Something for #Readers & #Writers . . .

This blog is like me—more maverick than classifiable…

Image Courtesy of Nicholas Sales ~ http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/jamsession-30908

I report on Reading, Writing, and Publishing on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

I Re-Blog others’ posts on those three topics the other days of the week.

I am an author and I like to give my stuff away…

Of course, if you’re a regular visitor, you know all this; but, I get most of my traffic from unsuspecting folks putting words into search engines…

There are two other kinds of bloggers who authors and readers especially like—Book-Bloggers & Bloggers-Who-Do-Book-Reviews—sometimes a person is really both but some folks want to be one or the other (and, finding clear definitions for either is difficult…)…

I’ll share two sites that cater to these types of blogs.

First, The Book Blogger List:

What they say about themselves:

“We have created this site to help book bloggers find like-minded bloggers and help authors find book bloggers that might be interested in their book.”

I’m really surprised they don’t mention Readers………

Perhaps they feel it’s way too obvious that a reader would like a place to find blogs about books…?

Now, their “rules”:

“Instructions for Authors

“This database of book bloggers is organized by genre of interest. If a book blogger has expressed interest in multiple genres, they will be listed in each category. Any book blogger that is listed here has asked to be listed.  Keep in mind that when approaching a book blogger about your book, use your manners and your common sense. Don’t approach a blogger who only reads children’s lit to read your non-fiction business book. Choose bloggers that are interested in your genre.”

“Instructions for Book Bloggers

“This is a site for you to list your book blog as well as find some bloggy friends. All the entries will be checked every two months. If your blog has not been posted to during those two months, your listing will be removed. If you are taking a blogging break – or going on a really long vacation, let us know and we won’t pull your listing.”

Now, let’s take a look at The Indie View.

First, “Indie” generally means “not from the big, old, traditional publishers”…

The Indie View has three main sections:

Latest Indie Book Reviews from Around the Web

The Indie Reviewers List

Indie Author List

If you’re a writer looking for reviews, use their main link and scroll the right side-bar for Registration Requirements.

And, partly because there are so many book-blogs and partly because I want this post to be of value, here’s one more place to visit:

http://bookblogging.net/
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Writers Want To Be Reviewed & Read ~ More on Book Promotion

I’ve said it often here—I’m a maverick.

I will  take advice but only if it sticks on My Walls :-)

A friend once defined Book Promotion as everything that helps a writer get comfortable with their Own Way of Living Their Writing Life.

This fits well with my oft stated “maxim” that Book Promotion is Relationship Building…

I’m definitely finding my own way through the fast-changing jungle of Publishing/Promotion, with a novel released last year and two more books in the series to be written.

You can find my experiences and thoughts and feelings on this process by clicking the word “Promotion” in the Subject Index Links widget in the left side-bar (as you scroll through the listed posts, do notice the “Older Posts” link at the bottom of the list…).

One thing Indie Writers can become concerned about is how they can get their books reviewed—comparing, apparently, the work traditional publishers “provide” by getting reviews for writers (which, in reality, may or may not happen) to the frightening prospect of facing rejection from traditional arenas of review.

Let me share a few excerpts from the post, Book Blogs, The New Literary Salons, which appeared on Her Circle—a magazine of women’s creative arts and activism.

“Book bloggers are, I believe, the fairy godmothers and godfathers of the literary world. Bloggers invest their estimable talent, their tremendous energy, and their invaluable time into discovering, reviewing and promoting new books—and they keep dreams alive.

“Here are five important ways bloggers shape the literary world:

“For indie authors, bloggers replace traditional reviewers…
“Provide professional reviews, tailored to their audience...
“Discover new voices...
“Introduce new authors and spread the word about books...
“Offer collaborative communities for authors and readers…”

So, there’s one sure way for Indie authors to get noticed.

Do you have any favorite book bloggers to recommend or other ways for Indie writers to get reviews?
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Favorite Writing, Book, and Publishing Blogs

I have no idea how many blogs there are for Readers, Writers and Publishers.

But, I’m wondering how many folks have a few favorites in those categories.

“Writing” blogs are the ones I tend to not read—something about being well-along in years and deeply fond of my own way of doing things…

“Book” blogs can be of two kinds—blogs about things like bindings, covers, fonts, paper-quality, etc. and blogs that specialize in doing reviews of books.

“Publishing” blogs seem to be sprouting up like zombies in a B-grade movie. There’re the ones defending Traditional publishing, the ones glorifying Self-Publishing, and the ones that vacillate between the two.

And, there’re two varieties of each of those types of Publishing blogs—the serious/sincere ones and  the ones that focus on wild speculation about what will happen Just About Any Unexpected Time Now.

I only have a handful of blogs I like to keep going back to but there are so many that might be worth reading that I know nothing about.

Then, there are some I used to read but suddenly have reason to “rediscover”.

I use Google Alerts to find news, articles, and blog posts I can talk about here.

This morning, I checked my saved links and pulled out Lost Sight of the Game? Find it Again. by Victoria Mixon—Great Post but, as sometimes happens, while reading it and pondering how to report on it, I changed my focus.

I’d noticed something on the blog, called Writer Unboxed—I’d been there many times in the past but forgot that this blog has over 20 regular contributing writers—perhaps, it can be one of my favorites :-)

Other blogs that are my favorites (plus a few non-blog links) are in my BlogRoll, in the left side-panel under those pictures of our Readers…

If you’re the kind of reader who likes certain blog posts but never makes a comment, I do hope you’ll find a hidden reserve of courage (or, at least Daring) and mention some of your favorite Reading, Writing, and Publishing blogs in our Comments.
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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
For Private Comments, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com