Please read our book policy carefully before purchasing a review.
We accept most books of all genres of fiction and non-fiction, except for titles that fit the following criteria:
1. We do not accept books that contain scenes of fictionalized rape, non-consensual sex, child abuse, or incest.
In 2014, we received a very much higher than normal number of fictionalized rape and child abuse books, and the team, a range of people from varying backgrounds, belief systems, sexualities, ages (23 to 72), and genders, felt overwhelmingly that reading this type of content repeatedly was not a good working environment for staff. We took a vote, and a unanimous motion was passed.
After reviewing many, many books written by authors that include these sensitive issues in a fictional setting, we found most authors had no experience of being a victim of abuse, and this felt like we were promoting a misinformation about these delicate issues when we are not qualified to talk about them or can know with certainty that the fiction was representing an honest and true portrait of abuse.
We found, after reading many examples of this type of fiction, that rarely do the authors of these books grasp the many facets of trauma and damage that sexual abuse causes to children and adults alike around the world, and that in some cases including these subjects conveys a sense that, as part of a toolbox, the author is titillating and exciting readers in a way that we felt as a team of professionals in the book industry, cannot be encouraged or supported by our company, because it feels dishonest and uncomfortable.
- We do, however, accept non-fiction survivor stories. If you have been a victim of rape or abuse and have written a book, we will accept your submission.
- We also review erotica or consensual sexual content of any kind, including fetish and kink. This is because this is consensual, adult relationship fiction.
- We will consider books with sexual assault if it is one part of the overall plot, and is not the main theme of the book – for instance, a crime novel where a rape is committed but not described in detail, or a family drama. This policy was mainly put in place to stop submissions of titillating depictions of rape, and not books that may have a sexual assault as part of the overall story, as it is a topic that needs to be discussed.
If you submit a book for review in which rape is the main focus of the book and do not declare it, we will not process your review, and you will not be refunded because the reviewer will have read your book at this point.
2. We do not accept books that contain radical religious, political, racial, hate, or social critique that attacks one or more demographic, or presents opinion as fact
These include:
- Books that poke fun at minority groups in any way, including LGBTQ+, the trans community, religious groups, disabled people, or any race, age, profession, class, nationality, sexuality, or gender
- Books that poke fun at or lionize public figures in a way that might offend others
- Books that state opinion as fact without backing it up with empirical data or references from sources other than religious texts
- Religious books that give opinion on doctrine that is not empirically referenced from sources other than religious texts
- Books that claim to give pickup tips to men on gaslighting or the seduction of women
- Any form of scientific denial including but not limited to: miracle cures for serious diseases such as cancer; trans issues, women’s healthcare, marriage, gender, climate change, or animal rights
Hate Speech is illegal in the UK, and also several other European countries.
We do, however, accept books that discuss related topics in a serious and factual way.
These include:
- Religious books discussing the writer’s religious experiences and instruction for others, such as poems or prose celebrating their religion or belief system, including but not limited to, Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, Atheism, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism (including Wiccanism), Pluralism, New Age, etc. We can provide a reviewer of faith on request.
- Most political commentary including Democrats, Republicans, Socialists, Conservatives, Libertarians, Labourites, and Populists, if it stays in the realm of fact and law
- Bible study guides that stick to the material
- Historical theory on religion and related subjects, such as Tudors, The Civil War etc. if it is seriously backed up by fact
We accept books that discuss religious and related topics in a serious and factual way, both in fiction and non-fiction.
These include:
- Religious books discussing the writer’s religious experiences and instruction for others, such as poems or prose celebrating their religion or belief system, including but not limited to, Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, Atheism, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism (including Wiccanism), Pluralism, New Age, etc. We can provide a reviewer of faith on request.
- Most political commentary including Democrats, Republicans, Socialists, Conservatives, Libertarians, Labourites, and Populists, if it stays in the realm of fact and law
- Bible study guides that stick to the material
- Historical theory on religion and related subjects, such as Tudors, The Civil War etc. if it is seriously backed up by fact
- Books discussing the industry or stock market around the new investing possibilities as a current finance topic.
We do not accept books that contain radical religious, political, racial, hate, or social critique that attacks one or more demographic, or presents opinion or schools of thought as fact
These include:
- Books that poke fun at minority groups in any way, including LGBTQ+, religious groups, or any race, age, profession, class, nationality, sexuality, or gender
- Books that poke fun at public figures in a way that might offend others
- Books that state opinion as fact without backing it up
- Religious books that give opinion on doctrine
- Any form of scientific denial including but not limited to: miracle cures for serious diseases such as cancer, women’s healthcare, marriage, gender, climate change, or animal rights.
Hate Speech is illegal in the UK, and also several other European countries.
2. We do not accept books that advocate drug use, such as:
- Non-fiction books on the benefits of medical marijuana or other legal highs
- Non-fiction books that pledge to legalize currently illegal drugs
We do, however, accept books that discuss getting out of addiction and transformation journeys in fiction and non-fiction, such as:
- Books about addiction journeys to health, and drug experience books within the scientific/psychological realm, including the use of psychotropics for health use
- Drug use in fiction
From July 2019, we will no longer accept non-fiction books that talk about:
- Hunting, fishing, crossbow, or shooting
- Guns and rifles for killing animals
- Big game techniques
- Any method of pest control or culling including so-called conservation culling
- The meat, fur, or leather trade, except in an historical sense, such as pioneer furriers
- Any pursuit that takes pleasure or profit from killing animals
- Hawking and blood sports using animals as hunters
- Anti-meat industry rhetoric
- How-to books on breeding or showing pets for prizes
We do, however, accept fiction books which include scenes of any of the above.
We will review most fiction books that feature guns or other weapons as long as the book meets our other policies.
While we appreciate that gun control in the US is a complicated subject, we will not review non-fiction books that:
- Glorify gun use i.e. in a gang setting or as a status symbol
- Advocate for child gun use, i.e. buying young children guns
- Declare connections between God and gun use/rights
- Declare connections between political affiliation and gun use/rights
- Declare any mass shooting tragedy as a false flag event
- Recommend guns or weapons for killing/shooting/culling animals
We will review non-fiction books that discuss:
- Gun/ weapon maintenance and safety
- The history of guns or other weapons
- Famous figure shootings and assassinations, such as JFK, Biggie Smalls, or Jesse James
- Conspiracy theories around these assassinations discussed as historical events
- Gangs, snipers, terrorists, highwaymen, and other biographies of gun/weapon professionals
Any normal word count, i.e. up to approximately 120,000 words is acceptable for one book review. If you wish to have a box set or a larger book reviewed, we will ask you to pay a custom price, which may be the price of another review. This is because it is simply not fair for our reviewers to be asked to read more than a normal book’s length for your review. Consult us on your custom price before purchase.
Further Notes on Our Book Policy
- We reserve the right to cancel a book review at any time prior to delivery date if we feel we cannot publish a review of the book’s content on our site for any reason. It is at the discretion of the editor as to the refund for this type of review purchase, but usually we give 100% refund with no hard feelings
- Please note we do read author websites and blogs before publishing, and if any supporting written material used in the indirect promotion of your book could be offensive in emotional, political, social, or religious ways to any potential reader, we will also refund the review cost and not review your book
- Trigger warnings may be added without consultation to any book reviews that contain highly violent content.
Not Sure?
If you are unsure about this policy and your book contents, please do not hesitate to contact us: editor@selfpublishingreview.com.
