Top Ten Blogging Confessions
1. Book Blitzes and Blog Tours are starting to aggravate me. So many have rules about no reviews under three stars. I’m a fan of promoting great indie books, but I’m not a fan of promoting books that aren’t that good. I don’t know until I read it and I’d rather not lie. And not posting a review, but posting additional promotional material for a book I don’t like or haven’t read feels like a lie. I’m not an advertising site. I’m a person who reviews books and I want to be honest with my readers. I refuse to create buzz about things I’m not personally excited about just to have active content.
2. Being a smaller blog sometimes sucks. I don’t have ARC envy because if I want a book I don’t mind buying it. I still get excited about them. That’s not the problem. But I hardly ever get to review books from major publishers as a blogger. I’m not big enough/don’t have enough followers or content. I’m not in with any major publishers. So 90% of the books I’m excited about are books I’ll be buying and reviewing on my own time. Which is fine, it’s just that I wish I could get SOME books from the publisher themselves. You know, read them ahead of time, have a release day review. Be a part of the buzz. I am SO GRATEFUL to NetGalley for giving us smaller bloggers a way to read those major titles.
3. Even though reviewers review books for free and aren’t paid, I still feel like it’s hard to find honest BUZZ about books. (I am SO not saying that reviewers aren’t being honest, I’m talking more about buzz behind books). Like other small blogs, I get a ton of requests and blog tours from other blogs and authors promoting indie books. I got really involved back when I didn’t work very much because I had the time to commit to reading books I’d never heard of. While I found some awesome gems and I love the authors I work with often, I think there are a lot of blogs out there reviewing terrible novels as part of tours (often with that 3 star and up rule). There’s a lot of promotional material with no reviews floating around. And I know, as a small blogger, that no review doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t read it. So when I see all this buzz about books, I have to really read between the lines. Are we REALLY excited about this reveal? Is this content you wrote yourself or one those insert HTML tours? Is this another tour with a terrible book that my fellow small bloggers are sucked into? I really do rely on other blogs to help me find what to read next and I hate seeing a ton of buzz about a book and the more I look into it, the more I find it’s not really that great of a book.
4. Speaking of buzz, being part of the book blogging world can be emotionally exhausting. From cover reveals to movie casting, us book lovers are excited about a lot. And I try to follow a lot of the buzz about books and books becoming movies, but often I have to unplug and look away. It makes me a mess being so excited about so many things and trying to follow all of the details. In terms of movies, I’ve been more disappointed than I ever imagined by following buzz for a year and then finally seeing the movie. I’m so over it.
5. Being a book reviewer involves a lot of writing, but definitely helps improve your writing skills. My reviews have evolved over the years and I am finally able to actually convey my feelings more easily. While I don’t know that I could ever really write a book, writing reviews is helpful to me and keeps me well written. I take my ability to write well for granted often, but I realize a lot of the feelings I struggled with in the beginning when writing a review are so much easier for me now.
6. Being a book blogger is amazing. All it takes is a desire to share your words. I may not have a giant following and it’s clear I have issues with some aspects, but it’s therapeutic to write reviews and they do impact people. In my small world, I’m the person my friends and acquaintances go to for book recommendations. I’m trusted. I am a part of a community I care about. I love it.
7. It’s so much easier to Instagram. I realize I neglect my blog, aside from reviews, because it so much easier to post to Instagram. I do at least 2 book photo monthly challenges each month and I post daily. If Blogger was more of a integral app, you guys would see a lot more content and pictures. I am reading and I am totally talking about books ALL OF THE TIME. Just not necessarily here. Blogging via mobile app sucks. FOLLOW ME on the right sidebar (or at @meganm922) =)
8. Good indie authors can become great friends. When I love an author, I love them hard. I have developed what I consider friendships with a couple of indie authors and good relationships with others. I can only thank being a book blogger.
I think I covered enough confessions!Labels: Top Ten Tuesday
