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Virtual Blog Tour Pet Peeves…


 

 

This post is not an attack against blog tours, authors, tour hosts, or any tour organizer in particular. It’s mainly an outlet for me to ramble about certain things I have noticed while partaking in the awesomeness that is, Virtual Blog Tours. With that being said, I leave the floor WIDE open for discussion on anything I have presented or anything else you’d like to discuss on this topic.

Now, on to the show…

 

Blog Tours, I love them, I really do. Since I began blogging, Blog Tours have opened doors to authors I would have never discovered otherwise. They are a great source for content, such as Guest Posts and Interviews with new-to-me authors, or authors I have admired from afar. I absolutely adore hosting them, and connecting with readers all across the world when they visit my tiny blog for the day. And in my opinion, they work smoothly and well for all parties involved.

Bear Love

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Most of the time…

 

And then sometimes things go awry…

 

 

 

Have a Margarita

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First on my list of Blog Tour pet peeves are authors who insist you take down your reviews if the review is not entirely positive. Not all tours require a review to be a positive one. Let me reiterate, NOT ALL TOURS require a review to be POSITIVE. Please for the love of everything holy, read the tour policy clearly BEFORE you sign yourself up for a tour. I do NOT want – nor do my reviewers appreciate – you coming to my blog, reading our review, and then later sending us a thousand emails on why we shouldn’t have posted the review on Amazon, or put up the review during the tour because it was less than “3 Stars/Controllers”. I get it; you thought the tour was solely about “positive” promotion.

 
However, it’s not OUR responsibility to fix your mistake. And if your novel was less than stellar, readers will know about it via an in-depth explanation. We at M/G/W are not in the business of slamming authors. We’ve never done it and we have no intentions of starting. However, if there are plot holes in your story, themes we don’t like, or something that just stood out to us that we feel others might want to know about BEFORE reading, then we will discuss it. End of story. My advice to you, read the policies. Understand the guidelines of the tour. Know what you are getting into BEFORE you spend your money. And having your friends vote down my reviews on Amazon or some other review outlet THE SAME DAY, is just mean. Do not take your ignorance out on me.

 

 

 

 
Secondly, this one goes out to the lovely tour organizers, be available. As an organizer I know your job is hectic, and probably rather stressful. However, if I have questions, or if I am missing material, please answer your emails. Don’t get me wrong, I will readily admit I’m not perfect and have missed things by accident sometimes. But (and this is a BIG but) if you send out material a week before the tour begins and I’m missing a Guest Post or whatever, don’t wait to email me the night before my tour stop if I’ve reached out to you a WEEK AGO. If you EXPECT me to schedule a post and get it up ON TIME, I need the information. No way around it.

 
I host tours once, maybe twice a week and keeping it all organized is insane. I can recall three instances where my posts didn’t go up on time as planned, and several instances  where I have been accused of not posting at all when in reality the organizer just missed my post (or didn’t look). We all make mistakes; it’s going to happen daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. But my concern is the communication, or the lack there of, with some tour organizations. I want to host for you, I want to promote these authors, and I am open to suggestions on how we can make this machine run as smoothly as possible. Do we need to Google Chat? Do I need to Tweet you instead of email? Please, let me know your preferred method of communication. I’ll do it. I promise you I will.

 

 

 

 
I think that’s enough for today’s post, I do have more to say but Author’s insisting I remove my reviews and organizer availability are my main concerns at the moment.

 

Reader Questions: What do you think, is there anything that bothers you when hosting a Blog Tour? Authors, do you think Tours should be for “positive” promotion only? Bloggers, have you experienced something during a tour that just got under your skin?  Have you ran into any trouble when hosting a tour, purchasing a tour, or organizing a tour? We want to know, but keep the conversation friendly…  :-)

 

 

 

Blog With Passion, Respect, and An Open Heart

Blog With Passion, Respect, and An Open Heart

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

© 2013, Diayll – MotherGamerWriter. All rights reserved.

Diayll – MotherGamerWriter

Names Diayll, I am a 30 year old country girl, living and enjoying life. I run a blog, mothergamerwriter.com and I am working on completing my first novel. You can find me representing the Xbox and anything else game related on Twitter at MomGamerWriter. But don’t take my word for it, check me out!



