If you are producing work for the site, please read the below:

Style

As noted in How to Submit, we run essays based on reading, not book reports. For reviews, we want you to do two things:

• Synthesize the book (or film etc.) — tell us what it says, its key argument or theme; give necessary context for us to understand that; and, critically, pull out the most interesting details, facts, stories and quotes (block quotes are welcome) to surprise and entertain the reader.

• Springboard off that to make an argument of your own about the topic, or in response to the book’s argument. Do evaluate the book, but through substantive engagement with its key themes and points, so that by the end the reader has learnt a new perspective.

Think NYRB — informative, insightful, with personal flair and a “smart casual” writing style. Our readers want to know what the book says and some of its juiciest details, as they might not have the time to read it. So compress the story it tells, pick out its fascinating or original elements (don’t forget to include quotes), then react to it with a thesis or commentary of your own. Above all, tell us something new about China through the reading.

Process

If you’re received a commission, the first step is to read the book(s) or other works involved, marking the sections you want to paraphrase or quote. Let us know if you already have a copy, or need one. Also please actively research other works on the same topic (and past works by the same author) as we encourage you to mention some of those in your piece, even if in glancing, to give the reader fuller context and resources, and to make your take authoritative.

Then, before you start writing, it can help to write us a quick email with:

• A short summary of the main argument/story/theme that the book is about, and what you’re going to say in response (i.e. your thesis). This can be very short, even one sentence in the style of our subtitles, to really clarify the key thing you want to say.

• A simple outline of how you will structure the piece to make that point. Generally 2-3 sections for 1600+ words (eg hook; book; point), 5 sections for 3200+ words (eg hook; book; context; other book(s); point). This can just be a few lines or bullet points.

This is optional, but can help you clarify the focus as well as help us to know what to expect!

Conflicts

You should not review a book if you are close friends with the author, are thanked in the acknowledgements, or have a close relationship with the publisher. Let us know if you blurbed the book (which doesn’t necessarily disqualify you), or any other potential conflict. It is fine to mention a book that falls into the above categories in a broader context, or to recommend it in a list, with due disclosure as appropriate.

Diligence

If you review a book, we expect you to read it. Authors spend a lot of time writing it, so reciprocate when reading it; don’t rely on AI summaries as a substitute, which can introduce inaccuracies. We also expect you to familiarize yourself with the author’s biography and other works. Quotes must be double checked against the final book (not ARC). We expect you to research topics that you write about, beyond the book, and provide sourcing or links for statements of fact. For profiles, we expect you to interview the subject, familiarize yourself with their work and life, and talk to at least one other individual about them.

Plagiarism

You should not plagiarize work in any form, or infringe on any other intellectual property rights. Quotations must be clearly marked and credited. Please inform us of other writing on the same topic (with links) that you may draw on or refer to in your piece.

Self-plagiarism

Work written for us should not have appeared elsewhere, including in a modified form that shares major similarities, without our permission. Please inform us of your own writing on the same topic (with links) that you may draw on or refer to in your piece. You may send us a pitch or submission that was rejected by another publication, but we appreciate being told that.

AI Policy

If you used AI tools in the writing or polishing of your article (as opposed to for research) we ask that you inform us. We run submissions through AI detection software, and we reserve the right to reject articles and pitches that are flagged as wholly or partially written by AI. We accept articles written in other languages (e.g. Chinese) and translated by AI, but request that you provide the original so we can check against it. In short, our policy is: always disclose your use of AI tools to us. It doesn’t mean you will be rejected, but it’s important that we know how they have been used, not least as hallucinations or innaccuracies can be introduced.

Sourcing

Sourcing for quotes and information should be clear throughout the piece. So, if a quote or fact comes from the book under review, make sure you say that explicitly. If it comes from another book, article or source, make sure you spell out the source (that is, give the full name of the author and book/article, with publication year) and link to it. For references to news or trends, just add a source link that explains it, so the reader can find out more if they want to.

