On Becoming a Book Review Blogger

One of my favorite things about book blogging is that it has given me the opportunity to discover some wonderful books that I may not have come across otherwise. When I first started my book blog, I never dreamed I'd actually receive review copies. I simply wanted a place where I could chat about books.

It's a great thing to be contacted by authors, publishers and PR people asking me to read and review books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer, so when I am contacted for a review, I really feel honored. Even more so when the authors contact me themselves, because I know their books are their 'babies', something they put their hearts and souls into.

Reading and reviewing is something I just love to do. I don't get paid and it's a labor of love, but I will "work for books". Hubby, a non-reader, has often said to me, "You don't get paid for reading those books". I just tell him that the books are my payment because I love to read! I'm addicted to books, so what's better than getting them for free?

I was recently asked by a fellow blogger how I receive these books for review. So here goes, this is my advice on
Becoming a Book Review Blogger

First things first, you will need a blog and you will need time to dedicate to blogging and reading.

1. Be An Active Blogger and Review Books on a Regular Basis
Part of book blogging is getting to meet fellow bloggers online, so go for it. Visit other bloggers and see what they have to say, leave a thoughtful comment on their posts, they'll probably return the visit.
I've gotten authors and PR people email me with a review request saying they saw me comment on so and so's blog.

I keep my blog active by posting, reviewing, and visiting other blogs on a regular basis. I try to make my posts engaging and creative. I want visitors to enjoy my blog enough to return. You want your blog to have traffic and comments.
You can see my **first review here**, which kind of sucked. Practice makes perfect however, and I like to think I tweaked my reviewing skills over time. The first review request came about a year later.
I put alot of work into my reviews, and they are always my honest opinion, I don't bash books and I keep my reviews as as interesting as I can.

Your book reviews are the key, they need to be well written, honest and well thought out.

2. Find websites that offer free review copies.
I am a member of the following:

*NetGalley is a great resource for ebooks. Once you request one, you get it within a few days if not a few hours.


*LibraryThing. Become a member, then join their LibraryThing Early Reviewers/Member Giveaway. Each month you will be able to request books from a list. LibraryThing will notify you if you snagged a review copy. Depending on the book, the hard copies are available to the U.S. and some to Canada, but they also offer e-books for all.


*Pump Up Your Book Promotion offers free review copies. This is only for only U.S. and Canada however.


* Historical Fiction Book Tours. The fabulous Amy offers historicals for review as well as author interviews, guest posts and giveaways.


* TLC Book Tours Lisa & Trish over at TLC offer some really fantastic book tours to take part in.


3. Post your reviews on several sites.
Whenever I post a review on my blog, I also post it on Amazon, Goodreads and LibraryThing. I have had authors contact me after reading my reviews on these sites.
Amazon has a program called Vine where they offer you two products for review each month. The products vary from books, to accessories and housewares for review. This is an invite only program, based on your Amazon reviews ranking. I've been reviewing on Amazon for a couple of years before I was invited to become a Vine Voice, but it was certainly worth it. If you're going to review books anyway, take a few minutes to post the reviews on amazon too, there's a chance of getting invited to AmazonVine.

4. Set up a review policy on your blog with your email readily available so that authors and PR people can contact you for possible review inquiries.
When you have information on your blog readily available on how to contact you for a possible review, the greater the chances are that you will be contacted.

5. Be your own PR person.
If you read and reviewed a book you enjoyed, visit the author's website.
Authors usually have contact forms on their websites, and they do like to hear from readers. So why not drop them a line if you enjoyed their work? They may respond, and you have nothing to lose either way.

After reading Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, I filled out the contact form at author Laurie Viera Rigler's website and told her how much I loved her book and I let her know I reviewed it on my blog. Laurie was very kind, wound up stopping by my blog for an interview and sent me a copy of the sequel, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict. That was a huge deal for me, I was thrilled.

The more you put yourself out there, the more chances are of getting your blog noticed by authors. You never know who might contact you online. Life is full of nice surprises.

6. Be Picky
The downside of being an online book review blogger is that sometimes you will get review requests that simply don't interest you. I recommend not feeling guilty if you have to politely refuse. Life is too short to read books that you don't enjoy.
If the review request is vague, has no author website link or information on the book, chances are you don't want to waste your time anyway. I'm telling you this from personal experience.

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After getting myself out there by frequently blogging, reviewing and being part of book tours, I am now contacted by publicists and authors with review requests on a regular basis.
It's funny how times are always changing. When I first began book blogging, it was all about the hard copy. Now it's all about the e-book, which really simplifies things if you have an e-reader.

It doesn't happen overnight, I began my blog in 2007. Slowly but surely, the review requests began to come in and now I get to do something I really love, while getting books for review and getting the opportunity to meet some fantastic authors and publicists online.

The book blogging community is wonderful, and I very happy to be a part of it. Getting books for review has been the icing on the cake.