Authors Etiquette On Review Requests

There's a lot of talking about this matter, and after seeing several posts around the web in regards of review requests and after receiving my fair share, I decided to share my thoughts/suggestions for authors on how to approach bloggers with review requests.

Review Policy: ALWAYS READ IT. This is a vital thing for us bloggers. it's a sum-up of what we like to read and basically guidelines for you, author. If you send me a request for comedy fiction when I say that I review paranormal, you're wasting your time and, more important, mine.

Name: We're all human beings, and God made us with a given name. USE IT. The fact that you start your email with Dear Blogger will make me think twice before I continue reading your email. Would you like if I addressed yourself as Hey, Dude? I don't think so.

Bulk Email: This is another thing that annoys me a lot. The fact that you send the email to me and to other 374520 bloggers it's clearly a sign that you didn't take time to look at my blog properly and you probably don't even know who I am. Also, don't assume I know all the other 374520 you're contacting. I might've heard of some of them, but I don't know them. You're saving time by contacting so many people at once but again, you're wasting mine.

Info: Always, always, ALWAYS put info about yourself and the book you want me to review. Chances are that you'll never hear from me if I don't know who you are or what your book is about. A general email should always include:

- A brief introduction to yourself. You don't need to put the whole bio, if I want to know more about you I'll visit your website.

- The book blurb. This is vital, as I have no interest in something I know nothing about.

- Links where to find you and your book. Usually your site/blog and eventually a Goodreads page, or if you have a site/blog about the novel, that'll do too. 

Don't make me google you, as I will likely lose interest and won't bother writing back. 

In conclusion, Authors, you should consider this: we're as busy as you, sometimes even more. We spend a great amount of the day reading, and the rest is dedicated to work/family/blogging/chores/other stuff. So following the guidelines above will help us a lot. 

A little respect is not much to ask, isn't it?