Book Bloggers Unveiled ~ Help for authors self-publishing!

Hello everyone. Today, I’d like to talk about book bloggers and how they help authors with their self-published books. Introducing, Book Bloggers Unveiled.

In the last decade, we’ve witnessed a self-publishing revolution. Viva La Revolution! Amazon’s Kindle Print on Demand facility means that anyone from established authors to new writers are now able to send their words out into the world without the need (or cost) of a publishing house.

photo of a woman holding an ipad
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Yeah, Amazon! They’ve single-handedly opened up the publishing industry. Right?

Well, not without help from forward-thinking people who jumped on the self-publishing ideal and went with it. I typed in “how to self publish a book” into Google the other day and got a whopping 30.5 million results!

The advantages and disadvantages of publishing your own work have been discussed in posts and articles for years so I’m not going to talk about that. There’s a plethora of help and advice out there at the click of a button so I don’t want to just rehash any of that either. I’m not an expert in book formatting, design or how to load your books onto the various retailers’ shelves. However, I do have a background in blogging and a strong connection to the book blogging community. Therefore, I’m going to add my voice to those who are currently singing the praises of the humble book blogger.

What’s so great about book bloggers?

I came across an article on NovelPublicity.com written by debut novelist Terri Giuliano Long that resonated with me. Long wrote How book bloggers sparked the indie publishing revolution back in 2012. I think book bloggers are even more relevant now, ten years later in 2022.

In her guest post, Long said that she’d been previously told by a former agent that her book wouldn’t hit the 500 sales mark. She credits the book blogging community plugging her debut novel with the resulting 80,000 sales. Long feels that the book blogging community has taken over from traditional reviewers. Providing reviews as in-depth as professional reviewers, but with a more personal feel.

Utilise the community of avid readers to promote your book

Promoting diversity is a recurring theme amongst book bloggers and utilising the book blogging community as part of your marketing strategy when you self-publish your next novel is logical. Long says that, among other things, book bloggers help people “discover new voices”:

“Unlike traditional media, most bloggers don’t stigmatize indie-published books. Except perhaps in free reads, no one pays bloggers for their reviews. Bloggers don’t answer to corporate publishers, nudging them to read books by their anointed authors, nor do they answer to a marketing team. Bloggers select books freely – their only goal is to share good reads with their readers and followers. Because they’re open-minded, willing to read books by an author they’ve never heard of, they discover new voices. This is what happened with In Leah’s Wake.”

NovelPublicity.com (2012) Online article “Thanks to you: How book bloggers sparked the indie …

I personally don’t like to generalise like that. Yes, there are lots of book bloggers out there who do everything Long says and more, but I’m sure there are also those who don’t. However, it’s obvious to me that book bloggers are a valuable marketing resource for any author wanting to self-publish their novels. Not only will they read your novel and write an honest review, but they’ll share their thoughts with their friends.

So, what’s that got to do with me?

As I said, the book blogging community is a vast collection of avid readers. Just like you and me, each blogger has different reading tastes, likes, and dislikes. When you don’t have the resources or finances of a publishing company behind you, promoting your new baby takes valuable time, resources, and funds. Just the word “marketing” sends shivers down my spine and brings me out in a cold sweat!

I’m not a marketing expert. I started The BG Blog to help writers find solutions to the problems they may be facing. My new regular feature, Book Bloggers Unveiled, adds to that. Every month will feature a different book blogger. I’ll be sharing a little bit about their blog and the avid reader behind it. Therefore, you can get to know the book blogging community too and tap into this wonderful resource.

Look out for my first Book Bloggers Unveiled post later this month. In the meantime, you can check out my library where you’ll find lots of resources. There are posts and links that I’ve compiled for authors, writers, readers, bloggers and fellow editors and proofreaders.

Pinterest Pin - Book Bloggers Unveiled - Help for authors self-publishing (2)

About Kim

I'm Who Am I? I'm a woman of many talents and interests!! Of course, who isn't?! I've just had my 50th birthday, I live in England with one husband and two daughters. I own my own editing business (Brockway Gatehouse) while still working part-time as a Teaching Assistant at a local primary school.​ I love reading (obviously), listening to audiobooks, watching documentaries about the natural world and ancient history plus films of many genres.
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5 Responses to Book Bloggers Unveiled ~ Help for authors self-publishing!

  1. Pingback: Book Bloggers Unveiled – Meet Michael @ A Novel Chapter - Brockway Gatehouse ¦ Fiction Editor

  2. Rosie Amber says:

    Thank you Kim, a big cheer for all the book bloggers out there.

  3. wow, so much interesting information about blogging!

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