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Brought To You By: Diayll – MotherGamerWriter I love Comments, Please Leave Me Some Love! January 25, 2013

  • Pingback: {Chime In Topic #4} Virtual Blog/Book Tour Pet Peeves Part 2 | Mother/Gamer/Writer

  • http://www.theworld4realz.com/ Andi-Roo

    This was a really interesting perspective to read, since I’ve never hosted a blog tour or been involved in any way whatsoever with one. I didn’t realize how much goes into putting it all together — the various parties contributing different parts of a (hopefully) well orchestrated tour must be rough! I don’t think I could do it, so kudos to you for doing this kind of thing! :)

    • http://empyreanedge.com/ Diayll – Mother/Gamer/Writer

      They can be a ton of fun and that outweighs any negativity. However, there are those few times when you just want to say forget it. But once you are paired with the right tour organization, its an awesome experience and a great way to meet authors that wouldn’t normally be on your radar. Give em a shot sometime!

  • aimeekay

    I don’t participate in that many blog tours on my blog itself. (I think I’ve only done one actually.) But one thing I have noticed about tours that really annoys me is when whoever organized them makes them all the same…

    For example the one tour I did do the bloggers had a choice of one of two excerpts, one of two interviews etc. If the author is paying money for the tour services and there isn’t going to be a review for what ever reason. (the reviewer didn’t like the book or maybe just wanted an option other than a review) then the author should be willing to put in some extra time to give the other choices a personal touch maybe. Yes I understand authors have lots going on, but this is their book they should be willing to put extra time into promoting it. (I understand the tour organizer is being paid but really if I was a reader and EVERY post on the tour looked the same, same words, same pics, etc. I wouldn’t follow the rest of the tour.)

    I also agree with Heather that there should be more genre matched tours.My brother is an author and I’ve been working with him to help promote his books, get reviews etc. There’s always a risk when you send out your work that the person is going to hate it…and even worse that they will not only say they hate it but bash everything about you and your book at the same time. I spent endless hours and days scrolling through review blogs trying to find ones that not only are accepting review requests but that actually had his genre listed on their books I review lists. (his books aren’t really romancy but are published by a publisher that mainly does romance and they have romantic elements but when people see the publisher they kinda assume there is gonna be more sex/romance whatever. they are also urban fantasy and steam punk. ) Trying to cut down on the hours spent sifting through blog libraries I looked into tours the problem is finding a tour host that would make sure his books aren’t being sent to straight romance reviewers or whatever but people who actually read his genre and would be able to enjoy the books for their style and at the same time be able to compare them to other authors in the same genre and give him a fair review. (whether it’s positive or negative if they like steampunk then they can give a better idea of why then if the person hates steampunk and dnf’ed the book or couldn’t get into it.)

    As for less than 3 star reviews for tours…. Ok if an author is paying for a tour then technically they are already paying for the reviews that go with the one way or another. I think that tour organizers should let their bloggers know in advance that if it is going to be a dnf or less than 3 stars (or whatever) that the blogger shouldn’t put up the review for the tour and give them the option of either a personalized interview or an excerpt. or even the option of stepping out of the tour. The ‘for the tour’ words are the important ones there…because lets be honest no one has the right to tell a reviewer not to put up a review at all…but when I see a bad review in the middle of a tour it kinda makes me feel bad for the author and that the blogger is just being mean. The author paid for this promoing and now they are getting bashed….and as a blogger I know there are other options so…I don’t know just saying. The blogger can put the review up later on their blog not as part of the tour stops. They can also put their reviews up on other outlets that aren’t associated with the tour. (such as amazon, goodreads, etc.) Then the author still gets and honest review AND feel they didn’t get blasted out of no where on a promo tour that they paid money into.(I know money is sometimes very tight for authors and to do a tour can be something they really have to save up for)

    As for when the review goes up…whether it’s on a tour or not authors need to not become crazy about the reviews. PLEASE DON”T GET CRAZY! I have panic attacks when writing reviews for books that I am giving less than 3 anything! The first one I ever put up on my own blog…OMG the author threatened to sue me and said I had plagerized my review because I used the summery from amazon (or maybe it was goodreads) as the summery of the book on my blog! I had said summery from amazon (again might be goodreads) and put the link to both where the book could be purchased on Amazon and to goodreads too. I didn’t try to bash the author and tried to give the exact reasons for why I didn’t like the book. I also told readers of my review that they should check out the book and decide for themselves.

