Review Policy

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

I will still continue to read- and review books that I have agreed to read, as well as accept new books. the 24-hour policy regarding e-mail responses is now back in operating. I do still have college classes, which will still take up a majority of my time, so I can't promise a quick review, but I can promise a quick response to your e-mail.

Since I am an independent author, and a reader, I thought it'd be a good idea to review other people's books too. I'm not going to be too picky about what I will review, since I know finding a reviewer can be a pain in the butt. But thanks for taking the time to see my review policy, and please follow it as I will tell you what I need and how to get it to me. I won't say no to reading your book if you follow my guidelines.

About My Rating System

I believe every book is unique- and I try to show this by making each rating have a unique twist to it. So the rating will look like one of the five below:

(1 of 5 Stars)
(2 of 5 Stars)
(3 of 5 Stars)
(4 of 5 Stars)
(5 of 5 Stars)

An explanation or summary of what that rating means for that book located next to the rating. In general though, I try to balance out the review to be partially rated on my personal feelings toward the book, and partially rated to typos, plot, and other logistical aspects that aren't dependent on what I like or don't like.

Although it depends greatly on the book, my general ratings are this

5- Excellent story, engaging characters, a new favorite, you must read this book!

4- A very good story. Possibly a favorite with some readability issues. You won't regret picking this book up.

3- Good story, no real "wow" factor to it in my opinion. Perfectly good book logistic-wise, just not my thing. Feel free to try it out for yourself.

2- This story seems to lack something... bland, one-dimensional characters, way too many typos, hard to follow. I did manage to finish this book, but if I were you I'd skip reading this one.

1- I really hope I never have to give a book a one rating. Think about a 2-rating, only worse. Chances are I could not finish this book for the life of me.

All 4 and 5 star books will get pinned on Pintrest, along with any author interview, guest post, giveaways, ect.

What I will accept:

Any finished copy, even advanced copies (though please tell me if it's an advance copy so that I can get it read/reviewed on time and also give you a heads up if I see any glaring errors.) I have a kindle, so I appreciate .mobi, though I do also have calibre so I can convert it myself. I also quite enjoy audio books, though I do request it be "professional" quality if you send me one.

The finished copy must be free for me. I'm sorry about this- but reading and reviewing books is my only "job". I do it because I enjoy it and it helps other authors and readers out. But because of this I just don't have the money to buy books to review.

If you want to mail me a paperback or hardback copy, I (Shayna) love print copies and would love to have an autographed book of yours. However, Dawn is not located near me, so if you want the opportunity to get a faster review to begin with, then I request that you also send in an e-book version for her. (Kindle as well).

 

Also, while I'm not picky and I won't reject your book based off of genre, I really enjoy edgy chick lit and young adult. I'd like to avoid porn, unless it's got an amazingly gripping story to it. If it's just sex with characters that have no personality except "I'm really hot" I'll review it, but it may not get a great review. I'm also not a huge fan of sports stories, or historical books, but again if the story is well-written and gripping, then I can overlook genre. Just know that it's "easier" for an edgy young adult, adult, or chick lit book to get an "absolutely amazing" review than it is for sports/porn/history.

How to Request a Review

E-mail me at reviews@shaynagier.com.

Please put "Review Request: TITLE " somewhere in the title so that I don't count it as spam, though I do my best to keep this email strictly for reviews, so hopefully we won't have any issues with that. If you do not get a reply from me within 24 hours, and there is no post on my personal blog saying something came up- please resubmit. I will reply to all emails.

1. In the subject, please make sure and put the title of your book, not "TITLE" in capital letters

2. In the email make sure to tell me:

  • The Genre
  • A Brief Synopsis
  • If you are on a time schedule as to when you need the review please include that as well. Otherwise, your book will be added to the To-be-read list, and I will get to it as soon as I can.
  • A short About the Author blurb so I can copy and paste that into the bottom of the review. Include any links that you have so that readers may find you. I'll research a little to get you the connections, but I won't be as comprehensive as you may like.
  • An estimate in either pages or word count as to how long your book is. Please round to the nearest thousand for words, if you say it's about 75000 words, I won't kill you (or know) if it's actually 75286 words. However, I'd rather expect 75000 and find out it's 73000 or such as I use my reading speed as a guage to how long it will take me to get to your book and finish it.

3. When you request that I review your book, please attach an e-book copy to the email, or otherwise give me directions on how to get your e-book for free, or ask for my address if you are wanting to send a physical copy. I also ask that if you are sending a physical copy, you show me a picture of your book in the email, so I know you have a book to send and are not just a creepy person trying to stalk me.

Author Interviews and other Extras

I would love to have the opportunity to interview you so that my readers will be able to learn more about you, and assuming that you are an author that I've reviewed for before or I am in the middle of doing a review for, so that they can learn more about the story from the person who knows it best- You!