Deadlines

Work should be delivered on or by the agreed deadline, within the agreed word count (which we tend to give as a range, as we have flexibility online; going a few hundred words above is fine, as it can be cut or run at longer length; filing less than the minimum word count is less than ideal). Deadline extensions are almost always forthcoming: just ask! We have long lead times and are accomodating, just write in to let us know if you need more time.

Formatting

Don’t worry too much about this, but if you want to make our lives easier, please deliver:

• A word doc, or a link to a Google doc.
• U.S. spelling, AP style, Em dashes. No double spaces or extra spaces at the end of paragraphs.
• For main book(s), provide Title: Subtitle (linked to publisher page) by Author (Publisher, Month, Year).
• For all other titles mentioned, provide Title (linked to publisher page) with (publication year) after.
• No need for page numbers after quotes, or other academic reference footnotes.
• For special Chinese words (e.g. names, terms) give the 简体中文 in brackets after.
• Block quotes from the book under review are welcome.
• Image ideas (copyright free) are welcome, but please link to/note the source.
• Include a 3-4 line bio (links welcome) and small headshot at the end.

Revisions

Edits will come back as a separate Google doc. Contributors should make themselves available for rounds of revisions after submitting their work, before giving final approval for the finished form. Please note there is an editing queue, and only two of us, so you may have to wait some weeks or months before we get to your piece, but endeavor to minimize the wait.

Withdrawals

After a piece is submitted, it should not be withdrawn. On closing edits, we will endeavor to publish it without too long a delay, and to indicate when that will be, but currently we have a long queue for some article categories, and there is no ‘expiry date’ after submitting. Please also bear in mind that scheduling changes can happen, due to time sensitivities. Once published, we can make corrections but cannot take down the piece unless there is a compelling concern.

Corrections

If you want us to make a change to your article after publication, we can make small revisions (words here and there) directly, just let us know. If it’s a larger change or a significant error that is being corrected, we will note the correction as a footnote.

Payment

We pay a competitive flat rate for all original articles, roughly equivalent to 25c/word, given on email. The agreed fee will be paid on publication, within 15 business days or according to the limits of our payments platform (Rippling). For new contributors, we will provide a link to upload your bank and tax details into that platform, when edits are closed.

Kill fees

If a submitted work was commissioned/accepted but is not published, we will pay a kill fee of one quarter of the agreed rate if spiked after the first draft (or rough sketches for illustrations), and one half if spiked after the second pass (or color draft for illustrations). If a commissioned work is not submitted, partially submitted, withdrawn after submission, diverges significantly from the commission or breaches our standards as above, there will be no kill fee.

Expenses

We do not reimburse for expenses incurred in the course of writing a piece, unless otherwise agreed specifically in writing. We can however arrange for publishers to send review copies of books, digital or hard copy — just request one from us.

Competition

If you are commissioned to produce a work with us, you should not offer it or a modified version of it (i.e. in the same format or genre) to other publications. Material from research conducted for us, such as quotes from interviews, should not be re-used elsewhere without credit to our original publication.

Copyright

Contributors retain copyright for their own work, but should request permission for re-use or cross-posting (almost always forthcoming, with a credit to our original publication), and wait one month after publication to do so. We will request your permission for any external re-publication requests beyond our own magazine.

Yearbook

Every summer we publish a physical yearbook (our annual print free-sheet, not widely distributed) featuring selected articles from the last year. We reserve the right to include any article we publish online in this yearbook, and can provide a copy on request.

Contributor status

All contributors are independent contractors, not employees. They are not entitled to benefits, and are responsible for reporting income to applicable government agencies. We do not carry liability on behalf of contributors.

Contracts

We can provide a very simple contract on request, with the deadline and fee you have been given on email. For simplicity, we prefer that your reading this page, and agreeing to the deadline and fee in our email, constitutes that understanding. If you or your agent prefer to draft your own contract, we can also sign that.

Breaches

We reserve the right to reject, spike, correct or take down any work that breaches these understandings. Write to info[at]chinabooksreview.com with any questions. ∎