I'm really enjoying our ASH convo; my review is scheduled for 9/22 & I think I need to revise it here aand there.

Do I need ARCs for my blog? No, she said slowly and hesitantly. I'd still blog without them, no doubt; but do I like that I have access to a ton of titles that otherwise I wouldn't have access to? That my blog isn't dependent on my pocketbook or the selector of my local library (or, even, the jobber they've paid to select ya books for them)? Yes, yes, yes.

On the one hand, frustrating to know how much work I put into reviewing, and revising, and rereading, and crafting even the plot synopsis because publisher ones aren't always that great or represent the book I read or tell too little/much; and then to see, huh, doofus why bother? Others don't.

On the other, I know from things ranging from stats to emails to comments to conversations with people etc that readers like what I do. And I always feel that while I blog because I want to, I write thinking, "what would a reader want?" and so far, my reviews are what they want.

You're so right. Sometimes it's even difficult to write a less-than-stellar review of a book, but I always end up saying what I really felt about it, even if everyone else seems to think the book is fantastic.
I haven't come across any terrible books since I've been blogging (I have read a couple mediocre ones.), but I think if I did, I'd say I thought it was terrible or not bother reviewing it at all.

Thanks for this post, this is definitely something that's been on my mind lately.

Interesting question and discussion as always. I can't help thinking about the differing amounts of time I put into reviews, depending on the time I have available to me, but I always try to be thoughtful and provide something beyond a plot summary. Generally, if a publisher has provided an ARC--especially if I requested that ARC, since I do so fairly infrequently--I try to put due time and effort into the post. Because I love the books, etc. etc., of course, but also because I feel that a great, well-crafted post is a proactive way to spread enthusiasm about a book I either enjoyed, and/or felt others would enjoy.

I don't know what publishers want, if anything, that's different from one blogger to the next. I'll be interested to see where this discussion goes.

When I see a cut and copy job and then a huge thanks to the publisher for sending the book,with a huge giveaway it does break my heart a little. It just seems like a huge waste of money. But then again, maybe it's not. Which is the crux of your question.

I personally don't enjoy reading blogs that are cut and copy jobs with only a couple sentences of personal thought. It gets worse when they've pasted the entire press release w/ author bio too. It's fairly easy to spot the blogs that put time and effort into their reviews and others who quickly throw something up. That's not to say that every once in a while, I borrow the publisher synopsis. And when I say once in a while, I mean maybe half a dozen times from a few hundred reviews.

Personally, I think publishers are looking for publicity. Let's face it, publishing is a business. Many bloggers are willing to give publicity to them. But it's the bloggers that provide critical reviews that create a win-win situation. Exposure for the book and substantial discussion (whether good or bad) about it.

Why do I spend more than five minutes on a post? The answer is simple: personal pride.

Interesting stuff, Colleen. Clearly a lot of people are thinking about this right now (the rise of these 30-stop blog tours is probably a factor in that). Personally, I think about no longer accepting review copies ALL the time (because of the, admittedly mostly self-imposed, stress from having all of these books coming in all the time). But what keeps me accepting them is pretty much what Liz outlined above - I end up able to read and review from a wider ranger of titles, and it helps a lot to own a copy of the book, rather than trying to do things according to library check-out schedules. But I still feel sad when I see books on my shelves, books that I've accepted or requested, that I have trouble getting to.

The thing I have to remind myself is that I'm not writing my reviews for the publishers or the authors (much as I might love many of them as individuals). I'm writing reviews for other readers. I'm reviewing kids' books to bring them to people's attention, so that parents and teachers and librarians and kids and random adult fans of kids' books can find out about interesting titles. That's all.

Yesterday I had a mother comment on review of FOUND by Margaret Peterson Haddix, which was, although I loved the Among the Hidden series, a bit of a mixed review. She said that my review helped her son, because it helped explain why he was getting frustrated by the book. A little while back, a friend who reads my blog told me how much his daughter loves A Visitor for Bear, which they bought after I raved about it. Messages like that are why I'm still here writing reviews, even when the baggage sometimes seems overwhelming.

Whew! Guess I had some things to say about this. Thanks, Colleen!

