The Southern Bookseller Review is a reader-targeted website and weekly newsletter showcasing book reviews and
staff picks from Southern indie booksellers. Reviews come from store websites, newsletters, social media, and submissions to Edelweiss Plus, the book industry platform for marketing and ordering new titles. Read the press release.
Goals: To generate book sales, raise the visibility of SIBA booksellers, and establish independent booksellers as a knowledgeable and trusted source for book recommendations for every kind of reader, with every kind of reading taste.
The Southern Bookseller Review weekly newsletter showcases recent book reviews published on the SBR website which demonstrate the wide range of reading interests of SIBA booksellers and their customers.
Reviews are a mix of new books, forthcoming books, backlist discoveries, reading lists, and bookstore-centric features such as bookseller profiles or store community initiatives and partnerships. All books are linked back to the reviewing
store for purchase.
The primary goal of the newsletter is to emphasize Southern independent booksellers as a source for good and trustworthy recommendations of what to read next, for every kind of reader.
The Southern Bookseller Review website and newsletter are built to be mobile responsive and highly social media-friendly. SIBA has a social media strategy in place for sharing store reviews and profiles, and driving traffic
and sales to reviewing stores.
Using SBR in your store:
Keep reviewing books! Post your reviews to Edelweiss or to the SBR Review Submission form. Keep in mind that SBR is targeted to the general public, so reviews that are industry-specific
won't be used. Reviews must come from store staff.
Share your published reviews to your own social media account, and re-share SBR posts.
Use your store's review feed as a staff picks section on your website, or link to your store's review feed.
Your store's review feed can be embedded on your website, just as you might embed your twitter feed or a Youtube video. This is a useful option for stores that struggle to keep their "staff picks" sections up to date, or who don't have
easy access to their sites to update them. See the example at Page 158 Books. Contact nicki@sibaweb.com if you'd like your own SBR Staff Picks
option.
Does SBR only want reviews of new books? No. Backlist is acceptable, as long as it is in print. SBR is weighted towards books that are available and stores can sell.
Why are there no reviews for my store? If you don't see reviews for your store, it usually means we are not receiving any from you. If you don't use Edelweiss, you can use the SBR Review form to submit your reviews. Other common reasons that reviews aren't published are that they are inappropriate for a general audience, or that they were not written by a store staff member. SBR will not publish reviews from store customers, or from
underage reviewers.
We don't use Edelweiss, can we email reviews? For logistical reasons we can't accept reviews via email. You can submit reviews via the SBR Review form.
We don't have a e-commerce website, can we still submit reviews? Since all reviews have a purchase option, SBR requires that reviewed books be available for purchase on store websites. If stores don't have their own ecommerce
system, SIBA can use their bookshop.org accounts.
Can I update my store description and picture on SBR? Yes. Submit updates here
