Book Blogging 101 - Contacting Publishers

Spawned from the Big Sis, Little Blog program, Book Blogging 101 was born. Do you have a question? Leave it in the comments section or email me parajunkee at gmail dot com

Q: Should I contact a publisher or just let them come to me?

A: Get off your butt...and talk to those people! How are they supposed to know you are there if you don't wave your hand and say "Hey! Hey! Look at me, I'm right here, aren't I cute? Don't I have a great blog? People actually like to read my reviews!"

It's like a dance. You stand in the corner, who is going to ask you to dance? Now imagine a dance with millions of dancers your chances get less and less and less. That is you in a world of book bloggers. The one standing in the corner is not going to get approached by publishers, authors, etc. It's the one going "Here I am" that gets the contacts.

Start small, meander over to forums that you know publisher's frequent. Forums set up to put publishers in touch with book bloggers. They have a few over at bookblogs.ning.com

You can also contact them directly from links on their sites. A lot of publishers have set areas for review request contacts. Use the links they give you and ALWAYS follow the directions that they state before you request a review copy. Most of the time put the title in the subject, include the ISBN number and your address, etc.

Don't sit there and wait for them to come to you. Get out there, make some contacts! What are you waiting for??

Q: Should I post what the publishers want me to post?

You've made that contact and now they are emailing you, right? Can you post this, can you feature that?

Discretion is always good. It is your blog, you run it how you see fit. So, feature what you want to feature.

What if I say no, will they stop contacting me?

Maybe. Really it is up to them, they might send you more if you say no once, but if you repeatedly refuse they will probably find another blog. But use your better judgement, if you think it is something your readers would want to know...publish it. I see nothing wrong with throwing up a book trailer for a publisher. That is what I'm here for. If the book is a genre/author/series I like, I have no qualms. Unknown author, sketchy look to it. Probably not going to do it.

Shameless book promotions? I don't know, you have to draw the line on that one. But once again, you are a book blog, if it looks like a book you would like to read, why not? If it looks like something your readers what to know about....post it. You are there to INFORM, hot new release coming out...twitter party at 7pm...Hot author coming to New Orleans on Friday....post it. Think of it like a press release, you are the media. If you think it is newsworthy carry the story.

Now about those contests.

Yes. They are hosting this contest through you. You should put up what they want you to put up. It is the price you pay for them hosting the contest on your blog. Details are the most important, you want to get those details correct.

I've actually had a rep come back and tell me to change how I worded things. I gladly did as she asked...my blog was just the conduit. As long as I think it is ok to go on my blog and represent me, I'm fine with the way they want something worded. If it comprimses anything about you though, I would think big on if it is worth doing a contest.

Nuff said. Any questions???  Anything to add...we want to hear it.