Somebody recently asked me if I have read all of the other author’s work that I promote on my blog. It is a question that I am asked frequently.
Most often I have, but sometimes I have not. So why would I promote them?
If I am doing a book review, then I have read that book and liked enough about it to say so and recommend it. I may not have loved it, but I liked it. I can usually find nice things to say about the books I have read, after all I did choose them to read! I do book reviews at liberty and do not take requests.
I will not post book reviews for works that I could not read, for whatever reason, or works I did not like. I may post that review on Amazon &/or Goodreads, but not on my blog if it is an author not known to me. I will usually send the author a personal email if it is an author known to me. I try to keep the blog positive.
I do promotional posts and reblog indie authors or traditionally published authors I have met through blogging. Occasionally, I will post on a really good book I have read that is written by a non-blogger author, but is so very interesting to me that I think my readers may also be interested.
Books I have not read will sometimes be promoted because I feel that we all need to help each other out. So I am not really recommending them as books I know, but as books you might like to try. They may not be a genre that I am personally interested in, but having such a diverse readership, I know someone else out there might thoroughly enjoy the read. It is a way to help readers find books.
Blogging is a way to reach other people and I feel as bloggers interested in writing books we can all pass on information about books that others might find useful or interesting, a cover reveal, a blog tour, a debut, a continuation of a series, a sale. These are all ways we can be helpful and share the word.
I would spend my whole time blogging books for others if I tried to reblog everything, so I start with people who have engaged me on this blog or whom I have met on theirs. I may not pick up on everything.
I may not have read the works, it may not be your cup of tea (or mine either)…and that’s okay.
We’re all in this social media experience together.
Share the love.
S.K. Nicholls 
Pretty much goes for me too, Susan.
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I have been asked more than once why I promote people when I haven’t read their work. Just had to put it out there.
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A helping hand for someone’s work never goes amiss… whether you’ve read the book or not, even if it isn’t your cup of tea as a genre… someone has poured their heart into getting it out there and that deserves some respect, doesn’t it?
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I agree 😀
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🙂
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You’ve always been very supportive of the indie community. I think you should do whatever you like on your own blog. It was nice of you to explain, but I don’t think you owe the world an explanation.
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Just answering the same old question, so I thought I would post a note about it.
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Same here. I look at reblogging stuff like that as helping a fellow author even if it’s something I haven”t read. We have varied audiences on our blogs, so you never know if you will net a few extra readers by doing so.
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Exactly. I know my readership is very diverse. I am glad of that. It keeps things interesting 😀
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This is pretty much how I feel about promoting others as well. I try to promote authors that I’ve met through blogging, even if their genre isn’t my “cup of tea,” because it MIGHT be someone else’s, and I do think we need to help each other out as much as possible!
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Way to go! It’s in the spirit of fellowship with other authors, whether I am a customer or not. The work just might be exactly what some of my audience is most interested in. Marketing is hard for all of us.
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Exactly! 🙂
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There’s no way anyone would have time to read everyone’s books. But Indie Authors need to band together, and you’re helping your friends and acquaintances. That’s a good thing!
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Thanks Vince! I like to think so. There was some talk once among some author friends about starting a collaborative project to promote serious indie authors and help with exposure and distribution. I thought about that, but that’s basically what smashwords does. Not that others couldn’t do it. I think we are a pretty good bunch about lending a helping hand.
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You do good works. ❤ ❤
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♥
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~(~_*)~~
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I read a lot of Indie books, and if I did a separate blog post on all of them, it would change the theme of my blog and probably start to turn some readers off. So I wait until I’ve read about five or six and then do a write-up including them all. But I usually always send out an individual tweet about the book, and of course, I leave reviews on Amazon and GR. Like you, I don’t mention all the books I pick up. Sometimes it’s just not my cup of tea, and I don’t feel I can give the book a fair shake. But that doesn’t happen often. 🙂
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I meant to add that I wish I could get to more Indie books than I do. As it is, I read a lot of them, but there just isn’t enough time to read all the ones I come across. Sigh.
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I Understand completely. I have read many, but have a list a mile long. I think we all do. It goes with the blogging territory. makes me feel bad sometimes, though, when I still have great books on my reader from march of last year when they debuted and I still haven’t gotten around to them. I don’t have an order, just when the mood strikes. And in between all my new found treasures are old friends I have to go back and pick up.
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“I don’t have an order, just when the mood strikes.”—That’s pretty much my method too. 🙂
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I love your Books I Have Read page! That’s another cool and creative way to acknowledge your peers. There are many blogs that have a theme and I am not implying that all should do promos, just explaining why I do. I have been repeatedly asked, why do you promote people if you haven’t read their work or know if they are any good? Good is a matter of personal opinion. I love your humor theme BTW.
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Thank you. 🙂
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Nice post Susan. Glad you can stay at liberty to choose what you read.
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I think another consideration is every blogger knows his/her blogging audience better than anyone else. When one reblogs material, one often wants it to be relevant to some extent (and when it’s not, it’s limited in its helpfulness).
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I’m not disrespecting what others wish to do on their blogs. I’m explaining why I do what I do on mine. People have questioned why I promote authors whose work I have not read. That’s the question I was attempting to answer. 🙂
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Sorry, I was branching out. 🙂
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I get you. 🙂 I didn’t want this post to make other people feel bad for not promoting. That wasn’t my intent, so I am being a bit defensive. 🙂
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