RSS

Post #500: Release Dates, Rule Revisions, and Blog Tours

Welcome to Children's Atheneum's 500th blog post!

Technically.

There was a time a few years back that blogger lost about 40+ blog posts, so technically this is not 500, but according to the official count on my dashboard we have reached a milestone.

As such, now would be a good time to let my readers know about some general changes that I will be implementing immediately:

1. Publisher & Release Dates
Since I often read Advance Reader Copies, there are times that I review books that won't be released for another month or two. In order to give my reader's all the information they need, I will begin posting the publishing house as well as the official release date of the book, even if the book was published a year ago.

2. Review Rule Revision
In the past, I have made it a general rule not to review books of people I know personally. This has meant my professors at Hamline University, classmates, and author friends. The problem with this is that a) my readers are not hearing about some really fantastic books and b) as I meet more and more authors and my classmates begin publishing, this is becoming more and more difficult. Thus, beginning now, I will be reviewing any and all books that I read, including those written by friends, classmates, teachers, and peers. I promise that I will continue to write these reviews with honesty, integrity, and balance, but will not limit myself to only authors I do not know. For full disclosure, I will inform the reader when it is an author or illustrator that I know.

3. Interviews & Blog Tours
In the history of Children's Atheneum, I have never done an interview or a blog tour. Some of this was due to sheer laziness. A little bit was because I truly didn't think that I would be a very good interviewer. Also, what is a blog tour exactly? That was completely rhetorical, I do actually know the answer now. Over the past year or so, I have been approached by authors in regards to reviews, interviews, and blog tours and I have declined. No more. As of now, I would like to open Children's Atheneum up to authors and illustrators who are looking to expand their readership through reviews, interviews, and blogs tours. I hope to make a link (if I can remember how) letting authors and illustrators know where they can send ARCs for review and how to get in touch with me regarding interviews and blog tours. Just as my End of the Year reviews have some strange and interesting categories, I hope that the questions I ask these authors will not be the usual type, but I am sure it will be a work in progress. All I know is that I have reached nearly 2,000 readers a month and I think it is time to expand this little blog I have created. 


0 comments: