Honestly, you really want to know? Well, there isn’t one…my guess and it is a guess would be to perhaps write a good book and maybe not be an arse-hat but now I have your attention…I have the results of a little project I’d like to share but first…
Important Notice..No animals were harmed in this study..but some Bloggers where put in the spotlight…for once!
I’m not a blogger…I have on a few occasions wished I was, when I see an ARC’s being released from a favourite author….Yeah I definitely want to be a blogger then. But I’m a writer and as of eight months ago I didn’t even know what a blogger was. I do now.
In 2014 there were 42 million blogs..I had a little trouble narrowing that down to actual book bloggers and by the third page of my Google search the headings had pretty much all started to disintegrate into varying levels of porn. (Not that that is a bad thing 😉 ) So lets just say there are lots, lots of bloggers and I know from my own genre there are lots of Romance, Erotic Romance, Dark Romance and Romance Romance book bloggers.I asked 10 bloggers with over 150K followers between them a few simple questions…To which they kindly gave me their time to answer…I know more precious time but you’ll find most are like that…more than happy to help.
They do all have one thing in common though, as a new indie author they are vital for visibility and getting to readers…They also don’t owe me a damn thing…Not that I ever thought they did. I never assumed there was someone out there in a position to help authors spread the word so to learn that there was, was a revelation and a bit of a bonus.
I may very well be in the minority here, I am a little new to all things social media but it got me thinking, why do book bloggers Blog? I know why authors seek them out but what do the bloggers get out of the relationship? Money, Fame…Fifteen minutes in the Spotlight… um no… Not any of those things. They do get misunderstood, stressed, spend much time away from their families and which is occasionally topped with a sprinkling of ingratitude. This isn’t a pity party piece but just a peek from the other side.
(With hindsight I wished I had asked them to fill in the names on the questionaire because I would love to know who won the Blog Award and trophy, or who was interviewed for Elle magazine and which author they felt key to helping as part of their collective proudest moments…but hey…hindsight not one of my superpowers.)
Did you know that some bloggers receive over 20 review requests each week. On top over over 100+ requests to pimp a sale, reveal a cover, highlight a release all the while striking a balance with the content of their page so it is not one long advert. Just do the math…an average book may take a speedy reader and I am assuming these bloggers are speedy readers, maybe 2 days to read one book, thats 3 maybe 4 books a week. So best will in the world they are not going to be able to read ALL the requests…ever!
So time spent ranged from twenty to over a hundred hours, reading and blogging per week. Why would anyone dedicate that much time?
“I love finding new authors, talking about books with like minded people.
Discussing the book you’ve read .
And this is a bit naughty but I do like reading ARCs before any one else !”
“Being able to discover new talent and share it as well as becoming friends with established authors and follow them on their continue writing journey/careers.”
“It makes me happy to help spread the word about books I love; hence why I started hosting my own author events, bringing my favorite authors to readers.”
Oh and there’s the free stuff right? Yeah…that would be a no.
“I don’t blog for the Freebies ! I actually spend a lot of my own money on prizes and postage for the blog.”
“International giveaways are extortionate postal prices. Yet I and many bloggers incur the costs.
It’s not a profession, it’s a hobby. There’s too many demands at times and a lot of bloggers give up because of this.”
“That a day has only 24hrs. I often need a 36hr day or wish I could get paid reading books. My tbr is overflowing and I hate that I’ve too little time for everything I want to do/achieve.”
But as hobby’s go, most agree this one is right up there for personal rewards,
“Reading amazing books and then the interaction from readers when I talk about those books. I love fangirling and discussing books with my fellow readers. I have made so many close friends this way. And then of course the authors! I have so much love and respect for them all.”
“My reading world led me to my blogging world. I became friends with a lot of people in the industry. This journey was a pathway to becoming an author. I’ll never be rich but I achieved my goal.”
“Authors need bloggers and Bloggers need authors
I love blogging and could never see me not doing it.”
I personally have made friends with a few bloggers…(or friends as I like to call them)…its kind of inevitable as a new author but no one reads the same book so whether they ‘like’ me or not doesn’t mean they will like my books and as an author I’m glad because integrity, trust and honesty are paramount in a virtual world. Whether the blogger has five followers or fifty thousand they are still, at heart just people who love to read…simple. It’s not a race, or a competition… It’s a journey lets enjoy the ride.
This book world can be everything we want it to be supportive, collaborative, inclusive…It’s easy you just have to realise you’re not alone.
“ There are so many blogs who can all have a collective influence on helping to get authors noticed. I don’t think you can really say it’s just one blog.”
I would like to thank Totally Booked, Wicked Book Blog, Our Kindle Konfessions, Bloggers from Down Under, Holly’s Hot Reads, Kelsey’s Korner, Shameless Book Club, Redhot Romance, Schmexy Girl Book Blog, Missey’s Book Blog, Lost Between the Pages, Fictional Room, Hook Me Up Book Blog