Disclosure is somewhat like crossing a border. Some people will be upfront and declare all, while others will declare some but keep a couple things tucked under the car seat or in the trunk and still others will swear there is nothing to declare and hope that the customs officer doesn’t think to check the car trunk.
I’m in the upfront and declare all category, but I find that readers tire of seeing disclosure details in every blog post so I have moved my disclosure policy to this page, where anyone who is interested can read it and where those who don’t care and just want reviews aren’t bothered by it.
I review quite a few books on Booklorn.com. You may have noticed that at the end of each review (and sometimes within a review) there are links to various booksellers who sell the book being reviewed. Those links are affiliate links.
If you are unfamiliar with the term, an affiliate link simply means that, if you decide to buy something after clicking on the link, I get a percentage of what you spend for sending you to the bookseller’s site. In the case of most online booksellers, it’s about 3-6% of the dollars spent. It’s not much, but it does pay my hosting bills. I hope that if you find my review useful, and you intend to buy online, that you will use my link if I link to a bookseller that you buy from.
You may also have noticed that some of my reviews are published around the date that the book is released for sale. How do I do that? Well, publishers and authors give books to people willing to review them and sometimes I receive books this way. I also receive books through giveaways. Other books are mine or come from the public library. No matter how I get a book, I treat it the same way when it comes to reviewing it.
When I agree to take a book from a publisher or author, the only commitment I make is to post a review. I make absolutely no promises as to whether the review will be positive or negative. I do not, ever, give publishers or authors a chance to pre-approve reviews. I also don’t fail to post a review simply because I did not like the book. I do not take down negative reviews based on pressure from a publisher or author. If I’ve invested the time in reading a book, I will tell you whether I feel it is or is not worth your time.
I consider my time and your time valuable. Reading and reviewing a book can take well over 12 hours. Much of that time is reading time. Time that I can never get back and time that is certainly worth more than the price of a book (note, that often the advance copies that publishers give out are NOT finished copies as you would buy in the store). If I feel that time was not well spent, then I want other people to know so that they can make an informed decision.
You may also notice that there are ads in the sidebar of this site. Some are affiliate links while other are rented space. I tend not to screen these ads though I try keep an eye on them to make sure that they are not offensive. The ad network I deal with takes a dim view of scams and is pretty good about keeping those advertisers out.
You should know that the ads and affiliate links use cookies (small computer files stored by your browser). You have complete control over whether you allow those cookies according to your browser settings. If you’ve ever turned cookies off, you’ll have noticed that the vast majority of the sites that you visit on the Internet use cookies.
I hope you enjoy my site. If you have any questions about my disclosure policy, you are free to e-mail me at anysia@booklorn.com.
