There has been a lot of talk since BEA about the role of bloggers in the publicity machine for publishers both large and small. Jennifer Nix has a very good entry on the subject and the amount of comments she has gotten are mind boggling - it's certainly worth taking a look at. (link via the wonderful Gwenda.)

I think Mark Sarvas really has some important things to say about it, particularly about bloggers being picky about what they receive. I don't get a lot of spam email from PR reps, but I do get a boatload of unrequested books. Every now and again I find a real gem this way - The Looking Glass Wars came unrequested, before I even had a chance to respond to the fall catalog. More on it's awesomeness later. I also have a glowing review of Cathi Unsworth's The Not Knowing in the next issue of Bookslut - this was sent to me by Serpent's Tail. I have no interest in being rude to PR people or demanding that they be more careful about what they send me because honestly I don't always pick the books that I end up loving. (With this many catalogs you're bound to miss something.) A couple of times a year I load up the books I don't want (and I don't want to send to my brother or mother or miscellaneous 8-12 year old girls in the family) and donate them. The PR folks know they gave it a shot and I review enough to keep them trying and the books all go to happy homes. It's the circle of life - sort of. (And now I can't get Elton John out of my head!)

The bottom line is that PR folks are trying to get bloggers and reviewers to read books and after reading Jennifer's entry I have to tell you - I am way more careful about what I'm going to review then the folks at USA Today and WA Po and Atlantic seem to be. I really look at these books - I think about them - and I read a lot of them. And then I try and write long thoughtful reviews for Bookslut, Eclectica or the Voices of NOLA. Maybe it's because I'm also a writer that I think you need to give the PR folks a lot of respect, or maybe it's just because I'm grateful they give me so much respect. They value my opinion enough to send me these books to consider in the first place. It seems like I could give them a few minutes of my time everyday before I decide what I don't want to read.

And maybe part of what makes me different is that I'm in this for the connections and the writing. I started reviewing for Bookslut because I wanted to write under a deadline and also get edited - I wanted to improve. More importantly though, I wanted to meet people in the business and get some answers to questions about my own book and that's all worked out perfectly, but not without me reviewing my butt off. Finally, I always take the time to contact authors and illustrators who I review and because of that I've formed a lot of relationships with people I never would have met otherwise. I have reviewed multiple books from some authors because they had PR folks send the books directly to me - they want my opinion. I think that's pretty cool for a person who loves books as much as I do and now that I get to review for Booklist and actually help public librarians find great books, well that's the icing on my cake. (Because I would not be here without the Eau Gallie Public Library in Melbourne, Florida.)

You send it, I'll consider it. That's how we do business here at Chasing Ray and so far, it's worked out pretty damn good for everyone.