Have a question not answered here? Send me an e-mail.
I'm an author. Would you like to review my book?
Sure! Here's how it works (and it changes every now and then), so please read carefully -- and read the entire thing.
(Last updated January 2010) Please take a look at the About This Site page for a list of all current active reviewers and their email addresses. Beside each email address you'll find what age range they cover and (potentially) what their emphasis is on. It is best if you email the appropriate person(s) to find out what their availability and interest is.
Be sure to include an e-mail address with your book so that we can e-mail you if/when the review is posted. And, PLEASE do not send a copy of every book you have ever written. YABC receives so many books every year that we are unable to review every book we receive.
We receive literally hundreds of books every year, especially since we are one of the few YA/kid lit sites that will review small press and self-published books. We make every effort to review books in a timely manner, but some *may* be reviewed quite a bit down the line or not at all. Review copies received that are not reviewed are either donated or given away.
Additionally, please understand that YA Books Central does not require reviewers to review titles they don't like. They can, but they don't have to. My personal feeling on this is that not every person likes every book (that'd be boring!). So something that I like, someone else may hate. I (Kimberly Pauley) generally don't write negative reviews. Some other reviewers may, depending upon how the particular book affected them. If you send a book and it receives a negative review, please understand that things like that happen. It's the chance you take (trust me, as an author myself, I know this!) If you send a book and it never gets a review, please understand that the reviewer might not have found the book reviewable, for whatever reason. The book may then end up with another reviewer or it might be donated to a library or other worthy cause.
You can certainly email me (kim@yabookscentral.com) for my availability, but please keep in mind that I have a young baby and I'm working on my own writing. Consequently, I have limited time for the forseeable future. Any books you send to me may be passed on to another reviewer with more time (though I'd much prefer that you contact them directly).
If you would like your book reviewed by the official YABC Teen Reviewer or Tween Reviewer, you can either send the book to me, clearly noting who the book is intended for, and the book will be forwarded on. Or, you can contact either of them directly at teenreviewer@yabookscentral.com or tweenreviewer@yabookscentral.com. I will also periodically select books from my "stack" and send them out.
Book can be sent to me at PO Box 303, Grayslake, IL 60030. Please note that this address only goes to me, Kimberly Pauley, so if you want to send it to a specific reviewer other than myself, you should contact them directly for their address. Books sent to the PO Box are often redistributed to reviewers, but I do appreciate not having to pay the postage to mail them on. :-)
What's the deal with the review books at YABC? Do publishers pay you?
The short answer to that is no. Publishers and authors do not pay YA Books Central to post reviews. Click here for the full disclosure.
How can I contact you or one of your reviewers?
Glad you asked! You should go to the About This Site page for a list of all current reviewers and their email addresses.
How can I enter a book into your database so it shows up on your site?
It's simple! Just go to the book form (you can also get to it from the left-hand menu by selecting "Books" and then "Add a Book"). All you need to do is fill out the form with as much information as you have and click "Submit." And that's it! If you are submitting a book that is part of a series, please do so in this format (number in series is optional):
Series: Book Title (Number in Series)
For example: Animal Ark Series: Foals in the Field (Book 2)
I don't agree with a book review I saw on this site! What can I do?
That's great! If everyone thought the same things, this would be a boring planet. Please submit a book review of your own so you can share your opinion with others. Please, no personal attacks or flames. YABC reserves the right to publish or not publish any review for any reason.
I just love author X! How can I contact them?
Funny you should ask. I've written an article on just this very thing. Check out my piece on How to contact an author.
I'm an author/publisher/editor/book promotor. How can I promote a book or author on your site?
Well, you've actually got quite a few options. First and foremost, make sure the author's name is in my database. Then, add the author's books to the database (be sure to include an ISBN if you know it). After that, the author should create a bio on the site. Press releases and news items can also be added. And, last but not least, feel free to post in the site forum. To add an author photo, excerpt, or guide for your book, please e-mail me those items directly (though, seriously, PLEASE don't email me a bazillion times...these are effectively services I provide to you for free and hounding me or deluging me with requests really isn't nice). You can also donate books for giveaways or to the Prize Bucket.
- Add an author
- Add a book
- Add an author bio
- Add a press release
- Add a news item
- Build an Interview
I noticed a review with inappropriate content in it. What can I do?
If you notice a review on the website that includes something inappropriate (such as profanity or gobbledygook or personally identifiable information like a phone number or email address), you can report that review by clicking on the link at the bottom that says "Report this review for inappropriate content." The review link will then be sent to me so that I can take appropriate action (either editing or deleting the review).
Can you post a chapter of my book in your Excerpts section?
Yes, I can. Please, first add your book to my database. Then, e-mail me at kim@yabookscentral.com with the chapter either a) pasted in or b) attached in text or Microsoft Word format. And keep in mind -- if you send me a virus along with it, I may just have to hunt you down. ;-)
Hey, I submitted something to the site and I don't see it yet! Where is it?
Well, honestly, I'm just one person with a writing career of my own. I'm afraid I can't allow reviews or anything else submitted by visitors to just appear on the site immediately without review because there are always a few bad apples that ruin it by using foul or inappropriate language. I generally review things every day but sometimes it may take a little longer, especially if there were a lot of submissions that day. Please be patient. If you feel that something may have gotten lost (it may be that there was an outage on the site or I just couldn't figure out what the submission was), please do e-mail me at kim@yabookscentral.com.
