Virtual Book Festival: Event 16 – a feature by book blogger Mary Picken @bethsy #VirtBookFest #books #bookreviews #bookblogs

August 14, 2019August 11, 2019 writeanne3 Comments

Hello and welcome to event number 16 in the Virtual Book Festival. Today’s event is a guest post by book blogger Mary Picken of Live and Deadly Book Blog which you can find at liveanddeadly.net On her hugely popular blog, Mary writes insightful and intriguing reviews of (mainly) crime fiction. And she’s her to tell us more about her book blogging life.

So welcome, Mary – and over to you.

Book Blogging – What is it, why do we do it and who cares?

Gentle reader, let me take you back 5 years to December 2014. My memory these days stretches back just about that far. I had taken six months off from my job due to clinical depression. Those days had passed in a blur of pretty much staring into nothingness. I did some reading, always my chosen leisure activity, but otherwise had done very little.

After the 6 months was up, it became clear to me that I no longer had the resilience to cope with the daily pressures and stresses of my job. My brain was working, but my heart wasn’t in it and my head wouldn’t let me get immersed in the mire again.

So I effectively took early retirement. That left me in something of a quandary. I didn’t feel able to work full time and I really did not want my little grey cells to go without a work out. So, I decided that I’d start to record my thoughts on the books I was reading.

At the time, I didn’t really know anything about blogging, far less book blogging, I just needed something that would stimulate my brain and keep it working.

Fast forward 5 years and my blog is still going. That first, tentative post, a glowing review of Sarah Hilary’s first book, Someone Else’s Skin, (if you haven’t read her Marnie Rome series please do, it is fantastic) has grown into a blog with more than 3,300 followers and a reach over continents (mainly though UK and US) that stretches to around a quarter of a million viewers. Many of my colleagues have blogs that are substantially bigger, and more power to them for it. Few of us are driven by our statistics; I’m certainly not.

I have discovered an activity that plays to my need for deadline driven activity without much of the stress that used to accompany my deadlines and I have been fortunate to have been sent books to review.

Not only that, but book blogging has given me my tribe. I have found like-minded friends online and in real life; have been to numerous book festivals at home and even one abroad and now have a life that I love.

So, all good for me, then. But what does it do for book sales and publishers? I often find that authors have no sense of what bloggers can do for book sales, but there is no doubt at all that publishers know and understand the value.

In a crowded marketplace, word of mouth is a very important marketing tool. Creating a buzz in advance of a book’s publication is a great way to heighten anticipation and create advance sales.

Social media is now a key component of organisations’ marketing strategies and for good reason. 74% of shoppers make buying decisions based on social media, according to the social media marketing company, Sprout Social.

The term ‘social influencers’, which I hate, has been coined to represent individuals who have a significant following on social media. With a large audience seeing these blogger’s posts each day, they’re often targeted by publishers to promote books. Their content has a significant effect on purchasing decisions. Essentially, they contribute to the “bandwagon” effect.

80% of consumers, we are told, are likely to purchase a book based on a friend’s suggestion. If you were on the fence about buying a book, who would you turn to for an unbiased opinion?

This sometimes leads, wrongly, to suggestions that bloggers are the pawns of publishers, overwhelmingly positive about every book in order to feed their free book piles. Nothing could be further from the truth. Most book bloggers I know have a voracious book buying habit; some even buy several editions of the same book!

Most of us choose not to post reviews of books we have disliked on our blogs. If you are, like me, about sharing the book love, there seems little point in publishing on my blog a review of a book that just wasn’t for me. I will post those reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, with as constructive a review as I can achieve.

But I’m often critical in my reviews, pointing out my perceptions of flaws as well as good things, because otherwise how can I expect my reviews to be trusted by those who read them? If there’s no honesty, what on earth is the point of a review?

I believe that bloggers can be a real boon to smaller, independent publishers too. Those who are publishing important books but just don’t have the marketing budgets to make them stand out in a crowd. Investing in a blog tour, where the tour organiser receives a small payment for organising and bloggers remain, rightly, unpaid can achieve real results for a book that might otherwise struggle to find a place amidst the bigger publishers’ noise.

Publishers like Fahrenheit, Tramp Press, Orenda Books, Unbound and Urbane all make a decent sales impact through their use of social media and that can only be a good thing at a time when we need more than ever to broaden the diversity of ideas.

I blog for my own satisfaction and to keep my brain functioning. But I have to admit; there is no better feeling than knowing that someone has bought a book based on my review. It is, for me, the pinnacle of success. If I can help contribute to book sales in however small a way, I will feel that I have made a beneficial impact on the world. And that’s more than enough for me.

Anne: Thank you so much for that fascinating insight into what book blogging means to you – and to authors and readers too. And thank you for being part of the festival.

