Review Policy
As independent authors, we understand the value of reviews for new books. As a way to give back to the indie community that has been so very welcoming and helpful, we are happy to consider other authors’ works for review.
Reviewing is a subjective process and is always influenced by the personality and the experiences of the reviewer. With that in mind, please remember that all reviews are our opinions about the work. Those opinions may differ from the opinions of others. We give honest reviews. If we love a book, we will say so. If we didn’t care for a book, we will say that, too.
Having said that, we want to help other authors and not hurt them, so if our review will be fewer than 3 stars and not a book that we recommend, we will contact the author before we publish to let them decide if they would rather we hold the review.
For reviews of 3 stars or better, we will send the author a copy of the review, as well as post on Amazon, Goodreads, aelowan.com, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and Google+. If you have another venue you would like us to post to, please let us know in your review consideration email.
Rating System
5 stars
Author goes straight to our always buy list. This book is highly recommended. It is extraordinary in some way. It has very limited flaws that don’t distract from its overall superlative nature.
4 stars
We loved it. This book is recommended. It is well thought out and well executed. It has a few flaws that were a little distracting from the overall flow of the book.
3 stars
We liked it. This book is recommended for an entertaining read. While it had distracting elements, something about the book still captivated us.
2 stars
We didn’t care for it. We don’t recommend this book. The book’s distractions overwhelmed its positive elements and made reading it unenjoyable.
1 star
We hated it or didn’t finish. We don’t recommend this book. The flaws were so glaring or so frequent that we couldn’t get through or into the story at all.
Review Consideration Submission Guidelines
We are happy to review books in any fantasy genre. (We sometimes read outside fantasy as well. If you have a book you’d like us to review outside of fantasy, send an email and we will consider it.) To submit an ARC or book for review consideration, please send an email to aelowan (at) gmail (dot) com.
Please include:
- The words “REVIEW CONSIDERATION: (Insert the title of your book)” in the subject line
- A brief synopsis
- A page or word count
- An image of your cover
- A brief author bio
- A link to your website, blog, and other social media
- Any pre-order or buy links
We will reply to your email and let you know if your book looks like something we will have time to review soon. We will give you a rough time frame. We receive a lot of requests, so if you need the review for a particular date, please let us know in the email and give us at least 4 weeks before any hard date. If our time frame will work for you, we will ask you to send us a copy of your work. We prefer PDF, mobi, or physical copies. We will consider any physical copy as a donated copy and ours to mark with notes and keep.
Other Places to Find Reviews
We are proud to be listed on The IndieView. For readers, it is a terrific place to find great new books. For authors, it is wonderful for finding reviewers who are happy to review your books. Check them out here: http://www.theindieview.com/