I don’t get many, but I do get a few, review copies of books sent to me for listing on Locus Online — mostly from small press and self-published authors hoping for exposure, but also occasional books from big publishers like Tor and Del Rey: those seem to depend on individual publicists, rather than publisher policies about sending out books. (I don’t actually encourage or solicit review copies, unlike some other prominent SF websites, since the very few book reviews that Locus Online runs do not depend on review copies….) My observation is that the packages with the most tape, those that are the most difficult to open, are generally those from the smallest, self-published, authors. As if their products are extremely precious. The big publishers toss a copy in a Jiffy Bag and send it off.
Second observation — recent review posts have generated an unusually large number of spam responses, but there are a small number of valuable comments that I do approve to be posted. Even if you’ve already read review posts, like the recent movie review posts by Gary Westfahl and Howard Waldrop and Lawrence Person, be sure to check back occasionally to see those comments.
