Book Blogging for Beginners: Advice from A Veteran Book Blogger

 

Readers keep books alive. There are some who read simply for escape, to gain knowledge, or to be provoked to thought. Others read and want to share the agony and ecstasy of reading with others.

Book reviewers, book bloggers, readers on bookstagram and booktok are all book lovers: what sets them apart is their willingness to read, analyze and critique books, or simply shout out about the books they enjoyed.

On Daily (w)rite, I interview a host of writers and publishing professionals, but I also wanted to hear from a book blogger. 

Among the many book reviewers I know, Lynne LeGrow, or Fictionophile as she calls herself on social media, stood out for her depth of her reviews, for her professionalism, and her sheer prolific consistency as a reader. It doesn’t hurt that our reading tastes match, either!

So today, she shares a reader and book reviewer’s point of view–which I thought might be useful to authors looking for genuine reviewers, and for book bloggers who would like to speak about their crucial, but often unheralded role in the publishing industry.

This post will also help if you want to set up a book  blog, but are still sitting on the fence, because Lynne has excellent advice on book blogging for beginners.

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Tips on Book Blogging for Beginners: Honest Answers from Lynne LeGrow

 

I consider myself to be a life-long bookworm. I lived in a rural area as a young child and the highlight of my days back then was when the mobile library parked up the road from our house.

Always an avid reader, I studied library science courses when my children were adolescents. I was following my life-long dream to work with books. Once within the library system, I worked myself up to the position of cataloger. 

I was the sole fiction cataloger for our local library system which has 14 branch libraries. It was work that I loved and I was kept very busy.

One of my duties while working for the library was contributing to the library’s blog. So, it only seemed natural to me to create my own book blog as a beginner. 

It was a very amateurish endeavor at first and I had it for a couple of years before I became a more serious book blogger. When I retired in December of 2015, I wanted to keep in touch with the book world – my book review blog was a wonderful way to do that.

Book blogging is a labor of love for me and I spend countless hours doing things blog related other than reading. Some of these things are very enjoyable, like creating graphics, and thinking up ideas for posts. 

Other activities are not always so enjoyable, like keeping abreast of all the social media obligations and staying on top of the copious number of emails I receive. 

Rules to Follow when Approaching a Book Blog: My Pet Peeves

— When authors and/or publishers don’t take the time to read my ‘Review policy’. They suggest I might like this dystopian fiction, or this YA science fiction opus, when I’ve already clearly stated that I don’t read or review these genres.

— Also, I have so many books on my review commitment list now that I am wary of accepting many more. I often accept with the disclaimer that I won’t be getting to the book anytime soon, so if this is a problem then don’t send me the book. Then, they send me the book and a month later send me an email asking why I haven’t read it yet!

— When authors send me an email asking me to review their book and they attach the book. This puts unwanted pressure on me to review it, even if it is not something that sounds like I would enjoy. I feel it is presumptuous of them, and not very professional when they don’t ask before sending their book.

— Deadlines – the pressure to review a book by the publication date is something I can no longer do as I have over 100 review commitments at the present time.

Joys of Being A Book Blogger

 

— I have become acquainted with many like-minded readers through my blog. We have a ‘quid pro quo’ relationship as well – I support their efforts and they support mine.

— Being engaged with other bloggers. I’m retired, so the online friendships are a great social benefit for me personally.

— When I share a book recommendation and someone reads that book and enjoys it. So very gratifying when this happens.

— FREE books – enough said.

How to Work with Book Review Platforms as a Book Blogging Beginner

 

NetGalley

I’ve been very fortunate in my relationship with both NetGalley and Edelweiss. For those of you who don’t know, these are the two major sources for digital advanced reading copies.

I have been auto-approved for nine different publishers, so always have myriad choices for books for review.

When a reader is ‘auto-approved’ that means that they can download any book that that publisher has listed on NetGalley without having to request it first.

 If you are NOT auto-approved, you ‘request’ the title and the publisher may, or may not, approve your request. Also, I have an ongoing and very satisfactory relationship with the publishers at Orenda Books, Bookouture, Amazon Publishing, Bloodhound Books, Severn House, and several more.

So, to start book blogging as a beginner, visit NatGalley and create an account there.

Goodreads

I am a member of Goodreads and though this database is not without its faults, I think it is a fabulous source for readers of all types. 

I review every book I read, and in addition to posting these reviews on my own blog, I also post them to the Goodreads site. 

I am a Goodreads librarian, so that satisfies my need to work with book records LOL. I use Goodreads to organize my TBR (to be read list), to keep track of series that I am following, to keep track of publication dates for my review commitments, and much more. 

On Goodreads I have met many like-minded booklovers, and I belong to several Goodreads groups.

In short, book blogging is not an exact science. There are as many different types of book bloggers as there are different types of books. 

And, most importantly, like most things in life, you reap what you sow. If you give your blog a lot of your time and effort, it should be successful.

If you post only once in a while and don’t share your posts on social media, then you will likely have a less successful blog with fewer followers.

 

 

Tips for a book blogging beginner :

— Share your blog posts on social media. If you find social media intimidating, I have written a post that should be helpful for using Twitter. Remember to use hashtags on both Twitter and Instagram.

— If you join NetGalley and Edelweiss, be wary of your own greed. Those lovely books all look so appealing that it is tempting to download more than you can read and/or review on time. Free books come with responsibilities. I fell into that trap when I first joined and I’m still playing ‘catch-up’. I’ve written a post for NetGalley newbies that might prove helpful.

— Post often and make sure that all of the links you incorporate into your posts are current.

— Always be respectful of the author’s efforts. You don’t have to like their work, but you DO have to be able to express your views without being nasty, derogatory, or mean.

— Read what you enjoy. It stands to reason that you will give your favorite genres more positive reviews. If you feel forced to read something not to your taste, it might be a great book, but you will score it lower only because it is not a genre you like. Human nature is fickle…

— Be honest with authors who offer you books out of your comfort zone. You’ll do yourself and them a favor by being candid and refusing politely.

— Don’t spread yourself too thin. Focus on one or maybe two social media sites rather than trying to engage with them all. Social media is very time-consuming! Remember you want time to read and review.

— Don’t include spoilers in your reviews. People read reviews to find new titles to read. If you’ve ruined the experience with a spoiler, the person will be less likely to read that book.

— Only agree to taking part in blog tours if you are SURE that you can post your review on the specified day. Tours don’t work unless the participants take their commitments seriously.

— Don’t be a slave to your blog. If you let it, it will take-over your life. Plan your posts so that your personal life doesn’t take a back-seat.

— Have fun with it – it should be a labor of love, not a chore.

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Visit Lynne’s excellent blog here.

Here are her other haunts: Twitter. Instagram. Goodreads. Tumblr

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As authors, what sort of interactions have you had with book bloggers? As a reader, do you visit book blogs often? If you’re a book reviewer, would you have comments for Lynne or advice on book blogging for beginners? Whether you’re an author or a book reviewer, feel free to ask questions. I find that we all learn from a discussion and enjoy chatting about our favorite topics: books and reading!

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