APPROACHING BLOGGERS & REVIEWERS

Bloggers/Reviewers follow "rules" when requesting ARCs. There's this whole etiquette that my friend Alex from @The Books Buzz wrote on her blog, there are many posts about this topic on the interwebs. It's a great and insightful post, everyone should read it. I follow it to some degree, lol. Therefore, there must also be "author etiquette". Very similar to blogger etiquette and just as delicate. I'm not saying everyone is guilty of this. This is more of a PSA, so don't get offended. If you are . . . why?

1. Know the name of the person you're contacting

I don't know about you, but people spell my name wrong ALL THE TIME and I understand why, honest mistake! But, you should NEVER EVER address a person like so:

"Dear Blogger,"

I get hives when I see this and delete it ASAP. I find it impersonal. It shows that you don't read my reviews/you never bothered to look through my material. It's seems very self-promotional and dare I say selfish. It makes me feel used. It's not a mutual gain, it's parasitical. In a wonderful scenario, bloggers like your book, give it a high rating, write a wonderful review and you get exposure. (Bloggers have an About Me section for a reason! Get to know them! We're, except me, cool and nice people.)

2. Adding on to #1

Be warm, yet formal and assertive when emailing requests. It's like a business interview. Our blog/what we do is our own little business, so professionalism would be appreciated. Be formal by referring to the blogger by their given name and NOT a nickname, unless they say you can. Remember to be kind and leave an impression. Let the reviewer get a gist of your personality in the email. Also, proof-read (guilty of not doing this).

3. Do your research

Most people who contact me DO NOT know that I'm a grade-A bitch. I'm the rudest, meanest, shadiest gila monster-beast. (hi Phi Phi, lol) If you have the time to type up an email, then you have time to look through my: blog, goodreads, instagram, twitter, etc. Know what to expect. Also, don't constantly promote yourself over social media, or do it directly at a blogger. I see it and ignore it's even there. Just send a small message over.

^Preach Bianca. Everyone just needs to cool their jets and be Pearl Liason.

4. Adding on to #3

Please, and I mean PLEASE, check if the reviewer is accepting requests before you comment/ask "are you open for reviews?" If they're not, accept it and DO NOT badger them over social media.

5. When reviewers are available

Follow the review requirements. Don't get mad or discouraged if they say no or don't reply. I don't like replying with no because I don't know if I need to provide justification/have further human contact. I also reject a lot of books because I'm not interested in them, so I feel bad for replying "no" all the time. (Gosh I sound arrogant...)

6. After the review

Not everyone is going to love your books as much as you do and that is NORMAL. Please do not come for my gentle, sweet, and accepting book-loving family if they give you a low rating or negative review. They're being honest and really brave when they put up negative reviews. We don't want to write it, but we do because that's our opinion! Do not put reviewers on "blast" or "blackball" them. There's this whole article about an author that stalked a blogger because she thought she was being "catfished". It's best to never comment on negative reviews. My post on Hate Comments

Reviewers tend to provide a time frame for when the post will be up. Check the blog every now and then because I honestly don't think it's a blogger's job to notify you when they reviewed your book.