Kirkus Reviewers for Hire

Kirkus Reviews, one of the few outlets that publishes trade reviews of books well in advance of their publication, has quietly initiated a new service via its Web site that crosses a line many in publishing and the review world would have once considered sacrosanct.The new program, called Kirkus Discoveries, provides the opportunity for just about anyone, from traditional publishing companies to “self-published, e-published and print-on-demand authors,” to “commission” a review, for $350.Kirkus will display the reviews on a new Web site, and highlight what it deems “the best submissions” in a monthly e-mail newsletter.The company is in the early stages of inviting subscribers to opt-in to receiving the new newsletter.Jerome Kramer, managing director and editor in chief at the US Literary Group of VNU (which owns Kirkus), says the program is designed “for any title that the publisher or author feels has been unfairly overlooked.” Kirkus’s signature publication covers about 5,000 books a year, but statistics from R. R. Bowker indicate that publishers now issue approximately 175,000 new titles a year. As Mr. Kramer underscores, customers will get, “an honest to good, caveat emptor review.” That bears special meaning within the industry, where the 71-year-old Kirkus was once known for generally harsher reviews than its peers in the trade. (Authors and publishers would happily use “a good Kirkus review” as a phrase of distinction.)The Web offering has been much discussed among bloggers lately, though Mr. Kramer notes that it has not officially launched. The company expects to issue the first newsletter before the end of this year.Foreword Magazine, a trade publication that focuses on smaller independent publishers, launched a similar pay-for-review program in 2001, priced at $295 per review. Its Web site displays approximately 225 commissioned reviews.A second e-mail newsletter program from Kirkus will launch later this month, and promises to ramp up more quickly. Called “Kirkus Reports,” it will survey softer subject areas that have not traditionally qualified for full reviews and make recommendations on books of merit. The first two newsletters will focus on cooking and entertaining, and health and fitness. Newsletters on parenting, home improvement, and personal finance will follow later this year, along with some kind of general paperback survey.This program is driven by what’s termed on the site as “co-op” advertising from publishers, who will pay $95 for every title mentioned. Kirkus will “vet and assess” submitted books first, according to Mr. Kramer, and if they are considered worthy of inclusion, the publisher will be invited to participate. If the publisher does not want to pay the fee, the book will not be included in the newsletter.

Kirkus Reviewers for Hire

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