All about book reviews, with guest Michelle Schingler of Foreword Reviews

Topics include: The role of a managing editor. The mission of Foreword Reviews. How the decision to review a book is made: quality, pub date, topic, availability (and even cover design). The importance of reviews to publishers. Things that publishers do wrong that makes it hard for them to get their book reviewed. (Hint: check your pub date!) Trends in indie publishing. Paid (Clarion) vs. unpaid reviews: what’s the difference? Other Foreword activities: rights fairs and trade shows, including ALA, Bologna, China. Foreword themes this year: LGBTQ, Cooking, Crafting, University Press, Diversity, Climate Change. ##Links Foreword Reviews https://www.forewordreviews.com/ A Publishers Weekly article on the pros and cons of paid reviews https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/64718-the-indie-author-s-guide-to-paid-reviews.html Participants Michelle Anne Schingler is the managing editor at Foreword Reviews. Her responsibilities include previewing thousands of books each quarter for the magazine's audience of librarians and booksellers. She came to Foreword after her master's work at the University of Georgia and Harvard Divinity School, as well as a period working in public libraries. She likes books that surprise her by making her laugh out loud, that make her feel new and widening feelings, and that brim with quirkiness, and she still cannot resist the magic of a free book. Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.