Guildlines for Submitting Products for Review Consideration
Over the last 20 years, I've had the priviledge of hearing, using, or investigating thousands of resources that relate to music, worship, technology or church ministry in some way. In that time, I have written dozens and dozens of reviews for publication. Some for professional magazines (like Worship Leader Magazine, Inside Worship, etc), some for book publication (like Ultimate Worship Resource Guide) and some for online blog and newsletters (like Digital Worship News).
Many people ask: How can I send in my CD, book or resource for Kim to review?
Short answer: You can send a copy to us, but we do not guarantee a review.
Here are the details.
First, I don't really review things strictly on request or simply because someone submitted a product. There are lots of reasons, but I only really do reviews from two kinds of vantage points:
- Reviews of Personal favorites - Like everyone, I prefer some music, books and resources and don't like others. I review what I like so that I don't have to review stuff I don't think I won't like. I find that lauding the great stuff that is personally a favorite is easy to do and makes for genuine writing and consistent reviews.
- Commercial review for private feedback - I have consulted with many companies, including EMI, Integrity, Vineyard and private individuals (such as Paul Baloche, Don Moen and others) on various worship and resource projects, from CD's to promotional pieces to instructional DVD's. I do this kind of review as a consultant to help critique and better my clients projects. It is indepth, purposeful, critical and sometimes painful for the producers. The point is to make whatever they are doing better. I charge money to do this.
- Reviews for Publications - I review stuff for magazines, including my own digital newsletter. I normally choose stuff I have drawn from the other two areas (personal/commercial reviews) as the source of what I might re-write for publication.
I do, however, get lots of people sending me material and requesting review. If people must have a 100% commitment from me before they will send me a copy of their product, I normally tell them no. However, I secretly always listen/review to their material to see if a gem can be found. If I find one that I think does something unique enough to work on, I may write a review. But if I find nothing spectacular or unique enough that isn't already out there in some way, I normally will pass. The reasons as simple- time and impact. I don't have a bunch of time and when I do I want to write about something that will make a unique impact.
That said, if you feel like you can send a free copy of your product, regardless of whether we may write a review or not, you are welcome to.
Just have a couple of rules related to any product we review:
- Your product should be available for sale on Amazon.com
- You must send a full, physical version of product to review. If it's a CD, we review a CD, not a digital album. If it's a book, we review a physical book, not an ebook. etc.
You can get our postal mail address by sending a request on our Contact Us page.