"For Day 3, we want you to share your positive experiences of using your blog to get involved in your community. This can involve partnerships with the local literary scene, attending author events and signings, or getting together with bloggers in your area. We want to hear it all!"
I don't have a positive experience, but I didn't want to ignore this post because of that, that wouldn't be fair.
So consider this a Public Service Announcement to potential authors or even bookstore owners or librarians who work with the humble blogger.
Here's my experience:
Once upon a time, in August of 2009, I was really into the blogging aspect of my little book blog. Nowadays, I have simply been immersed in my review schedule rather than thinking of ways to network outside the norm. Working full-time, raising two kids, (youngest is starting Kindergarten in August!!), reviewing for the Historical Novel Society all has me pretty busy. When am I supposed to cook and do laundry?
So, networking in the community has been zilch.
But.. I tried. I really tried. I really feel like I went over, above and beyond to feature a local author in my little area of Texas. I recorded a speech she did at our local library, and I uploaded it to my blog in three separate posts. "So You Wanna Get Published" part one, two and three.
She spoke of her Publishing, Writing and Marketing Journey, a fabulous tool for newbie writers. And she promoted the workshops that she spearheaded and charged money for, etc. And I recorded all her person advertisements and uploaded it to my blog, free of charge for her.
I feel like I spent a lot of time on this series, and I felt like it was an awesome promotion opportunity for the author. I stayed up late trying to get the posts just right.. you get the point.
I worked hard on it.
And I barely got a thank you from the author.
And this author is very very very very socially online. So she had lots of opportunity to add a link here and there to the videos I created of HER. To the posts I did spotlighting HER. And nothing, zilch, zero, slap in my face.
Once bitten twice shy, they say.
And well, now the videos wherever I uploaded them to are gone off into cyberspace never to be seen again. Because they were too big to go to YouTube, they were long videos and I didn't want to have to separate out the posts into a zillion little videos, and I used a now obsolete service. At this point, I see YouTube would have been the way to go. Live and learn.
As you can see, three years later, it still hurts that I didn't get the recognition I felt I deserved for the free promotion for this author. So, if you are an author faced with an opportunity to work with a blogger who is promoting your image for free, please be nice and say thank you. And ya know, a free book would be nice, too. (We see you have piles of them there on the table as we record you.)
Speaking of FREEE BOOOKSSSS .. YES! Please see my giveaway post, because I am giving away tons of them. Hurry, because it is an Armchair BEA Giveaway, and ends soon!
And hey, bloggers... Thank you. You're awesome. Keep up the good work.
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