Tag: Galley

Book Buying Bans Don’t Work

Posted December 7, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 9 Comments

This year I decided to go a book buying ban, I was only allowed to buy books that I needed (for book clubs or study). The idea was to reduce my TBR (To Be Read) and focus on the books that are on my shelves that I haven’t read. I have so many unread books that I have a whole bookshelf in my bedroom full of books to read next. I kept to this book buying ban till very recently and what I learnt was; there is no way to reduce your TBR!

As a book blogger, you soon discover there are a lot of ways to get books you want to read without having to pay for them. Granted this is not always the case and for the books you are dying to read, it is probably better to just buy the book. I think all serious readers know the different ways to get free books. I’m not talking illegal; I’m talking about making use to your library, ebook services, galleys, egalleys and so on. You can do pretty well for yourself as a book blogger and never have to buy a book.

For me, I’m not the type of reader that focuses just on new releases so galleys (or ARCs) and egalleys (while great) was not my main source of books this year. Most of the books I read this year were actually from the library and there wasn’t much from my shelf. I spend so much time on the library website looking for books that I had on one of my Goodreads TBR’s selves (I have two on Goodreads one for books on my shelf and one for the books I don’t own) and reserving them.

So what I learnt from this experiment is I like owning books and I’m glad to be out of this book buying ban. But the main lesson was that I need to use the library more, they are a great service and I need to take full advantage of it. There is one other thing I learnt from this book buying ban and that is, some books interest you at a point in time but you often lose interest before actually reading it. There is a heap of books I wanted to read but never got around to it and I’m glad I didn’t impulse buy the books. Buzz books are interesting but sometimes you need to understand what you like to read more than what is so exciting at the time.

Have you tried a book buying ban? If so, I would love to know why you tried it and did it help you achieve what you wanted to achieve. I don’t think I’ll go on a book buying ban again but I think I will approach reading differently. My TBR is so big and I’m not sure how to reduce it, maybe I have to force myself. Let me know if you have any other thoughts on book buying bans, I would love to hear them.

Book Buzz or Manipulation?

Posted November 16, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 8 Comments

Recently I found myself reading, and discussing on twitter, a particular piece found on the NetGalley tumblr page. This article is a typical puff piece about how great NetGalley is and what they can do to create book buzz and make a book popular. It was transcript of a speech Lindsey Rudnickas (NetGalley’s Digital Marketing Manager) gave on ‘“Book Buzz & Discoverability in the Future of Storytelling’. Basically she was saying, give NetGalley your business and we can make your upcoming book a hit.

Sure, this was a typical marketing pitch but it left a bad taste in my mouth. I felt more like a tool (the literal meaning of tool) rather than a book blogger. I use NetGalley and have enjoyed the benefits of getting to read a book before it’s released from publishers as well. I just wondered are we just tools used to manipulate people into buying the books they want to promote.

This is a little cynical but it was worth taking the time to think about. I have the opportunity to be in direct contact with some people who work marketing for a publisher. Most of them are friendly and supportive of book bloggers. We just have to remember this whole thing is a win-win situation for both the blogger and the publisher.

I know most people know this but this article made me feel more manipulated that I wanted. Should I feel manipulated? Out of the 272 reviews post so far (as of the 4th of November) 64% of the books are book I own, 19% are provided by a publisher, NetGalley or a similar service and 17% are library books. This is nothing to be ashamed of; I think if I read what I want to read then I shouldn’t feel this way.

It was just something to think about; I’ve often said these publicists could save money by being selective with what books they send to the bloggers. I know some of them will be more selective or communicate with the blogger before sending out books. This whole strategy of sending every blogger the same book may seem weird but reading this article I can see what they want to achieve. If there are a heap of reviews on the one book (positive or negative) the book will be recognised, talked about and there we have buzz.

So how do you feel about ARCs or Galleys? Do they over take your life? As a blogger do you think you have a healthy balance between what you want to read and what has been sent to you? Do you feel manipulated? Let me know in the comments; maybe I’m one of the few but at least it was something to think about.