Why Bloggers Are So Cool

Love Those Bloggers!

I confess....

I am a late-comer when it comes to blogs. Yes, I have one and have been plugging away here for a few years (believe it or not!), but I only recently dipped my toe into the pool of blog tour promotions. It's a fascinating environment and I have developed a keen appreciation for all the active bloggers who also happen to be ardent readers. Thank God for them -- one and all!

I confess....

My agent tried to horsewhip me into doing more blogging interaction when my last historical romance ("To Seduce and Defend") was published a year or so ago. I sighed and whined and rolled my eyes. I was still stuck back in the day when Harlequin and Avon did all of that promotion and publicity stuff (not that they ever did that much for me -- especially Harlequin). I just wanted to write and be left alone and I sure as shootin' didn't want to spend a bunch of money on ads and such. If my book was good -- which I felt it was -- then people would read it.

I confess....

I am an idiot and a dinosaur. My poor, old historical romance suffered because I did minimal work in getting the word out about it. It received a few good reviews, but it never took off. This made no sense to me since my previous books were selling more than my new one! Crazy. And that continues to be the case to this very day! What the heck was that all about? Well, I think it's because Amazon plugged my backlist and helped people discover it. They didn't promote my new one as much. In fact, recently, Amazon selected "Too Tough To Tame" as a daily deal and that book (an older one of mine) hit #1 on the romance bestseller list! So, given all of this, I decided I must jump on the promotion bandwagon and that's where I ran into active bloggers and blog tour guides.

I confess....

No matter how my new book sells,  I won't regret my interaction with bloggers and tour guides. It's thrilling to communicate with so many readers -- readers like me who love, love, love to discover new authors and to read new books by authors we already love. Although I'm a writer, I was first a reader and still am, so I never get tired of discussing books. My best friends get tired, however, of hearing me, so it was so nice to meet others who weren't tired of me! That's one of the great things about the Goodreads website -- lots of people talking about lots of books. I find it invigorating.

I confess....

I owe a great debt to bloggers. They set up their blogs and websites and toil away for the love of books. And they also do something that is beyond measure -- they post book reviews, not only on their blogs, but on Amazon, Goodreads, etc. BLESS THEM FOR THAT! I've done everything but sell my virtue (and I might even consider that) to get people to read and post a review of my books! I have sent out ARCs with the stipulation that they had better post a review -- even if they didn't enjoy the book all that much! And what happens? No reviews. Or maybe one out of 10 ARCs sent. But bloggers? They are champs! They read them and keep their word and review them. What's more, if they don't have time to read them or they don't like the kind of book you've written, they tell you up front and don't shine you on. Most of them won't post a review if they can't be encouraging about the book, but they let you know that's why you won't see a review from them. I love that!

I confess....

I'm hooked on bloggers and owe my literary agent a giant apology. I am no longer a happy and clueless dinosaur. I live in the land of Blogs and I am among my people once more!