Book Reviewing & Privacy Policy - The Why of Y - Updated!

Mrs. Y Reviews Books - Book Reviewing Policy

Update June 18, 2019

I am not taking any review requests at this time. 

Who is Mrs. Y? 
I am a professional reader who will read books and review them online. I am an amateur book reviewer and do not hold any certifications or awards for book reviewing.

I receive books from NetGalley, Kindle Unlimited, Audible, authors who send me copies, and I have received books from PR as well and always disclose in the review. I also buy my books myself when I am reading my own personal pile.

I have no affiliate links and have no associations with any advertisers. I do work with "The Reading Desk," but I am not financially compensated or paid for my reviews.

I am a listed reviewer on “The Indie View” reviewer site.

"Do you charge for book reviews?"
I do not charge for book reviews. I am not affiliated with any publishing house, publisher, or anyone else. I have no intention to ever charge anyone for an honest review of any book I read.

I do have some PR firms from time to time who ask me to read books for their clients, and sometimes they send me free books, but I am not paid for these requests.

I prefer indie books because I find Indie authors are the ones who need the most reviews. That said, if you are not an indie author, and you would also like a review, please ask as all are welcome here in the House of Y.


As of December 25, 2018, I NO LONGER accept ARC (Advanced Reader Copies) from anyone aside from Netgalley.

I no longer review for BookTasters.

As of June 18, 2021, I will be posting reviews weekly. I will update if this changes.

As of July 29, 2019, I also post reviews on "The Reading Desk."

As of September 4, 2019, I will not review a book that has been published once with an ISBN, only to be changed and edited then republished under the same name and ISBN online. This is unfair to those who read it later based on my review, and it causes a great deal of frustration if someone has a different edition but has no idea which one I read and gave my opinion on.

As of September 15, 2019 - KINDLE UNLIMITED AUTHORS ONLY - You must send me the link to the KU page for your book. Do not send me the mobi or the paperback for review. I want to be sure you get an Amazon review, and I cannot do that for you on KU unless I'm reading it on KU.

"Why do you not review ARC copies aside from NetGalley?"
It's pretty simple. I was asked to review a few ARC's. During that time, I provided my review, and the authors of at least three of them made drastic changes to the book they published.

In that case, I reviewed 3 books that do not exist anymore, thus nullifying my review score and wasting my time reading them. I asked for feedback, and one of the three explained he asked me to review because he couldn't afford an editor and didn't use beta readers. Let me be clear, I'm a reviewer, and I do not offer professional editing services or advice.

Since that time, I do not do ARC's outside of NetGalley because I like to know my review has meaning.

"Do you read PDF's or written drafts of novels by request for review?"
No, and the reason I do not because it is not what a consumer will receive to read upon purchase. I would like to only review what someone paying for a novel is going to read with their hard-earned money.

The other reason I do not review PDF's or drafts is that I am not a professional service for improving a manuscript. I am not a beta reader, and I will not edit nor provide beta reading services for a book, as I mentioned earlier. I no longer am accepting books that have not been written or reviewed by beta readers. I don't read books that are not completed or books that are in the drafting stages and have not seen final drafting.

My purpose for reviewing is to ensure that a consumer is going to know what to expect, so I would like to read what the reader will experience when they buy the book.

You often mention scoring in your reviews. Do you have a scoring policy? 
Yes I do!
I have a scoring policy located here. 
If you have requested a review and I grade it with a score below 3 stars, I will not post on Amazon or Goodreads. This is a courtesy I do because I do not want to damage the Amazon algorithm for you. I will, however, let you know that in an email, and you can let me know if you want me to tweet out my review on my personal blog.

REVIEW REQUEST BOOK GENRE LIST FOR MRS. Y REVIEWS BOOKS. 

Accepted Review Requested Book Genre as of 6/18/2019

• Mystery
• Romance (Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Futuristic, just as long as it's actually a romance, not erotica.)
• Western
• Fantasy (urban, sci-fi, high, magical, dystopian, historical, etc. )
• Any of the punks! (steam, cyber, diesel)
• Crime Fiction (includes detectives, heists, courtroom dramas, and cop books)
• Historical Fiction
• How- To books (cooking, woodworking, makeup tutorials, tangible how-to do something books. These are very different from Advice books, these are practical with clear instructions.)
• Cookbooks
• Comic Books including Graphic Novels
• Children's books
• Grim Dark
• Poetry Collections
• Short Story Collections
• Sci-Fi
• Romance (Non-Erotica)
• Thriller/Suspense
• Young Adult (But this is not one of my favorites to be fair.)
• Adult Fiction
• Any mix of any of these things works too!

