Editorial Reviews: Worth It for an Indie Author?
My Experience with Kirkus, BookLife, and Self-Publishing Review
First, business! THE END OF THE WORLD launches in ten days (February 5th). Ahhhhhh… Pre-Order Now!
Anyway. You’re here to read about my adventure with editorial reviews, aren’t you? Let’s go!
Editorial Reviews 101
Editorial reviews are reviews done by professional publications, like newspapers or publishing magazines, Publishers Weekly being a good example. Positive reviews from reputable publications are highly coveted, as they are trusted by the publishing industry to give honest reviews. These reviews are often the ones quoted on the back covers of books.
Things to know about editorial reviews
There is often a submission fee. Yes, that makes them a paid review, but wait…
Because they are paid reviews, editorial reviews cannot be incorporated into a book’s star rating on book distribution or review sites (like Amazon or Good Reads). It is against the Terms of Service for these sites. Instead, they are used to promote the book to the publication’s own readers. Authors often add these reviews to their book covers to showcase endorsements from reputable sources. Amazon and other book distributors offer a separate space to post editorial reviews, as they are not applicable for star ratings.
Paid reviews from reputable publications do not automatically equate to positive reviews. The reputation of these companies is based on the honesty of their reviews. The reputation of these companies hinges on the honesty of their reviews. If they were to give everyone five stars, their credibility would diminish, and trust in their reviews would erode. Trust me, the Internet is littered with pissed off authors who paid $$$ for an editorial review that failed meet their expectations.
All three companies I dealt with offered authors the option to not publish their review.
Reputable publications will outright reject a submission that does not meet a minimum standard of quality.
Yes, traditional publishers also use editorial reviews. Sometimes they pay for these reviews, and sometimes they do not.
Editorial Reviews of THE END OF THE WORLD
I submitted my book to three reputable publications that accept submissions from independent authors. All three provided a page-long review, including a lengthy book summary (which I'm not keen on), followed by a shorter critique.
Kirkus
Kirkus is probably the most well-known publication among indie author circles. This was the one I was most looking forward to, while simultaneously feeling nervous because of their reputation for being tough critics.
Kirkus doesn’t use a 5-star rating system. However, they do rarely award something called a ‘Kirkus Star’ for exceptional works. Aside from that, they feature an Awards & Accolades section that either recommends or doesn’t recommend the book to readers. As with all publications, the author has the choice to publish their review publicly.
My review was overwhelmingly positive and the book was recommended to readers, which was very validating (though, alas, no Kirkus Star).
The full review is linked here, but if you want to skip the plot summary, I posted review excerpts below: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/hs-gilchrist/the-end-of-the-world-1/
Worth it?
Even with a positive review, I found it to be a lot of money for what felt like very little in return ($425). My review is shared on a page cluttered with numerous ads for other books, which are more prominent than mine. The majority of the review was a summary, leaving few notable excerpts for me to use as my editorial review blurb. Additionally, there is no guarantee that even a positive review will be published in their print publication. Without that visibility or paying additional promotional fees, the review hardly gains any traction, so I'm not expecting it to significantly increase book sales.
BookLife
BookLife, Publishers Weekly’s indie-focused publication, serves as a gateway for indie authors seeking to have their works considered by the more renowned Publishers Weekly. Similar to Kirkus, BookLife doesn’t use star ratings, but uses an alphabetical grading system to rate cover, design/typography, illustrations, editing, marketing copy. My review was extremely positive and received the ‘Editor’s Choice’ distinction. After this review, I opted to submit my book to Publishers Weekly for further consideration, at no additional cost. As for whether it will make the final cut – that remains to be seen.
The full review is linked here, but if you want to skip the plot summary, I posted review excerpts below: https://booklife.com/project/the-end-of-the-world-89601
Worth It?
Yes. Unlike Kirkus, where my review is lost in a sea of book ads and other reviews, BookLife provides a dedicated page for my review, which will also be published in the print edition of the publication (though I have yet to receive it). Even if my rating hadn't been positive, I would have still found the feedback invaluable. Although the cost was somewhat steep at $399, I felt that I received more value from this review compared to the one from Kirkus. I was particularly impressed with the Comparative Titles section, which highlighted books similar to mine. This was a helpful feature, especially considering my past struggles in identifying comp titles during my agent search. The majority of the review is still a book summary, which I'm not fond of, but the review portion was more extensive than Kirkus', offering some impactful lines.
Self-Publishing Review (SPR)
SPR has been around since 2008, yet it wasn't a publication I was familiar with until I began researching editorial review options. However, its reputation proved to be solid, which led me to choose it. Unlike Kirkus and BookLife, SPR employs the 5-star rating system and helpfully breaks the rating down into categories such as design, content, and editing.
The full review is linked here, but if you want to skip the plot summary, I posted review excerpts below: https://www.selfpublishingreview.com/2024/01/review-the-end-of-the-world-rise-of-the-after-lord-by-h-s-gilchrist/
Worth It?
Definitely! Out of the three editorial reviews I received, SPF's was by far the best-written. The review was as lengthy as the book summary, providing numerous excellent quotes for editorial review blurbs. While there are ads on my page, they are relegated to the sidebar and are non-intrusive. Priced at $329 for the Lead Story package, it was the most affordable of the three. I received several valuable extras: an author interview, a starred banner featuring my book's cover along with a blurb and star rating, and a starred badge suitable for use on a book cover or elsewhere.
I really enjoyed filling out the author interview, too. Check it out here if you’re interested: https://www.selfpublishingreview.com/2024/01/an-interview-with-h-s-gilchrist-author-of-the-end-of-the-world-rise-of-the-after-lord/
Conclusion: Editorial Reviews Worthwhile?
If you don't have disposable income, I'd advise against it. While it was an enjoyable experience, I'm skeptical that it will lead to enough sales to justify the expense, unless you're prepared to invest additional funds into promotions through these sites. Many of my ARC (Advance Reader Copy) readers provided reviews of equal or even better quality. Moreover, NetGalley, an ARC review site, targets the same audiences as these publications, including librarians, educators, and booksellers.
My friend and I recently launched a website for discovering indie books. It's free to submit! Check us out at www.book-shelfie.com
That's a really helpful little article for us indie writers. Obviously the costs are a bit steep (I'm below the poverty line, so these kinds of reviews are out of the question), with no guarantee unless you're really confident in what you've written - which clearly you are (I am too, for what it's worth). You've clearly done a lot of good work with marketing and promo research, which is excellent (& helpful, too - thanks). I myself am utterly rubbish at it. Take a look at my own Substack, for example - it's only got 5 subscribers, one of them is me and another is my other half! I wish you good luck for your launch, though...