This article is the first in an ongoing irregular series of articles on the joys and trials of book blogging. Future topics include a more in depth look at useful technology, the emotional effects of book blogging, and tips for working with authors and publishers.
- 1. Purchase a dedicated website address.
In my own history, I have had two web addresses. The first was hosted by a friend’s hosting agency and it was at otter.covblogs.com. When I first got the site, I was new to blogging, had no idea what I was doing or where I planned to take my blog so it served me just fine. But once my readership began to increase, it became clear that having a dedicated web address would be a good idea, though I still waffled about for some time, something I still regret.
Don’t make my mistake. Transfer was a bear, and some of my posts are still only partially transferred due to compatibility problems and I had to learn an almost entirely new Content Management System (CMS). This was time spent away from the important things, like reading, reviewing, and family – not necessarily in that order of course.
You already know you want to be a book blogger. If you are truly serious about it, the only way you are going to get the traffic you need is if you purchase a dedicated web address. It will cost a bit of cash, but it is an investment in your future. Like any business venture it carries the potential risk of loss, but purchasing a domain name is not excessively expensive and will be worth it in the end.
I recommend using the Wordpress CMS with BlueHost, which is who I use. They are great, responsive to my questions, and don’t assume that I am a computer savvy – but neither do they treat me like an idiot.
- 2. Decide what you plan to review.
If you are planning on writing reviews – which should be your bread and butter –then you need to decide if you are going to focus on a specific genre or subgenre. I chose to be rather broad and I cover just about anything in the science fiction and fantasy category, though I avoid horror and read only select stories of the paranormal subgenre. Some bloggers, like Jeff at Fantasy Book News and Reviews, focus on epic fantasy and the eBook market, or you could be like Tia at Debuts and Reviews – who covers new authors breaking into the market, and whose reviews are primarily coverage of paranormal, romance, and some general fantasy. Aidan at A Dribble of Ink rarely even write reviews, but has found readership by always being on top of the latest goings on in the SF/F field and writing responsive essays to other’s ideas that are cogent and entertaining.
Whatever you decide, be clear on what you do and don’t read in your about page. If you can, set up a dedicated email address where authors and publishers interested in getting reviews can query you. I did not do this when I was starting out and now my personal emails are all jumbled up with my reviewing ones. I’ve gotten this to work for me over time, but I recommend that new book bloggers keep the two separate, as it gives you a differentiation between your second job (and it will be, if you are any good!) and your home life.
- 3. Stats matter, but only to a certain extent.
When first breaking into book blogging, your traffic stats are going to matter. For one, you are going to get excited every time you get a new reader. (I recommend using Google’s Feedburner to help you keep track of your subscribers – it’s free and easy to use.) You need that reminder that this is fun and worth doing. I still get a little thrill every time I see a jump in my readership. Stats are great for motivation, but obsession with them leads into dangerous territory and bad publicity practices.
Be sure to install a tracking plug-in onto your website like Wordpress Stats or Google Analytics. There are lots of options out there, choose the one that tells you want you want to know. Pay attention to your stats; realize where the traffic is coming from. In the early days, be sure to go thank those who link to your posts. (This is good practice always, but as you get bigger, you will find you have less and less time to devote to this, even though you wish you could comment everywhere.)
Go look at what others are doing. Look at the big dogs and see what they are doing right. A word of caution – be sure that you are comparing apples to apples. Comparing a blog with a single author to a group blog like SF Signal (with its thousands of readers) or Fantasy Book Critic (with its thousands) is a waste of time and effort. You might be able to come away with some neat ideas on what you could do at your site, but there is no way a single author blog can compare to the sheer number of posts that those folks produce. Look at the single author or one or two author blogs that are more in your range. Obviously, I myself would be a comparable, and perhaps am some evidence of what four years of consistent blogging can bring you.
Ultimately though, stats are a tool. Too many new bloggers get so wrapped up in their stats they forget that no one but they actually care. Truth is, if you are producing interesting or original content – or at least finding and commenting on same – then people will read your blog for that, not because you have topped a certain number of subscribers. Letting people know with badges and such never hurts, but we are an internet generation now, and readers are becoming sophisticated and selective in their reading choices.
- 4. Publicize, publicize, publicize!
