Reviews FAQs
Why should I pay GRR to handle my ARCs?
Because ensuring that early readers actually leave reviews is time-consuming, and that time is better spent writing new books!
Gay Romance Reviews will take care of everything from finding interested reviewers from among our carefully selected team, securely sending the file(s), following up, and tracking the results.
External review services like ours are also a great way for new readers to discover your work. We regularly hear from our reviewers that they’ve found a new favourite author to binge-read after reading an ARC they got from us.
Who are the GRR reviewers?
Our reviewers are super-fans, recommenders, supporters, and lovers of gay/MM romance.
They’re carefully selected based on their reviewing history, engagement with the online book community, and their enthusiasm for both the genre and discovering new authors.
Do you only accept new releases?
Nope! We’ll work with any title, new or old. As long as it’s LGBTQ+ romance of some sort, we’re in. There’s never a bad time for fresh reviews.
Do you only accept gay/MM romance?
Nope. We’re happy to accept books featuring sapphic/FF, trans, and non-binary characters and relationships. We are actively recruiting readers for whom this is their primary reading preference, so interest at the time of writing this is less than we see for gay/MM titles, but it’s something we’re excited to grow.
My book is enrolled in KDP Select/Kindle Unlimited. Can I still submit it?
Amazon says the following about offering review copies in general:
Can I give free or discounted copies of my books to readers?
Amazon
You may provide free or discounted copies of your books to readers. However, you may not demand a review in exchange or attempt to influence the review.
And this, in direct reference to books enrolled in KDP Select:
Exclusivity. When you include a Digital Book in KDP Select, you give us the exclusive right to sell and distribute your Digital Book in digital format while your book is in KDP Select. During this period of exclusivity, you cannot sell or distribute, or give anyone else the right to sell or distribute, your Digital Book (or a book that is substantially similar), in digital format in any territory where you have rights.
Amazon Jan 2020 Update
Per the above quotes, we believe offering review copies to the private team of reviewers through our program is acceptable under the Terms of Service laid out in the KDP agreement. However, as Amazon’s ToS are subject to both interpretation and change, the ultimate decision on distributing ARCs through our program resides with each author.
For more information, please see the Kindle Direct Publishing Terms and Conditions Agreement
My new release is book 3 in a series—can I submit the first two books so reviewers can get caught up?
Yes. Later books in a series always get a better response when our reviewers have the opportunity to catch up with a series they might not be familiar with. Ask us about discounted rates for submitting multiple books in a series!
Can I limit the number of copies available?
Definitely. Part of the submission process is setting a maximum number of copies you’re comfortable with. Should the requests exceed your limit, we will offer you the opportunity to increase it, but you will always make the final decision about how many copies of your books will be distributed.
Do you guarantee the number of copies that will be sent out?
We do not. Our reviewers enjoy a wide variety of sub-genres, topics, and tropes, but whether or not they decide to request an ARC is completely up to them.
Do you guarantee positive reviews?
We do not. Our reviewers will leave honest reviews based on their reading experience. If a reviewer finds they didn’t enjoy a book, we encourage them to opt out of reviewing rather than post something negative or low-starred, but we cannot guarantee they will do so.
Are the reviewers paid or compensated in any way?
Definitely not. This is expressly against Amazon’s Terms of Service.
Where will the reviews be posted?
Our primary goal is to have reviews posted to Amazon, but not all reviewers can/will post there, so Goodreads and Bookbub are also common review destinations.
How long until the reviews are posted?
Our readers are given no less than 14 days to review each book. Depending on when GRR receives your title(s), reviews can be posted as soon as the first few days of release. We do not set reviewing deadlines for exactly release day, as Amazon doesn’t always publish quickly, and we want to give our reviewers a bit of time to not panic over being late for circumstances beyond their control.
What book formats do you accept?
As we send ARCs directly to Kindle addresses, we only accept epub files.
Audiobook codes can be ACX/Audible, Spotify, Bookfunnel, and similar.
We do not currently accept print books but would be open to exploring this method if requested.
What steps do you take to prevent piracy?
While it’s impossible to eliminate piracy completely, we do take steps to reduce the chances of it.
By being selective with who we accept to the team, we know that our reviewers are book lovers and author-supporters.
We store all files in a private cloud accessible by only 2 administrators.
We send all ARCs directly to Kindle devices.
We track which reviewers are following through with their reviews, and if they’re unresponsive to deadlines or reminders, they’re placed on the ‘naughty list’ and can face account restrictions or removal from the team.
In more than five years, we have never had a reported piracy concern and will continue to do our best to maintain this success.
Are there any books you won’t accept?
No bestiality, necrophilia (zombies and vampires excluded), or pedophilia. Nothing that glorifies rape, suicide, or murder.
We will accept taboo content (such as ‘cest and dub-con), so long as it’s properly labelled and we feel it’s a good fit for the team based on past interest in similar topics.
AUDIO – Do you have US and UK reviewers?
We sure do! We have audio reviewers from around the world, including the US and UK. Many of our reviewers are tech-savvy enough to be able to redeem Audible codes for either region and can switch as needed.
AUDIO – My codes are for a site other than Audible – can you still take them?
Of course. Audible is generally the preference among our reviewers, but they’re very flexible. As long as a paid account/subscription is not required, we’ll accept codes for any site.
Tours FAQs
What is the difference between a blitz and a tour?
A promo blitz is a 3-day event to quickly inform readers that your book is live. This tends to attract our social media partners more than blogs, but typically includes a nice mix of both. A tour is a 5-day event that provides readers with a more in-depth look at your book through excerpts and exclusive content. Tours often see more requests from bloggers.
How many bloggers or bookstagrammers are on your list, and how many can I expect to take part in a blitz or tour?
We are pleased to have more than 500 bloggers, bookstagrammers, and bookish friends on our mailing list. Participation will vary from book to book depending on schedules, readership, and reviewer reading preferences.
Authors will always be invited to share their book’s signup form with their own readers, which can significantly increase the number of participants.
Do you guarantee a minimum number of participating blogs?
We do not. Each blogger will choose to participate in the events that they are interested in, and feel will be of interest to their readership.
How far in advance should I schedule a blitz or tour?
For best results, we recommend scheduling services no less than four weeks in advance.
What do I need to have in order to schedule a service?
Our submission form will collect the basic information (title, blurb, length, etc.) about your book and the service(s) you’re requesting. At the very least, we need to know the release date and genre/tropes so that we can begin reaching out to our team. The more information you can provide, the better.
I don’t have my ARC file ready yet, can I still schedule service?
Definitely! The sooner you’re able to send it, the more time bloggers will have to read and prepare their reviews, but it’s not required to have upon signup.
I don’t see exactly the services I want, does that mean you can’t help?
Not at all! We are happy to chat with you and create a custom tour to meet your needs. Click here to contact us.