Tagged: book bloggers
Some Other Great Book Blogs (2)
Yes, for the second Saturday in a row I’m doing one of these. Why? Because I had to stay up very late (or very early in the morning) last night, completely not by choice. It’s a long story, so let’s just get into the article, shall we? Here are some other great book blogs you can read in the meantime, in no particular order:
Yes, they do promotions for authors, but they are clearly marked so and you’re under no obligation to read them. But Mark Lee has an awesome project going on here for indie and self-published authors and everyone will be able to find at least one book they’re interested in on the site. In addition to that, he hosts blog tours for authors and book bloggers can participate in his book club to earn points towards gift cards and other awesome prizes.
Not only is Scott a writer in his own right, but he also does book reviews for other writers. They’re always honest reviews and I’ve really found some gems there on his blog from the indie and self-published crowd. He reads a lot more mystery, crime and action/thriller books than I do, so go on and check his blog out!
Here is yet another person who reads and reviews far more romance than I would care to. Cary is also starting to do Free Book Fridays, in which she highlights some interesting books that you can download for free on Amazon, all with 4+ star ratings there.
Raya reviews not only a bit of YA, but adult fiction and classics as well. She has an overall great site and her reviews are very long and in-depth. Trust me, you’ll know all of her feelings about a book from her reviews! It makes me rather jealous that my feelings about a book can be summed up in (generally) 3-4 paragraphs.
James’ Reading List just happens to be one of the latest incarnations of James’ blog, which in the time I’ve been following him has changed from jameskennedybeijing to jameskennedymonash (his current domain) and now to james’ reading list with the second domain listed here. James reads a wide variety of fiction, mainly a lot of literary fiction and the occasional popular nonfiction book. His archives are huge, so if you’re looking to get lost in cyberspace for a day, this would be the place to add to your reading list!
Some Advice for Book Bloggers
I’ve only been blogging about books for a year, so that makes me both qualified and unqualified to give advice about it. I figure I’m as qualified as most people out there when it comes to giving advice to random strangers on the internet, but please, take it with a grain of salt. There’s no way I can know your exact personality and set of circumstances, therefore this is more of an article with general guidelines rather than strict book blogging rules.
So why am I even writing this? Well, before I decided I would blog about books I went looking for advice specific to book bloggers. There was a shocking lack of it, especially for a newbie with virtually no knowledge of the industry and community. I don’t wish that feeling of flying by the seat of your pants on anyone, which is why I’ve compiled this article. Here are some bits of ‘wisdom’ I learned the hard way.
1. Be polite and flexible when you work with authors, but know when to put your foot down.
Being a book blogger who accepts indie and self-published submissions, I get to work one-on-one with a lot of authors. This is probably one of the best parts of my ‘job’ (aka volunteer work/hobby). However, there is one particular incident that I’m ashamed of and I want all new book bloggers to avoid.
A couple months into blogging I was sent a book by an author and gave it a not-so-great review initially. About 3/5 stars, if you’re curious. Since I let authors get hold of a copy of my reviews a week in advance of the publication date, this author asked if I could change the wording around a little bit to make it less ‘harsh’. She pressured me because she had spent the money to ship me a print copy of her book all the way up to Canada. I felt guilty about this and changed the wording and the rating so that it was a little less harsh, but never an outright lie.
This was a mistake I’ll always regret.
Honestly, being polite and accommodating is important when working with anyone (especially authors), but you have to know when to put your foot down. You have to set moral and ethical limits for yourself that you will not cross under any circumstances. I crossed that line once and vowed never to do it again; I’ve kept that vow. That is why I am always extremely open in reviews about when an author sends me a book in exchange for an honest review, whether it’s a print or ebook edition. And that is why I am telling all you new (and old) book bloggers out there that you need to stand up for your right to your opinion. It’s okay to give a mediocre, even negative review. What’s not okay is to lie. Don’t learn that the way I did. Continue reading