Review Policy

I figured that while I’ve been sprucing up my blog – got a lovely new layout from Laina, started archiving, and so on – I should probably write up my policy for reviews. Let me know if there’s anything I didn’t cover.

How to contact me:

Email: Kristin at dazdnconfusd@comcast.net

What I’ll review:

Age and genres: I will review nearly any young adult books. I particularly enjoy fantasy and historical fiction, as well as anything with some romance and/or a mystery. I generally (there of course have been exceptions) do not enjoy non-fiction and memoirs. I also read and review some adult books that are “crossovers” and would interest young adults (for example, Maria Snyder’s Storm Glass). You can see all of the titles I have reviewed previously and have highlighted through the Waiting on Wednesday meme to get a better sense of my interests over here.
Format: I much prefer hard copies of books. Still, I will accept e-books and pdf files if acquiring a physical copy is not possible.
Self-published: I will occasionally accept self-published books. Contact me for more information.

What to expect if you send me a book:

Timeline: I will try to read and review all books I receive within six weeks. If the book is not yet released, then I will wait in order to try to post the review a week or so before the release date (unless requested otherwise).
Guarantee: If I receive a book, I guarantee I will review it at some point. As mentioned above, I hope to read and review all books within six weeks. The only two exceptions I can imagine are: 1) if I am sent a large bundle of books at one time. In this case, I will at least read and review some of these right away, but depending on how many books I have at the time, I may not be able to get to every single one within six weeks. 2) if something bad happens to me (super sick, start failing school, etc). I’m hoping this won’t EVER be the case, but I figured I should mention it just in case.

My reviews:

Format: Generally my reviews are two to three paragraphs in length. The first paragraph will include my own summary of the book, and then one to two paragraphs of my opinion. I also give every book I read a rating from 1 to 10.
Opinion: First of all, I use “I” in my reviews. I think it’s important to emphasize that in any review, what’s being said are my personal thoughts and therefore not everyone is going to agree. Which brings me to my second point. I am completely honest when I write reviews. This means that if I did not enjoy a book, I will say so in my review. I try to be completely fair in these reviews, and am never cruel. I should mention, though, that it’s rare that I dislike a book.
Other locations: I also post all of my book reviews on GoodReads. If requested, I will also post on Amazon.com, BN.com, and/or other book review sites.

Other stuff you might want to know:

Traffic and other stats: Feed Your Imagination was started in mid-March 2009, and a Sitemeter tracker installed at the beginning of July 2009. As of the end of August, I have 103 followers, and for the months of July and August I received over 1,200 visits and 2,400 page views. To see the traffic on my blog at any given moment, scroll to the bottom of the blog and click on the Sitemeter rectangle (it will link you to a page full of stats).
What happens to books I receive: The books I receive often end up on my bookshelf and stay there, or I will pass them on to a friend. I never sell the books I receive, though I may pass them on to other readers through a contest or donation to my public library.
Authors: I think you are all so fascinating! I would love to do an interview or have you do a guest blog here. Just send me an email; I’d be honored to have you. :)
Giveaways/contests: I love them! If you’re interested in having me host a giveaway or contest, email me. I’ll try to come up with something creative.
Bloggers: I like meeting new people so don’t hesitate to drop me an e-mail about anything, really. I’m also up for link exchanges if you’re interested.

I think that’s everything! Don’t hesitate to leave a comment if there’s something else I should add.