Today I’m going to discuss my experience with review requests. I was actually inspired to write this after seeing Drew from the Tattooed Book Geek wrote a very well written post about his experience with an author. Now, I have only gotten two review requests, but each one was different.
The first request was through email, and I didn’t have a review policy in place yet. I politely declined and created a review policy.
My review policy states that I am not accepting reviews. This is where the second request comes in. The second request was on Twitter. Below you can see the exchange, in which I blocked out the author’s name and title of the book:
Here’s the thing that kind of annoys me, did the author really come across my blog? Because if the author had, it clearly states on my homepage that I’m not accepting books for review, or did they read my review policy and just completely ignore it? Review policies are there for a reason. After this request, I even put in my Twitter bio that I’m not accepting requests.
Inside My Minds 
I hate that you have had trouble with this. Surprisingly, I have not had this issue. Each request I have received is for a book genre clearly stated in my “accept” list, and I have gotten some pretty good ones too! I have declined a couple that didn’t pique my interest, and have gotten pleasant responses from those as well. I don’t blame you for not wanting to accept requests though. And it sounds super annoying that that author obviously did not read your review policy.
It really is annoying. I’ve had my review policy for a while too.
I remember noticing it when I followed you, so its not something that is hard to find. I know authors are looking for ways to spread the word about their books, but they have to be respectful of us too and pay attention to our guidelines. I hope you don’t have any more trouble in the future! ❤
Thanks I hope I don’t have any trouble either.. And they really do need to be respectful to us. I hope
I stopped accepting review requests as well. Authors NEVER seem to read my review policy! I recently accidentally accepted a book that is all of what I don’t read- fantasy, adult, and even a bit of erotica which I am way too young for! I assumed the book was for young adults, so that is why I accepted. I’ve learned my lesson, and I almost never really enjoy books from review requests, so why even bother accepting them? Great post!❤️
Thank you! It’s just annoying when review policies are ignored.
It’s a little annoying when they ask, despite you clearly stating that you aren’t open to requests. Even more so when it’s evident that not much thought has been put into their request email. Something with review requests also is that I worry that the author won’t like my review and react badly to it, which I’ve seen before. I saw Drew’s post and the way the author spoke to him in the email was so rude!
It’s why I don’t accept them. I never have. But author’s know that not everyone is going to like their books and they have to handle that criticism in a professional manner.
Thanks for the mention, not sure my post was well-written though, more ranty!😂
I often feel that ‘I came across your blog’ just means ‘I’ve seen you’re a blogger’ not that they actually bother to check out the blog in any detail. And, yeah, often they just ignore the review policy and skip straight to the contact part. As you say, review policies are there to be read and mostly I’d say that they are ignored.
I thought it was well-written.