No, Colleen, you're not the only one who thinks those kooky goings-on insane. I don't think I've ever seen a book that interests me at a cut & paste blog, but I can't tell you how many books I've put on the library hold list or even gone to buy because of a blog review or other mention with some kind of context provided. (I do love a good list and have found many books that way!)

I guess I hit a chord here - I leave for my son's swim lesson and you guys all stopped by!

I almost felt like I was treading into a silent area with this one - that we're all supposed to be so bloody grateful that we don't complain about anything - ever. So I'm glad we can at least talk about what we do and why and how we think about it. And yes Natasha - it is personal pride and it is also the responses that we get from our readers. It's just damn frustrating that others skate by. I worry that diminishes all of us.

Aside from the frustration, it's also the bigger issue that if publishers only want "hype" (mention the book, cut and paste the info the publishers send), what does this say about the future of book blogs?

Do people blog to talk about books? Or to promote titles and win free books? Because what conversation is taking place when blog after blog says the same thing, and the comments are all "thanks, sounds great! sounds interesting!". I cannot think of anything more boring or shallow because it isn't conversation.

Some people who cut & paste may follow it with interesting things; but honestly? I don't have the time to read/skim that paragraph to get to the "good" stuff. I hear about a blog other people talk about it, follow or subscribe to the RSS, and then see the same thing in my bloglines account over and over and over coming from different blogs.

The idea of the conversation disappearing because its just cutting & pasting the publishers copy is a bit scary.

I started blogging about books when I moved from the public to academic library world. I missed my fiction reading! I had reviewed in the past for VOYA, and I knew I wanted to write real reviews, but I love the fact that I can be informal and chatty as well. I am afraid I might be a bit of book blog snob. I mostly write reviews--I write my own summaries, my own critique, I often include readalikes and connections for teachers. I write for myself first and part of me is still a librarian, still thinking about whether someone should spend their money on this. It isn't about loving or hating the book, it is about good points and bad points and who the audience might be.

I HATE massive giveaways that have like 46 different things to do to win "extra entries." I have entered a few but if I want to follow you I will, and if I don't, I won't. I much prefer the calmer contests...

Sometimes I put up just the book info because I know I will never reasonably have time to read the book and I feel guilty. It's definitely the blog tours that bring this on.

But I also write shortish reviews that are not very critical but they still take me forever to write because I'm just not that good at "reviewing" but I do enjoy sharing about what I've read.

I'm one of the bloggers who copies and pastes summaires sometimes, because I'm afraid my summaries will be inadequate. I want my readers to read how the authors/publsihers describe the book, but I ALWAYS put thought, time and effort into my reviews.

Miss A - I wasn't thinking of you at all on this one. Every review of yours that I've read has been very personal and thoughtful. You should never worry about your summaries being inadequate though - we want your opinion and that is why we visit your blog.

And yes Liz - it's the future I'm thinking about. Beyond the community aspect (which exists in all facets of the blogosphere) one wonders if lit blogs will make the leap from something fun folks do to actual significant source of books news and literary criticism (on whatever level). It all comes back to professionalism. It's not that everyone has to write at the same level but whether or the lit blogosphere as a whole will be judged by the industry based on the blogs exerting the least effort to be professional.

Do publishers want to just shovel books our collective way in return for hype? Maybe so - and if that is the relationship we end up reduced to then we will only have ourselves to blame.

I've seen the argument made that cut and paste summaries are better because the publisher will be grateful that the synopsis is accurate. But my aim in talking about books is not to make the publisher happy, it's to help the book find its readers, and to help readers find the book (or avoid it like the plauge...). And ideally every blogger brings out different grace notes in their summaries, highlighting different aspects of the book that help the reader learn if this is a book for them.

Sometimes writting a five sentence plot summary takes me ages and ages, sometimes it's easy. But, since I tend not to think much when I read, the process of summarizing is what lets me figure out what I liked or didn't like about hte book.

Charlotte--But that isn't always true--the summaries from the publisher aren't meant to be accurate, they are meant to sell books. A recent book I reviewed, Breathless, has a summary that makes it sound much lighter than the book really is...I suppose the thinking is, a melancholy sounding summary sells less books...

Gosh, I guess it's so clear in my mind that I don't like the re-use of publishers' summaries that I forgot to make that clear! For the record, I think the argument I mention is a terrible reason to use the publisher's summary.

