Sunday, February 8, 2015

"Book Tours, Authors, and Publishers" Ranting and Raving


Today I am going to rant and rave about "Book Tours" and also review requests from authors and publishers. 

When I started my blog "Ann's Reading Corner"  I started it because I love to read, it is my favorite pastime and I find it very entertaining. I decided to keep track of the books I read and add a few thoughts about what I thought of the books I was reading. Not realizing others might read my thoughts... I really didn't realize how many book bloggers were out there in the blogospere, until I started to get comments from other book bloggers. Well that was fun for a while until the authors and publishers got in touch with me and asked me to read and review their books. That was fun for a while, I loved receiving free books. 

Then along came the bloggers who help authors and publishers by sponsoring "Book Tours" of their books. That was fine until recently, I'm beginning to feel like my fun and entertainment of reading has become "work" instead of fun. Just this week I received a note from one of the sponsors of a book tour well let me show myself what came in my e-mail.

What do we expect from your review:

We expect your honest opinion. Please try to write at least two paragraphs. (About 150 words) ​ Authors and publishers appreciate more than just a few lines.

Here are some handy tips to keep in mind when reviewing a book:
  • Write your honest thoughts about the book. Did it capture and hold your attention? Did you enjoy the story? What did you like about it? Was there anything you didn't like and why? What about the setting, characters and plot? If you are reviewing a children's book, make sure to comment on the illustrations. The answers to these types of questions will be more helpful and interesting for your audience than simply writing a book report that just summarizes what the book is about.
  • Be careful not to provide "spoilers" when reviewing fiction. Please don't ruin the story for others by telling key details that unfold or reveal how the book ends. This is especially true when you review suspense and mystery novels.
  • If you write a long review, please be sure to use paragraph breaks so that the review is easier to read.
  • Remember that a review is about the book and its content. You may agree or disagree with what the books says or how it is written, but being personally critical of the author doesn't offer your audience much value.

Special Request from Author:

Since this book revolves around the.... 

I'm sorry but that got to me and made me think, why did I start a reading blog? For fun and keeping track of the books I read...And another thing about reviews I don't enjoy reading long-winded reviews, if they are long reviews I usually don't read them.

Really, I just read for fun and my own personal entertainment. So as far as I'm concerned after I finish up with the 3 or 4 books I have accepted to read and review that ends my accepting books for review. (Except from my favorite authors.) I am going back to what I started this blog for, to keep track of the books I read with a few thoughts about what I thought about them, what I liked or disliked about them. It is my life and I have decided to enjoy it "MY WAY!" 

I'M FREE, I'M GOING BACK TO READING WHAT I WANT TO READ, AND ENJOYING MY READING "JUST FOR FUN" AGAIN!....That ends my ranting and raving.

4 comments:

  1. Gigi Ann, thank you for sharing your thoughts about this. Reading should be for pleasure, not feel like "work". I hope your reading becomes more enjoyable for you again soon.

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  2. Good for you! Yes reading should be a pleasure not a chore & writing about them too.

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  3. Good for you Gigi! They got pretty demanding didn't they? I would imagine that would suck all the fun out of reading. Happy reading for you from now on! Enjoy!

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  4. Oh, yes, I totally agree! When the author or publicist specifies how they want the review done, that gets my ire up, too, and I would not accept anything further from them.

    I won't mention who, but one author sent me an e-mail defending her book after I wrote a couple of sentences at the end of the review that she considered "criticism," I guess. I simply said I had some issues with a part of the story, but enjoyed it anyway...she should have been happy with that. Right?

    Thanks for sharing.

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