In response to a few things I have seen coming up on various blogs and twitter I have decided to post this today. It is not a personal attack on any one blogger in particular but I hope it makes people think
The Overflowing Library's blogging ettiquette tips
Tip #1
Do not use memes to spam other people's blogs. It is rude. If you want to leave a link to your post at least make a comment about the post you are commenting on. If you do that you are more likely to get a visit and comment in return
Tip #2
Keep personal comments and attacks off your blog. If you have a problem with another blogger contact them privately and talk it out or rise above it.
Tip #3
In order to help upkeep the excellent reputation of the blogging community when you review, review like a professional. We may not be paid, or do this full time but we need to have standards if we want to be taken seriously and continue to be valued by publishers.
Tip #4
Do not to be critical of how others chose to blog. Some of us have new content every day, some don't. It doesn't mean that their blogs are any less valuable it's just how things are. In fact sometimes it is the case that less is more. Making them feel bad does not help. Each to their own and all that..
Tips #5
Don't take review copies for granted because they are precious. Not everyone gets them. If you are one of those people who don't get them please remember those bloggers who do get them are often more than happy to share if you are nice (which is where a vast amount of mine come from). That said those of us who do get them have put the time and effort in establishing contacts. We did not get them sent to us instantly the moment we set up blogs.
I'll finish by saying a huge thank you to my fellow bloggers, authors and publishing houses that make blogging such a wonderful part of my life please don't let the few people who do not think before they type make you feel bad or put you off blogging.
The Overflowing Library's blogging ettiquette tips
Tip #1
Do not use memes to spam other people's blogs. It is rude. If you want to leave a link to your post at least make a comment about the post you are commenting on. If you do that you are more likely to get a visit and comment in return
Tip #2
Keep personal comments and attacks off your blog. If you have a problem with another blogger contact them privately and talk it out or rise above it.
Tip #3
In order to help upkeep the excellent reputation of the blogging community when you review, review like a professional. We may not be paid, or do this full time but we need to have standards if we want to be taken seriously and continue to be valued by publishers.
Tip #4
Do not to be critical of how others chose to blog. Some of us have new content every day, some don't. It doesn't mean that their blogs are any less valuable it's just how things are. In fact sometimes it is the case that less is more. Making them feel bad does not help. Each to their own and all that..
Tips #5
Don't take review copies for granted because they are precious. Not everyone gets them. If you are one of those people who don't get them please remember those bloggers who do get them are often more than happy to share if you are nice (which is where a vast amount of mine come from). That said those of us who do get them have put the time and effort in establishing contacts. We did not get them sent to us instantly the moment we set up blogs.
I'll finish by saying a huge thank you to my fellow bloggers, authors and publishing houses that make blogging such a wonderful part of my life please don't let the few people who do not think before they type make you feel bad or put you off blogging.
Comments
I couldn't help but think while reading...most book bloggers are female, aren't they? Tips 2 and 4 especially go to show that a group of women can create drama even in the online world... =) We need to use our drama productively, or else get a few guys into the mix to balance us out!! =)
Erin @ Quitting My Day Job
yes number 1 is solely directed at the WS. grr very annoying
@erin
There are a few boys out there but not many
you are more than welcome to!
Great post and I really feel that you point out some key issues in blogging today. Blogging is so very personal that there isn't "a" way to blog, just a thousand ways to read it.
Thanks for the support you gave me in particular and for what you are doing in general - definitely one of the best aspects of why I am a blogger and enjoy being part of this community!
*hugs*
Tip #5 is also a good point! When I first started blogging, I received most of my review copies from other bloggers. I've finally started receiving books from publishers, but it took a loooooong time! And now I'm trying to pay it forward by sharing my review copies and ARCs with others.
Here's my Saturday Situation.
I totally agree with sharing the love. I have some bloggers who I share with regularly, but I'm always up for sharing an ARC with someone who may not have gotten it.
And I agree that we all are different and some can't post everyday. If I had a full time job I wouldn't be posting everyday, that's for sure! And so many are in school, etc as well.
And being nice in reviews is important, I think. You can be honest but still be respectful in what you say.
Hopefully people who may not have known these things read this post!
Thanks for linking at Saturday Situation!
Your mention in tip 1 is something l have been thiking myself and l totally agree about getting books from publishers is a big and very special thing.
I value ur tip on the not being able to post everyday..I feel this totally because I have been quite bad about this in the past few months but hopefully that will change soon =)
Naomi aka Supernatural Bookworm
It does just come down to respect and at the end of the day, you should treat people online the same as you would in real life, and Id never be disrespectful in real life, and to be honest I feel bad for those who are. There's no need!
I really think your post helps to put things in perspective a little bit! It's so easy to forget that blogging is very personal to each individual and we all do it differently.
It's sad that the proofs cause such problems amongst bloggers, I really wish more people would just get back to reading their own books for awhile and remember the passion that they had for it instead of always keeping an eye on who has which proof before them/instead of them.
I have been fortunate to have had only positive interactions with fellow bloggers and readers so far.
Just keep things fun, and be respectful - good ideals to live by.
Thanks for addressing, in point #1, spamming bloggers. That's a personal pet peeve of mine. I can't stand seeing people copy and paste the same comment onto hundreds of blogs a week. Think of something unique to say, some idea that sparked in your mind when you read their post. Oh wait... spammers like that probably have never read your post. Sometimes it's hard to tell if they are people at all, with their automatic responses.