    Yet still the author reported me to goodreads and tried to report me to amazon. Amazon told me when I spoke to them that there was nothing wrong with my review and not to worry.(she said she was going to make it so I couldn’t post reviews there ever again) and Goodreads actually posted on the review she complained on that she was just being mean because she didn’t like that she got a less then stellar review and was basically making herself look bad.

    I would have complained to her publisher about her behavior, but she was self publishing sooo….yeah.

    I understand if you are hurt if someone doesn’t like your work. That’s fine. Don’t read the bad reviews then.
    If someone is purposely being an ass in their review well…know that not all reviewers act like asses and we really try to give an honest review not just make crappy one liners to get more readers.
    I know that sounds overly simplistic but I actually got into a really nice conversation with a writer who was talking about the difference between a bad reviews and reviews which are just bad. He was actually surprised that I get just as nervous before publishing a review as he gets before looking at one.

    Also if anyone starts offering a beta reading service that pays in more than free books please…PUH-LEAZE let me know!!!

    I know there are a few sites that you can sign up to beta read at and it connects you with writers but still you don’t get paid. :(

    That aside I think offering a beta reading service for authors would be awesome. (whether they charge them or not all authors should have heartless cruel beta readers, I think my belief that they should be heartless and cruel is why my brother rarely asks for my exact opinion on his work. lol))

    I currently beta read for 2-3 authors on a regular basis. I love them and I love getting a chance to read their books in advance and it makes me feel that I’m actually doing something worthwhile with my reading time when I send them my feedback. (I know I know I REALLY need to find some new hobbies. lol)

    As a reviewer I’ve read amazing books and I’ve read amazingly BAD books. It always annoys me when I’m reading a book that’s already published and it has HUGE plot issues etc. Somebody should have had the heart to point them out to the author. The first time I beta read I felt so guilty doing it but the author reassured me that she would rather hear me tell her then lose readers because of it. Ever since then when I beta read I am heartless and cruel. Sooo much worse than if I am reviewing. I purposely look for mistakes to point them out so they can be changed before the book goes to the public.

    Even if it’s just a phrase that sounds wrong or looks funny in writing I’ll point it out. When I read to review I’ll only point out huge wording issues etc if they really effect my enjoyment of the book, and then only if the book has already been edited and it is supposed to be the final copy. I usually will ask the author first though if it is the final copy or if it is an arc though because obviously if it is and arc there should be someone that will catch the little stuff.

    • Heather

      You know for being a part of the same team here we know so little about one another. Your brother’s book sounds right up my ally…and I didn’t know you beta read too.

      I really want to get away from the critique forums that require authors to rip out their soul to hundreds of people who, from my experience don’t know the first thing about what it means. This is why I wanted to begin a closed door service, where an author can have their work beta read (we’ll still pull it a part), but in a private atmosphere.

      Perhaps this is something to mull over. I know as a writer I would jump on the chance of a one-on-one with someone I could trust. My first beta reader experience wasn’t exactly heartless (there really aren’t words to express what she did to me), but it was also clear that she liked to toss big words at me. I kept my dignity and made some, but not all changes. Sadly, that ticked her off, and she left me a DNF review (which I never asked for this was for a beta read) on goodreads.

      That is the crap that kills a writer, and makes them want to quit. It left me wondering if my book really did suck, or with her being a writer in the same genre, did she feel threatened? I’ve chocked it up to an author behaving badly for now, but I’ve lost faith in the online beta reading mills now.

