To review or not to review...

An interview with Nina Pottell, Books Editor at Prima Magazine and consultant on Between the Covers - find out how many books she's sent to review per month, and what makes a novel stand out...

Hi everyone!

Welcome to the next in my series of industry interviews - this is a fun one! Nina is a huge champion of books and works tirelessly to promote them, both for her job as the Books Editor of Prima Magazine and as a book consultant on the BBC 2 show Between the Covers. She’s also a genuinely lovely human being, and you can find her on X and Instagram if you’d like to see her towering TBR piles!

In her own words: ‘I am the Books Editor for Prima magazine, a role I’ve had for eight years. I’m a book consultant for Between The Covers and I chair book events, which I love doing. I have been a judge for the British Books Awards, a real honour, and the Costa Book Awards. Oh, and I’m a hairdresser which I’ve been doing for thirty-two years! I work in a salon in Marylebone, London, and I love how my jobs mix, with authors, editors, publicists, and literary agents all coming to sit in my chair for haircuts and colours and book chat!’

Today, Nina talks to us about how many books she is sent to review per month (spoiler: it is a LOT!), what she does with the books she doesn’t like, how PR has changed over the years, and that time she was sent a box of earth…

Hi Nina. Thank you so much for coming on The Honest Editor! Can you tell us about your job as the Books Editor for Prima Magazine, and the process in which you work with publishers?

Firstly, thank you for asking me to be on your Substack. As a Books Editor who feels they know a lot about publishing, it has been very insightful. I LOVE my job and am so happy I get to support both debut and existing authors.

I’ve been the Books Editor for Prima for eight years; I started with a single page and then during lockdown when it was harder for magazines because of not being able to do things IRL, I started doing a DPS (double page spread) which was so well received we’ve kept it. Each month, I review eight new publications, and at present I am also doing a ‘books in a series’ box and am about to start a non-fiction book of the month slot. Will now expect a deluge of emails from publicists reading this…!

I wouldn’t be able to do my job without the amazing publicists, and I have built great relationships with some of them. It’s great when I’m pitched a book because a publicist knows my taste or what would work well for my page.

I do meet for breakfast/coffee/lunch catch-ups with some publicists, mostly those that have big lists to pitch me, and I find these useful; but equally I love looking through a catalogue and maybe finding a book I haven’t been pitched. I also use Netgalley a lot and as I’m auto-approved by most publishers I definitely get trigger finger!

I read both physically and digitally. I think my huge dislike of bind ups is known amongst publicists, so I would rather be pitched a PDF or Netgalley widget as opposed to putting something in the bin! I know, I know, I’m sorry!

I would also always request a PDF if the print in a proof is tiny, my ol’ lady eyes can’t handle that anymore.

As Prima is a long lead magazine, we work four months ahead of issue, so that means I need to see/have proofs at least four months before they are published. Ideally for me I’d like them five months ahead, as I start working out what I’d like to put on my page around that time.

This year I have finally put an auto-response on my email which states which month I’m currently reading, what exactly I review, e.g. no YA, children’s, and that I’m not the person to contact for features etc. Like a lot of other magazine Books Editors, this isn’t my only job and I’m not in front of a screen or on email all day.

You are sent so many amazing novels. How do you choose which books to review?

Phoebe, I am so brutal! All my bookpost gets delivered to the hair salon I work in in Marylebone, London. I thank my lucky stars that my boss Paul doesn’t mind me doing so, or the fact that there are books everywhere in the salon!

When post arrives, I open it - or more likely one of my clients will - some of them love doing this, and I do save post for them to open; it also means I can carry on with their colour or cut. I always take a photo of what I’m sent. This will be a stack of books; this isn’t a TBR (to be read) and it also isn’t stacked by how I may read them, it is just stacked in size order. I post this on my X and Instagram accounts.

I then discard any that are too late for me to look at. I will also discard any that don’t feel like a Prima fit; some of the books aimed at the ‘TikTok demographic’ often feel too young, as Prima is a 35+ demographic. (Phoebe insertion: Nina are you saying that 35 isn’t young…?!)

Of those that are left, I will read the blurb on the press release and the first couple of pages, and then put them into yes/maybe and no piles. The yes/maybes go home with me and the no books either go to the many readers in the salon, to clients, or in the recycling.

When I start reading for a new month, I then do that process again of reading a few pages and make my decision from there. I look for a mix of genres, authors, debuts, existing authors, and publishers.

And the question I am sure everybody wants to know: what pushes a book to the top of your pile?

Honestly, just how much that first page hooks me! I’ve learned not to judge books by their covers; a book I loved this year had (in my opinion) one of the worst covers I’ve seen, yet I read and reviewed it. I obviously have authors I love, but I always want to be fair and introduce new authors to our readers.

I am never swayed by stuff sent with a book, though anything edible is always appreciated. I’m glad there’s less ‘stuff’ sent now than there was years back. Although my skin will always be eternally grateful for the Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Oil I received with a book; I will add that I didn’t review the book though. But let’s not mention the proof sent in a box of earth…

I am also not swayed by quotes or blurbs from others about a book.

How many books are you sent per month?

Please be sitting down when you read this….a really quiet month would be about 40ish books, but generally anywhere between 60-120.

Wow! That is a lot of books. What do you do if you don't like a book?

I never speak of it again. My page is about recommending books I love to readers; review space and life is far too short.

How do you think the PR industry has changed for authors over the years?

I definitely see more authors doing self-PR on social media. This isn’t a bad thing, but I do think it’s important it’s balanced with other aspects of their writing life, otherwise it can feel full on. More authors have newsletters too and this is a good way to reach readers. Lisa Jewell and Clare Mackintosh have great newsletters to look at. There are also soooo many books being published, and not all books will get equal PR; Phoebe’s post with Alison Barrow is great to read about how PR works. Obviously I am always pitched a publisher’s ‘big’ books but that status gives no guarantee I will review it, so authors, do be reassured that sometimes those quiet books are the ones that catch a reviewer’s heart.

What do you think are the most useful things writers can do to promote their work now?

Build genuine relationships with readers, bloggers, bookshops, reviewers.

Tell us about consulting for Between the Covers?

I LOVE working with Amanda, Polly and Julia and everyone at Cactus for Between The Covers. Amanda [Ross] is such a huge champion of authors and books and I feel truly honoured to be part of the team. It’s great to see what publishers submit, and I always feel excited when we ask to call in books. I remember the first series I worked on; I sent a list of books that I felt would work well for the series and one was picked! Honestly, the joy was tenfold. It is a lot of work and so much fun.

What advice would you give to authors?

Be nice. Be kind. Be genuine. Be supportive of other authors, especially within the genre you are writing in. Build relationships with local bookshops, and with book bloggers. Read other authors’ books. Don’t do social media if it feels forced.

Don’t expect that everyone will want to read or review your book; accept a no graciously.

I would prefer a new author go via their publicist to get their book to me as opposed to DMing me on social media. And definitely don’t turn up unannounced at someone’s place of work with a proof that they’d said no to!

And a thank you goes a long way. It is so, so nice when an author says thank you for a review.

Thank YOU so much, Nina, for coming on The Honest Editor and sharing your gems of wisdom.

As always, please do reply to this or comment below if you have any questions, and thank you for reading and sharing with your networks. Your feedback is much appreciated, and a reminder that this Substack is completely free for all, so your support does go a long way.

Phoebe x