Straight up, there is a rant a-coming. So if you don’t like opinions, please exit my blog. Last night, I attempted to watch #yalitchat on tweetdeck but stopped because the tweets were going wayyy too fast for me to read. So, slightly bored during the afternoon, I thought I would read the chat over, as the topic was actually interesting to me: ARCs & Galleys & Swag.
Bad idea.
You see, I saw a lot of things which shocked me as a blogger.
People honestly think bloggers don’t sell books. People seem to also think negative reviews are unprofessional.
To which I say, are you kidding me? We book bloggers may inhabit a small corner of the internet, but we sure as hell have impact. We are on twitter. We are on facebook. We are on youtube. We are on tumblr. We are at the bookstore. We are at the library. We are at the gym. We are in school. We have jobs. We have real life friends. We have family. And we have very big mouths.
We post our reviews not only on our blogs, but on goodreads, librarything, shelfari, amazon, barnes & noble, etc. Sometimes we post them in our work newsletter. Sometimes we partner for a bookstore.
I notice some tweets thought bloggers shouldn’t receive ARCs. Tweets that said instead those ARCs should go to librarians and teachers. Now, I don’t deny that librarians and teachers have great impact, because they do. However, why should there even be a fight between librarians, teachers, and bloggers? Especially when there are a plethora of excellent librarian bloggers to follow? Why is a blogger who has potential to reach thousands through combined blog, amazon, social networks, and goodreads not worthy of a book? Is it because we don’t get paid for what we do? Is it because we aren’t afraid to express a one-star opinion? Is it because we are a non-traditional form of media? I don’t understand this vitriol for book bloggers. We aren’t trying to steal books from you, I promise. In fact, I bet if you asked a local book blogger real nicely they would be pleased as punch to share their ARCs with you, or at least, I know I would.
Then, of course, there were tweets about how bloggers are only in it for the free books. I can only assume those tweeters have never taken a basic economics course. As one who has taken basic economics understands the principle of cost-benefit analysis and the idiom ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch.’ For real, let’s do the economics on this. For every hour I spend reading a review book, that’s an hour I could use to spend time with friends, family, clean my house, walk the dog, or hey, work a second job. Let’s say I spend 20 hours a week reading, for a low estimate. Let’s say the average YA book takes me, oh, 5 hours to read. Now, let’s say instead of reading that book, I get a second job. Now, my time is semi-cheap, so let’s pretend second job pays me $8/hr. That’s $40 right there. I could have made $40 in those 5 hours of reading. But instead I give up those 5 hours to read something, that is largely monetarily valueless, as we all know selling ARCs is a no-no. Or, I suppose you could say that arc cost $20 to make, thus making my time half as valuable. So please, don’t use that free books argument, as it’s bullshit and I will know to put you on the list of people who don’t deserve my time of day.
THEN
Towards the late middle/end of the chat, the tweets were flying about negative reviews and book bashers and blah-di-blah. If ever there is a pet peeve I have, that peeve is people telling me I can’t write about something I didn’t like.
People just seemed to go on and on and on about negative reviews and bashing and such.
Is it bashing to straight-up say, Author O holds anti-gay views here are some links straight from the horse’s mouth and that colored my reading?
Is it bashing to say, the writing was subpar?
Then, of course, there’s always those Perky Peggys or Kiss-ass Kathys who say, but you can always find something POSITIVE even if you hated the book. To which I say, bullshit. What if I didn’t like anything at all about the book? Do you expect me to lie and pretend I liked something? No thank you.
And, OF COURSE we get tweets that seem to me to be completely on the fringe. I.e. ‘bloggers who bash books should be blacklisted‘ and ‘bloggers should never bash an author’s writing’? Good lord, give me a lobtomy and change my last name to Stepford, why don’t you. First off, I dare someone to blacklist me and expect me to keep my mouth shut about it, and about the books I read. Secondly, do you honestly think bloggers get all of their books for free? Dude, we purchase A LOT. We use the library A LOT. Blacklisting someone isn’t going to make them shut up. As the conclusion I often come to when I see handwringing over people ‘bashing’ on a book, is that usually the ‘bashing’ is a critique, and it’s rarely over the top. In the blogs that I follow, which is a lot, mind you, I have never actually seen bashing. Sure, I have seen plenty of negative reviews, but nothing I would call bashing. Nothing like, oh this book blows so hard it rivals Glitter, and that author, look at their fug picture. I have never in my life seen that on a book blog. Furthermore, I think it is perfectly valid to be critical as a reader, of an author’s writing. A book is a product. As a consumer who often buys books, I have a right to say I vehemently disliked this book. I have a right to explain why. Sometimes, that reason is because the writing is IMHO terrible. Am I bashing the author as a person? No way. However, some might say that’s bashing the writing to express a review that is not sunshine and puppies.
