Today Publishers Weekly unveiled PW Select, “a quarterly supplement announcing self-published titles and reviewing those we believe are most deserving of a critical assessment.”
The publishing industry trade magazine will charge a $149 processing fee for self-published authors to include their titles in the supplement. The fee “guarantees a listing” in the supplement, but the editors will choose which titles are actually reviewed in the new publication. The first issue will come out in December; the reading period is open from September 1st until the end of October.
PW president George W. Slowik Jr. explained in the announcement: “Each quarterly will include a complete announcement issue of all self-published books submitted during that period. The listings will include author, title, subtitle, price, pagination and format, ISBN, a brief description, and ordering information provided by the authors, who will be required to pay a processing fee for their listing. At least 25 of the submitted titles will be selected for a published review. There will also be an overview of the publishing trends that can be identified from among the titles from that reading period. We will also focus on the opportunities that the self-pub world offers. A resource directory will accompany the section offering names of companies providing services in the DIY space.”