You are new to the book blogging game. The hard truth of that is that no one, absolutely no one, is going to find your blog by accident. It is only through using publicity that you are going to find readers. Make sure you add yourself to various blog aggregators. Sign up for services like Goodreads, Librarything, Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, etc. and integrate your blog posts into those feeds. Comment on other blogs in your field of interest regularly, and go join forums like SFFWorld or Westeros. Make sure your signature has your web address in it – if allowed by the forum. Join just about anything you can that will help automate your promotion, but at the same time be sure to participate in discussion and not just be a fly by night I-am-only-here-for-promotion-member. Read favorite author blogs regularly and add your commentary. Use Search Engine Optimization services on your self-hosted blog to increase your reach in Google and Bing. Whatever it takes, do it, but enjoy the community that such publicity efforts can bring as well. Some of my best internet friends have been made through joining in discussions on blogs and as a result, we link to one another fairly regularly and so only increase our reach.
- 5. Want to get books to review? Start with the authors.
One of the perks of book blogging is getting books for review. Lots of the more established blogs regularly publicize the books they have received in the mail (Rob of Rob’s Blog of Stuff even goes so far as to write reactions to what arrives each week). I am sure you are salivating at the idea of getting books sent to you. But just hold your horses. Though publishers are generous people when it comes to publicity, you need to do a couple of things first to build an identity and a brand.
First, build a small library of reviews. You don’t need a lot, but start with books you have read recently, bought and plan to read, are favorites, or that exist in your home library. Get some reviews out there, spend some time arriving at your style (this is fluid and will always change – but it is a good idea to think about layout etc. so that readers have a sense of consistency) and developing a voice that may be similar to others but is also uniquely your own. If you look at my Year of Reading 2007, every review on there up until September is books that I purchased and reviewed. I had, at this point, been consistently writing reviews for a year and a half. There are some quite successful bloggers who still refuse to take publisher copies, preferring to buy and read books of their choice so as not to bear the burden of obligation toward the publisher. This may be something worth thinking about, especially if you are doing this solely as a hobby and occasional creative outlet.
Once that is done, start small. Don’t contact publishers just yet. Start with authors, and be willing to read some self-published or small press books. No one needs the promotion more and as long as you are honest, the true professionals will treat you just fine and accept your review whether good or bad. I started out by contacting authors and getting them to send me one of their publisher copies of books for review. They usually have a few left over after handing out copies to family and friends and are often happy and excited to send them to you in exchange for review. Up until quite recently, I was still doing this with authors writing in Wizards of the Coast’s Forgotten Realms mythos. It was the only way to get a copy for review without buying it myself -something I also did on more than one occasion because I felt a certain book needed a review and the author was out of contact or I felt that s/he deserved the royalties.
Be sure to follow an author’s contact policy, if they have one. You will also have more success in getting volumes sent to you if you work with so-called “midlist” writers initially. One of the first authors to ever send me a book was Jim C. Hines whose work (so far) only comes out in mass market paperback form (though I think DAW needs to give him a larger format) and so he fits into that category. Taking me at my word that I was a reputable book blogger, he sent me a copy of Goblin Hero which I promptly read and reviewed. Others who took a chance on me in those early days include people like Bruce Cordell, Paul S. Kemp, E. E. Knight, Karen Miller, Brian Ruckley, Tobias Buckell, Carole McDonnell, Nathalie Mallet, John Joseph Adams, Orbit Books and DAW. All of whom I heartily thank for their risk-taking. I hope it paid off.
If you accept author copies, be timely in writing your reviews. An author has sent one of their special copies at their own expense and the very least they deserve is a timely and thoughtful review. You are taking on significant responsibility if you are planning to write reviews and you should always be aware of the burden you bear.
Book blogging is a rewarding hobby/second job. There is nothing I love more than coming home to a recently received book awaiting a review. Publishers and authors have been kind to me throughout the years and I have found myself in a rewarding venture that I won’t quit anytime soon. You too can have that same feeling of accomplishment with hard work, determination, and a dose of imagination.
Related posts:
Fantastic post – I’ll be passing this along to a bunch of people that I know who are working their way into this. I’ve found a lot of the same things over the past couple of years, and while I don’t just do book reviews, I do have a dedicated music one, and much of the same points apply.
RT @johnottinger: NP: 5 General Tips for New Book Bloggers http://www.graspingforthewind.com/2010/0...