Then we have people who say it’s unprofessional to express a negative opinion. Okay, so perhaps people who aspire to be authors ought not to write negative reviews. But people who are strictly readers? Come on. Just saying that shows me ignorance. I’m going to do some name dropping:
The New York Times.
Kirkus.
Publisher’s Weekly.
These PROFESSIONAL outlets all have posted negative reviews. Shocking, right? And a bit of a mindbender that professional/traditional media have negative reviews.
Friends, being a book blogger does not mean you live in a bubble and don’t sell books.
Book bloggers don’t ever let someone look down on you like that. As a community, we are hella strong and hella awesome.
A Few More Hella Awesome Posts
Bookalicio.us – ‘Word To Your Mother’
Chick Loves Lit – ‘Book Bloggers And Their Impact’
I am actually quite interested in reading that conversation…
As a book blogger who has received one ARC, I can honestly say that I do it for the fun of reading. I love to read and I love to share what I read, and so I blog about it. And I tweet about it. And I’m on Goodreads. And Random Buzzers. And Amazon. Etc.
You can pick out the bloggers who are only in it for the ARCs. And THOSE are the bloggers that shouldn’t get them. Bloggers who, like me, do it for the fun of blogging, will blog whether they get ARCs or not. I know I would.
And as far as librarians being the ones who should get the ARC because they will promote it better… well, that may be true to a certain extent. But I do recall my librarian following my blog, asking me for book recommendations, copying my Wish List… she came to me for advice. Perhaps its true that Librarians are great for spreading word about a book. Actually, I completely agree with that statement. I listen to my librarian like… 90% of the time when it comes to book recs. However, when I read a good book and share it, my librarian considers me to be a reliable source because I’m a teenager who knows what teens like me like to read, and so when I recommend a book she listens. And then she spreads the word. And I’m sure plenty of other YA bloggers could say the same thing about their librarians. Or they spread the word in other ways, such as to friends, family, coworkers, classmates… There are so many ways a teenager can spread info about their favorite books.
And I know for a fact that bloggers DO sell books. I just glanced at my bookshelf and I counted ten books that I only bought because of other bloggers’ reviews. Contrary to popular belief, not every blogger gets ARCs of every book they read. And if there’s a book that they want to read badly enough… they BUY it! And as a reader, I know that if I walk into a bookstore and buy the first pretty book, I know it probably isn’t the best choice. So I will ALWAYS google a book and look at reviews online before buying it. If it has good buzz, then I’ll buy it. If it has medium buzz, I’ll still buy it. And if it has bad buzz, I might not buy it but I will still probably check it out from the library just to see what the deal is. And checking books out from the library generates buzz even though it may not seem like it to the average person. When a book gets checked out from the library it indicates to the library that there is a need for the book. If it gets checked out enough times… they buy more copies. And the cycle continues.
And calling a negative review “bashing” is completely wrong. It’s freedom of speech. If we don’t like a book, we say it. That’s what we’re entitled to do. That’s why people follow us: because they can expect an HONEST review whether it’s good or bad. And you’re absolutely right: if professionals can do it, why can’t we?
Okay, done now. You’ve posted a good rant, and all of your ideas are spot on.
Jane
Great post – I totally agree. Reading the chat just made me angry. Book bloggers don’t sell books? For years now, the only books I’ve bought/borrowed have been ones that have either been given positive reviews by my people I know through book blogging. And I’ve gotten at least a dozen comments on reviews I’ve blogged before from people saying they’d want to read that book after my review.
Also, in it for money/ARCs? I was blogging for MONTHS before I was even offered a review copy of a book. When I started blogging, I didn’t even realise that was possible!
Sigh.
April, you are my hero.
When I started book blogging, I had no idea what an ARC was. I knew that I had found blogs like Kristi’s and thought THAT IS SO DAMN COOL, she posts reviews, and people talk to her about books. No one in my life ever wanted to chat books with me. That is why I started my blog. ARCs became kind of a cool bonus, but I still purchase books and use my library (A LOT!)
Between this chat, and the #querychat where some authors said aspiring writers shouldn’t write book reviews, I’m a little frustrated with the community as a whole.
I agree with so much that was said in this post! Book bloggers are definitely really influential, because we love books. Yes, I purchase most of my books and review them on my blog. If I love those books, then I will push them on my blogging friends and real life friends, and I might even buy a copy to donate to my library. I want others to enjoy the books that I love.
