Book Review Policy

UPDATE (8-23-12): Because I'm starting graduate school, along with teaching two sections of first-year composition at the university, I am no longer accepting review requests. I apologize for any inconveniences this might cause!

Review requests should be sent via e-mail to mindfulmusings(at)live(dot)com. Following the guidelines below will make the review request process easier on everyone, so please read them before e-mailing me! 

What I Review

Categories: Young Adult, Adult, and a limited amount of Middle Grade. 

Genres: All genres in Young Adult; Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance (depending on the level of romance), Science Fiction, Dystopian, and a limited amount of Historical Fiction and Contemporary in Adult. Middle Grade books are decided on a case-by-case basis. 

What I Won't Accept Review Requests For: Erotica, Romance (books where romance is the defining plot element) Westerns, Christian, Self-Help, or Non-Fiction books.

Format: I accept both e-book and hard copies for review. However, priority is given to hard copies. As of 3-19-12, I am now also accepting audiobooks for review.

Things You Should Know Before Requesting a Review

-I usually have a rather large review pile. It might take up to 3-4 months for a review to be posted, depending on how backed up I am. I am currently the only reviewer for Mindful Musings, and I have to make time for eating, sleeping, working, and college as well. The average time for me to read and complete a book review request is 2-4 weeks from the day I receive the book. Sometimes it's sooner, sometimes it's later. If you have a specific date that you would like the review to be posted by, please let me know, and I will do my best to accommodate you.

-I'm an honest reviewer. My readers trust that I will give them a candid opinion of the book, and I will not give a book a glowing recommendation just because I received it for free.

-I will contact you via e-mail once the review has been posted on my blog. The review will also be posted on Goodreads. I'm also willing to post the review on other sites if you'd like, just let me know which ones

-I use the 100 pages rule. Some bloggers do 25, some do 50, but I feel like 100 pages is definitely fair. If I get through the first 100 pages and am not seeing anything I like, I reserve the right to put the book down, and write the review from there, noting in the review that I did not finish the book.

What to Include in Your Review Request

Following these guidelines will allow me to more quickly process and respond to your request. They're not mandatory, but they tend to save me some time.

-Title of the book

-Author of the book

-Book's release date

-Brief description of the book (synopsis will work)

-Any website that is associated with the book

-Your contact name

-Date you would like a review to be posted by (optional)

How I Decide What to Review

I do not accept every review request that I receive. I choose which books to review based on the time I have, my personal interest in the subject, and what I expect my readers' interests to be. I check my e-mails pretty regularly, so if I accept your request, you should hear from me within one week at the most. Because of time constraints and the number of requests I receive, I no longer send responses to those whose requests I do not accept. I apologize in advance for any inconveniences this may cause.

Author Interviews, Guest Posts, and Giveaways

I'm happy to participate in author interviews, guest posts, and/or giveaways for books that fall within the categories of "What I Review" above. For more information on this topic, please contact me at the e-mail address provided below. 

If you have further questions, feel free to contact me at mindfulmusings(at)live(dot)com. I look forward to working with you!