First Time For Everything
Welcome to the Dear Book Nerd podcast, a bi-weekly show that answers your questions about life, love, and literature! My special guest co-host this week is the great and knowledgeable Guy LeCharles Gonzalez. We talked over three listener-submitted questions and dealt with topics such as book blogging, how to prepare for your first public reading, and much more. Don’t miss it!
Guy has worked in the publishing industry for over 20 years. Most recently he was the Director, Content Strategy & Audience Development for Library Journal, School Library Journal, and The Horn Book, and the founding Director of Programming & Business Development for Digital Book World. He’s also a published poet and journalist, former National Poetry Slam champion, and was an active comic book blogger for a few years. You can find him on twitter @glecharles. Thank you for joining me, Guy!
This episode was sponsored by The Edge of the Light by Elizabeth George.
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QUESTIONS DISCUSSED:
Hello Rita!
First, I love the podcast, you and your guests are always entertaining and informative. Thank you so much for all the work and enthusiasm you put into this.
For my question/discussion topic – why do you think publishers don’t take book blogs on Tumblr seriously? I follow 200 or so different “booklrs” and I can honestly say that I’ve read more books based on their suggestions and reviews than any other platform. I don’t read reviews on GoodReads because they usually have spoilers, or just aren’t very well written. I don’t use Blogger or WordPress, so I don’t read any reviews there. YouTube just seems like a weird platform for books, at least to me. Aside from the Book Riot site, Tumblr is where I get all of my book info – but time and again I see people posting their rejection stories for ARC requests because “Tumblr isn’t considered a proper blogging platform.” It bothers me, not the least because I’ve been considering doing reviews myself. These bloggers are some of the friendliest, most helpful people you’ll ever encounter, but despite all their work, they’re not considered legitimate. Thoughts?
Troubled Tumblrite
Dear Book Nerd,
Some friends of mine are organizing a small reading later this month and they want me to read, but I’ve never done this before. How do I prepare for my first reading?
First-Time Reader
Dear Book Nerd:
Lately I’ve been switching out my ex-library books, my ratty paperbacks, and my book club editions for first editions in fine condition. I’ve been buying the Lawrence Block “Burglar” series and love them but he wrote a couple short stories that are only in magazines. Should I buy the magazines (Playboy/Cosmopolitan) and keep them with my firsts since they are the first and only time they’ve been published?
Martha
_______________________________________________LINKS DISCUSSED:
“The Great Taxonomy of Literary Tumblrs: Round Two” (The Millions)
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