How to get paid to write book reviews....

Making a wheelbarrow full of cold, hard cash for writing book reviews is really easier than we all thought. As it turns out, all we had to do was change our name from A Reader's Respite to Publishers Weekly Whore-ly and charge self-published authors $149 for the mere chance of being reviewed in the formerly prestigious publication.  That's right.  Publisher's Whore-ly is now charging for some of their book reviews.

We'll give you a moment to digest this.

A Reader's Respite has so many objections to this practice, we scarcely know where to begin.  It's bad enough that publications such as the San Francisco Book Review ($99 - $299) and Kirkus ($425 - $575) have what they euphemistically call "sponsored reviews," but now Publisher's Whore-ly is apparently legitimizing the practice of preying on self-published/self-promoting authors.

All publications, of course, promise us that the money flowing in will in no way guarantee a positive review.  Really?  Because for $149, they had damned well better give a GLOWING review.

Here's an original idea:  how about if we try reading a fair representation of books from across the spectrum - from big publishing houses to small independent presses to self-published authors - for (gasp!) free and writing an honest, heart-felt review.  If Publisher's Whore-ly needs the revenue so badly, perhaps they should give their advertising sales department peeps a swift kick in the ass, rather than preying on self-published authors who are struggling financially to begin with.

But perhaps we're being cynical here.  Perhaps these publications really are looking for fabulous novels that went the self-publishing route.  And perhaps taking money from these authors is just their way of welcoming new talent to the big world of publishing.

Yeah, and if you belive that, we have a review to sell you.  For only a small "processing fee" of $1000.  Make checks payable to A Reader's Respite, if you would.