Honest and straightforward and well worth the read. Your point about a dedicated addy is well taken – I remember our chat from a while back – and am looking into new templates.
I agree that an overemphasis on traffic stats is bad but can still be very helpful in determining what works and what doesn’t. I use Google Analytics and find that getting keyword information is essential. You can the write posts that are aimed at converting a specific segment of visitors to regular readers. It makes blogging a bit more forced, but if you are looking to aggressively grow your readership that it can be useful.
Last but not least, a shameless repost for those interested in some of the more technical aspects of book blogging and blogging generally.
I’m at the opposite end – an author rather than a reviewer – but many of your tips apply to me as well. And I do review a book every week.
Thanks!
It is also interesting and helpful for people like me. I don’t have an own blog. I’m a contributor.
I think I’m on a good way concerning your advice 5.
Stats is always a point to discuss between Alec – owner of Only The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy – and me, his contributor.
Last weekend we talked again about the importance of keywords.
Beside all the good and helpful words of advice I think it is very important to have fun and enjoy reading, blogging and talking.
Fantastic advice.
Wonderful advice. I especially like the idea of using a different email account for your blog. I didn’t do that and now wish I had.
Good post, John. I agree with you up to a point (though not the first one). I’m not sure having a dedicated web address is at all necessary, though it does help distinguish the reviewer from the start. But, a goodly number of reviewers (that I read) are on Blogger and I don’t think it makes a lick of a difference. Is Pat really hurt by Blogger? In terms of readership, he’s the biggest fish in the SFF blogger pond. Larry Nolan has a blogger address started because OF Blog of the Fallen was supposed to be a group blog, and he’s now going to be one of the editors on a future volume of Best American Fantasy.
Content is king, man, no matter what the address.
I also hate, hate, hate publicizing (Aidan, I think that answers your comment on the Ice and Fire board of why I’m not more widely read), but I do agree with your point. The guy behind The Speculative Scotsman reached out to a bunch of bloggers and did some publicizing and he’s off to a fantastic start. But, back to the “content is king” line, it is more important that what you’re writing is at all good (this could be the other reason, Aidan) and TSS is doing good work.
“Once that is done, start small. Don’t contact publishers just yet. Start with authors, and be willing to read some self-published or small press books.”
I don’t know, man. Self-published? Get thee to a library. I think if you need free books to be able to run your blog, there’s a big problem. But, maybe have at least six months of decent content before going to the publishers.
When I decided to finally contact folks for review copies, I went to the smaller presses first. Never went to an author. I’ve never been comfortable with that.
I think what’s most important here is: “Have Fun”, because if you don’t like what you’re doing, you won’t stick with it.
Sorry – that was a bit ranty and I do agree with the core of what you’re saying here.
Great article! Thanks!
Pat’s hurt by blogger. All the damn time. His template is a disaster. Self hosting A Dribble of Ink (which isn’t hard to do, if you’re willing to take an afternoon to figure it out) is the best thing I ever decided to do when I started blogging.
A .blogspot address will also hinder SEO. It might not inhibit a blogger from becoming a big fish, but if you’re serious about blogging, it lacks the professionalism of a dedicated URL.
[...] So, there you go. John Ottingers tips for better blogging. I only took a sample from each of the entries, so, if you want to more, you can read the full article HERE. [...]
Yeah, okay, but isn’t Pat’s template his own fault? He chose it, and then overloaded it with ads. Drop the ads and it isn’t bad.
There’s also nothing stopping him (or me) from learning how to design a template.
I do still agree that a dedicated URL is better than a blogspot, but I don’t think it’s entirely necessary.
1. Yeah, Pat’s template is mostly his fault, but if he were self-hosted, instead of on Blogger, he’d be much freer to tool around with his template. On top of that, there are already a tonne of fantastic templates that support ads.
2. Agreed. It’s not necessary, but certainly a easy upgrade for a serious blogger.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by johnottinger: NP: 5 General Tips for New Book Bloggers http://bit.ly/dzM6Jm...
Joe – I don’t think you noticed that I mentioned that before I mention going to authors, I said that a reviewer need a library of reviews of their own.
I spent a year and a half writing reviews of books I own, bought, or borrowed before I ever sought out an author copy or books from small presses.
