Publishers Weekly is a trade journal read primarily by booksellers and librarians (although some authors subscribe because of the industry news, and book geeks like me will spring for a copy now and then). They review releases from large and small publishers alike, and their reviews are respected by industry professionals who use them to determine which books to order.
Last week, their reputation took a hit because of a new program, PW Select. PW describes it as “a quarterly supplement announcing self-published titles and reviewing those we believe are most deserving of a critical assessment.”
Authors have to pay to be included – without promise of a review. The listing will include include author, title, price, description, etc., which is not a lot to go on if you’re a bookseller deciding which books to order. PW explains “We briefly considered charging for reviews, but in the end preferred to maintain our right to review what we deemed worthy.” They also promise that at least 25 of the titles will get reviewed, but for now, there is no way to tell how many books will be listed. Will that be 25 out of 100? Or 25 out of 500? Or 25 out of 1,000 or more?
Next week is the national conference for Romance Writers of America (RWA). Blythe Barnhill, Sandy Coleman and I will all be attending, and hopefully learning a lot. Last year was my first time at RWA, and while the conference is almost overwhelmingly huge, I had a blast getting to meet some wonderful authors (both published and aspiring), reviewers, and other book industry types. I’m also looking forward to seeing what the publishers have in store for us going forward.
The way I see it the Internet community amounts to a workplace for romance authors. Every single reader who hangs out in Romancelandia is a potential customer for the books authors want to sell.
The curtain goes up on AAR version 3.0 on Monday morning.
You heard it here first, folks: AAR is about to undergo a facelift.
Have you ever had your home broken into? Even if no one is hurt and nothing is damaged, that feeling of violation remains. What if someone copies your work, puts her name on it and turns it in as her own? Pretty outrageous, huh? Ever since an observant author notified us last week that another romance site called 
