Becoming a Book Reviewer – Pros and Cons

I haven’t done a simple discussion post in a long time, but I thought it would be fun today! If you didn’t already notice, most of my books I review were sent to me for free from the author or the publisher. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I’d be privileged enough to receive all this, but here I am! While it is pretty awesome to receive free books, there are a few aggravating things about it. Here’s a few of the pros and cons I could think of.

 

Pro: Free Books!

Of course this is going to be my first pro! Not only am I on certain reviewer lists for publishers, but I have even sent an email to an author I liked to ask for one of their books. Maybe I have just been lucky, but every author I’ve contacted has sent me the book I wanted. This honestly blew my mind when I first began.

 

Con: Time/Time Limits.

Reading a book takes a lot of time. Reviewing a book can take a lot of time and especially a lot of thought. What makes it worse is that a lot of companies set a certain amount of weeks that you have to post a review in. So, book reviewing is not super leisurely, especially when you get sent multiple books at once.

 

Pro: ARCs.

If you’ve never had an ARC, you’re missing out! ARC stands for “Advanced Reader’s Copy.” It’s when an author sends you a unfinished copy of the book before the release day. I can’t even describe how special that feels when you have an unreleased book.

 

Con: Accepting Too Many Books.

Once your reviewing name is out there, book review requests will be flying at you! It can be super tempting (especially at the beginning) to accept all of them! DON’T DO THAT! I was warned about that temptation, but still did it to a certain extent. I was rushing through books, had to read multiple ones in a day, and was late on my deadlines. You have to pace yourself or it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

 

Pro: Signed Copies and Goodies!

Authors (especially indie authors) are always excited when you accept their book for review! Luckily for book reviewers, they sometimes show that appreciation. Probably a fourth to half of the books I have received are signed by the author with a small thank you note. I have been sent bookmarks, pens, discounts for products, and my blog has even been shared onto authors’ Facebook pages! Of course sending the books for free is enough thanks for me, but the little extra things sure brighten my day! 🙂

 

Con: The Pressure to Be Nice.

This con may sound a little odd, but it’s very true. When an author comes to me and asks for a review, it is really hard for me to write a bad review about their book. I will even contact them if I am not enjoying it and ask if they are sure about me reviewing it. I know how devastated I would be if I had a book and it was reviewed badly, but I also never want to lie to my followers. If I have to write a bad review, I try to state things as kindly as I can.

 

Pro: Helping Indie Authors.

Becoming an author is a really difficult thing to do. It can be hard to advertise your books, and many new authors reach out to reviewers for that help. One review can make a big difference.

 

Book reviewing is completely worth it in my opinion, but it is definitely a job (and normally an unpaid one). What did you all think of my pros and cons? Do you have more to add? Be sure to tell me in the comments if you’d like a part 2! Thanks for reading!