Publishers Weekly doesn’t care if a book is published by a transitional publisher or is self-published. Both types of books will now be fully integrated into their magazine publisher’s regular review pages both in print and online.
The magazine reviews about 9,000 books a year. Self-published titles will now be considered among other submissions. PW is pushing into the self-published market with the launch of a new website dedicated to self-publishing called BookLife. The site will go live on May 29, 2014 and will focus on three main subject areas: book creation which includes editing and cover design; publishing which is all about the physical manufacturing of a book; and book marketing, which will include information on distribution, publicity and sales.
“Publishers Weekly leads the way in integrating self-published and traditional book reviews, and this change reflects the growing acceptance within the book publishing industry of self-published books,” stated George Slowik, Jr., CEO and owner of PWxyz LLC, the parent company of Publishers Weekly. “Booksellers and librarians want to know which self-published books to carry, and publishers and agents want informed, critical reviews in order to solicit authors for publishing deals.”