Great post and so true. I don't understand why publishers send ARC's to bloggers who don't review them. I'll see the books in an In My Mailbox or Waiting on Wednesday feature and thats it. I check back in a few weeks later, I'll see a few blog tours interviews but still no reviews. Yet they have more ARCs. I really don't get that.

I mainly get books from work and the library. Though I also get a few ARC's. If I request something I make an effort to move it to the top of my queue. However I only review the ARC's I really enjoy. I feel no pressure to review them all - 1) its my blog, 2) I don't mention what I get, so no one is waiting on a review 3) its my blog

I don't want more ARC's I have enough books to read. That's another thing if you don't have time to review an ARC, don't request it. We are not squirrels. It would be nice if nice to see ARC's going to bloggers who actually read and reviewed them. As opposed to bloggers screaming look what I got, look what I got. Some bloggers don't understand that even through ARC's are free there is still a cost and a responsibilty.
Publishers are only encouraging this behavior.

"we are not squirrels"! Yes! Sometimes I think it is just a competition and as I have such a huge problem controlling the flow of ARCs to my door (I've written about this before), I just don't get that mentality. It's especially odd to me when it's one book sent to masses and masses of places (Hello "Fire") but other smaller books don't appear anywhere. I thought the point was to try and get coverage for all of your authors - not just the same few over and over and over.

And yes, publishers do encourage the behavior. What I wonder is if they care - or if this endless vapid hype is all they want.

Colleen, I hate to say it but I think what they want is the latter: endless vapid hype.

I love it when you write about the blogosphere, Colleen. I admit that I sometimes feel jealous of those blogs that get sooo many visitors even though they don't exert much effort for their reviews. I need to be reminded of why I started blogging in the first place and of why I continued blogging even though absolutely no one was reading my blog. It was about the books and about the experience of reading them and writing about them. Wow, just thinking of it brings a smile to my face! :)

As a reader, I just wanted to respond here to say how much I personally appreciate the thoughtful reviews (as opposed to the "vapid hype" reviews). I have discovered so many wonderful books in the past few years thanks to the reviews that actually delve into the details and provide the blogger's nuanced reaction.

As a writer, I LOVE getting detailed, thoughtful reviews of my book that actually say why the blogger liked it (or didn't like it). The reviews aren't for me; they're for potential readers, and empty praise isn't going to help those readers decide if my book is their cup of tea. I would much prefer review copies of my own books go to bloggers who are going to post honest, complete reviews.

So thank you, all of you thoughtful book bloggers! For what it's worth, I am very very glad you are out there and I hope you will continue posting your excellent reviews!

Doret--I love your squirrel comment. I am tempted to put it in my note to publishers: "I am not a squirrel," but I don't think they would appreciate the point.

And where, speaking of "the publishers" are they? Do they ever come to blogs and take part in our conversations, or do "they" just read over our shoulders as we type?

Yeah - I've wondered the same thing Charlotte. I've read some agent blogs (including the recent BBAW winner) and they seem to say the most inane thing - "support prepublished writers!" "work with your editors!" "the industry is struggling right now!"

Yeah. Whatever.

The constant turnover in the PR/Marketing departments doesn't help. It's like we are constantly seeing the same messes over and over again. Very little time and effort seems to be put into smartly marketing most books - and certainly into inspecting the lit blogs to see what work best for them.

I'm not sure that publishers even know what they want. Or what the bigger picture is in terms of blogs, sales, people learning about books. Add to that the turnover at publishers, the current state of the market, etc., I doubt that publishers have a "bigger picture" when it comes to blogs. Sometimes it looks like they are doing "let's throw it at the wall and see what sticks."

Oh great - that works so well for spaghetti, why not try books?

SIGH.

I always feel like I'm in a bit of a weird place because I'm a bookseller who writes a blog. I get piles and piles and piles of galleys and finished copies, and I feel the need to read them all because I need to decide what to sell. Obviously I can't read them all, but at least once a month I am overcome by self-imposed pressure. I am the entire kids' department at my store. I buy every single book. It's...a lot.

I hate lots of books that I read, but I never write wholly negative reviews. There are a couple of reasons for that, but honestly, the strongest is that I don't want to anger the very publicists who are responsible for deciding which stores receive author visits on book tours. I do write mixed reviews, but usually I only post publicly if I enjoyed the book.

