A to Z: Kirkus

IRKUS




One of, if not THE, biggest, most influential reviewing companies around.

Some interesting info I got from their site...

For starters, I love that they have an indie program! Kirkus has been reviewing as a trusted and influential source of reviews since 1933. Virginia Kirkus started reviewing for the publishers and sending it out to only bookstores, but a couple years later to libraries too.
It's been 82 years now and their distribution has grown to over 5000 of the industries influencers.

I'm not 100% sure when, but some time after 2011 they began accepting works by indie authors!!!

"Today, Kirkus reviews more than 7,000 books published by traditional houses and more than 3,000 self-published books every year." - Kirkus Reviews website.

To get a review from Kirkus, as an indie author, it's steep. Over $400. Still, if you have a good book and they give you a good review, it's more than worth it. The influence they carry in the industry definitely makes people sit up and pay attention when they really like a book.

If you're fortunate enough to get a starred review... wow... what an honor that would be.

Another interesting thing is that they don't consider the cover when reviewing. It's completely based on the content, how well it's written. This is great for those that don't have the best covers.


What is a Kirkus Star? What does it mean? Well, I went looking for info on it and I found a blog post of an indie author who earned one. Her link is below. Here's what she said in her blog about the statistics of a Star review:

"A Kirkus Star, according to this Washington Post article, is awarded to about 2 percent of the 3,000 independent books it reviews. That's 60 books." -- taken from Louise Esola's site. Her entire post is great, as is her book apparently! Definitely go read it. 

You may be wondering WHY I'm writing about Kirkus Review... Well, I've submitted a book (To Eris - Human) and I'm waiting anxiously for the review. I'm trying to stay positive, but much like Louise, I'm worried it will be a bad review despite the responses of those who have read it and told me.

My review is due on or before July 13th.... Yes, that is the first day of my blog tour. SO, I'm keeping my fingers crossed, which is why it's taking me so long to type this post. LOL. 

Today's picks for blogs I've found are....

1. Louise Esola writer - Found her in a search about Kirkus Starred Reviews. Congrats!
2. Claudine Carmel - Another Starred review winner with a blog. Congrats!
3. Kirkus Reviews - This is a link to another author's review (not a star, but it caught my eye and I can't find anything other than this review and the amazon page with it listed)