Decide on paid and advance-copy services
Decide on a Kirkus Indie review
Decide what you would actually do with a Kirkus Indie review before paying for one. The fee buys a review, not praise, and the right answer may be no.
Why it matters
Paid review money is easy to spend and hard to recover. A clear decision, tied to how the review would be used, keeps the purchase from being a reflex. It also protects your credibility: authors who present a paid review as if it were an editorial one lose trust with the librarians and booksellers who know the difference.
Your part
- What you do
- Decide. Make a judgment about fit, cost, or strategy.
- Who normally owns it
- Author and publisher together. Author or publisher decides and pays; usually the self-publisher
- When
- Before launch, timed so the review arrives ahead of the campaign that will use it, or at any point for a backlist campaign (Decide on paid and advance-copy services: six to three months before publication, before the money is spent)Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Your part changes with your publishing route.
How to do it
The full walkthrough
Kirkus Indie is the paid review arm of Kirkus Reviews. You pay a fee, submit a final manuscript or book, and receive a professional review within the turnaround you chose. The fee secures the review; it does not influence what the review says, and Kirkus Indie reviews can be critical. You choose whether the review is published on the Kirkus site, which is the main difference from the editorial program, where Kirkus decides everything.
This is a genuine option for independent and self-published titles that cannot enter the editorial program, and for backlist titles the editorial program would never consider. Publication date restrictions do not apply to the Indie track, so a book published years ago is eligible.
The question is not whether the review is legitimate (it is) but whether it serves a goal. A strong Indie review can be quoted on covers and retailer pages, used in library and bookstore pitches, and submitted with award entries. A middling one you choose not to publish has bought you honest feedback and little else. Decide in advance how you would use a good result and whether you can absorb a lukewarm one.
Traditionally published authors rarely need this; their publisher has access to the editorial route. Hybrid authors whose press does not qualify for the editorial program, and self-published authors, are the usual buyers. Whoever pays, record it in your log as a paid review, and describe it that way when quoting it.
Common mistakes
- Buying the review because it feels like a rite of passage rather than because it serves a plan.
- Expecting the fee to influence the verdict. It does not.
- Ordering the express turnaround at the last minute and paying more than necessary.
- Quoting an Indie review as a Kirkus editorial review in pitches or on covers.
- Dismissing every paid review as illegitimate and missing a tool that can work when used honestly and described accurately.
What done looks like
- A written yes or no, with the reason: what the review would be used for, and whether the budget allows it.
- If yes, a final file submitted with enough lead time for the chosen turnaround, timed to arrive before the campaign that will use it.
- The purchase logged as a paid review, with the date, fee, and result.
- Quotes attributed to Kirkus Indie, never presented as a Kirkus editorial review.
- A decision made about publishing the review only after reading it.
Ask your publisher
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Sources and last checked
- Official source
- Official source (opens in a new tab)
- Last checked
- September 13, 2026
- How confident we are
- Verified
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 13, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.