Thanks for your interest in Track of Words! If you have a book that you would like me to review, please read this page carefully. It contains details of whether I’m currently accepting review requests, the types of books I’m likely to read and review, and how to get in touch to request a review.
I am CLOSED for review requests, and likely to remain so.
After 10 years of running Track of Words, my current plans for 2024 and onwards involve moving away from writing reviews and focusing instead on author interviews, guest posts etc. I may write the occasional review, but chances are that will be for books I’ve bought and loved. Please see this post for more details.
(The rest of the information on this page is only relevant to when I’m open to review requests. I’ll update this page if and when anything changes.)
Note for publicists: I’m always open to conversations about books you’re working on or may have coming up. Please do get in touch, as even if I can’t commit to a review I’ll be happy to discuss interviews, cover reveals, guest posts etc.
For authors interested in requesting an interview or pitching a guest post, please also see here.
What I’m looking for
I read a lot, and generally publish 40+ book reviews and 10+ short story reviews each year. However, I’m quite protective of my reading time, I don’t review everything I read, and I’m not averse to putting a book down if I’m not enjoying it.
Track of Words is a site dedicated to science fiction and fantasy (and a bit of horror). If your book isn’t SFF, or doesn’t have a clear SFF crossover, then I’m unlikely to accept it for review (although I may be interested in buying it and reading it purely for fun!). If your book is SFF, then by all means get in touch.
Here are some general guidelines for what I’m looking to review:
- I mostly review adult SFF, but I enjoy YA too
- I’m interested in pretty much any subgenre of SFF (dystopian, adventure, mystery, urban fantasy, military SF, space opera, epic fantasy, cyberpunk, hard SF etc.)
- I like a good crossover novel, so I’m interested in things like mysteries/thrillers with speculative elements, as long as they’re recognisably SFF
- I LOVE novellas and shorter novels – I’m very happy to read full-length novels, but I’m more likely to accept shorter books than huge doorstoppers
- I also love short stories, so please do get in touch with review requests for shorts too!
- I would like to read more horror, but I’m less familiar with the genre and not as likely to take it on for review
- I’m especially keen on reading more stories that look beyond the usual perspectives, so writers of colour, queer writers, and SFF stories set in worlds inspired by non-Western cultures are of particular interest
- I’m not at all interested in books written using AI
In addition:
- I mostly read traditionally published books. I am open to indie and self-published authors too, but I’m probably less likely to accept review requests on-spec
- I’m happy to read in physical or digital formats. I do love physical books, but I often find digital editions easier for review purposes (thank goodness for highlight/comment functions!)
- While I love listening to audiobooks I find them harder to review, so I generally don’t accept review copies in audio
If you think your book is something I’m likely to enjoy and want to review, please do get in touch with a review request.
How to get in touch
By all means reach out straight away, but it’s worth pointing out that I’m more likely to accept review requests from authors who I’ve interacted with before (especially in terms of indie/self-pubbed books). I love chatting on Twitter though, so feel free to follow me on there and join in the general SFF conversation.
If we have talked before by email or Twitter DM, if I’ve reviewed one of your books before and/or if we’ve worked on interviews, guest posts etc. then please feel free to reach out directly using the same channel as last time.
If not, please send your review request by email to michael@trackofwords.com or using the contact form. Please include the following information in your message:
- An overview of the book
- Any relevant information as to why you think it’s something I’m likely to enjoy
- The release date, if the book is not out yet
- If you have a time frame in mind (for example if you’re running a blog tour) please include that too, as that will help me to decide whether I’m able to commit to a review
- Which format(s) your book is available in
- If you have a sample of your book (or if the first few chapters are available to read on Amazon, for example) then please include that, as it’s very helpful for me to get a feel of whether the book is going to be for me
I will always do my best to respond to review requests as quickly as possible, but Track of Words is not my day job so it always has to fit around other responsibilities, which means sometimes it can take me longer than I’d like to respond. If you don’t hear back from me within 4 weeks you can assume I’m unlikely to accept a review request (but hopefully I’ll never leave you this long to wait).
If I don’t think your book is going to be for me, or if I can’t commit to getting a review written for whatever reason (my TBR list is too long, life is getting in the way, etc.), then I will say so straight away.
What happens next
If I’m interested in reading your book and if I think I’m going to have the time to read it, I will do my utmost to publish a review as quickly as I can. We can discuss timeframes up front, but please note that life can get in the way sometimes, and I can’t ever 100% guarantee a review.
I’m always grateful for any review request – it means a lot that you might be interested in my thoughts on your book! However, if you send me a book and I don’t review it, it’s either because I haven’t had time to read it, or I read it but it wasn’t my cup of tea.
While I have written negative reviews in the past, these days I prefer to concentrate on promoting what I love, so I will usually only write a review if I have generally good things to say! I will of course be honest though, and discuss both the book’s merits and flaws in my review.
Assuming I do love your book (or short story) and write a review, here’s what you can expect I will do:
- Publish a book review of roughly 500-800 words OR a short story review of roughly 200-400 words on Track of Words (and add it to my searchable index of reviews)
- Cross-post the review to Goodreads (and Netgalley, if that was the source of the book)
- Post a link to my review on Facebook and on Twitter (I mostly use Twitter, and I usually tweet about reviews at least two or three times after publishing them)
- Include a link to the review in my next weekly Ko-Fi roundup
- Include a link to the review in my next Monthly Roundup post on Track of Words
- I will also be more likely to read your next book!
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Thanks in advance for any review requests – even if I can’t commit to a review, I’m very grateful for you reaching out!
Michael.