ForeWord currently manages three review departments servicing publishers large and small, and books at all stages of development: 1) ForeWord Reviews - quarterly magazine featuring pre-publication reviews of independently published books meeting strict quality standards; 2) Digital Reviews - $129 reviews for books meeting quality benchmarks similar to ForeWord Reviews magazine; 3) Clarion Reviews - $335 reviews for nearly all books. ForeWord employs more than one hundred highly-qualified freelance reviewers.

Notwithstanding our company name, every year ForeWord looks back to the best books of the previous year. The ForeWord Book of the Year competition provides publishers with a valuable opportunity to breathe new life into the promotion of a distinguished title. These fiercely contested awards are viewed by librarians and booksellers as an important statement about a title they might have overlooked. For thirteen years, savvy publishers have used the gold, silver, and bronze awards as additional marketing material as their titles drift toward the backlist.

ForeWord has long maintained a cooperative stand at the world’s six largest book fairs. These “foreign rights shows” attract agents and acquisition editors from tens of thousands of publishers around the world. Foreign rights sales are an important income stream for publishers of all sizes and genres. Over the years, many dozens if not hundreds of rights sales have taken place at the ForeWord booth or in the weeks following based on a rights agent’s “discovery” of the title at the book fair.

We are pleased to introduce our debut fiction competition. As a book review journal, at times we feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of titles we receive for review—many more than we can possibly cover in the magazine. That said, the odds of receiving review attention are most discouraging (nearly impossible) for first-time fiction authors. For this reason, ForeWord is launching a quarterly contest with the goal of highlighting the brightest POD/self-published works we see.

Digital trailers are the most powerful new publicity tool in the book publishing industry. There's no better way to generate buzz on the Web, potentially leading to a full-fledged viral phenomenon. The problem is, so much depends upon the quality and creativity of the trailer. Now, with ForeWord's help, independent presses can connect with high-quality videographers who will produce affordable clips.

After fourteen years of receiving review submissions from thousands of publishers, we can often tell what book will be worth noting by the peripheral materials provided by the author/publisher. A less-than-professional presentation makes it very easy for a review editor or anyone in the media to toss the book aside. In addition, foreign rights agents won't take a potential project seriously unless an articulate sales piece arrives via email prior to previewing your book.