Saturday, March 24, 2012

Money vs. Time

The two questions I've had since I began writing this blog and following other reviewer blogs is how reviewers choose books to review and how they manage their time doing so. 


Almost all review blogs I've visited have a Review Policy which details the types of books they will review (whether it be genre, length, series, or personal interest), a loose timeline of when their review will be posted, and where they'll post it (their blog, Goodreads, Amazon, anywhere else the author/publisher requests). 


But when do you say no? Even if you can read a book every two days, when does it become a chore? Personally, I can't force myself to read. Some bloggers say they dedicated time each day to reading, and if they can do it and enjoy it, all the best to them. Two or three weeks will pass where I won't pick up a single book, and it doesn't phase me. I have to be in the right mood to read a book. Sometimes, I'm in the mood for contemporary and others it's dystopian or paranormal, but I never try to make myself read when I just don't want to. Although there are weeks where I can read a book a day, staying up through the night and falling asleep only when I've read the last page or there's a big enough plot pause that I can wait until the next day to continue. 


There are a few blogs I follow that buy, borrow and win books every week, yet their review turnover doesn't seem up to par with how many they take in. I think this is one of the issues that most review bloggers face, because it's easier to say yes than no. It makes you realize just how many novels are published and how valuable reviews and reviewers are, when one book can be chosen over another - it goes to show what people are willing to spend time on. Because that's what it comes down to. Yes, novels cost money for the publishers and the customers, but the time that people devote to reading and reviewing is what can push that novel up to recognition. 


Money translates into time. If I buy a novel for $18 the first week it's released and I sit down and devote 2-5 hours on a novel, I am more likely than not to tell someone about that book. And weirdly enough, the worse the novel, the more people talk about it. At least that's what I've noticed. Negative reviews get infinitely more attention because people are quick to defend, which can spiral out of control even more quickly because of the phenomenon that is the internet. People are drawn to drama whether they want to admit it or not.


Even bad publicity is good publicity, I've heard many times. Doesn't matter if the talk is bad, just as long as someone is talking about it. And to be honest, even if I hear or read a negative review, it won't deter me from reading it.

4 comments:

  1. I actually sometimes go without reading for weeks on end just because I'm not in the mood or I have to study (being in college and all). I review books on my blog, but I'll say no to a lot more books than other reviewers. That being said, my blog is fairly new so I don't actually get asked to review that many books.

    But I have no problem turning a book down because I just don't have time to read something I'm not interested in. I have tons of books on my bookshelf that I still really, really want to read but either haven't had the time or just haven't felt like reading.

    It surprises me how many books some bloggers can read!! I swear it's like a super power! And yeah, at some point it does sound like a chore for them. I hope that doesn't happen to me, but you never know!

    The whole negative reviews thing - there are definitely some authors who do think bad publicity is better than no publicity. They ignite the fights on Goodreads and such. It's legit craziness!

    Great points, Sallie!!

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    1. Just saw this: commenting now!

      I will probably come up with a whole long post/rant about how Goodreads reviews/Amazon reviews get so out of hand. Author's definitely ignite the fights and just add fuel to it each time they comment on something. They wrote the book, and now they just need to relax and let others critique.

      If you can't handle the book heat, get out of the bookstore! haha

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  2. Good issues addressed.
    I'm definitely good at saying no.
    But I wasn't in the beginning.
    I burned out quick and learned to only take stuff I think I will really dig.

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    1. Yea, I think at first people are so excited to get ANYTHING that they accept everything. But it's just like any other assignment or task you sign on to do. If you can't handle it or the amount of work that comes along with it, then you have to put your foot down.

      Thanks for checking out my blog!

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