So your suggestion of a library is one I agree with – but I also acknowledge that part of the very FUN we are talking about in reviewing is getting books from publishers for review. Some don’t do this at all, and that’s great, but some do and my advice is simply targeted at those interested in doing so.
Aidan – you and I are on the same page regarding self-hosting. Not self-hosting from the start hurt me and to be honest, since self-hosting my readership has improved dramatically. This may be an effect of the daily media round-ups but I think that is only partially the answer – the other being the move to my self-hosted blog.
Nice article, John!
One comment: Be careful about approaching authors. They are really busy — it’s best to contact a well-known author’s publicists instead. But (and I know you were saying this, but I’m making it more explicit) DEBUT or not-so-well-known authors are likely to be eager to hear from you. They need the publicity.
Kat – very true. In a future post, I am going to explain how to approach busy authors in a way that is respectful and courteous and how not to do it as well.
From my experience debut or not-so-well-known authors like to get in contact.
In several cases I didn’t contact them directly. You can also arouse their interest by leaving comments on their blogs.
I still buy more than 90% of my books on my own. It is not my main aim to get as much reviewer copies as possible. But of course I like to get some especially with personal dedication.
In the end it is up to the author whether he likes to get in contact with you or not.
Thought I’m not specifically a book blogger, much of this applies to me, too. I publish short excerpts, some with commentary. My initial goal was to build a library of classic or historically significant quotes that are excerpted in context and attributed to a specific, personally confirmed source. Most excerpts are about a screen long – enough to give a sense of what’s there, without losing people who wouldn’t voluntarily read Proust or Emerson on their own, and hopefully short enough to avoid running afoul of copyright when the excerpts are not public domain.
It really bothers me when someone quotes literature or history as if it’s a one-liner, orphaned from the source and sometimes even the correct author. I’m curious and I like to research, so the QuoteSnack idea was a natural. I’ve been posting quotes more-or-less every day since about this time last year. For some, QuoteSnack has become a little bit of brain food with which to start their day. I see myself as promoting a deeper literacy via social media et al.
I’d like to take the same format into excerpts from literature reviews, newer books and whole poems, but haven’t been sure how to proceed. I think literature review information would click with my readership, and I know poetry does – when I realized a good chunk of my readers were writers themselves, I added writing prompts. Also, this month I’m starting to contact people who write to ask if they’d be interested in YouTubing themselves gushing about a book that effected them – who better to encourage book lust?
One stumbling block has been who to contact – authors, publicists, someone at a publisher? I don’t know the ropes. I’ve had the feeling I am not packaging myself in ways that fit what they think they need. Besides, what I want to do may be a little different than what they’re used to doing.
BTW, thanks for the advice about using a separate email address. I’ll also look into if my contact form will do category labels. If people need to hit a checkbox for the reason behind contacting me, incoming emails can have some standard text in the subject field, making them easier to find at a glance or with search.
One caveat re: my stance on self-hosting – My day job is web development, so I’m a little biased in terms of looking at my blog, and any blog, as a serious venture worth doing right the first time around. I also understand that not everyone’s tied to the Internet and its traditions as I am. In fact, I’m a bit of a snob.
I’m in agreement with Aidan and John about self-hosting. I did that from the beginning, but what hurt me was upgrades I made along the way — switching commenting systems and web design software, making my pages html and now wishing they were in a CMS, purchasing the .com later.
I couldn’t help that last one because I many months talking the squatter down to a reasonable price, but it cost me a lot of time to transfer and a lot of time off the search engines as I got forwarding straightened out (my host company said they were doing 301s but it was really 302s, eventually had to do it manually). I’m still hurt by having a lot of links to the old address out there because the forwarding takes processing time and the two names cause a bit of confusion, too.
Some of these things could have been avoided if I knew more about what I was doing when I started, and if I had done a bit more research. But some of them were just a natural response to becoming more experienced and motivated (and willing to spend money) as things progressed.
One more piece of advice: Don’t do it for the money. It’s not a money-making thing (though I don’t know about advertisements since I don’t use them). We get referral fees from Amazon that cover costs (upgrades, shipping, hosting, domain purchases, maybe a couple of pizzas), but that’s about it. We do get lots of free books. Do it for the love. Forget about money. If you care about money, you’ll have the wrong focus and people will see that.
Good stuff, John. Looking forward to this series.