On Twitter this week, a wonderful hashtag #BookBloggerConfessions popped into my feed — and I couldn’t help but jump on board. I don’t know exactly where it originated, but it was such a fun chat with fellow bloggers (and readers and authors), and I had a lot of fun sharing my “confessions” with you guys.
So I thought I’d do a little round-up here if you missed it, and added a couple additional confessions that popped in as I was working on this compilation:
– I get nervous when authors read my reviews. Did I do their book justice? Will they hate what I said? (Especially so for books I LOVED! It’s much easier to be critical, than to put what you loved about something into clear, coherent thoughts and sentences.)
– I don’t write/post negative book reviews. If I can’t at least say some positive things, I don’t post a review.
– But I could probably count on ONE hand the number of times I haven’t reviewed a book because I didn’t like it at all.
– I’ve become friends (real, actual friends) with several authors, and YES. I promote the heck out of their books on my blog. (But why wouldn’t I? Their books are AMAZING!)
– I donate any books/ARCs I receive unsolicited that I don’t want to read or keep, to schools & shelters primarily. Sometimes I will do “book swaps” with my local blogger buddies, as well.
– I feel bad that I can’t read/review every book I receive. Or can’t say yes to every review request I get.
– I try not to post TOO many pictures of the books I receive for review. I don’t want to seem like I’m bragging?
– When I do post pictures of books I receive, it’s just because I’m so darn excited about them!
– (I’ve also been told posting pictures of books is a good way to promote titles, even if you don’t plan on reading them. And I’ve been told that people like book photos. I’m going to try and post more this year.)
– I feel guilty when I cheat on my review books/ARCs with backlist (or even just recently published) books that I’m not planning to review.
– But I also find it kind of freeing (?) to read books that I don’t plan to review. Like, it’s a little reading vacation. (Not that I dislike reviewing, but sometimes it’s nice to just read & know I don’t have to write a blog post when I’m done.)
– I get really annoyed when I receive review pitches for books that in NO WAY fit my demographic/review policy.
– Likewise, I’m disappointed when I receive book mail & it’s for a genre I don’t read/review. (Like romance or New Adult).
– And honestly, I’m not even sure how I got on mailing lists for those books! Or how to get off the list!
– I also get annoyed when I receive pitches for e-books, when my policy clearly states I only read/review physical books. (I don’t even own an e-reader.)
– Also super annoying when someone offers me a “review copy,” I say yes, and then they email me an e-galley. (Like, just be upfront about it to begin with?)
– I am SO SLOW at mailing out prizes from contests I host. (This is not a secret.) Sometimes it has taken months.
– I’m also really bad about replying to emails from authors/publishers sometimes. I’m working on getting better.
– I’m also really bad about sending links to reviews to the publishers who sent me the books. Also working on this.
– At author events, I refuse to get an ARC signed unless I am also getting a finished copy signed. It just seems wrong.
– I also judge others who get ARCs signed but won’t buy/bring a finished copy to author events. (Because honestly, if you really love & want to support an author? Just spend the $16 or whatever to buy their freaking book! I just thing it seems tacky to gush about how much you love an author, and then ask them to sign the crappy, unedited version you got for free without buying a finished copy.)
– When I do get ARCs signed by authors, it’s almost always so I can use it later as a giveaway here on the blog.
– I get really frustrated by “sweepers” entering my contests all the time. Like, I never see them commenting or tweeting about NON-contest posts. And if you go to their Twitter account, it’s just a flood of contest tweets. I’m not sure how to address it, and that bums me out.
– I’m also sad that so few people have entered our writing contests of late. I’m actually considering getting rid of them. Everyone just seems to want an easy Rafflecopter contest these days. See problem above.
– Sometimes I’ll read a book that has gotten tons of positive reviews (from both bloggers & critical sources), and I just don’t like it. And I wonder what I missed, or if I just plain didn’t like it regardless of how “good” it should be.
– Yes, I get book envy. When I see other bloggers receiving books I’m dying to read, I definitely get jealous. I usually get over it pretty quickly — but there’s always that initial stab of wanting.
– I’ve thought often about no longer doing my Tuesday “new releases” posts because they are kind of boring and a little time-consuming to put together. But they are SO popular, so I keep doing them. For you guys.
– At my best, I’ll have blog posts scheduled a month in advance. At my worst, I’m scheduling something late the night before it’s supposed to go live. Or even the day of!
– Lately, I’ve been scheduling blog posts about a week or two in advance.
– My husband & I have started talking about the possibility of having a kid in a few years, and I have no idea how I’d balance blogging with a baby. (And reading time.)
– I have more ideas for blog posts than I do time to write them. Lots of great ideas (I think) that have never come to fruition.
– As much as I love the books, I think the relationships are the best thing I’ve gotten out of blogging.
– I’ve made SO MANY great friends through blogging. Both fellow bloggers, authors & other readers. In person, and online. That’s the best!
FOR THE COMMENTS: What are your bookish confessions? As a blogger, a reader, a writer, etc. Tell us below! (Or if you’re doing your own confessions post, feel free to link to your blog post!)
Novel Novice 
Leave a comment