Reviews of your scholarly work are a good way to increase your digital (and print) visibility, particularly if you have written books and book chapters, or have performed in the fine arts. Scholars decide to explore books and performances partially based on reviews, and librarians consider reviews when deciding to purchase materials for public, school, or academic libraries.
Here are suggested steps to increase the likelihood that your work will be reviewed/purchased:
- Select a publisher/distributor that will send copies of your work to journals and other venues for review, or be prepared to do some research and submit your work to potential reviewers on your own.
- Look at the review policies of journals, blogs, and other venues to see whether you meet their requirements, e.g., Nature submissions - see Books & Arts. Note that many journals with reviews require you to submit a prepublication copy.
- Try to get a review in journals that are included in abstract and index databases, where the reviews will be discovered by other scholars and librarians. For example, American Record Guide is included in the heavily used database, Academic Search Complete. Find out where journals are indexed using the periodical directory, Ulrichsweb. See the Ulrichsweb tutorial below.
- Submit your work for a review in journals and other venues that are regularly read by librarians for purchasing purposes, e.g., Publishers Weekly and CD Hotlist.
- Ask an acquaintance who is a reviewer for a journal or other publication to write a review of your work.
