Dear Story Siren is sort of an advice column for bloggers. Or it's at least my way to try to help other bloggers with questions they may be having. Plus address questions from my blog readers too! These answers are my opinions and my opinions alone... I'm by no means an expert on book blogging... so take this advice with a grain of salt.
If you have a question, be sure to check the past posts to make sure your question hasn't already been answered. You can find a link below that will take you to a page to view all Dear Story Siren posts and where you can submit your own question. If your question has previously been answered (or a similar form of your question) I probably won't answer it again, so be sure to check there first.
In this post: Widgets, Pub House Tours, Unrequested Books, New Blogger, Speed Reading, Changing Your Review Policy & Reading Several Books at Once.
Hi story siren!
i was wondering how you made your "In my reading pile" widget. I want to make something similar for my blog, to show what reviews are coming up and such but im not sure how. Thanks for your help!
Dana.
Dear Dana,
That's a widget I made from Amazon. There is a little 'get widget' link in the lower left hand corner, if you interested in making your own.
SS
Dear Story Siren,
I've seen a lot of bloggers who go on Publisher House Tours--to all my favorite publishers!--and I'm a little green with envy. I'd love to see the inner workings of a Publisher House and have a chance to talk with the staff that I've only worked with via email.
Are these the sort of things that are set up by the Publishers or do they advertise for bloggers?
Thanks!
Pub House Envy
Dear Pub House Envy,
I have no idea. I've never been on a publishing house tour. My advice would be to ask the bloggers that actually went. They would probably have the answer to your question.
SS
Dear Story Siren,
I received a book in the mail for review from a publishing company but I didn't request the book and it isn't something I would ever read either. What should I do?
This happens to me a lot too. I'd say out of every five books I get... I've requested one of them. I've gotten a lot of slack in the past because I "get" so many books, but what people don't understand is I don't ask for them!
If it's something I might read I usually hang on to it, and try to work it into my reading pile, but if it's not something I'd be interested in at all, I usually donate it to my library or give it to another blogger.
SS
Dearest Story Siren,
I have just started a book blog and am really excited about it, but feel a little overwhelmed with all of the amazing blogs that are out there (such as yours ;) ). I want to have a good blog but am really just doing the basics right now (only have one post so far, still trying to figure out how I want to do reviews. Question example: how do you do your little stars?)
I guess what I am trying to get at is how long did it take you to become more comfortable in the blog-o-sphere and how did you get as good as you are? Do you just do a lot of research on other blogs and ask their authors how they did a certain function? Or do you take a technology class to learn about different possibilities? Thanks for any insight!
Cheers,
New Kid on the Block
Dear New Kid on the Block,
Don't compare your blog to anyone else's. Don't try to be anyone else. Be yourself.
Everyone starts out the same, don't sweat it so much. You're blog is supposed to be fun. If you worrying about everyone else, it's not going to be.
The stars are a simple photoshop or picnic creation. It's nothing fancy.
I felt comfortable in the blogoshpere right away. Sure there were things I didn't know how to do, but isn't that how it is with anything new? I did my blog how I wanted to it and it evolved as things normally do. I've been blogging for three years, so I suppose it's taken me that long to get "as good as I am." Blogging "success" or "know-how" doesn't happen overnight.
I'm not sure what you're asking about technology or research? I guess I'm just going to say I figured things out as I went a long...?
If you have questions about something specific, don't hesitate to ask another blogger!
SS
Dear Story Siren,
You've tons of books, and you're a fast reader. I really think it's great. You're great! But when do you read them? How long does it take you to finish a book...? Let say a 500 page book?
I read them all the time... even if it's a little bit. It's just like anything else you do. You make time for it.
I can read 70-100 pages in an hour.
SS
Hi Kristi,
I'm a little embarrassed to ask this question because it seems to be the total opposite of what other Newbies bloggers are asking. I only started blogging in October. I started my blog as I just wanted to be part of this great community and have my space on the Internet where I could talk about the books I read. Reviewing for authors and publishers never crossed my mind. Then two weeks in I got a request to review a book, then another and another and suddenly by December I'm over run with review books and not getting chance to read my own book shelf! I'm stressed as I don't read fast anyway. I would much rather go back to just reviewing my own bookshelf. Is that selfish? Also, I'm really not sure how to turn down the requests without causing negativity - and I still would love to keep being able to get Netgalley books (a different experience as the choice of which books I request and when, falls to me). Do you think I should put up an author/publisher page stating that I don't take books for review or just politely turn down request emails? How would you handle this?
Thanks
Stressed
Dear Stressed,
Selfish? Not at all! Why would you even think that!
I know several bloggers that do not accept books for review. It's a personal choice. And nothing that you should be embarrassed about. I know I recently changed my review policy to reflect my current preferences. Perhaps you should do the same.
There will be instances where your new policy won't be read, so you'll have to continue to politely decline requests.
SS
Dear Story Siren,
It's a two-part question. How many books do you read at a time? And do you take notes? I ask this because I read four at a time and if I don't take notes I get my plots mixed up. Plus it helps me when it's time to write a review.
Signed a weary blogger
Dear Weary Blogger,
I usually just read one book at a time. And I don't usually take notes because that makes me feel like I'm doing school work or something. It would probably help me to write a more in depth review, but it's not how I want to have my reading experience be.
If you're feeling a little weary perhaps you shouldn't read so many at the same time...
SS
Check out other questions from real readers on other "Dear Story Siren" posts.
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