I'm pretty blunt privately, though - I try to always email the publicist or sales rep who sent me the book and give them my honest opinion. I write my own summaries, too. And I think my style is far more casual than many of yours, but I'm sort of writing them in my head as potential book talks. That ends up crowding out a lot of actual "lit crit."

All of that random ramble aside, the cut and pasted summary + two sentences blogs make me crazy. Seriously, who's reading them besides people who want free books? Are they getting thoughtful comments? Are they part of the community, or are they just publisher tools? I have turned down the (few) giveaways I've been offered, and I have refused the galleys whose offers came with strings attached (Sourcebooks, I'm looking at you). I can't refuse books, because I have absolutely no idea what might be good to sell until I get a decent look at it, but I refuse to be prisoner to the publisher's expectations either.

I also feel compelled to admit that some of these bloggers (many of them really can't be called reviewers, can they?) seem to have a far easier time getting galleys from some publishers than I do, and I run a kids' department in an actual bookstore and therefore can prove that I do actually influence actual sales. So why (HarperCollins) am I having such a hard time getting any books sent to me? I can guarantee I'm not turning around and putting my free books on eBay or trading them in at used bookstores like quite a few people seem to be.

(Huh. I appear to be harboring some anger about this issue.)

Oh Melissa - I feel your Harper Collins pain. Weirdest thing in the world though, I just got a finished copy of Neil Gaiman's newest about the Norse myths (can't think of the title right now). Of all the books for HC to send out enmasse (I didn't request it or even know it was coming out) they choose Gaiman? Like he's going have difficulty getting press or making sales. Crazy.

I am thinking more and more and more that most publishers don't know what is going on. Random House sends me multiple copies of the same book, arriving the same day, in separate packages all the time. I have no idea why and can't seem to stop it. They don't seem to care about they money they are wasting with ARCs at all and I guess that carries over to bloggers (and you're right - we are not talking about reviewers) who do a lame ass job.

Again, I really feel for the authors.

(Just a quick defense of Sourcebooks--I've totally ignored the strings attached on ocassion and still gotten review copies).

It's all a bit frustrating, though, to be sent unasked books that don't fit ones blog, and then to see everyone else getting Fire, for instance, and not getting a copy oneself.

Why were there so many ARC's of Catching Fire and Fire, its not like either book needed the press. I remember a co-worker asked if we would get either ARC at the bookstore, I was like NO WAY. But what do you know Catching Fire came into the bookstore. I was exicited and happy yet slightly confused.

You would think the bigger the book the less ARC's there would be - A la Harry Potter - Since the books don't really need it. Plus there is greater chance these copies will be sold on Ebay. Though maybe its because these books are bestsellers publishers can afford to make more ARC's available. They would be better investing some of that money into other not so well known titles.

With Catching Fire and the new Gaiman, I assume that the great number of ARCS has to do with how much the authors were paid, and thus, the company needs to make the most money there. And so all the effort goes into promoting the whiz out of the books. I could be wrong, but my guess that the business standpoint rules.

I'm rather new to "kidlit" via blogs, so my experience is rather about the ARCs in general. I personally *strongly* dislike the publisher blurbs. It is marketing, pure and simple. And the blog tours are way overdone. But (and I say this as someone who doesn't receive ARCs and never has) I think that *is* what publishers would love to see. Publishers give away books in the hope of lots of publicity.

I personally don't enter giveaways unless a review has convinced me it's worth reading. If it's just a publisher's blurb, I can promise you that hasn't happened.

Anyway, I found your blog via BBAW and other blogs this week. So keep up the great writing, and know that we appreciate it much more than the thoughtless "reviews." I don't read those ones.

A couple of weeks ago, I was sharing an email I'd gotten from a publicist (at HarperCollins, I believe) with some classmates before my School Library Media class. One of the women in my class used to work at an economic books publisher and was part of their publicity machine that sent ARCs out.

I told her I felt guilty because sometimes it took me a year or more to get to an ARC (sorry, Candlewick!) and she told me not to feel bad. She said that the hope when you send out ARCs (and I suspect this especially applies when you send them out scattershot) is that even if the blogger doesn't review them, they'll offer them to someone else. Or they'll mention how bad they felt about not reviewing it, and the person they mention it to will want to take it. And so on...

