Tag: reading

8 Ways to Convince Book Bloggers To Review Your Book #wrtr2wrtr

Yes, yes, and yes! Be sure to familiarize yourself with that blogger’s review policy before submitting your request and FOLLOW their instructions. And yes, I do review books : )

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“Book bloggers actually do want to review your book! But we don’t have a lot of time so when you forget to include vital information or don’t follow the submission instructions, your requests end up in the trash bin.”

J.A. Stinger's avatarWords Can Inspire the World

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Book bloggers actually do want to review your book! But we don’t have a lot of time so when you forget to include vital information or don’t follow the submission instructions, your requests end up in the trash bin. Here are 8 ways to convince me—and other book bloggers—to review your book:

There’s no reason to pile on and make your request email an epic read – that’s your novel’s job. When approaching reviewers keep your request on point. Give each blogger exactly what they ask for – no more, no less. Remember, we get lots of emails and the easier you make it for us, the greater your chance of acceptance. Here’s what should always be included.

1. Reviewer’s name: Guess what? You may have to read through the blog a bit to find it. Check contact information. Read all the way to the bottom of submission guidelines…

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No, the Internet Has Not Killed the Printed Book

No, Technology Has Not Killed the Printed Book.
Books line the walls on at Common Grounds, in DeKalb, Ill., in August. KATIE SMITH / DAILY CHRONICLE, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

“Even with Facebook, Netflix and other digital distractions increasingly vying for time, Americans’ appetite for reading books — the ones you actually hold in your hands — has not slowed in recent years, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.

Sixty-five percent of adults in the United States said they had read a printed book in the past year, the same percentage that said so in 2012. When you add in ebooks and audiobooks, the number that said they had read a book in printed or electronic format in the past 12 months rose to 73 percent, compared with 74 percent in 2012.”

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EC Quote Friday

ECQuoteFri

I don’t usually include any talking points with my EC Quotes, but I had to on this one because one  of the most valuable skills that I’ve gained as a Book Reviewer within the past year is the studying of books. Not only do I simply read them, but now I am also in the habit of taking notes even if I am not reviewing. Currently, I am knee deep into Colson Whitehead’s  Underground Railroad and Toni Morrison’s A Mercy.

Note-taking is a valuable skill and by doing so as you read your favorites, it maximizes your learning, your reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. You get to pull out key points, highlight, underline and look up the definitions of new words, jot down the names of people and places you didn’t know before, meditate on the format and language of the writer and how it is being used, and overall retain and analyze the information. Additionally, not just understanding of the story, but also of how the story is written. The most profound revelation to me of learning to write books, is that reading them is one of the first lessons, stepping stones if you will, we get in how to actually write them.

When Did You Fall in Love with Writing?

love-note

No. Not when you started writing, but when you fell in love with it. I’ll go first.

Freshman year, High School, Survey Literature. Mr. Clark didn’t know it, but his vocabulary list had me open. He thought I’d look up definitions. He was wrong. I devoured them. I tried using every new word in a sentence and like most people in love for the first time, I sounded like an idiot.

I became obsessed with their meanings, their pronunciations, how they looked on the page and, most importantly, how they made me feel.  Seduced by the euphoria of getting words off my chest, letting the emotions ooze from my heart and out of my flesh; stitching my soul into the page one heartbeat at a time, and riding the wave of stillness while traveling through books. I fantasized about how words would pair; how they would rhyme, mix and match. The smells of metaphor, and the taste of simile calling out to me from the words of healing written in a language I didn’t quite understand and yet, knew it was a necessary part of my sanity. For if I could not depend on writing to be my stepping stone to mental clarity, then I was truly lost. Forgotten in a world without meaning. No explanation for the question mark of our existence. No saving grace. No salvation to play just the right scripture to guide us back to the music sheet. Writing. It was my music sheet and goodness, how I loved him.

What about you? Are you in love with writing? When did you fall for it?

Not in love yet? Here’s a post about how to get there! 6 Ways to Fall in Love with Writing

Why Your Book Isn’t Selling

Excellent points. I loved all of them. I always enjoy Kristen’s posts because they’re so real: Straight, no chaser: “Thing is, we don’t care about you or your book. We didn’t want to see that crap in our feed, we sure aren’t going to subscribe to a blog/newsletter that is nothing but self-promotion.”

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Author Kristen Lamb's avatarKristen Lamb's Blog

Screen Shot 2016-08-22 at 10.22.38 AM Original image courtesy of Juhan Sonin via Flickr Creative commons.

The writer’s worst nightmare. You researched, you wrote, you finished, and then published your book. You wait for the sales and……….*crickets*. This is something that can happen to any kind of author, traditional or nontraditional. We think we have a hit on our hands only to later be checking it for a pulse.

What happened? Why is the book just not selling?

The Market

Remaindered Titles Remaindered Titles

In the not so distant past, there was only one way to get published and that was traditional publishing. Though many authors cheered when they were finally able to cast off the chains of New York, let’s at least respect that agents and editors might have known a thing or three about the book business.

Writers would often get vexed at the stack of rejection letters, believing they couldn’t actually write well. This was…

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Free Book Reviews – New Policy Withdrawn

Quick update on my recent Book Review Policy:

Due to further thought, study, and research, I am withdrawing my readers fee from my reviews at this time. Though my reviews have ALWAYS been free, I recently implemented a readers fee to help dedicate time to the flow. However:

Due to Amazon’s strict policies, paid reviews can cause red flags for Authors and as a result, cause them to be banned from their Amazon accounts. Though methods are not clear, Amazon utilizes varies tactics to get this done. Making up the bulk of an Indie Authors sales (up to 80%) I do not want to increase, in any way, an authors chances of being banned.

I must reiterate that my reviews have always been free, however I don’t want any confusion, or take any chances, over the fee. I am humble enough to accept it was a bad move.

My main website will reflect these chances as soon as I am no longer mobile.

In the meantime, if you’re interested in me reviewing your book (Its Free) please Complete This Form or learn more about my process at the Book Reviews page above.