Friday, March 23, 2012

ATTN BLOGGERS: How do YOU review?



To all of my fellow bloggers out there in blog land (I'm not very creative today, can you tell?)

As you may have noticed, I'm new to blogging. To be honest, I'm pretty new to reviewing as well. I started a couple of months ago on Goodreads after joining the site in 2010. I read an unhealthy amount when I have free time (I've read 5+ books in a weekend before) and I always like to voice my opinion so I thought reviewing would be fun. I'm really curious to see what makes other bloggers tick, why they blog and write reviews, what they like to see and what they don't, what keeps them coming back to a blog, etc. This goes for all of the readers out there as well!

Here are a few questions I have to get the ball rolling:

  • Why did you start blogging?
  • When did you start blogging?
  • Where do you get books to review?
  • What methods do you use to keep track of everything you're reviewing?
  • What do you think of memes? Love or hate?
  • What information do you like to put in your reviews? What do you NOT like to include?
  • Do you contact publishers, authors, etc. or wait for them to contact you?
  • What is your favorite part of blogging/reviewing?
  • How soon after finishing a book do you write your review?
  • Any tips to share with the blogging community?
I guess that's it for now, I figure we can have a good discussion and it'll be nice to get to know fellow bloggers (and my readers!) Thanks for checking this out and hopefully I can come up with some creative ideas when my mind is working properly. And just to prove that it really isn't doing so well this week, I realized when I got to work this morning that my shirt was on inside-out!!! :)

Hope everyone had a good week!
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4 comments:

  1. Sarah W.March 23, 2012 at 3:29 PM

    Hi Cassandra! This is going to be a hefty comment so bare with me... Haha. I'll pick a few to answer.

    - Started reviewing in March 2011 after visiting The Story Siren.
    - When I started I purchased most of my books or requested them from NetGalley (great if you have access to an ereader). Many indie authors approached me after I joined the Indie Author Database. I feel more comfortable requesting ARCs directly from publishers via email now that I have a following.
    - I keep track of my reviews and posts using Google Calendar. When I get a book to review, I find out when it is released and post the review a week prior. I color code each different type of post in the calendar as well.
    - I think memes have a place in the Book blogging world. Do I think they should be all you blog about? No, definitely not. My personal favorites are In My Mailbox and Follow & Feature Friday :)
    - As far as what to include in reviews... That's up to you! I like to break mine down into characters, settings, plot, pacing, etc. I'm consistently working on improving my reviews.
    - Most of the time I contact the publisher. Sometimes new, smaller publishers email me with review requests, but usually I need to contact them.
    - I usually write my review within a week of finishing the book... otherwise I will totally forget my thoughts! I'm one of the most forgetful people..

    Hope that helps! If you have any other questions feel free to email me :)

    inklingsread (at) hotmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cassandra GeriboMarch 24, 2012 at 9:30 PM

      I think The Story Siren had influence on almost every book blogger out there!!
      I also have started reviewing books that I purchase for now.. and then branch out.. thanks for that!
      I love my gmail account, I should look into google calendar! That sounds perfect.
      Good to see an opinion on memes, I've seen a lot of negative about them.
      Good advice on the reviews itself, I am trying to find what works for me.

      Thanks so much for all of that, you are now a contact in my email!! Oh and congrats on the Hemlock tour!!!!

      Delete
  2. SonnieMarch 24, 2012 at 4:06 AM

    I'm fairly new to blogging and honestly you're getting the hang of it way faster than I have lol. I started though because I thought it would be a great way to meet other readers and find new reads. I also think the ARC thing is really cool and something I'm definietly wanting to do more of. As far as what I put in my reviews... I usually do my own description of the book (no spoilers) and then my thoughts on it along with some small teasers. I haven't read any books that I just absolutely loath since I've started my blog, so I'm not sure how I would handle a negative review. I would definitely stay away from bashing a novel though. Good question though, I'm curious to see how some other bloggers reply!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lisa ShaferMarch 25, 2012 at 1:04 PM

    2nd attempt to notify you:
    You've won. Please check out this bog post before 4/7/12
    http://lisashafer.blogspot.com/2012/03/new-winner-cassandra.html

    ReplyDelete

Sadly, I am declaring this an award free zone. I do appreciate your comments though so feel free to leave one!

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