Responding Promptly is Vital. Book reviewing is an extremely time-sensitive process. Editors will be very grateful for a quick response, even if a negative one, so that they can ask another reviewer in time for the same issue of the journal. Turning down an offer (promptly) will actually enhance your reputation for dependability. Alternate reviewer suggestions are always welcome.

Paying Attention to the Stylesheet Saves Time and Trouble. Editing will be much speedier if your review conforms to house style. Give special attention to the form of the bibliographic citation and how the journal treats quotations. When citing or quoting works other than the one under review, always give full bibliographic citations, along with page numbers, so that the editor can check the citations.

Some Spellings are Hard to Verify; Double Check Them. Though the review will be repeatedly edited, the correct spelling of proper nouns, historical episodes, and foreign terms is sometimes difficult to check. The reviewer can speed up the process considerably by providing a manuscript that is free of spelling errors.

Provide Page Numbers for All Quotations from the Book Under Review. Make sure that all quoted passages have page citations.

Your Review Will Be Edited. Editorial practice on book reviews varies widely. Some editors polish book reviews as carefully as they do articles. Others employ a light hand in the belief that it is important for the reader to evaluate the reviewer's voice. In either case, the editor will bring the review into conformity with house style, and other minor editorial changes may be made without consultation. Not every review can begin, "This book," or can mention the author by name in the first sentence. Some journals provide galleys for the reviewers' approval before publication, but the high cost of preparing book reviews makes it impossible for many book review editors to send page proofs unless substantial revisions have been required. Try to make the editor's job easier by avoiding long, complex sentences with lengthy series, numerous asides, excessive parenthetical allusions, and multiple quotations in the same sentence. Keep in mind that your audience may be broader than citizens of one country so that reference to "we," "us," or "in this country" will be altered.

Keeping within Assigned Word Limits is Important. The amount of space available for book reviews is limited; additional pages often have to be purchased in multiple-page lots, which substantially increases the cost of printing, binding, and mailing the journal. The extra space required by one review often has to come at the expense of other reviews. Although few editors actually count the words, they will have to cut the review if it is overlong. If you cannot review a book in the space allotted, you should contact the editor in advance and discuss the need for additional space.

Late Submissions often Result in Compound Delays. Editing and publication schedules are very tight; it is vital to submit the review on time. Missing your deadline often means extending the time in press by more than one publication cycle. While authors and publishers are always eager to have their books reviewed, a review that appears after a book is out of print is not nearly as useful as a timely one. The review of scholarly books is integral to the tenure and promotion procedures of most universities; authors are entitled to timely peer review of their published work. And, those responsible for book ordering want to read reviews of books that can still be obtained for their libraries.

Do Not Expect Return of Your Computer Disk. While many journals now encourage submission of book reviews on computer disks in addition to hard copy, the cost of returning disks to reviewers so far exceeds the cost of the disks themselves that it is not feasible to return them. Just keeping track of hundreds or thousands of disks is an enormous and expensive undertaking. Like the paper on which the review is printed, or the envelope in which it is sent, a computer disk is one of the costs that a reviewer incurs when (s)he accepts an invitation to review.

The Reviewer is Usually Entitled to Keep the Book. While journals cannot afford to offer payment for book reviews, they typically allow reviewers to keep the book after submitting the review. If a reviewer discovers that (s)he cannot complete the review, however, it would be best to return the book to the journal in a timely fashion.

Reviewers Should Provide Contact Information. When you submit your review, provide adequate contact information in a cover letter including address, telephone, fax, and e-mail. Let the editor know how you may be reached for queries, proofs, and offprints for the academic year and during the summer. If special circumstances apply, such as a sabbatical leave, let the editor know your schedule and how you may be contacted.

Wit and Elegance of Style in Standard English Are Appreciated. Book reviewing is an art, and your review will appear among scores of others. A substantive, comprehensive review that informs while it assesses, and which does so in an engaging and entertaining way, will be especially valued by both the editor and the reader.

Richard Spall