Publishers Weekly Makes a Mistake

In response to Publishers Weekly’s new policy, which they announced in a letter stating:

“Publishers Weekly’s reviews editors handle a huge number of submissions and produce roughly 7,000 editorially chosen, prepublication reviews each year. Rest assured that our process and standards for how titles are selected for review is not changing.

“We are making a change in the submission process. In order to effectively manage the growing number of submissions we receive, as of March 24, 2025, titles submitted for PW review consideration incur a $25 fee.”

I’ve just sent the following letter to the editor of PW:

I'm disappointed to learn of Publishers Weekly's new pay-for-reviews policy. Reading the FAQ on the web page, I see

“Does the $25 submission fee apply to BookLife Reviews, which are different than PW reviews?

“No, the submission fee does not apply to BookLife Reviews. BookLife Reviews are an entirely different process; BookLife Reviews are paid reviews.”

As a publisher, I find this disingenuous. And as a reader, I don't see the difference. Pay for a guaranteed paid review, or pay for a chance for a regular review. Either way, it's paying for a review, whether you call it a submission fee or a paid review.

How long will it be before PW goes to a free distribution model, just to keep your circulation numbers up to justify the review fees?

With regrets, [Edited 14 hours later to add:] I'll be reconsidering our policy of submitting books to PW for reviews, but I do have to give them credit for a rapid response. Less than 12 hours after I emailed them, the following arrived in my in-box: Dear Ian:

Thanks for reaching out about your disappointment.

As you mentioned, Publishers Weekly and BookLife reviews are two entirely different processes.  PW reviews are not guaranteed; editors choose which books to review.  BookLife Reviews are guaranteed; almost every submission is reviewed.

The new PW submission fee is $25.  The base price of a BookLife Review is $395, and if the recipient chooses to have the review published in PW, it’s an extra $100.

You’ll have to decide which offers the best opportunity for your titles.

PW approached with great trepidation the idea of charging a fee associated with our editorial reviews.  

However, the reality is our marketplace has changed, so we do need to generate revenue to subsidize reviewing — and hopefully in a way that doesn't reduce the depth and breadth of that coverage.

We hope $25 is an amount that all publishers can abide. It is a fraction of what it costs us to consider a review submission, better yet actually review a book.

We have no plans to go to a free distribution model.  Our primary focus is to operate a viable business that continues to provide news and reviews to the book publishing community, as we have for the past 152 years.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions about the new submission fee.

Sincerely,