my weekend is friday and saturday. and i cherish these days. especially when i am not traveling to speak or having to work on authory kinds of things.
this weekend is just that: two down days. no real plans (except sharing some meals with friends)…and that is it. it has been a weekend of sleeping in, eating cookies for breakfast, indulging in a law and order marathon, and reading.
the book of the season is the fine line by my new friend kary oberbrunner.
now, at this point, i am guessing several of you are familiar with “the blog tour” that surrounds pretty much every new release. some have written saying this is an unfair pimping of new books – using blogs as a cheap and easy marketing tool, thus disengaging the true community aspect these blogs hold.
in some cases, i couldn’t agree more.
so i wanted to clear something up with you before i participate in blog tours, because sometimes, i think blog tours are a very fair way of sharing new books that are seriously life changing.
(raises up right hand in vowlike manner)
i promise you i am not going to do a “blog tour” just because somebody asks. the blog tours i do are for books and for people who i personally know and personally believe in.
i met kary at catalyst and got to hang out with him a little bit on wednesday. he’s one of those people i wish lived closer to nashville because i know i would be picking his brain all the time. his book has already captured me.
so, there you have it. my promise to you. i won’t pimp books i don’t believe in or for people i don’t know. i know there is an element of trust you and i share and i don’t want to violate it.
i’ll be writing a more thorough post on kary’s book after i finish it…but wanted to turn you on to it (and get this blog tour idea discussed a little).
you can see the full list of blogs kary will be stopping by here. and you can read more about his book here. and get to know kary here.
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what do you think about book blog tours? useful information about upcoming books? shameless pimping? turn you on? turn you off? i’d love to hear your feedback.
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Comments
23 responses to “blankets, fireplaces and good books”
I think the idea has merit, but needs to be more personal and less about book quips. I have no problem with shameless promotion, but for that trade off, there has to be increased merit.
For example, share the behind the scenes stuff of a point or story in the book that had to be edited out for the sake of pages, flow etc..,
ie) Like the special features of a DVD or a backstage site at a “conference” ;-)
I love the idea….when the person blogging has actual ties to the author/book. It helps me create a good reading list while gathering helpful and insightful info as I process the book. In addition, its way easier for me to read it in a blog than to search for it myself…I would never find it otherwise. I say go for it!
I have no problems with it coming from you and i agree with what Jason just said, special features make me feel special!
I find them helpful as long as they are authentic and truthful……..if you hate it, don’t cover that up!
I worry that the reviews will be tainted by the connection made when the review is arranged. While I enjoy the tour reviews, I trust a recommendation more if the blog author picked up the book at Borders. I really get excited when someone sent a book because they thought the author just had to read it.
I like the idea and don’t see it as a trust violation. For me, it’s another information source. If I decide I don’t like, or don’t agree, with what I’m reading, it’s my choice to stop reading it. Book blog tours – sure, bring it on.
We don’t need one more Christian book. Thats what I think. We need Biblical literacy.
I don’t like them if they are truly just a tour. If they engage conversation then I think that is different. But a simple q/a or a book review is pretty lame.
I do blog book tours/giveaways all the time.
I write about books that I think people should read. The difference for me is – some books I get for free because I promise to blog about them, and the rest I pay for, fall in love with and, so I can’t help but blog about them.
as expensive as marketing and personal book tours are – i say go for it. it’s a lot like using a myspace or blog to promote your, or a comrade’s, music. what’s shameless is how badly abused musicians and authors are. they are the brains, emotion, spirit and soul of the art – and the promoter /publisher gets all the dough
shameless i say, shameless
btw – can i say that in church?
Considering the state of book buying, and how hard it is for authors to get their name out there, I have no problem with it. I participate in a heck of a lot of blog tours. As a blogger, the most I ever get out of it is a book. As a book blogger I am overwhelmed by review requests and don’t always have time to read each book. I don’t feel like I have to like every book to feature it on my blog…believe me, a book I love will stand out from the crowd. But my readers all like different things and sometimes I feature a book I know will appeal to them. (for example, no kids here, but lots of my readers have them)
I held a discussion recently on the blog on a bloggers ability to be honest if they receive a complimentary copy of the book or have direct contact with the author. Most bloggers are able to be honest in their review, though they have learned not to tear books apart. Not a bad thing, I say. ;)
For goodness sakes if someone doesn’t want to read your review then they can push click and move on. It is your blog… why can’t you blog about what you want? Are you doing it to keep readers or using this as an expression and catalyst for discusison? Sorry, kind of felt some ire coming up. Felt like back in nice little Baptist church when people and committees tore my preacher friends apart b/c they weren’t preaching and ministering “about” what THEY preferred. Sheesh!
I think I’d be picking your brain as well if we lived closer, Anne. Interesting post. Perhaps I should now burn my book in light of Jud’s comments. -Kary
I love blog tours. I get a lot of free books that way!
Seriously, I like the position you are taking – to only blog about authors you know personally. That rings of integrity and authenticity.
I honestly can’t say that I read them very often to have an opinion. I had one author do a guest post on my blog and Iooking at the stats I can’t say it was well read. Of course I’d do one for you Anne ;).
Sort of turns me off and I rarely, if ever, even bother looking at the back cover of a pimped book. Sorry. The truth though. It’s not just books, however, it’s anything pimped on a blog.
Kary. I’m not for burning any books to be sure. However, Been to a Christian bookstore lately? It’s as if Jesus said Go forth into all the world and market me and capitalize off of me like all get out. It would be one thing if there was more originality but for the most part you have people writing books… for the sake of writing books, borrowing liberally from previous works thanks to prior knowledge (wink,wink) we Christians ought never to sue one another. At least it seems that way. Another thing is that we have prominent Christian authors who have theological systems going in all kinds of dangerous directions and an extremely illiterate (Biblically) base off of which to sell to. Oh, and it’s funny how many pastors that I hear blast people who demand more THEOLOGY but they are more than willing to endorse or quote from the halls of PSYCHOLOGY.
i think they FANTASTIC!!! i learn about so many books i would otherwise never know about. i am not a huge book person so i think it is great when really fabulous books are placed right in front of my face.
I agree that Biblical Literacy is something that is needed! But that is a personal thing….twice a year I fast any reading but the Bible. Just a thing I do to make sure “christian books” don’t push God out of my time.
But I agree with Crystal…I love it because I can spend 5 hrs in a book store looking for a good book or 5 mins here or another blog and can decide if I want to read it or not….thus saving time and money on books I didn’t enjoy or finish.
Actually we really want to thank you, Anne, for mentioning Perry Noble’s blog on of your posts. My husband and I love, love, love his writings and leadership skills to Sr. Pastors. He tells it like it is and we cannot wait to read what he has to say. Y’all do understand what we want and you are so kind to let us know. So Answer: “turns us on.” and we say we appreciate it! : )
I’m not certain as to the definition of a “blog tour,” however, like Crystal says, if it puts something in front of my face that needs to be there that I wouldn’t have otherwise found, then, as Mitch Hedberg would say, “I’m for ’em!”
http://weatherford.wordpress.com
“We don?t need one more Christian book. Thats what I think. We need Biblical literacy.”
Dang it! So much for the book I just wrote about Biblical literacy!
Seriously, Anne, I think blog tours are a great way for authors to reach out to different audiences. As long as there’s an organic connection between the author and the blogger, I’m all about it!
BTW – good luck on your book release!
I know Kary personally too. Our families have shared pizza–at their house and ours. He’s the real deal. And his book will make you think.