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I want to start a book blog. Help?
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Those bloggers who always have the newest books are probably getting them from Net Galley. If you maintain a blog for six months, you could do the same.
One thing I didn't realize before I started blogging is how much time it takes away my reading time. I've been reviewing for about a year before I started blogging 2 months ago.Before, I would read just any books that I want to read, but since starting the blog, I’ve been reviewing new books to catch on the buzz. But I’ve been including old books I really want to read in between. Personally, I think readers would be more interested to know about new books, unless the old book is really popular or a hidden gem.
^ That's what my concern is. Like I said before though, I would be really concerned about my ability to keep up with the market especially being that writing is my top priority. I suppose this is a silly question, but is there any other types of book blogs out there that do other things besides consistently review new releases?
Jen wrote: "I suppose this is a silly question, but is there any other types of book blogs out there that do other things besides consistently review new releases?"Most book blog do more than just write reviews. Since reading and reviewing takes time, in between that you can post about new/upcoming releases or book sales. You can write special posts - for example your favorite books of certain genre, your favorite character. You can also participate in release launch or blog tour of new books.
Is there a certain day of the week/time of day that you prefer to update your blogs? Also I would like to update mine either every week or every other week, is every other week too long a stretch to go without updating?
Personally, I update on case to case basis no matter the time/day. If I'm done with my review I (usually) post it immediately. I also know there are some who update according to a set schedule.But it depends on your target readers also. Like for me I’m from Malaysia, but most of my readers are from the US, so I try to post during the time they’re awake :) After your blog has been up for a while, you can analyze your blog stat and post accordingly.
As for the frequency, I think once a week is the recommended number. Every other week is probably too long, risking your blog losing momentum/readers.
I usually do my updates on Sunday. I am considering making it every other week.
I think it all really comes down to what you want to accomplish with your blog. If you want an income from it, then, yeah, you need the new books to attract fad readers and possibly (depending on where you live) become a seller affiliate (you get a referral fee for every book bought through a link from your blog.) Plus, advertising fees, etc. If it's just a hobby...do whatever the heck you want. What does it matter how many followers you have. Having said that, if you want a lot and open yourself to book review requests, I've found that your traffic increases exponentially. There are just so many authors looking for reviewers.
As to getting new books: Netgalley is a good one. There is also another, similar site but I'll have to scour my email to remember what it's called. There are also a lot of groups here on goodreads for it.
^ my blog isn't for income. I don't have grand money making plans for it. I'm a writer, so what I do hope is to get a following, even if it's a small one, and then find a group of people who like to read the same kind of books that I like to read/write. Writing is such a solitary thing I think it'll be good for my writing to have a community of people.
For those of you who accept review requests from authors: what do you do if you don't like the book? Do you leave a bad review? So does that mean the author sends you the book knowing it may lead to bad publicity, and it's their risk to take? Or do they send you a book and ask that you don't write a review if you don't enjoy it?
I would never agree to review a book if I couldn't be honest about it. There are usually positive and negative points in my reviews. If there was nothing I enjoyed about the book, I probably couldn't finish it. If I couldn't finish it, then it wouldn't be fair for me to review it. At that point, I would tell the author that I couldn't finish it and that it wasn't my kind of book. So the author would then know that a review wouldn't be forthcoming.
I value honesty in my reviews while trying not to be negative. If I find a book to have more negative than positive review, I rather not review it to be fair to the author but I'd be sure to tell her/him my reasons why I won't review.
Authors absolutely know a bad review is a possibility. I'm quite up front in my policies that I don't pull any punches. I'll rain praise on those books I like, but I'll also say exactly what I think of books I don't.But here in lies the 'there is no bad press' argument. Bad reviews lend credibility to good reviews (too many 5* with no one disliking a book smacks of puppets). They also sometimes spark different readers interest. So...
Authors and Publishers want honest reviews of the books. Positive and negative reviews will help them with current and future books. Don't be afraid to give negative reviews. There are plenty of books I have never finished because I couldn't keep reading, and there are plenty I finished that got a 2-star review.
Honestly, I kind of wanted my blog to be more of a site that recommends book I really enjoyed rather than wasting posts talking about books I didn't like. I don't have a problem with people leaving bad reviews, as long as they're not ripping the book apart, I just prefer not to write them.
Anyway, here's my blog: http://thebook-nook.weebly.com/I would so appreciate it if you all took a look at it :)
I have a question though. Can someone explain to me what an RSS feed is? In the simplest term? I'm hopelessly clueless when it comes to technology!
RSS feed is basically an alert of updates of your post. People who subscribe to your feed will be able to know when you wrote a new post without having to actually visit your blog.I'm technologically challenged too so that's the best explanation I can give lol!
By the way congrats on your new blog! It looks good :)
Thank you! I'm really excited to be part of the community. Everyone seems so nice and willing to offer advice. By the way all find me on twitter and I'll follow you back: @jenniferjpappas
warhawke wrote: "RSS feed is basically an alert of updates of your post. People who subscribe to your feed will be able to know when you wrote a new post without having to actually visit your blog.I'm technologic..."
I don't know if anyone knows how to use weebly. But I can't find my blog's RSS feed url. I don't even know how to search for it. I keep getting error messages when I try creating the url. Could someone help?
Sadie wrote: "Congrats. It's lovely"Thank you!
I am an aspiring writer looking to get into the blogging community. Originally I started out with a writing blog, but I decided to scrap that idea. So now I'm looking to blog about young adult books. But I don't keep up with recent book releases. It seems like every blog I look at, the bloggers read books that have just been released/are about to be, and they review those. By the time I manage to get my hands on a new book, it's really not very new anymore. As a writer I struggle to keep up with my reading.
If I could just blog about what I've already read, that'd be fine. But I'm wondering if there's even an audience for that. Are readers only interested in blogs that post reviews on newest books? I'm assuming that's how it goes. Could anyone give me advice on other ways I can blog about books that doesn't require me to keep up with the newest books in the market? Thanks for any insight you can give me.