You’re an author looking for a thoughtful, quality review of your latest magnum opus. You’re a book reviewer looking for thoughtful, quality books to review.  You’re both looking for some cred. Some traction. Where do you go?

That can be a challenge. It depends on several factors, including – but not limited to – how hard you want to work and how much you want to pay or be paid. But another key question is whether or not your work will get the quality attention and exposure you want. After all, it takes a lot of work, time and effort to write books or book reviews. So where can you go to get the most “bang for your buck”?

For Authors

Reedsy Discovery is a popular site for indie authors and reviewers. It’s where authors can “Give your book the launch that it deserves. Submit your book to our reviewers for $50 and gain exposure to thousands of readers in your genre.”

Authors can also hire a “Reedsy professional” to help them develop their book. This costs extra.

Once the book is submitted, it goes into a review pool where Reedsy reviewers can pick it up or not.  It’s pretty random.

Worth It?

So. Is Reedsy worth it for authors?

It’s a crap shoot. Some authors love Reedsy. Others are less enthusiastic. Click here for an author’s point of view on the platform. Here’s another. And another. You may or may not get a timely quality review. Still a crap shoot. In fact, some argue that Reedsy is just trying to be another Goodreads. And falling short.

Read more reviews of Reedsy from authors here.

For Book Reviewers

Most feedback on Reedsy comes from authors. Hearing from Reedsy reviewers is rare. So we’re gonna fix that.

If you’re a book reviewer. Reedsy claims you can “Discover weekly, the best new books, Get early access to fresh indie books and help decide on the bestselling stories of tomorrow.”

Reedsy’s Reviewer Directory lists 2,681 reviewers as of this writing. Most post sporadically and have a handful of followers, often in single digits.

To become a Reedsy reviewer, you submit an application  to join the Reedsy review team.  Once approved, you have access to “hundreds of books for free before they are published,” and you “earn money while doing what you love.” Reviews should be at least 400 words, include a rating and a “tweet long” summary. (The 400 word requirement is not adjusted for books that are 400 words or less themselves.)

Now, earning money “while doing what you love” – reading and reviewing books – sounds great, huh? But Reedsy’s version of “earning money” means setting up a Tip Jar via a Stripe account. Tips are in $1, $3, and $5 amounts. You know what that breaks down to per hour or per book? And that’s only If someone feels like tipping you. So “earn money doing what you love” is a stretch. About the size of Alaska.

No Quality Control

A problem with Reedsy is that it doesn’t have any real quality control. It claims to have submission guidelines for books. But really. Any yahoo who can cough up $50 and submit their bottom-of-the-bird-cage worthy “book” gets listed. What that means for reviewers is you may have to wade through a lot of fish wrap before you find something worthwhile. 

Leaderboard?

Another problem with Reedsy is its Reviewer Leaderboard. It lists Top Ten Reviewers on a monthly basis. But the basic Leaderboard does not differentiate between genres or book length. 

For example, one reviewer might review picture books exclusively. Another reviewer may review a wide variety of genres or “specialize” in a handful. This is not noted on the basic Leaderboard. Everything is lumped together.

Problematic

Thus, a reviewer who posts five reviews of books averaging 300 pages or more will rank below a reviewer who posts 10 reviews of picture books averaging 30 pages or less. So the Leaderboard rewards quantity.  And that’s all. It’s bogus and biased but nobody seems to care.

Poaching

Also problematic is the fact that some reviewers routinely poach First Dibs titles supposedly set aside for others, which kinda defeats the whole purpose of “First Dibs.” (Incidentally, this point is lost on the powers that be at Reedsy Discovery. They don’t seem to get the concept of “First Dibs.”)

Your average first grader knows that ignoring/refusing to honor “First Dibs” is a big no-no. It’s unnecessary. It’s rapacious. It’s also unprofessional. But it happens all the time at Reedsy/Discovery. With impunity.

So if you’re a reviewer, you can expend truckloads of effort crafting primo reviews on Reedsy with very little – if anything – to show for it. 

Additionally, Reedsy doesn’t really encourage cross-posting reviews to Goodreads or Amazon as do other platforms like Book Sirens, nor does it provide an easily accessible mechanism for doing so.

Fixed It

Reedsy also claims that it values “our reviewers’ honest opinions and love(s) seeing your fresh takes on books.”

What they really mean is: “Glowing reviews only.” There. Fixed it for ya.  

If you’ve been following us for 10 minutes or so, you know we don’t roll that way. So authors, save yourself $50 and look for an independent brilliant book blogger instead. Like Yours Truly. If we accept your book and it meets our Submission Guidelines, you’ll get an honest review. Every time. Ta!