Unacceptable Book Genre's for Review Request as of 6/18/2021

• Fan Fiction
• Screen Treatments
• Current Political Non-Fiction
• Current Political Biographies
• Modern Political Satire
• Modern Political Intrigue
• Current Political Reports
• Erotica
• BDSM themed books regardless of erotica elements
• Pedophilia
• Child Murder, Child slavery, Child massacre
• Sexual Abuse Victimization in graphic detail
• Suicide in graphic detail
• Euthanasia in graphic detail
• Horror or Gore that has no plot
• Gun enthusiast books with no plot
• Religious books (Any religion is in this category including monotheism, polytheism, and agnosticism)
• Demonology, possession, divination, tarot cards, etc or entity swapping themes
• Advice books (Positive energy, How to improve sleep etc.)
• Mental Health books
• Weight Loss books

The Y of Privacy Policies.

Who I am:

Mrs. Y., Please see above for my credentials. 

My web address is https://mrsyreviewsbooks.blogspot.com/
My email address is:
mrsyreviewsbooks@gmail.com
My Twitter Handle is:
@mrs_y_writer or direct link at https://twitter.com/mrs_y_writer

I am a professional reader but I am not paid. I do this as a hobby, and the reason I do is to help writers get reviews and for consumers to know what to expect. I will not do puff-piece reviews, only honest ones.

This privacy policy is regarding Mrs. Y. 

For Blogspot's privacy policy visit https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en

Mrs. Y's privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their ‘Personally identifiable information’ (PII) is being used online. PII, as used in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read my privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how I collect, use, protect, or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with my website.

What personal information do I collect from the people that visit my website (mrsyreviewsbooks.blogspot.com) or app?

When on my site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your name, email address, mailing address, or other details to help you with your experience. I rarely ask for a mailing address, unless I run a contest and mail something to a winner.

When do I collect information?

I collect information from you when you respond to a survey, fill out a form, or enter information on our site. This includes if you are sending me a request to read a book, or if you are signing up for a subscription to get future reviews in your email.

How do I use your information?

I may use the information I collect from you when you register, make a purchase, sign up for our newsletter, respond to a survey or marketing communication, surf the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:

• To administer a contest, promotion, survey, or other site feature.

• To send periodic emails regarding my website, the subscription to the site, the reviews that are posted to subscribers, or possibly to alert about a contest.

How do I protect visitor information?

My website (mrsyreviewsbooks.blogspot.com) is scanned regularly for security holes and known vulnerabilities to make your visit to our site as safe as possible. Blogger provides the service to the site.

I use cookies to Understand and save user’s preferences for future visits.

You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser (like Internet Explorer) settings. Each browser is a little different, so look at your browser’s Help menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies. If you disable cookies off, some features will be disabled. It won’t affect the user's experience that makes your site experience more efficient, and some of our services will not function properly.

Third-Party Disclosure:

I do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information.

Google: Google’s advertising requirements can be summed up by Google’s Advertising Principles. They are put in place to provide a positive experience for users. 

https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/ansIr/1316548?hl=en

I have not enabled Google AdSense on our site, but I may do so in the future.

California Online Privacy Protection Act: CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law’s reach stretches well beyond California to require a person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting personally identifiable information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals with whom it is being shared, and to comply with this policy. –

See more at http://consumercal.org/california-online-privacy-protection-act-caloppa/#sthash.0FdRbT51.dpuf

According to CalOPPA I agree to the following:

Users can visit my site anonymously

Once this privacy policy is created, I will add a link to it on our home page, or as a minimum on the first significant page after entering my website. 

My Privacy Policy link includes the word ‘Privacy’ and can be easily be found on the page specified above. Users will be notified of any privacy policy changes: On our Privacy Policy Page

How does our site handle do not track signals? 

I honor do not track signals and do not track plant cookies, or use advertising when a Do Not Track (DNT) browser mechanism is in place.

Does the site allow third-party behavioral tracking?

It’s also important to note that I do not allow third-party automated behavioral tracking. However, I do link to Amazon.com for book covers on my reviews. That is optional if a person wishes to click that link. 

COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act): 

When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under 13, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children’s privacy and safety online. I do not specifically market to children under 13.

Fair Information Practices: The Fair Information Practices Principles form the backbone of privacy law in the United States and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding the Fair Information Practice Principles and how they should be implemented is critical to comply with the various privacy laws that protect personal information. To be in line with Fair Information Practices I will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur: I will notify the users via email within 7 business days

Contacting Mrs. Y

If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy you may contact me through email:  mrsyreviewsbooks@gmail.com

My web address is https://mrsyreviewsbooks.blogspot.com/
My email address is:
mrsyreviewsbooks@gmail.com
My Twitter Handle is:
@mrs_y_writer or direct link at https://twitter.com/mrs_y_writer 

Updated June 18, 2021