. I will ask for clarification once.
- These two points are to help both parties not waste their time. I field a lot of requests that border on these, and I have a finite amount of time to chase people up all the time.
- Please also advise whether your book is available in Australia – through QBD, Booktopia or Dymocks, Abbey’s Bookshop, Readings, Harry Hartog or any range of local bookstores in Australia. I do not use Amazon, so do not link back there, buy from there or review there.
- If you have a desired time frame you would like your book reviewed in, you need to advise me so I can factor this into my reading and reviewing plans.
- I reserve the right to say no if the book doesn’t fit my blog.
- I don’t read eBooks.
- As an Australian Book Blogger, I support Australian authors, booksellers and publishers as my primary focus. As a result, my affiliate links are for QBD which is Australian.
- I do not use Amazon or Goodreads. All reviews appear exclusively on my blog. Please do not ask for them to be posted on Amazon or Goodreads as I do not have accounts to do so.
- My contact me form is the only way to get in touch with me via email.
My focus is on children’s literature and Australian children’s literature in particular. Please keep this in mind when choosing my blog. Any decline is likely to have as much to do with my time and ability to get to everything fairly as it is what I prefer to read and review.
Please note: I will prioritise books I have requested from publishers, or books from ArtsHub, Sisters in Crime, Good Reading Magazine and Books on Tour. Whilst I do review self-published books, please ensure your book meets the guidelines – it will help both of us get what we want.
I also don’t review unpublished manuscripts in terms of publicity.
Genres or areas I review:
- Historical Fiction
- Fantasy
- YA
- Children’s
- Crime/Mystery
- Genre blended
- Non-Fiction – biographies, history.
I don’t review any of the following genres:
- Science
- Business
- Self-help
- Technology
- Erotica
- Romantasy
- Health
- Spirituality
- Cook-books
- Romance
- Horror
- Psychology
- Business Psychology
When the below issues appear in historical fiction, it is usually, in my reading experience, a driving force for something for characters to fight against, and illustrates what has come before and where we are now. Most of these books I have read have not shrugged it off as nothing, but had a commentary on it to help us understand the issues. However I do not support:
- ableism
- fetishising any group
- transphobia
- homophobia
- sexism
- biphobia
- incest
- anything that in anyway harms any group.
- ace and arophobia
- racism
- any kind of discrimination
Ashleigh, The Book Muse
The Book Muse 