From this, it sounds to me like the publishers just want the books in people's hands in whatever way it happens. So I would assume that vapid hype or critical analysis looks the same to them - both good exposure. But one, of course, puffs up their balloon a bit more than the other.

I actually have a degree in publishing, so I wanted to give a perspective from the publisher's side, which has been missing from this great discussion. For a publisher, any mention of a book is good publicity, whether it is a cut and paste, two sentences and a give-away, or it is a well-thought-out review. They want the title out there. That said, they need to hit both types of book blogs. Some people will just read the summary, see someone liked it, go for the giveaway, and then go buy the book. It is a reminder that it is coming (or just came) out and it works!


They also know that there is a huge book lovers community online that is based around blogs like this. They know these types of reviews can make someone go pick up a book they never would have looked at twice. They know that, while it seems there are so many blogs, it is still a small community. They know they need to target them, however, because the people who write and read these blogs are the people who go to their friends and family and say "you have to read this book" and that is the publicity that every publisher wants. That sells them more books than anything else.


Both ways of doing reviews sell books. Publishers need to be creative in finding ways to sell, so they need to hit as many aspects as possible.


Also, a comment on people complaining about getting several copies of the same ARCs. They can be VERY expensive if a publisher does not print a lot...like from $10-$15 an ARC. The more they print, the less it costs per ARC. They would rather print 5,000 at $5 a piece than say 500 at $10 a piece (these numbers aren't exact, just an example). Once they have them, they want to get rid of them. If you have ever been in a publishing house, you have seen the shelves full of ARCS and galleys all over the place. Some even have rooms full of books for employees to take. They want to give as many as possible to bloggers, critics, newspapers, and other places that can give them publicity. If you get multiple copies, what do you do? Give them to your friends that you think would like them or give them to another blogger? If so, that just helped the publisher too.


I know it is frustrating to see people who don't put as much time into their reviews getting attention (I spend a lot of time writing my reviews also), but realize that publishers need to use every angle they can. The industry is not doing well, and anything that can helped needs to be tried.

I actually went and looked up ARC prices, if you get a few hundred, they are $10 + (depending on length), if you get 1500-3000 they are $7-8, if you do 5000+ they tend to cost $4-$6 as of two years ago when I took the classes on them.

Thanks for stopping by Caitie - and offering the unique perspective. I complain about ARCs simply because I have tried to stop them from some publishers and have not been able to. This is frustrating for me personally as the unwanted ARCs then become something I have to deal with and when you are dealing with kind of numbers I am, then it gets quite frustrating. I certainly understand the cost analysis you did here - and appreciate it because that kind of thing does interest me - but I wish that publishers would listen when someone says "Just remove me from your mailing list." It's not rocket science to delete a name and yet....well, I guess it is. I also get frustrated when I receive three or four or five copies of the same book, all mailed separately. It's just a waste of resources on every level and I have to wonder what the condition is of these databases that would keep churning the books out this way without anyone (even the computer) catching it.

This all my inner economics nerd venting however, and I know I just need to suck it up. I donate books to Children's Hospital in Seattle and to Susan's efforts at Color Online. The books go to kids who will love them so in the long run it's not really wasteful....but I like to whine about it anyway. :)

To the larger issue of reviews vs giveaways or lit crit vs marketing copy, I can understand how any coverage is good to some degree or another. This post was born from the frustration of seeing very lazy bloggers be amply rewarded by publishers. It's something I wrestle with personally a lot - because it bugs me to see people rewarded and recognized for little or no effort. What I have to find is my own personal reward however, and not look to anyone else for it. Publishers are not here to say I do a really good job - they just want to get coverage and I understand that. Sometimes though, a girl just needs to vent.

Oh, I understand your side completely! I have felt the same way with the system, there are a lot of problems with mailing lists and everything. The problem is that interns are the people managing these lists and that is it. It is ridiculous!

That is awesome that you send them to charities! Thanks for the insightful blog!

Quality matters. It absolutely matters. Hold onto that with everything you've got.

My guess is that some publishers don't care much about the quality of a book review on a blog -- they are looking for impressions, anything to help separate the book from the clutter. A blogger shows the cover, talks about the book, and they're pretty happy.

