Thanks to you: How book bloggers sparked the indie publishing revolution

This is a guest post by Terri Giuliano Long

Last May, about a month after I began marketing my novel, In Leah's Wake, a former agent told me I’d never sell 500 books. A rookie, I had no idea what to expect. When I published my novel, I’d dreamed of selling around 3,000 – 5,000 books, hoping those healthy sales numbers might attract the attention of an agent or traditional publishing house for my next novel.

The agent had left New York, but she’d been in the business for a long time, and her words stung. I hung up the phone, feeling heartbroken, depressed. Had I not been in the midst of my first blog tour, I might have pulled my novel off the market that day.

Determined to see the tour through, I soldiered on. On the tour, I met wonderful, caring people – book bloggers – whose kindness buoyed and sustained me. Their kindness gave me confidence to believe in myself.

Over the next few months, In Leah's Wake appeared on hundreds of blogs. Bloggers opened their hearts and spread news of this quiet literary novel across their social networks. In August, In Leah's Wake hit the Barnes & Noble and Amazon charts. Now, seven months after my discouraging conversation with the agent, my book has been in the Amazon top 200 for over five months – and sold over 80,000 copies.

Book bloggers rock! Bloggers are, I believe, the fairy godmothers and godfathers of the literary world. They invest their inestimable talent, their tremendous energy, and their invaluable time into discovering, reviewing and promoting new books – and in keeping dreams alive.

Here are five important ways that bloggers shape the literary world:
 

Bloggers have taken the place of traditional reviewers

Book reviews are big business. The money paid to reviewers at publications like The New York Times is generated, at least in part, from ad sales paid for by traditional publishers. Thus far, traditional media have resisted reviewing indie books, probably at least in part because there is little or no money to be made.

Despite the stigma, indie authors continued to write. With no one to parse the thousands of new books on the market, readers who wanted to try books by indie authors were forced to buy largely at random. Some books were gems; others were not. Recognizing the need – and desire on the part of readers – for reviews, bloggers picked up the slack. Today, bloggers take the guesswork out of book buying, lowering the risk for readers.
 

They provide professional reviews that feel personal

Like traditional reviewers, reputable bloggers don’t just give an opinion; they offer a thorough analysis of the book under review. Bloggers labor over their reviews, spending a great deal of time analyzing the work – evaluating plot, structure, character development, and so on – just like any professional reviewer.

Reviews by bloggers, while as legitimate as professional reviews, feel more personal. Readers follow favorite bloggers. They get to know, and often share, the blogger’s sensibilities. The blogger is like a good friend; readers feel they can trust his or her reviews.
 

Through them you discover new voices

Unlike traditional media, most bloggers don’t stigmatize indie-published books. Except perhaps in free reads, no one pays bloggers for their reviews. Bloggers don’t answer to corporate publishers, nudging them to read books by their anointed authors, nor do they answer to a marketing team. Bloggers select books freely – their only goal is to share good reads with their readers and followers. Because they’re open-minded, willing to read books by an author they’ve never heard of, they discover new voices. This is what happened with In Leah's Wake.
 

They introduce new books and authors to the world

When bloggers discover a new book or author they love, they share the news. They publish a review on their blog, post on reader and consumer sites, like Goodreads and Amazon, and share news across their social networks – Facebook, Twitter, Google +, etc.

In the old days, publishers decided which of their books to back, putting hundreds of thousands into marketing some books, next to nothing into others. In essence, by creating visibility for their favored authors and books, they controlled the bestseller lists. Today, by harnessing the power of social networks and media, spreading news virally, bloggers are putting books on those lists.
 

They create a community of authors and readers

On their sites, bloggers create a vibrant community of authors and readers. In the past, outside public readings, readers and authors rarely connected. Today, readers and authors often visit book blogs and dynamic conversations ensue. Bloggers also interview authors or invite authors to write guest posts, giving authors a way to share their thoughts with readers and readers the opportunity to learn more about – and connect with – authors.

As more people turn away and tune out from invasive, anxiety-inducing platforms like Facebook, the blog community will become increasingly important. Blogs are personal, and they’re typically moderated – the new literary salons, book blogs offer a safe, vibrant, comfortable place for authors and readers to chat.

In these very real ways, book bloggers are the creators of the indie revolution. Their vision, their energy, and their determination have enabled this amazing populist movement to take hold and grow.

Today, we have the great good fortune of hearing the funny, poignant, intelligent voices of new authors from around the world – voices that, only a few years ago, might have been silenced by the gatekeepers of the old guard. These new voices reach into hearts and minds, forging connections, uniting us in a community of readers and writers, as we search for and find – through the power of words – the better part of ourselves. This, truly, is what reading and writing is all about.

 

Terri Giuliano LongAbout this post's author:

Terri Giuliano Long is the bestselling author of the award-winning novel In Leah's Wake. Her life outside of books is devoted to her family. In her free time, she enjoys walking, traveling, and listening to music. True to her Italian-American heritage, she’s an enthusiastic cook. In an alternate reality, she might be an international food writer. She lives with her family on the East Coast and teaches at Boston College. In Leah's Wake is her debut novel.
 

[jbox color=”red”]The new UK edition of In Leah's Wake has been edited by Sara-Jayne Slack of Inspired Quill press. Terri has added a new chapter and several scenes, adding fresh and clarifying existing connections and insights, and tightened the book, cutting 60 pages – all while maintaining the integrity of the original edition. Fittingly, the feedback used to make many of these changes has come from… book bloggers![/jbox]
Donna Brown

This is such an inspirational post on so many levels: it’s inspiring for the authors who have encountered negativity but it’s also inspiring for the book bloggers who work so hard. Your commitment books does not go unnoticed in the world and you ARE making a huge difference to authors’ lives!

Emlyn Chand

Great post, and we are so delighted to run it. Bloggers are becoming the everyday heroes for authors, and this is such an elegant explanation of why. Thank you, Terri!

Doreen Cox

I’ve been an avid reader all of my life. Thanks to posts like this, I am learning the importance of readers’ posting their opinions and reviews. You have put the bug in me to take the time to visit book bloggers sites, read their reviews and, when it fits, add my own. It’s a dance between giving and receiving, my favorite type! Thanks so much.

Alan Tucker

Wonderful post, Terri!

Being a writer of teen books, I’ve started a campaign to let teens understand that voicing your opinion is important and makes a difference. So few of us, adults included, go through life not expressing ourselves in a constructive, positive manner. It’s so refreshing to see posts like this.

Congratulations on your well-earned success!

Genella deGrey

Here, here, Terri!
Great article.
Every review I get I post it on each book page of my website – This introduces my readers to their site so they can follow that review blog, too.
We’re all in this together, right?
🙂
Genella

Adam iWriteReadRate

Great article, Terri.

Donna Brown

Hi Scott

The Book Blogger Directory (https://bookbloggerdirectory.wordpress.com/) is a wonderful starting point and most bloggers have review policies now with details of the books they like to read.

Hope that helps!
Donna

Dorothy Dreyer

What a great post! Very inspirational. Best of luck with your continued success!

Alison Treat

Congratulations on the success of your debut novel, Terri! I can only pray mine does so well. I have an indie publisher interested, but I know a lot of the promotion will be on my shoulders. Once it is published, am I responsible to ask book bloggers to review it? How does that process work? Thank you so much for this great article!

emilia

Hello Terri,
Can you post some links or email me some links for bloogers that can blg about my book please. I need help letting people know my baby is finished!

emilia

Tonya can you pleas let me know a few bloggers that I CAN POST MY bOOK TO FOR A review PLEASE X

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