Mundie Moms

Friday, May 27, 2011

Armchair BEA, Day 5: Blogging About Blogging

Things are wrapping up for BEA & Armchair BEA. It's been a really fun week talking about books, getting to meet new bloggers and chatting with author Kendare Blake. Today's topic of discussion is "Blogging".

Blogging Advice: I think the most important thing to remember is to BE YOURSELF. Let your blog be a reflection of you and do not compare your blog to anyone else's. Blogging should be fun, not competitive. There's a lot of great blogs out there, and I think the ones that stand out the most are the ones who aren't afraid to be themselves. Enjoy what you do. We love talking about and promoting books, sharing Cassie's latest news, other author news, chatting with authors and hosting giveaways. What we love to do is evident on the blog.

Reviews- We're not going to fall in love with every book we read, and Sophie and I have often talked about our rating system. Should we post reviews under a 3 star rating or just keep doing what we've always done? I personally like reading blogs that have reviews posted for books they loved and books they didn't like as much. I feel the key to writing a good review regardless of whether you loved the book or not, is to be respectful. You can write a review about a book you don't like with out bashing the author. I don't enjoy writing reviews for books I didn't like, but just because I didn't enjoy doesn't mean the next reader won't love it. It's important to talk about the things you like and didn't like with the book.

Memes- I think memes offer another way for bloggers to network and get to know each other. There's two memes we take part in, IMM and WOW, and the rest are ones we created for Mundie Moms. Mundane Monday, Twitter Tuesday, Thoughtful Thursday and Freebie Friday. Memes aren't a requirement for blogging. There are a lot of creative memes out there and if it's something you want to take part in, find the ones that best fit your blogs needs.

Social Networking: When MM's first started the first person I reached out to was Cassie herself. After Cassie, I reached out to other authors, inviting them to come and chat with us about their books. I wanted to offer something unique on MM's, while at the same time allowing authors and fans to discuss their books, which is how our author chats started. In the beginning we chatted on the forum, then we used another site before we moved the chats to the blog and began using our current chat room. We've hosted over 100 author chat, and I feel through those chats we've been able to get to know authors and bloggers more.

Authors & Publishers: For me it's been extremely important for MM's to have a relationship with authors and publishers, as well as bloggers. In regards to our relationships with authors and publishers, we rarely, if ever discuss those relationships publicly, nor do we give out our contacts information. That's purely based on our personal opinion, and something we feel is personal and we're not at liberty to share.

When you are establishing a relationship with publishers, it is very important to not only include your name, and mailing address in your email, but include your blogs stats (page hits/views, what genre you're reviewing for etc) and let them know what it is you want to do. If you just posted a review, share the review. If you're wanting to possibly set up an author interview or request a book to review, let them know what dates you'd like to post your review on. Just because you request a book to review, does not mean you'll get it. Don't be discouraged. Share your review with the publishing house for books you buy and books you receive to review. Be sure to always share your review with the publicist you've established a relationship with after it's posted, even it's for a book you didn't enjoy. Publishers like to know what our thoughts are on the books we're reading.

Bloggers: We love meeting new bloggers. When the blog first started we networked by reaching out to people who shared similar interests. Twitter is a great way to meet new bloggers, as well as attending local author signings, which is where I did a lot of networking. We also connected with a lot of friends some of which are our affiliates. Goodreads, Facebook, and Amazon are other places we've met friends and fellow bloggers.

Blogging: Blogging is a hobby, and it's something that we enjoy doing. Our real job is that of being wives and moms. There's never a question for us of what comes first, but that also doesn't mean we don't make time to blog. I spend a good chunk of blogging either late at night or early in the morning before my kids are up. If it ever gets to a point where we feel burnt out, we take a break for a bit. There's no rule to how often you need to be making posts. I think it's important to remember that when you're feeling burnt out, take a break from it. The quality of your posts are more important than the quantity.

I'm sure a few of you may be snoring now that you've read through this long post. LOL I'm snoring too. Have fun with your blog. I love what I do on MM's. It's been a lot of fun talking about books, chatting with authors and getting to know many of you. THANK YOU to all of your for being apart of MM's!!

8 comments:

  1. I agree with all your statements!

    Blogging for the love of blogging is what it's about. Since I've started I've been absolutely ecstatic. I love getting e-mails from other bloggers who stop by and I love connecting with them. It's interesting to see how varying everyones tastes are. I've even met a few Canadian bloggers along the way, a few that actually stop by the store I work at for a chat every once in a while.

    I spoken to Kendare Blake through e-mail, unfortunately I've never met her in person. She seems like a very wonderful person and very witty too.

    I hope everyone who attended BEA this year had a wonderful time. Hopefully I'll be able to make it out next year.
    -Mocha from A Cupcake and A Latte: YA Reads, Reviews & More!.

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  2. Thank you!!! I agree, I love hearing from bloggers, via the comments they leave or their emails. It's awesome being able to connect with people through blogging and a love of books.

    I love getting to met bloggers in person. Hopefully you'll have more author tours in your area :)

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  3. It's so great to get blogging advice from you--Mundie Moms is pretty much famous in my opinion. I 100% agree that blogging should be fun and not competitive! Also, yay for quality over quantity. Thanks so much for the great advice! :)

    Here is my post about blogging!

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  4. Kaitlyn- Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate your comments :)

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  5. Thanks for the great post - no snoring here! Loved participating in the armchair. Stop by The Wormhole!

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  6. Great post, MMs. I couldn't agree more -- have fun, don't say anything in a review that you may regret later and most of all be yourself.

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  7. How cool, MMs, (who have rock star status in my eyes) that you took time to give such down-to-earth advice to us newbies to the blogging world. Hugs to you both! I love the "have fun" - it's that what's it all about!

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  8. Beverly- Thank you so much!! I'll be sure to stop and visit The wormhole :)

    Sophie- Thank you!! I don't know what I'd do with you and your fabulous advice.

    Darby- Aw, thank you so much! I really appreciate that. :) Hugs to you!!!

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