I have a paper to write. Can you write it for me?
Um, no. You're certainly welcome to search the site and to even e-mail me about resources, but the whole purpose of going to school is learning things yourself. Having someone write something for you or hand it to you on a silver platter kind of defeats the purpose. Not to mention I've got lots more fun things to do, like read new books.
Where can I find out what's new on the site?
The best place to go is the YA Books Central Blog. There you'll find a listing of all the latest stuff posted to the site, announcements, and things like that.
Hey! I submitted a review and it wasn't posted! What gives?
Well, it might be because your review didn't qualify for posting. A review, to be posted (and also to count towards earning a free book), MUST contain some merit. Just saying "I Love it" or "I hate it" isn't enough and repeating the exact same thing for more than one book definitely doesn't count. Reviews must also be over 250 characters long and less than 8000 characters (though most people never come close to the limit). Check out How to Write a Book Review for some hints on what a good review contains. You don't have to have all of the elements, by any means, but it will give you an idea what I'm looking for.
How long will it take before you review my book?
That's hard to say. Sometimes I'll get to it pretty quick, other times it may be quite a while. I don't have a set time frame because a lot of factors affect when a book is reviewed: a) how many books are already in the queue, b) whether I'm already working with an author and/or publisher to coordinate a review with a book's launch, c) my personal interest in the book (hey, I'm human), d) the potential interest level of the site readers, e) whether I've recently reviewed another of your books or even books from the same publisher or a book with the same general plot. I do not discriminate against self published or POD published books and I do try to balance out what I review to be fair to everyone. I'm sure the other reviewers employ similar methods.
Does YA Books Central publish negative reviews?
The answer to this is both yes and no. It really depends upon the reviewer (and I'm talking here about "official" reviews, not reader reviews...reader reviews definitely run the gamut). Some reviewers choose not to review a book if they didn't like it. I personally (and this is Kimberly, the YA Books Goddess speaking here) tend to not review a book unless I can think of at least one good thing to say about it (and mean it). All that I ask of the official reviewers is that they be honest in their opinions. Does that mean that sometimes a book that an author or publisher has sent for review gets a negative review? Yes, it does. As an author myself, I understand that it is disappointing if this occurs. But I remind myself that a review is, ultimately, just one person's opinion and that the business of publishing is often a business full of rejection. It would be nice if everyone liked everything and all reviews were glowing endorsements, but realistically, I think we all know that just isn't how the world works.
Can you publish my book?
Nope. I'm not a publisher. Just a reviewer and writer. Want to publish my book? (You'd be surprised at how many people ask me this)
Where do the books you give away come from?
For the monthly sponsored contest, the publisher donates those copies.
Do you ever not review a book sent to you?
Yes. At this point, YABC receives so many books for review that there is no way to review them all, even with all of the (awesome!) volunteer reviewers who work on the site. And for me personally (the YA Books Goddess), I'm also spending as much time as I can on writing and on my baby boy, so I don't have nearly the time I used to have to work on YABC. At times, books will also not be reviewed because the reviewer didn't like it or because it is the umpteenth book in a series (we can't possibly review every book in a series!). Books that are not reviewed eventually wind up in either the Prize Bucket or are donated to a worthy cause.
Why do you ask for my address every time I win something?
Well, it's not because I don't remember you. It's just the only way that I can absolutely make sure that I have the correct address to send your book to. People do move, you know!
I'm interested in advertising on your site. What do I need to do?
Please send me an e-mail at kim@yabookscentral.com. I am currently in the process of reorganizing how ads are served on the site.
I'm a publisher/author/publicist and I'd like to sponsor a giveaway on the site. What do I do?
Just drop me a note at kim@yabookscentral.com with all the details and we'll see what we can do. Contests/giveaways are planned months in advance, so please don't wait! I run at least two sponsored giveaways a month.
I love the site! How can I help make it successful?
Thanks for asking! ;-) This site is a labor of love and contrary to what you read about Web sites making bazillions of dollars, it's just not true (well, unless you're Google or Ebay or Yahoo). In fact, YABC is currently very much in the red, so any help is very appreciated! There are a number of ways you can help out:
- Most importantly: Get the word out! Tell your friends, your neighbors, your enemies! The more people that visit, the better! If you have a website, please add a link to the site. I even have graphics you can use to do so, or I'll make you a special one if you just ask.
- YABC periodically has sponsors who purchase ads. If you see a sponsored ad that looks interesting, please do click on it and show your support.
- If you are planning on buying something from Amazon, please click through from the site. YA Books Central earns a small portion of every sale made through Amazon made via the Web site (non-book merchandise as well, so long as you click through from the site on any book link).
- Participate! Enter the contests and giveaways. Submit reader reviews! Chat with others in the forum! Read other people's reviews! Check out the blog!
- Advertise on the site! I will, however, only accept ads that are family friendly and on-topic.
Hey, I won a prize. Do I have to pay for shipping?
Nope. Free really does mean free on YABC!
I'm an author/editor/publicist/illustrator. Would you like to interview me?
Sure! Just contact the official YABC Interview Mavens at interviews@yabookscentral.com. Or, you can utilize the "Build Your Own Interview" question list and simply send your answers to interviews@yabookscentral.com.
I've written a book. Can you help me get it published?
No, I can't. But I have put together a page of hints and tips to help you get started.
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