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[Werner]

The problem with offering guaranteed reviews for a fee is that, while in your minds the author is only paying for a guaranteed spot in the magazine, in the minds of many readers the assumption would be that the fee guaranteed a favorable review. So, if the review did happen to be favorable, once the reviewer disclosed that a fee was paid (as he/she is required to do ethically, and by Federal regulations in the U.S. --I don't know about Canada) most of those readers would simply discount it as spurious. (And consciously or unconsciously, a fee can't help but influence a reviewer's judgment, to some degree, in favor of the book.)

Another point that's worth mentioning is that very few, if any, small-press or independent authors will be able to submit hardcover copies of their books. Small presses and the printing services that serve indie authors usually only produce their paper books in paperback format.

[Werner]

Theprairesbookreview wrote: "Our apologies if anything we said here is against the group rules. Mods, please let us know if that's the case. We will happy to delete the thread."

No, absolutely nothing you posted is against group rules, and there's no need at all to delete it! Thanks for the helpful additional information you provided, which was genuinely educational to me. I know Kirkus Reviews by reputation (and they have a good one in library circles); but I haven't read any of their reviews since I was in library school, and had no idea that there are now respectable reviewers who charge fees. As a small-press author myself, my post above was simply intended to reflect initial concerns that some of us would have with your offer, and to give you an opportunity to respond.

Theprairiesbookreview wrote: "Readers are very smart nowadays. It's not easy to make them fools." True, but that hasn't prevented a LOT of BBAs (Badly-Behaving Authors) and fly-by-night "reviewing" services from trying to. :-( However, your post (message 3) makes it clear that you're not one of the latter.

Theprairiesbookreview wrote: "About hard cover editions... if an author is passionate about their writing, they don't hesitate to invest in their books."

Actually, for authors whose work is published by small presses, the decision of what format to print the book in is made by the publisher, not the author. (And so far, I've never run across any small press that publishes in hardcover --though as we saw above, there are things in the publishing world that I haven't run across!) Self-publishing authors (and I have some personal experience with that type of publishing, as well) might be able to find a printing service that would print in hardcover, but the books would cost more; and that cost would have to be passed on to the reader. Some writers passionate about their writing want, precisely because of that passion, to make it affordable to as many readers as possible, and might opt for the less expensive format on that account.

Theprairiesbookreview wrote: "while we have monetary gains in mind, our aim at the same time is to help indie authors by offering highly professional reviews... but at a considerable low and affordable fee. It's hard enough to be an indie author.... They deserve excellence, Werner." That's a worthy aim, and I'm sure some of these authors will benefit from your service. I wish you all the best with this venture!

[Werner]

Thank you!