More about Mary and her blog:

Mary Picken reviews mainly crime novels on her blog, though she also enjoys contemporary and literary fiction with the occasional dose of historical and urban fantasy thrown in. She has been blogging at Live and Deadly for 5 years and loves to visit book festivals. Particular favourites include Bute Noir, Iceland Noir and, of course, Bloody Scotland and this month’s Edinburgh Book Festival.

How to connect with Mary online:

Live and Deadly book blog is here

You can also find her on Facebook at Live and Deadly : (https://www.facebook.com/liveanddeadly/)

On Instagram as @bethsy : (https://www.instagram.com/bethsy/)

On Twitter as @bethsy : (https://twitter.com/bethsy)

Virtual Book Festival: Event 15 – an interview with book blogger Anne Williams @Williams13Anne #VirtBookFest #books #reading #bookreviews

August 12, 2019August 9, 2019 writeanne7 Comments

Hello everyone and welcome to event number 15 in the Virtual Book Festival. Today it’s my pleasure to welcome book blogger Anne Williams to the VBF marquee. Anne is an awesome and prolific reader and reviewer of books. She shares her reviews on her book blog Being Anne and like the other wonderful guest book bloggers at this festival she is significantly responsible for my reading list.

So, welcome, Anne. It’s lovely to have you here.

I’d like to start by asking you what it was that got you into book blogging and how long have you been doing it?

I’ve been blogging about books for over six years now: I’d been sharing my reviews on-line for as long as I’ve had a computer, and I just thought it’d be good to keep all the reviews in one place. I was flabbergasted to find that people seemed to like reading it, so when I retired the following year I decided to build it up a little and add other features. By 2016, my little blog had over 220,000 views – so I decided to move it to WordPress and give it a more professional look. I did the migration myself, and learned a whole new skill set (and swore rather a lot!), but I’m delighted with the way it now looks.

The blog now has over 9,500 followers, the post views are in the hundreds, and I’m really humbled by the fact that my posts are shared so many times on Twitter that I just can’t keep up with saying “thank you”. Life changes have meant that I don’t post daily any more, but I’m still enjoying it as much as I ever did.

Anne S: Blimey, that’s an amazing following! But well –deserved – you’ve certainly earned it. Book bloggers like you do so much for writers and for readers and all for the love of it. Brilliant!

How do you find/choose what to review?

I read three or four books a week – I watch very little television! – and these days books have a tendency to find me. I’ve built relationships with publishers and authors, find e-copies of forthcoming books on Netgalley, and take part in blog tours – but I do still buy far more books than I’m sent to review. I choose to read books that I know I’m likely to enjoy: I’ve now developed a bit of a sixth sense that rarely lets me down.

Anne S: Yes, it would be easy to get overwhelmed, wouldn’t it? And using your reliable radar to pinpoint what you’ll most likely enjoy – and sticking to that is the best way to go.

What’s the best thing about doing a book blog?

Without question, being part of this wonderful bookish world. I’ve made so many friends over the years – authors, publishers and bloggers – and the whole community is immensely supportive and lovely to be part of. Books have become a large part of my social life too: I love attending the parties and launches, the book readings and signings, the festivals and book fairs, and the more informal get togethers too (particularly since I qualified for my senior railcard!). I was particularly delighted to win the Best Pal award at the Annual Bloggers’ Bash three years running – I think it meant more to me than any award for the quality of my reviews, because for me it’s what blogging is all about.

Anne S: Well deserved awards –congratulations! I agree the book community is wonderful.

What is your favourite type of read and do you stick mainly to reviewing that type of book?

Although I’ve rather outgrown the chick lit I used to enjoy, most of my reading is still romance or that often misunderstood genre of “women’s fiction”. And I do particularly look for books featuring older characters and experiences I can identify with, which give me particular pleasure. But I do like to read widely, and quite often equally enjoy a good thriller or something more at the literary end of the spectrum. More than anything, I enjoy reading authors yet to make their mark (and how they’re published really doesn’t matter) and help bring them to the attention of other readers.

Anne S: Yes I’m with you there on romance and life beyond chick-lit. And, like you, I enjoy other genres too.

Apart from posting book reviews on your blog, what other types of post do you like to include?

These days, it’s mostly reviews: telling people about the books I’ve loved is what I enjoy the most, particularly when others tell me they’ve bought the book and added it to their reading list (as I know you often have, Anne!). I sometimes include guest posts, interviews or other features, but do make it my rule that I only include books I’d have been happy to read if only I had some space on my reading list.

Anne S: Yes, indeed as regards your responsibility for so many of the books I read! I must say I like your compromise for including books you don’t have time to read. And, thank you so much, Anne, for taking part in the festival and for doing such an interesting interview.

About Anne Williams:

I was born in North Wales and will always be a Welsh girl at heart, but have happily made my home in the beautiful Yorkshire market town of Wetherby for the last 20 years. Having spent my working life as a civil servant, I’m now 63 and retired, able to spend my time doing all the things I enjoy most. My first passion will always been reading – and I enjoy spending much of my time doing just that, sharing my love of books on my blog Being Anne. My second passion is travel, usually long haul, and to places where other people might not have been – although that has been more difficult recently when I became primary carer for my 93 year old mum, who has dementia. I enjoy the theatre and cinema, love to attend concerts (mainly classical), and also run a real-life book group for my local U3A.