I also have to say that I think that some people underestimate how much our community shares ARCs. Not everyone does, but a lot of people hold giveaways, loan ARCs, or donate them to tours or libraries. That can add up to quite a decent amount of circulation for one book.
I’m just going to finish this comment by saying I wonder if this whole chat started by someone looking at a blog of someone who got tons of ARCs and maybe didn’t write a lot of positive reviews. I think people don’t quite get that every single blogger is different, in terms of what they get, how they get it, an how pick they are when they review it. But my theory could be wrong.
April, you rock. I agree with everything you wrote. I got into book blogging when I discovered a book blog while surfing the Net, and thought it would be a great outlet for me, a ginormous bookworm from birth. Only after did I start being offered ARCs and realized I could get books because I have said book blog. That was only the icing on the cake. I read way more from bargain books and library books than I do ARCs, and I share freely. So what if I don’t have a boss and get payed, it doesn’t mean I am not capable of using intelligence and professionalism. In fact, I have seen many book bloggers lose money to hold numerous giveaways for their loyal followers. Giving a single book to a book blogger with hundreds of readers is more efficient advertising than any tv commercial or sign in a bookstore that *might* catch the eye of a few people.
How I would love to get in on one of these ridiculous chats!
Well written and well said.
How could you bash Glitter?!!! *GASP*!!! That was a fine and super awesome movie! hahaha…I could say that, but honestly, I didn’t make it through the movie.
I agree with you. I don’t see why negative reviews are necessarily a bad thing. If you are a writer and want people to read your stuff, you have to expect that not everyone will like it. I went to a talk where an author was a little dismayed at a negative review for his book written by the NYT, and to be honest, I was a little conflicted about that. I understood that his goal was to sell books (so he obviously wasn’t about the starving artist angle) and that a high profile negative review hurt the sale of his book. However, I just saw the book get chosen for a very high profile book club on a television show so I think he’s now doing just fine. He didn’t have anything to worry about.
Anyway, great post. I agree with all of it.
Great post!
Actually, I’m new to book blogging. Most of the books I reviewed are personally bought if not given to me as a gift. I never receive any ARC since I’m outside US (Philippines) but I love to get one of course ^__^ . I have a huge passion in reading but not so much in writing thats why I don’t usually write book reviews until I discover the online community of book bloggers. I’m loving the community online. They are so much active and supportive. I gain friends online and I’m learning so much from them.
Book bloggers are really influential!
I absolutely agree. It costs money to run a website. I doubt many book bloggers make a profit from it, they do it because they like to read and discuss what they read. Also, the occasional negative review is necessary for me to respect a reviewer. No-one likes everything they read, especially not if they read a lot, so if a book blog has nothing negative to say then it’s not being honest and that’s a real turn-off.
Thanks for this post. I’ve only been blogging since August of this year and yeah ARCs are nice but I’ve won more/borrowed more then have actually been given to me. I too have had people comment that they’ll look at/want to read a book after reading my reviews.
Couldn’t agree more about the negative reviews, I think if you can’t be honest in your reviews then what’s the point of writing them. As long as you don’t say that the author of so and so book should be bludgeoned or advocate a book burning then you have every right to your opinion. I know I’ll always write an honest review and if I don’t like a book I’ll tell you why.
Thanks again for this great post.
I’ve always thought that the book bloggers I read are in some way employed in the book world or connected to literacy. If not, they have a hell of a lot of passion! I know that the few times I’ve requested an ARC, I’ve stated that it is for review on my blog. If publishers didn’t want me to have the ARC, they wouldn’t send me the book. I think they see sending me a book as a really cheap way to advertise.
When I read those blogs, when they only gush about what they like, I get the feeling they like everything they read and I don’t trust them so much. As a reviewer of books of color, I think its important that my readers know that I don’t like every book written by authors of color just because they’re written by authors of color! I think I have to show I do have some taste! I do like to balance a review when I can. Most books are neither all good or all bad.
Those tweeters surprise me! Thanks for sharing that insight.
I think we all need to take a step back and realize several things. For the most part authors and book bloggers have a very positive relationship based on mutual respect. I would also say that there are always going to be a few “bad eggs” in every population who make it bad for everyone else giving the general population the impression that everyone in the community is “that way.” Think about it. How often do you hear about hero cops or firemen or judges or lawyers or teachers? Not very often. WE EXPECT them to well–be heroic and nice and awesome all the time. But no one is perfect. And so when they disappoint us, and do something wrong–it is all over the news for weeks anfd weeks. Then we talk about how corrrupt cops are, and how there aren’t any good cops or lawyers or teachers and it hurts every cop or lawyer or teacher who is good and decent and trying to do their job and care for their families.
