Submit to relevant trade-review outlets
Confirm the Foreword Reviews submission
For independent and university press titles, confirm submission to Foreword Reviews magazine at least 4.5 months before publication, and keep it separate from Foreword's paid Clarion service.
Authors often hire help with this: publicity or marketing.
Why it matters
For books outside the big publishing houses, Foreword is one of the few trade outlets whose stated mission is to cover them, and its reviews reach librarians and booksellers through the same databases as the larger outlets. The lead time is long enough that authors who wait for finished books miss it.
Your part
- What you do
- Verify. Someone else may do it. Inspect the result yourself.
- Who normally owns it
- Publisher and Author. Independent or university press submits; qualifying authors may submit their own
- When
- At least 4.5 months before publication (Submit to relevant trade-review outlets: six to three months before publication, against each outlet's own deadline)Checked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Your part changes with your publishing route.
How to do it
The full walkthrough
Foreword Reviews is a trade magazine devoted to books from independent publishers, university presses, and qualifying independent authors. Its magazine reviews are editorial consideration: you submit, the editors decide, and most submissions are not reviewed. The reviews that do run are licensed into the industry databases that libraries and bookstores use, which is what gives them reach beyond the magazine's own readers.
Foreword also operates Clarion Reviews, a paid service where the fee secures a review. The two are separate. This item is about the magazine; the Clarion decision has its own item. Foreword is candid about the distinction, and you should be too in your records and quotes.
The magazine asks for submissions at least four and a half months before publication. Independent and university presses submit for their titles, and qualifying authors may submit their own. Foreword's focus is independent publishing, so a title from a large house may not be considered at all: ask your publicist whether it is on the list. If you are submitting yourself, read the current guidelines to confirm you qualify before you send anything.
Check the guidelines page for current format requirements (digital galley or print) and the metadata Foreword asks for.
Common mistakes
- Confusing a Clarion paid review with a Foreword magazine review.
- Submitting at three months and expecting consideration.
- Assuming a big-house title qualifies; Foreword's focus is independent publishing.
- Not checking whether the current guidelines want a digital galley, a print galley, or both.
A template for this
Professional review submission cover noteA one-page cover note that travels with a galley or finished copy to a professional review outlet and puts every fact an editor needs in one place.
When to use it: Use this when you submit to a trade or professional review outlet that accepts material from your route, whether the note is printed and tucked into the package or sent with a digital galley. Do not use this when the publisher or publicist is already sending the same book to the same outlet. Check first, because a duplicate submission wastes an editor's time and yours.
What done looks like
- Confirmation that the title was submitted to Foreword Reviews magazine at least 4.5 months before publication, with the date and submitter.
- Eligibility checked against the current guidelines for your path.
- The submission logged as editorial consideration, separate from any Clarion purchase.
- Any review that runs saved with its link for library and bookstore outreach.
Evidence. Done means someone says the work happened. Verified means you checked the confirmation, link, or public record yourself.
Ask your publisher
Copy this into an email. Replace the bracketed parts with your details.
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.