Anyone can review a book these days, it's not an exclusive club anymore. There are still 'professional' reviewers but they are becoming more and more rare as magazines and newspapers cut their budgets. Trying to get a review by the NY Times is a worthy goal but not probably not very realistic. However, there are a variety of other ways you can get reviewed - some for free and some for a fee.
For a Fee -
You can purchase a Kirkus Indie Review. It's important to note that all reviews, positive or negative, will be published. The fee does not guarantee you a positive review. You can contact Alexandra Zamorski at our office if you are interested in this service.
There are also numerous other services out there that will review or list your book for a fee but is the one that I see most often.
For Free -
Reader reviews are generally posted on sites like these:
* Anobii.com
* Bookarmy.com
* Goodreads.com
* Google.com
* Librarything.com
* Shelfari.com
* Weread.com
These sites require a free account be set up but then anyone can post a review. It may also be of interest for you to know that many of these sites also allow author interaction. Some of them offer review services where you can offer up free copies of your book and the readers will then post reviews. Again, it's important to note that all reviews are posted, even if they're not glowing.
Many retail sites will allow valid users to post reviews. For instance, anyone can post a review on Amazon.com but unless you've purchased something from them (it doesn't have to be your book, it can be anything) you will be the person that can see that review. They don't charge for the service but you must purchase something from them at some point.
* Amazon.com
* Barnesandnoble.com
Most readers feel that reviews can be an influential factor in their buying decisions. Word of mouth (ie, my friend liked it) is still one of the strongest influences in the book world.