Because of this, my ideal (and default) procedure in dealing with interviews is to submit a Q&A form at the bottom of the e-mail I send you in the 24-hour time limit after I've written the review and before I post it. The Q&A is then posted 24 hours following the review, assuming that you have it filled out for me by then. Otherwise, I will post the interview as soon as you get it back to me.

Also, in order to follow the usual procedure, I may email you back (assuming there is time) to expand on your first set of questions if it so occurs to me. If you would rather just one interview and no follow-up questions, please let me know in your initial email.

Authors are encouraged to send links where they and their work can be linked to. Also, if you have a typical press-release Q&A, feel free to submit that instead of, or with, the interview.

Book Giveaways/Guest Posts/ Ect.

Typically, my book reviews and my own author blog are kept separate. This helps readers not have to search through tons of interviews and reviews to find the latest information on my own books. I will, however, allow authors to do a guest-post if they would like to/have an idea for one on my normal, author-blog as well. Please indicate that you would like to do this in your initial email if you are interested and we'll set something up. Guest posts can be posted before, or after, the review or interview, so just tell me your preference. In addition, your guest post will be one of the few posts that posts on my Book Reviews/Author Interviews/and my-blog, so if you are interested, it will be easily seen by whoever visits the site.

I will also host giveaways if you are interested in that. Just let me know the details you desire, and I'll put it together. I do prefer to use Rafflecoptor.

Freebie Giveaway Alerts

With so many authors choosing to use Kindle Direct Publishing, there are a lot of freebie promotions every day of the year. Shayna Gier.com would love to help you promote your freebie giveaway. We are currently looking for a way to put current giveaways only on the days they free in the sidebar– still a work in progress but that's just one of the many ways the ShaynaGier.com strives to be dynamic and offer authors the best services possible. If you would like to use the service please e-mail me with the subject line: " Freebie Giveaway" and I will post a link to the giveaway with a blurb from the book for you on the day– or days–that is free.

If there is anything else that you would like to do with my assistance, I think I covered most bases- maybe a contest ((something that I don't-yet-know-how-to-do-- please email me and I would be happy to work with you)) just let me know and I'll be happy to set something up.

My Part of the Review Policy

All books I review are either published by a publishing house and I picked them up to read, or else provided to me free of charge by the author or agent of the author. I do not charge for reviews in any way, and all reviews are my own personal opinion of the book. I cannot guarantee a good review, but I will give a very fair review.

All reviews, regardless if it's my personal reading or a book that was requested that I read, will be done in the same format. Namely: Picture of the cover of the book, Title by Author, Summary (default is what's on Amazon.com, though if you want to give me a summary, then I will use that. If you don't provide one, and I can't find one on amazon, then I will write the summary. Just be advised that I am not great at writing summaries. And if I don't think I can do a decent job, then I will use the brief synopsis you provided for me in the review request.) What I Loved about the book, What I didn't like, And my overall review. At the bottom of my review I will post a brief About the Author, with your picture if you'd like and links on where to find your work, and how to connect with you.

I will reply to all requests as soon as I see them, as well as a day before I post the review. The first will be a "got your request and I'll be reading it (fill in approximate time gap here)". In the second e-mail I will attach a pre-view copy of the review so that you will know what it says. You may request that I not post it, provided you do so in the 24 hours after I send out the email. Otherwise, once posted it stays. If you would like a second opinion, that is fine. Get someone else to write a differing opinion, and I'll link to their page so that readers can see both.

Also, tell me where your book is available, and I'll post my review on any other sites such as:

  • GoodReads
  • Amazon
  • Barnes and Nobles
  • Smashwords
  • Shelfari
  • RandomBuzzers
  • Wherever else you'd like, just let me know.

For the most part I will read your books in the order I receive them- with the exception of advanced reader copies which will be read and reviewed before their release date, as well as Book Tours that will be posted on the date assigned.

As of now, I am not able to tell you about when I can get to your book. All I can do is promise you that it will be read and reviewed, and I will contact you when the review is written. Again, this does not apply to Book Tours or per-released copies.

For this reason- please tell me that your book is a pre-released book when you email me. I cannot put it as top-priority if I don't know that it's supposed to be there. It's not fair to other authors to shove your book to the top of the list just because.

Thank you for reading my Review Policy. If you have any questions, please contact me at reviews@shaynagier.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

NOTE ON DONATIONS: Reviewing books is my job. I don't have a "real job" and I won't for the foreseeable future. That being said, I do not ask for money for reviews. I will not be bribed into a good review, and I don't want the value of my reviews to be questioned by asking to be paid for the reviews. HOWEVER, if, after the review, you are pleased with the services provided and think that I did a good job (not necessarily that it was a positive review, but that it was well-thought out and made good points) or you just want to thank me for taking the time to read and review your book, AFTER the review is posted, please feel free to leave a small donation by using the donation button located on the left sidebar. This is not expected, but greatly appreciated.