You can connect with Anne online at the places below:

Blog: http://beinganne.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beinganne

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Williams13Anne

Virtual Book Festival 2019: Event 8 – an interview with book blogger Linda Hill @Lindahill50Hill #VirtBookFest #books#reading

July 24, 2019July 19, 2019 writeanne10 Comments

Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoy event number eight in the Put it in Writing Virtual Book Festival. Today it’s a pleasure to welcome Linda Hill who is taking part in an interview about her role as a book blogger. Book bloggers are amazing people who, motivated by their love of reading and their desire to share what they’ve been reading, post book reviews and reading recommendations on their book blogs. Linda is a prolific blogger and, like Joanne another book blogger who did event number six in this festival, she too is responsible for a large part of my reading list. So, welcome to you, Linda, and let’s get started.

Interview with Linda Hill:

Can you begin by telling us what got you into book blogging and how long have you been doing it?

I began blogging in February of 2015 as reading has been an integral part of my life. I was actually late reading as I couldn’t see properly and when I first got glasses aged 8 it was as if a whole new world had opened up. I read Enid Blyton as a child and that’s where my love of reading started.

I was an English teacher and later worked in education as an inspector and consultant so I really believe a love of reading is the gateway to all kinds of opportunities. One of the roles I used to have was to write resources for classroom readers for Hodder and as part of that I read and reviewed KS3 books. This gave me the bug to write reviews and eventually I became a www.lovereading.co.uk panel member where I received books for review.

I belong to a U3A (university of the Third Age) reading group where we enjoy discussing books, so I thought I’d share my views in a blog too.

Anne: Yes, as a former teacher myself I definitely agree about the importance of reading in helping children to develop and learn. And I can see how one thing inevitably lead to another for you getting into book blogging.

How do you find/choose what to review?

These days books just turn up so I often find brilliant books to read have simply dropped through my letter box. I follow lots of publishers, authors and bloggers on social media and find out all about books that way. Many authors get in touch personally too and I get updates from various newsletters such as those from literary festivals, authors, publishers and book sellers.

Anne: I love that idea of ‘books just turning up’ 🙂

What’s the best thing about doing a book blog?

There are so many brilliant aspects to blogging. It’s an absolute privilege to read a wide range of glorious books. It’s a pleasure to have made some very good real life friends through blogging and I love being able to spread the word about books and reading.

Anne: Yes, there’s a real feeling of community there, isn’t there? And it’s lovely how it can lead to real world friendships too.

What is your favourite type of read and do you stick mainly to reviewing that type of book?

That’s a difficult question to answer. I don’t read a lot of science fiction, erotica or horror as they tend to appeal less to my reader taste, but having said that I usually find I’ve enjoyed them when I do read these genres. I’m a bit squeamish when it comes to visceral violence too. I think I most enjoy literary fiction, historical fiction and women’s fiction but equally I have derived enormous pleasure from books that defy being placed into categories. I love psychological thrillers, crime, children’s books, sagas and chick-lit as well as gothic narratives and poetry too, so really I enjoy most genres and I certainly like to mix up my reading otherwise it feels like eating the same meal every day.

Anne: Wow, that’s a pretty eclectic mix! And yes, it’s good to have some variety in the book diet.

And, finally, apart from posting book reviews on your blog, what other types of post do you like to include?

I tend to stick to posts linked to books such as reviews, author interviews, features, extracts, book events I’ve attended and giveaways, although there are occasionally more tenuous posts such as one about a large garden bean bag (where I can sit and read books) and book related clothing. I’ve been mulling over beginning a travel blog as I love travel, but I’m not sure there really are enough hours in the day!

Anne: I think it’s a great idea to have variety in the type of posts – just as in the type of books reviewed. I’ve no idea how you’d fit in a travel blog too – but if anyone can … 🙂

Well, it just remains for me to thank you, Linda, for agreeing to take part. It’s been lovely to get an insight into what motivates you to blog about books.

About Linda:

I live in South Lincolnshire on the border with Cambridgeshire. I’m rapidly approaching 60, have terrible sight and I’m a bookaholic. There are genuinely well over 900 around the house awaiting review aside from over 1000 on my kindle. As well as books, I love cats, travel, Bryan Ferry, anything sweet like fudge, walking and my husband though not necessarily in that order. I’m also very fond of gardening and have an allotment but it is books that occupy most of my time. I am a member of a reading group and I lead a gardening group in my local U3A.

I’ve been really lucky with my blog and have had a couple of awards including Bloggers Blast Best Book Review Blog in 2016, The Romantic Novelists Association Media Star Award in 2017 and the Bloggers Blast Best Overall Blog in 2018.