Would You Pay
for a Review?

by Joey Pinkney
August 2008

I was reading a blog post by Monica Jackson on Blogging in Black that interested me simply because it’s something that’s been on my mind lately. Should I start charging for reviews? Somebody sent me a message asking me if I did on MySpace.

(Add me at: http://myspace.com/joeyreviews)

At this point, no. But in the future, I hope to broaden the amount of outlets that I have to put my reviews on. When that happens, I might consider charging a fee to review a book. Now that I think about it, I might charge the fee only if I’m going to broadcast it on multiple outlets. Otherwise, send it, I'll read it and it gets reviewed.

Monica stated that her ideal world would have reviews and advertising as separate entities. The reality is that reviews are indirectly advertising and marketing. It’s advertising in the sense of promoting the book in a public forum. It’s marketing because the strategy of getting reviews for books is executed in hopes of generating sales of a book.

Another reason I should be compensated is the amount of time it takes to read a book and write something significant. It takes way more than 60 minutes to accomplish this. Why shouldn’t I get paid for my time and effort? Theoretically, you are not going to send me a book for it to “probably” get reviewed. No, you’re sending that book expecting proper time and effort goes into it.

Right now, I have about 40 books to review. I’ve had to stop accepting books, so I can focus on the ones I have. The cool thing is that I like to read. I especially like to read books that everybody doesn’t know about. It makes it more refreshing that way. But if I’m going to put your book out there, shouldn’t I make something off the front end?

What happens if you pay for a review, and I think your book sucks? Shoot, I might just give you your money back. Better yet, half…I still had to suffer the reading of it, (laughing out loud).

At this point, I’m just coming up with ideas. But I might be asking for a little ching-ching if I’m going to be doing a lot of promoting for my reviews.

Joey Pinkney is a freelance writer and book reviewer. He spends most of his time with his family and friends. At night he burns the midnight oil putting together articles for your reading pleasure. For more information visit: www.joeypinkney.com

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Shawn James :

Posted 429 days ago

A writer should NEVER pay for a review. It's just unethical. Readers need to know that the opinions of the reviwer are unbiased and objective; that the reviewer has not been persuaded to write the article due to consideraition offered by the author. When writers start paying reviewers for reviews, it destroys the credibility of the publication.
People send dozens of books to professional reviewers; it's a crapshoot if you get a good review or a bad review. It depends on the quality of the writing. I've sent out books to numerous black book clubs for review and I've gotten good reviews and bad reviews. I've got good comments and bad comments from literary agents. I take them in stride and use the opinions of the reviwers helps me improve my craft as a writer.

Latasha, A "B~more" Literary Review Critic :

Posted 480 days ago

I believe that when an author submits their book for a review, they should want nothing more than an honest review whether they are paying for the review or whether they are not. What difference does money make?? Why should I not give my honest opinion about your book if I believe that it was not so hot?? Why should I have to give you your money back or even half of it?? It is what it is in the literary reviewing world. Well, at least, thats the concept that I review by. When I do a review, I do it for more than just the author who sent me the book. I do it for the millions of readers who actually take out the time to go to Amazon.com, B&N.com, and any other websites that reviews can be found. I do it for book clubs, other literary reviewers who seek an HONEST review. I must say though, writing a "bad" review is not easy for a reviewer. It makes me feel bad, too because I know that the author put a lot of time and effort into their work. But, a reviewer does too! Just like Joey, I have many reviews to complete and I do not generate any income from reviewing. I do it because I love to read and I have a passion for what I do. Authors, don't just send your book to anyone for a review...you, too, can do your own research!
www.myspace.com/bmorereaderreviewer
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