as with so many things in life, blogging is all about the relationships. the relationship you have with your readers comes through in the tone you use, the comments you give on others blogs, and the way you respond to comments on your own posts. this is going to sound super cheese, but i also think a blog is a reflection of your relationship with yourself. (i TOLD you). your confidence and your comfort with who you are is evident in the type of posts and overall feel of your blog.
armchair BEA poses an interesting challenge today. they ask about relationships we've formed with a particular publisher, author, blogger, or bookstore as well as working with publishers and asking for ARCs etc.
relationships i've grown to really appreciate are those with publishers. below are three publishers that hold a special place in my bookish heart.
Eric of Quirk Publishing: i think that my true adoration for Eric stems from his total and unabashed nerdiness. however, he's also really great with contacting bloggers, promoting titles from Quirk, and utilizing the blog scene as a means of publicity and interaction. Quirk is known for being tongue-in-cheek, and while a legitimate publisher, their playfulness lends itself well to the interwebs.
Heather of Candlewick Publishing. i kid you not when i say that my first email to Heather was a blend of fangirling over the Chaos Walking Trilogy (shock to NO ONE) and expressing excitement over their upcoming releases i heard about in a webinar. she responded within moments. i was blown away and have since fallen in love with Candlewick. i've read some seriously great books from this publisher and their variety of titles never fails to impress.
Harrison from Bancroft Press. this kid went the extra mile and did a publisher perspective post for me. seriously, what a cool guy. but also he works for Bancroft Publishing which is a smaller publisher with some really great titles. i can't imagine the challenges of trying to swim upstream against the big publishers and big authors and big titles, but Harrison is getting the titles out there and getting readers interested. i read and adored a Bancroft book this year, and am looking forward to many more of their titles. the best place to get an ARC for a Bancroft title is Netgalley - which is hugely convenient.
[a brief aside on how to get Advance Review Copies. in my opinion, email publishers with your blog and what it's about. include your hits per month, what makes your blog unique, and your review policy. i'd also recommend asking for specific titles, and being gracious if they say no. in the meantime, read books that are already published and start building your reputation and your base of followers. discover your voice. take your time. books aren't going anywhere.]
if you spend enough time reading book blogs, you find people who have your taste exactly. then you'll find people who have your personality or reflect parts of yourself that make you think 'if we knew each other in real life, we'd TOTALLY be friends'. for me, these are those bloggers.
this doesn't happen very often, but when it does, i kind of geek out over it. there is one author i've bonded with as of late that i think bears a brief mention here.
Jennifer Kogler. you guys, she might be me...but instead of being an accomplished author i just read books. maybe we're living in parallel universes? anyway the point is she was super sweet about sharing a copy of her newest book with me (The Death Catchers) and THEN was super sweet about giving our twitter friendship a try. it was thanks to twitter that i discovered our mutual adoration for arthurian legend, gummy vitamins, euro board games, Girl Talk, sandwiches...SERIOUSLY this is all real. i can't even handle how incredible it is to have bonded with an author and i promise i'm not going all creeptastic here - just excited!
i'd love to read about the blogging relationships you hold dear to your little bookish heart, so link it up down below in the comments!
I don't have any publisher relationships right now. Rather than talk about bookstores, publishers or bloggers, I'm talking about volunteering. Come see what I mean.
ReplyDeleteNice insight/advice about staying true to your own voice, and good suggestions for cultivating relationships. Hope you are having a great Armchair BEA!
ReplyDeleteI love Katie and Ginger too! Is it to creepy to say "loved?" Who care! I got another person, I think, to read Game of Thrones!!!
ReplyDeleteAww this was such a nice blog post to read! :-) Thank you Lisa for the kind words. Aside from my love of books, I value my relationships with fellow bloggers the most. It's what keeps me coming back day after day. I could care less about getting my hands on the newest, most popular book. It's the connection you make with people when you read something & can both just say "aahhhh wow - that was awesome!"
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! You have some good relationships there.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I think you're super awesome too! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go off and check out all the other awesome people you mentioned.
You've mentioned so many books lately that I've never heard of. If you like them, then I must go put them on my goodreads list.
Jennifer of Little Shelf
WHY AM I JUST NOW SEEING THIS?!
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but I love it.