This is a post by Jennifer Avarez, on her blog The Jennifer Diaries. This a diary of a self-published author marketing her own book the first year after it’s release. She has challenged herself to do one thing each day to market her book and establish a brand: Jennifer Alvarez, author. She submitted a book to me and this is the post that resulted from this one action Jennifer took.
A reviewer was reviewed. The tables were turned and the reviewer, used to being the one offering criticism and praise, must deal with being criticized and praised (hopefully praised). Honestly, this was not difficult at all simply because I had no idea I was being reviewed. Thankfully, Jennifer did this prior to my actually reviewing her story, The Pet Washer.There is nothing more humbling than having someone critic your work, in this case, my blog of book reviews. But Jennifer went beyond the blog to the reviewer, not knowing there was only one reviewer–ME. I fell upon her site quite by accident. I was checking my spots on Google and her site came up with my site’s name. ”Hm. I wonder what that’s all about?” I was actually enjoying the moment, surprised, amused, amazed, and then suddenly bewildered! ”What did she just say? ‘ One must be brave to submit to Kid Lit Review . . .’ What does that mean?” Okay, I admit, I was a bit miffed at that little phrase. One must be brave. Brave. BRAVE!? I never considered myself someone to be afraid of or approached at your peril. Jennifer really hit a chord, but you know what? She was right. I rarely inform the author I cannot review their story. I can only recall two instances where I emailed an author to say their book was not ready for a review. I have not heard back from either author, though I have often wondered what they chose to do with their writing. A third told me their book was fine, and to please review it. So I did.
Day 36–Kid Lit Reviews
The submission policies are simple. They have a contact form on their site. They let authors know the details they want included in their request. There is no charge for the reviews. They will consider reviewing ebook formats but they prefer paperbacks. Once the review is completed, the paperback is not returned. It is donated to their local library. This is also a common practice. When the review is posted, the book title is linked through their Amazon Associates program. This allows the book to be purchased directly from their site. At no cost to the author, a small commission is generated by Amazon for Kid Lit Reviews to help fund the site. I believe this is a fair trade and I appreciate the site being up front about it. Again, it costs the author nothing. Some review sites won’t post negative reviews. If they don’t like your book, they will spare you the pain of public humiliation and you won’t get a review at all. One must be brave to submit to Kid Lit Review because they post negative and positive reviews. They have a five star system with five being the best. I read a few of the posted reviews and I was impressed. They are thorough and well-written. I read some negative reviews and was equally impressed. The reviewers backed up their decisions with details. As an author, I feel I can trust this site to produce a fair review of The Pet Washer. As a reader, I feel I can trust this site to find new books for my own kids to read! If you have a book for children or teens, consider submitting them to Kid Lit Reviews or TWeen and TEen Books for a comprehensive and fair review! Jennifer Alvarez Author of The Pet WasherNovel for girls aged 9-12