I have been a part of the whole blogger/author comversation for some time–or at least as many times as we’ve discussed during YALITCHAT. I apologize but I happened to have missed this latest one as I have Mono now and had a replacement host for the night. Had I been there hosting, I most likely would have curbed some of the comments that were made and steered the conversation to a more positive direction. Whlie we encourage chatters to express their opinions freely during chat, we also wwant those opinoins to be expressed in a way that is positive and unoffensive (as much as possible).
Having said all of that. On both sides of the fence I believe there are legitimate concerns and reasons to raise questions. I don’t believe that either opinion is all right or all wrong. I do believe that we benefit from continued discussion about ways to move closer to a better understanding of one another.
In fact, just today we decided to implement a feature on YALITCHAT.ORG whereby we feature our blogger members monthly in a spotlight on our homepage and in our newsletter. We have many blogger members and aim for a stronger relationships. Additionally, many of our bloggers are also writers. So this sense of division has got to end. It is not healthy for anyone.
I do hope that you will continue to chat with us and share your opinions. The entire reason for chatting is to share and learn from one another. But we can only learn and truly share when we have open minds–and of course, this must be the case on both sides.
Finally–I apologize for any hurt feelings or negative experience you may have had as a result of participating in #yalitchat. It is never my intent that anyone should walk away from a chat feeling this way. I hope you and the folks who have commented below (some of whom I recognize) will consider chatting with us again. We are all part of the same community. We all have a part to play.
Best-
Georgia McBride
Founder and President of YALITCHAT.ORG
I agree with a lot of what you said. The point of this wasn’t to dog on #yalitchat because usually it is awesome, usually the conversation is interesting and I learn something from reading it. It just bothers me when people hate on bloggers and say we are isolated to the blogosphere, when we aren’t. We work very hard to get the word out on books, not just on our blogs but through other outlets. And I do realize #yalitchat is not anti-blogger all the time from what I’ve seen.
You do a really excellent job, Georgia.
Wow. I have not yet read the #yachatlit, but I came from Georgia’s blog and have to say again, W-O-W. What is with the book blogger bashing? I for one am so greatful that so many wonderful people have turned their passion for books into a medium that spreads the word, educates and promote writing of all types!
I’m unpublished as of yet, and I don’t book blog. I have nothing to gain here by my comments, but book bloggers get nothing but respect from me. I realize maybe there could possibly be a few people who troll and get off on negative bash reviews, but I have yet to see it. Every book blogger I’ve ‘met’ online tells it straight in a respectible fashion.
So, from me, my most heartfelt thanks for all you do, for giving your free time to bring attention to this industry. We all know how hard it is to get published, and all those who do make it deserve our respect, whether we ultimatly click with their book or not. Book blogging is only one extention of spreading book passion, but a very valuable powerful one. Book bloggers, you get Kudos all the way from my end!
Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse
Wow, I didn’t realize all the drama I missed. I had the same problem with tweetdeck so I was only participating in the tail end of the chat on my iphone. It must have mellowed out towards the end. I need to go back and read the whole chat because it’s sad that what is normally a great chat for me turned so negative.
I can’t honestly say for sure my blog sells books, I hope it may influence people to check out the ones I love but I have no hard facts other than comments people may leave. Still I love doing it and it’s because I love books and reading, not because I get free books. And honestly it’s not just on my blog that I talk about the books I’ve read. I also participate in an online book club where I’ll mention the books I loved, I talk to random people in book stores, in the doctor’s office, pretty much any where I happen to stumble into a fellow reader.
As for other blogs I know they cause me to go out and buy books. My book spending sky rocketed when I discovered book blogs because there were so many new books I wanted to read.
Anyhoo, just wanted to stop by and say this was a great post. Thanks for getting me all caught up on what I missed
Have to say, agree with everything you said
since i only recently started blogging, i was kind of surprised to find out how many ‘rules’ and ‘nos-nos’ there were. i pick and choose what feels right for me and have tried not to worry much about it.
i’m sure there a couple of people who are only in it for free books or what not, but it doesn’t seem like there would be enough for people to fuss over. besides, if that’s someone’s only motivation, they’ll burn out on blogging soon enough.
enjoyed your post. what can I say, I love a good rant
This whole issue about book bloggers only being in it for the ARCs really ticks me off. We blog because we love books. Do we all want ARCs? Of course we do! Who wouldn’t want to read a book before it’s available to the public at large? It’s like members of musician fan clubs getting first crack at concert tix or the fact that I’m a Verizon customer and I got to order an iPhone before the rest of the public at large. Now granted, the concert tix and the iPhone weren’t free, but I have yet to come across a book blogger who gets ARCs regularly and doesn’t go out and buy a plethora of books with his/her own money.