So I think it's important to not worry about what "they" want. Or, for that matter, to be unhappy with publishers for wanting what they do want, which is only to sell books.

The relationship is this: You review books and they want to sell them. Just because they send you an ARC doesn't entitle them to a review. You aren't their tool. But that doesn't mean you can't have a positive, mutually-beneficial relationship.

In terms of quality writing, I think we all have to believe in our readers -- that quality will be recognized and rewarded. Otherwise, how can anyone start a manuscript or launch a blog? Keep doing a great job, if only because you'd be miserable doing anything less.

As an author, I know I'm grateful whenever anyone reads my book and feels it's worth discussing. I've read reviews that were profound, well-written, thoughtful; I've read some that are pedestrian and rushed. And frankly, I kind of resent the lame reviews, when the reviewer clearly didn't give the review much thought. I've come across some review blogs that amount to only, "Look at how many books I've read!" I generally don't go back to those blogs.

Quality matters. You have to respect the intelligence of your readers. Good work will eventually rise to the top! Speaking for authors everywhere, thanks for the great work you do, for your love of reading.

James Preller

Thank you thank you thank you for this post! I spend an inordinate amount of time hunting down books, and try, with every review, to do the best I possibly can. It's a little about pride, more about conscience and responsibility. If my name is going to be associated with a blog, I feel obligated to my readers to make it personal and worth their reading time. Some posts take me days, because I'm never quite convinced they are good enough.

I've only been blogging for 2 years, and at the beginning it was new and fun and wide open. I still love the challenge of writing and crafting a good post, but now I'm disillusioned by the popularity contests, and, as you mentioned, the generic mass produced flavor of blogs that thrive on giveaways and big tours.

Good literary criticism is an art in itself, and I thoroughly appreciate the blogs (like this one)that feature it. I know I'm a novice reviewer, but I hope that by putting my heart in what I do, at the very least what I say about a book has more value than posting catalog copy.

It always comes back to the same thing: the difference between bloggers who "care" about their content, and those whose major concern is receiving free books.

This continues to be a very interesting conversation - and reminds me yet again how often we seem to go through an "identity crisis" (or two or three) every few months in the blogosphere. Thanks for all the comments and giving me so much to think about.

The question is--what do you, as a blogger, get out of this? I read and comment on books for a) pleasure, b) to learn something about the craft so I can become a better writer, c) to have my views of the world challenged, confirmed, stretched, and perfected, and d) to learn something new about the world. Of course, I read and comment on books for probably a lot of other reasons, but those are the reasons I can think of right off the bat. So ultimately, I'm wondering if it even matters what the publishers want.
Out of curiosity, do you feel obligated to read and comment on every ARC you receive?

Loved the tidbit on the cost of producing ARC's. I blog about books because I really want books to find readers. When I post a review, my hope is that someone will read it and want to give the book a chance.

I have never once felt obigated to review all the ARC I receive.

A great thing about not having a relationship with any publisher and not trying to stay on their good side to keep ARC's coming, I can do as I please. I am not trying to impress or make anyone happy. I hardly ever mention publishers because it's not about them its about the book. However, I will mention smaller houses, or thank a larger house for making a bestselling author available in the U.S.

There is no money in this for me. All I have is my integrity and I am not about to sell that for some ARC's

J.L., because of Bookslut - and how big of a draw it is, I receive around 1,000 ARCs a year. Obviously I can't read, let alone review all of them. I ignore most of the ones that arrived unsolicited. I feel a responsibility only to those I have requested. Beyond that I may certainly add another book from to time, but it is rare.

Yes, we all do this for different reasons. I write the column because of the level of professionalism it affords me - I am a writer, I have an agent, I hope to be published and being a regular reviewer at a respected online journal makes me someone that many pubs are at least aware of - it helps my career. But clearly I also do it because I love books (you wouldn't do this otherwise) and so I can help shine the spotlight on overlooked books in particular. I like discovering new writers (I was in the first to review Sara Zarr's "Story of a Girl" and was talking up Sherman Alexie when he was still considered a regional writer.)and I like talking books with others. My frustration stems from publishers not knowing what to do with any of us - or worse, treating everyone the same regardless of the lazy job some bloggers do.

And yes Doret - it is nice to be able to do what you please, isn't it?! :)