Thursday, May 26, 2011

Armchair BEA: Nurturing Relationships

N.B. Armchair BEA is a blog event for
book bloggers who can't attend Book
Expo America in NYC this week
Hi, Julie here. I thought I'd take over for Jenn today since she's been so kind to take the lead on these Armchair BEA posts.

To be honest, I didn't get into book blogging for the free books; I initially did it to remember the books I read and to share my love of reading. Now, I'm not going to lie and say that free books aren't a nice perk; it is, but I'm still pretty picky about what I want to read and of course time is a limit as well. I can't possibly read everything.

When I receive something from an author or publisher I typically ask them when they'd like the review up and then I manage my TBR pile based on their request. If they don't have a preference, then I try to post it based on publication date.

I like to think I have a couple good relationships with a few people at publishing houses. I feel that I can email them my requests and typically I get them. Sure, some books are going to be harder to come by but what's the worst they can say; no. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

I love developing relationships with authors. Are some authors more accessible than others? Of course, it's like any profession. Twitter is an excellent way to develop relationships with your favorite author. It seems to work better with authors than let's say rock stars. ;) Facebook is another fantastic medium for following what your favorites are up to.

All of us have developed relationships with a lot of independent authors. Authors who came to us to read their books via email by finding our blog.

I will cite a personal example of mine. A couple years ago author Mark Rosendorf contacted me to read his novel The Rasner Effect. It was a action/thriller novel which I do enjoy. I agreed. Since then I've read and reviewed all three books in the series. They always ended up being some of my favorite reads for that year.

No matter what the source is for your book, I feel it's best to be honest in your review. Your blog readers rely on you to give them good advice about what to possibly read next. You don't have to like or love the book that you review. Some books sound great and don't end up being so good. That's books!

Basically, you have the power to develop your relationships with publishers and authors. You can develop as many as you want. They key is to keep them up and not always ask for books but to take some of the books they offer you as well.

Good luck and Happy Relationship building!


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