And the whole thing about giving the ARCs to teachers and librarians? Well, a lot of us book bloggers ARE teachers and librarians! But, why bother giving a book to a teacher who’s not going to read it? I mean, I am a teacher that pimps books left and right in my classroom, but all the other LA teachers in my building don’t read for enjoyment and don’t model the love of reading for their students. Would you rather have THOSE teachers getting those ARCs or the book bloggers who are going to read the book and publicize it on their blog? Sounds like a no-brainer to me!
Thanks for posting this article! I was also there the other night trying desperately to catch up with the conversation. It was hopping! I am always shocked when people say that bloggers shouldn’t express their true opinions of the book if they didn’t like it. I think book bloggers should be applauded for their honesty. The people who read their blogs are there to find out what they want to read next. These aren’t commercials!
As a writer, I’m sure I would be hurt if a reviewer hated my books, but at the same time, you’ve got to respect people’s right to their own opinion. Continue to be yourself and to do what you do. Your site is awesome!
Hmm
Well, I’d have to say that probably 80-90% of my sales have come from reviews.
Both reviews from review sites and people I’ve sent the book to and just asked for reviews.
Of course book review blogs impact sales–it’s absurd to think they don’t.
Out of 600k e-books on Amazon, it’s unrealistic of me to think that hundreds of people found that book without reading about it.
Negative reviews–shrug–no author likes them. Sometimes we can learn from them–other times we simply won’t agree. So what? There are different strokes for different folks. Not everyone will like my book. Others have really loved it. Depends on the reader.
I don’t think bashing an author is right–but saying a book doesn’t work for you for x, y, and z reasons? Sure, that’s the point.
In today’s market-we are competing with thousands of other books–hell, hundreds of thousands–something has to make your book stand out. It’s sure not going to be the 10-20 you sell to friends–it’ll be the reviews–good and bad.
Good post.
Personally, I love book bloggers! You help pay my bills, and are very much appreciated.
Amen sister.
*high five*
I actually like reading negative reviews from time to time. In some cases, it makes me want a book more. Because I want to see where I will fall.
Case in point: Halo.
I read tons of reviews that didn’t dig it.
It made me want to read it.
In the end, I loved it and sang it’s praises.
GREAT post.
BTW, Amen on vitrol. It’s always amazed and confounded me. I am always giving away books to local charities and libraries. I get but I continuously give.
Well, being an author, I value an honest review, no matter what that review may be. I’m fully aware I can’t possibly please everyone with my story. I too have review a few books, and not all of them were glowing reviews. I like to give like I like to get, but I do try hard to be diplomatic. Yes, I look for something to like, but I don’t always find it. Frankly, if it’s that bad I don’t bother reading it, and by logical connection, there’s no bad review on that book, not from me anyway.
Anyway, what kind of books do you like to review? If you’re interested in mine, I’d be happy to get a copy to you.
KING BY RIGHT OF BLOOD AND MIGHT is my book – available on Amazon.
girl, you are preaching to the choir.
I often wonder what publishers think we do with ARCs once we review them. I’ve kept maybe 3? All told? Others are either giveaways*, donated to the library or high school, or given to teenaged kids of coworkers. I ain’t collecting them to build a fort of typos, or anything.
The simple truth is that there are more books published and needing press than any one blogger has funds to purchase (unless you guys have a winning lotto ticket, in which case I believe we’ve already discussed our impending marriage). ARCs help that disparity a bit. The rest? Well, all you have to do is look at my pitiful bank account to see where I get most of my books.
*when we aren’t directly purchasing a book to give away
For me, the apparent free books is a bonus. And if the idiots who are saying that bloggers are only doing it for the free books, look at it my way – I’m English, I don’t get free ARC’s. I get free eBook galleys, if I enjoy the Galley, I will then buy the book when it’s released. Suddenly, not so free. I have had one ARC since I joined the blogging community. Where did I get that from? Holly, it was part of a tour and I had to pay heavy postage o send it to New Zealand afterwards. I didn’t even enjoy the book that much to be honest! XD
Clearly, publishers believe that Bloggers have the ability to sell books and have honest opinions, that’s why every time I see a publisher offering a Galley, a book blog is a requirement.
Jealousy? I think so. Stop hating people, use a keyboard and make your own reviews.
I was waiting for someone else to be annoyed by this negative reviews are bashing thing. You summed up why this whole thing annoys me. Why are reader talking themselves into giving only positive reviews?