Thursday, June 18, 2009

Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading Blog Tour: Guest Blog by Darcy and Charity


Can We Talk?

No really, can we? Or maybe the better question is…should we? There’s been some drama in the book blog world lately. It started at BEA with a panel discussion of bloggers regarding their relationships with publishers, publicists and authors. Later, someone blogged about it (of course) and (this is the internet, so) someone else misconstrued the comments. You can probably guess where things went after that. (Handbasket, meet Hell.)

There were some pretty fiery opinions thrown down and some flaming comments to go with them. In the midst of the heat storm, a lot of really interesting questions came up. One of the topics that grabbed our attention was:

Should authors try to establish relationships with bloggers?

Here’s the Geek Girls’ take on that question: We. Don’t. Know.

As new authors, it’s really exciting to find our book mentioned on a blog. It’s a natural reaction (we think) to want to interact with the blogger, to thank them for acknowledging our existence and, when they’ve given us a great review, to thank them.

But.

Does contacting a blogger (to offer an ARC, comment on a book mention – or on another blog post of theirs) put unfair pressure on the blogger to produce a positive review?

And.

If the review is already up, do comments by the author(s) crush any further discussion of the book? (Because, like an example given at another blog, you might think a baby is ugly -- but would you say that if you knew his mama could hear?)

The Geek Girls know that bloggers are important. They can help make or break a book – especially a book like ours that didn’t receive much attention from traditional book review outlets. We need bloggers to spread the word about The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading, but we want to play fair – we want to treat you ethically and with respect. So, if you bloggers and blog readers are ready to talk, the Geek Girls are poised to listen.

You can read about a couple of other blogger panels here: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6661691.html and here: http://freneticreader.blogspot.com/2009/05/ya-book-blogger-panel-sort-of.html

~ Darcy and Charity


I think that it's awesome when an author comments on a review I've written or really anywhere on my blog. I like the fact that they read my blog first of all, but second of all, that they want to talk. I think authors rock and I confess I do get all fangirlish at times when meeting authors or just chatting online with authors. In terms of the reviews, I try to be fair if I didn't like the book, because I know that my tastes are not everyone's taste. There are some books I read, but don't mention because I've forgotten that I've never mentioned them, or their more adult books that aren't particularly cross over books to YA lit, or that I didn't know what to say. And that happens sometimes- rarely, but it does. I don't know if authors NEED to establish relationships with bloggers, I just know that it makes me feel nice when they notice something cool (booktrailers made, flair made, or an awesome review).

~ yabooknerd


Speaking of awesome reviews: Read my review

Read more about the Geek Girl tour

Read Melissa Walker's cover story

13 comments:

Summer said...

I don't know but I think it's nice if the author likes your review to let you know. It's after the review so it's cool.

Charity Tahmaseb said...

Thanks so much for hosting us!

For me, I love books, I love reading about books, and I love interacting with people who love books.

I've really enjoyed the interactions on the blog tour. But like Darcy, I've wondered "should I..."

Maybe the key is simply being myself. I don't want to stop talking about books.

Mandy Hubbard said...

I usually try to comment on a review. Sometimes I do wait until its been up for a day so that the comments are natural and honest, and I'm not hindering anything.

But I like letting bloggers know taht I appreciate their mention of my book.

If its a bad/mediocre review, I tend to just leave it alone.

I think bloggers can make a huge impact on helping us get the buzz out, and I sincerely appreciate it.

~Mandy Hubbard
Prada & Prejudice

Marianne Arkins said...

I agree with Mandy, for the most part. I'll *at least* thank the reviewer for taking the time to review my book -- even if it's not particularly flattering. I've had stupendous reviews and really, really downright nasty ones, illustrating that no two readers are exactly alike!

Still... they took the time to read it. And I appreciate that.

Elle Parker said...

I will nearly always send a private email to thank a reviewer, because I feel uncomfortable leaving comments on a review. I think the comments section is for readers to say what they feel, and having the author there tends to hinder that.

I'm less sure what to do when I find a thorough review at a place like Goodreads.


Elle Parker
http://elleparkerbooks.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Rummel said...

ah Charity, thanks for commenting! Being yourself is great on blogs. I always feel my comments are either super fangirlish at times or super nerdy - but as I'm a booknerd, I think my comments ring true when I write on other blogs.

Half the point of blogs is to start a dialogue of books - so keeping talking people!

Charity and Darcy said...

I think authors have to be really careful - especially when approaching bloggers who are teens. I'm an author with a book to promote, but I'm also a mom. It's made my heart lurch a few times in the past weeks when I've seen teen bloggers feel like they have to apologize for falling behind on reviews because they have exams to study for.

darcy

Erica said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Erica said...

I absolutely LOVE when authors comment on my reviews of their books. I mean, to me, the fact that an author takes time out of their day to read my blog is just amazing to me.


Thanks for sharing your opinion!

Anonymous said...

Good food for thought! I'm not pubbed yet, but imagine that if a blogger reviews a book of mine someday, I'll want to acknowledge that with a quick comment or email, because I know I'd really appreciate that someone took the time to read it and share their thoughts (good or bad!).

WordVore Prod said...

Hmm...a very thought-invoking post. I liked it a lot. It's true that authors have to be careful when approaching teen bloggers because they have to juggle everything else with blogging. I also think it's nice of the author to respond to a review done by a blogger. It just seems like the right (and grateful) thing to do:)
-prodhi

Llehn said...

I think book bloggers are responsible for bringing attention to books be it positive or negative attention. Ever since I started making the book blogging circuit, I've discovered a whole batch of books which I otherwise wouldn't have picked up if it hadn't been for the publicity. And despite what they say, ultimately I make up my own mind.

Unknown said...

I actually have a lot in common with what foods she likes. I love star burst but I no they are not good for me. Especially my teeth because they always get stuck!