www.inkthinkerblog.com — I just got a very nice e-mail from an author whose new book was released recently and is very likely to appeal to the ::inkthinker:: readership. He wanted to know if he could send me a free copy for promotional purposes. Well, why the heck not? Here’s what I said:
Hi, Author,
You can certainly send a copy and I will be happy to look at it, but I won’t promo it unless I really like it. As long as we’re clear on that and you’re okay with it, you’re welcome to send to the PO address below. Let me know if you have any questions!
Thanks much,
Kristen
So here’s what I’m thinking: I’m definitely not interested in being the next POD-dy Mouth, but I love writing book and blog/website reviews, and I’d like to do more of it. If you’ve got a printed book (self-pubbed or traditionally pubbed, ARC, galley, or finished product) you’d like me to review, you can snail mail it to me at this address:
Be sure to include your business card and, if you have one, a press release. Do not send an unpublished manuscript. I won’t even bring unpublished manuscripts home from the post office, so seriously, don’t send them. If you want to hire me for editing or a critique, you need to go here for more information.
If you have an electronic product (NOT a book — no way am I reading an entire novel in PDF or .doc format unless I’m getting paid to edit it) such as a blog or writer’s website that you’d like me to review, please send the URL and a brief description to me at reviews@kristenkingfreelancing.com with Inkthinker Review in the subject line. This address is set up to auto-reply a confirmation of receipt and nothing else. Do not submit questions to this address. Instead, leave questions in the comment trail of this post.
Please note the following terms and conditions:
- If you don’t follow the instructions, I reserve the right to pretend that you, and your submission, don’t exist. Be sure to address e-mail and postal mail submissions correctly.
- Just because you send it doesn’t mean I have to review it. In fact, if I don’t like it, I reserve the right to throw it out, recycle it, donate it to the library, or otherwise dispose of it as I see fit — and that doesn’t involve sending it back to you, so don’t bother asking.
- I reserve the right to publicly mock anything that’s positively atrocious. But hey, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, right?
- If you send me a book, you give me permission to post a graphic of the cover if I decide to review it.
- I’m not in any way obligated to let you know if or when I intend to review your submission, and if you bug me about it, there’s a good possibility that I’ll get really annoyed and will cross you off the list if you were already there, so don’t do that.
- Please do not send me money or other gifts in the hopes that I’ll move you to the top of the list. I’m not interested in being bribed, and if I don’t like your work, no amount of Godiva chocolate is going to change my mind, so just save your hard-earned cash. (I’m a writer, too — I know you don’t have a lot of it to throw around.)
If you have questions, please post them in the comment trail. Please do not e-mail me with questions. Happy submissions!
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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest
Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King
Comments on this entry are closed.
Hi Kristen,
Two questions:
1. Are there genres or categories you don’t want to see?
2. Is it okay if I send you a few books I edited for my author clients instead of having them send you their books individually? (Obviously these are books I like and think deserve to be reviewed or I wouldn’t bother you with them.)
Great questions, Dick.
1 – No erotica (but a love scene here and there is okay so long as it wouldn’t make me uncomfortable to tell my grandma about what I’m reading these days), no gratuitous violence or victimization of women or children (example: The Lovely Bones is okay. House of 1000 Corpses is not), nothing that totally sucks (Nicholas Sparks and Dan Brown, that means you). Otherwise, I’m pretty open.
2 – Because one of my terms is that sending the book gives me permission to post a graphic of the cover and to openly mock the book’s contents if I so choose, I really need it to come from the person who has the power to give me that permission. If you want to physically mail the book on behalf of your client, that’s fine — but I need something in writing from them that states that they agree to the terms and conditions listed in the blog post. I doubt anyone’s going to sue me over a book review on a blog, but frankly some people are nuts and I’m not willing to take that risk.
Let me know if you have any follow-ups or other questions!
Kristen
And to clarify, I’m not concerned about being sued over mocking the book (free speech, fair use, and whatnot), I’m concerned about copyright infringement in the form of reproducing the book cover without permission. However, I do think the author needs to know what he or she is getting into.
kk