(I've recently been warned about a possible disruption in internet service that may occur this Thursday. It's a very irregular event that may be tied to a certain solar flare. I don't know what will happen for sure, but just in case this disruption does occur, I'm posting this addition to my blog a day early. Cheers!)



Hi, there! I've made some changes to my review services, which I’ll briefly outline here. I altered the guidelines of my review site and added an option for authors to receive free reviews. No, this isn’t me caving to the “you’re a horrible person for requesting payment for reviews” rant. I already confronted this in my series on paid reviews (see Part1, Part 2, and Part 3**). I started considering offering free reviews because a lot of authors seem to only need a short blurb on Goodreads, not an in-depth review. While in-depth reviews take me hours to compose and edit, not to mention the time it takes me to complete the error lists, a short blurb of three sentences or so only takes a few minutes to write and edit, if that. That said, there’s a lot I want to make absolutely clear regarding my new service.

For starters, I don’t offer the same services to those requesting free reviews as I do to those requesting paid reviews. For authors using my paid service, I offer editorial assistance, advice, and an in-depth review posted on my site. My free service, on the other hand, will only offer a short review to be posted on Goodreads or the author’s site. If I do share it on my review site, it will more than likely be shared as a link on another page. Free reviews won’t receive their own separate blog posts on my site. Amazon is still out of the question for both services because of their weird terms and conditions, but authors can post any review I complete for them in their editorial reviews sections (the link placed here takes you to a page explaining what editorial reviews are and how to use them).

Naturally, authors using my paid service will have higher priority over those using my free service. I’ll only be reading the books I review for free in my spare time, so they may take longer for me to complete than those I read for paying customers. In other words, I won’t make time for books I review for free as I do for books I’m being paid to review. I’ll only use time I already have available, which is a huge part of why I can offer this free service. Reviews are pretty much guaranteed for both services. The only exceptions I can see at the moment are if something out of my control occurs to stop me (such as an accident of some kind) or if a book is so horrible that I can’t finish it. Here are my guidelines if you’re interested in learning more. Please read them before requesting a review.

Now, I’ll just have to see how this goes. I may remove my free review service in the future, or I may keep it. My guidelines have changed in certain ways since I first started my review service, and, as I state in the guidelines themselves, I’m sure they’ll continue to do so as I evolve. Nothing is set in stone. I may even eventually discontinue all review services. For the time being, however, if you are interested in receiving a review, feel free to peruse my free and paid options. I’m currently not accepting any more books to review (though I may have a review going up soon that I completed before break), but I plan to reopen all my services come January 2021. I already have a few authors lined up who asked me to get back with them when I reopen. If you'd like to be placed on that list, let me know. To all my previous and future customers, I want to thank you for your support and your business.



**By the way, a while ago I was told I charge too much for reviews. Other freelancers will understand how it feels to be told this, but if you, whoever you are reading this, happen to think my paid service is overly expensive, here are the prices some other paid review services charged as of 2017, and keep in mind that most services (at least most of the services I've read about) only provide reviews, not extra assistance, such as editorial help: other review services.

As you can see, my rates are low compared to many other paid review services, which typically charge a flat rate of anywhere from $100 to $595. I get paid by the word, and since I prefer to read books under 100,000 words in length, I haven’t yet charged $100 or more for a review. Furthermore, it usually doesn't take me longer than two weeks to finish a book. At most, it takes four, but lately I've been finishing the book and the review within one week. If you read the article cited, many review services typically have a seven to nine week turnaround time. Some allow you to pay extra for expedited service.

If you simply can’t afford a paid service of any kind, you can select my limited free service or check out these other free review services. This link does suggest a few paid options, a couple of which I hadn’t heard of. To find more sites, just put something like “where can I get my book reviewed for free” in your search engine. Keep in mind that I'm not endorsing any of the services (other than my own) mentioned in the links I provided. The only one mentioned other than my own that I have personal experience with is Readers' Favorite, and that is one service that I do promote. So far, I haven't heard complaints from any of the authors who've used them and they seem very professional on the reviewer end. Of course, it's wise to do your research before deciding on any review service.