      • aimeekay

        See I don’t like reviewing books I beta read. There’s one author I still do it for…but for the other two I won’t. I’ll give their books stars but I feel weird reviewing a book I’ve beta read.
        I think it’s mainly because when I’m beta reading I’m in overly critic mode and I purposely look for stuff that’s wrong or off. Not to be mean to the author, but because better I catch it then after it’s on the shelves and they lose readers.
        When I’m reviewing my first thought is just whether or not I enjoy the book. If there are glaring plot holes or other issues I will mention them but I don’t actively nit pick every single sentence looking for errors..
        I personally don’t have dnf’s. Even if I give a book 1 star or less I still finish it. Since she beta read it she had to have finished it. (And if she didn’t finish it then she wasn’t doing a very good job.because who’s to say the ending wasn’t completely amazing and shouldn’t have been changed but other parts were off?)
        Now maybe she read the final product and didn’t finish that? but still in my opinion that’s bs. If you didn’t change what she thought should be changed that’s your choice. If she read the final copy and didn’t like it because of that or whatever reason she should have put on her big girl panties and had the guts to write a review and say why she didn’t like it. But to say she never finished the book at all is kinda stupid if she beta read it.
        As for leaving a review on a beta read….as I said before there’s only one author I still do both for..the others I never did reviews for and won’t. (mainly because they are family or I have beta read so much of their work that I feel like I’m not being unbiased anymore.) But also because if I’m doing a beta read for someone I don’t usually reread the finished product. I know that sounds stupid. What if the book is completely rewritten, etc…(Yeah no I’ve only seen it happen to one of the beta reads I’ve ever done and then the author told me about it and asked me to re-beta-read the rewrite). I figure if there are drastic changes someone will tell me. lazy? yes.but at the same time it’s kinda like reviewing an arc. if you do review an arc copy do you go back and reread the book once the finished copy is out? I know I don’t and there could have been massive changes for all I know.

        • Heather

          I’m an idiot for not checking back here…blah hectic week lol.

          If I beta read, no I wouldn’t leave a review unless asked or it is a part of the deal I make with the author. Most times i just allow them to pull quotes.

          No, I’ve never gone back and reread a book I’ve beta read. Heck there are few books that are even worth rereading. it doesn’t make them horrible stories, but i have piles to read, and little time to indulge in reading.

          I have one book that I couldn’t finish. The story was wonderful and interesting, but I had a tough time following the story because the names were Japanese and similar. I think Diayll ended up sending it to you. It was Stormdancer. I did eventually finish reading it, but i gave only stars for my review, and well it was a review and not a beta/crit read.

          I’m going to shoot over an e-mail soon. You should of just nagged Diayll for it lol.

          • aimeekay

            lol I loved the book too! so I’m glad it was passed onto me! :D

            As for the name problem I didn’t notice it. But I have had instances in other books were I’ve had similar issues. Glad to know I’m not the only one, cause I thought it was just me getting old!

      • aimeekay

        Also I was going to email you the link to my brothers website so you could check out his books if you wanted and then realized I don’t have your email.lol. If you’re interested just email me and I’ll send you the link.

        aimeelavalle(@)gmail(d0t)com

  • Heather/Rae

    Wow… yeah your problems=my problems. I’ll take the reader/blogger stand point first to keep this as organized as possible.

    1) If the tour is promotional aka only 3 star whatever or higher, it is technically not much different from an author paying for reviews. Now I’ve heard all kinds of arguments, the big one being “Authors pay a lot of money.” This is true. Tours can cost upwards of $500 with some companies, so I really get that the author doesn’t want to shell out that kind of money and get a bunch of negative reviews….BUT if the author puts their best work out there, edited and all that jazz then they SHOULD NOT have to worry about it.

    2) When I review a work of fiction I look at it as a proofreader/beta reader. This is because I usually review ARCs and anyone who knows anything about books should know that it is not a final copy. I excuse the occasional typo/grammar/etc.

    3) I try to think outside of myself. I know what I like and don’t like, so I leave my personal opinion to one or two words. I also attempt to direct readers to the audience I feel would enjoy it the most. If in the end I feel no one can relate to it…*coughs* I say so.

    4) I can’t stand tour companies that take a holier than thou approach. We’re human, you’re human…humans mess up. instead of pointing fingers and wasting everyone’s precious time, focus the energy on fixing the problem.

    5) Ok this is more of a pet peeve…but I also see what the tour company charges before signing on with them. If they are running authors through the coals to make a quick buck, I won’t review for them. I’m not saying tour companies don’t deserve to make money, but be reasonable or you won’t get me on your team.

    With that being said, you know I don’t use a star rating on Literary Sweet. I’m just too lazy, and I feel people would look only at that and not read my review. I’ve written 3-4 star reviews that were mostly positive. I also try to add in constructive criticism, and only once *coughs* has it been questioned :)

    Ok as an author/writer/researcher:

    1) I value constructive criticism and honesty more than anything else. At the same time, I understand that sometimes a reader and author connects, and sometimes you just love what they write. Not all readers and reviewers know how to be constructive in that aspect, so those positive glowing, gushy reviews do happen (not to me, but I’ll get there).

    2) I think there are too many poorly run tour companies currently operating (usually positive reviews only but not always the case) in cyberspace. I won’t name names publicly but I’ve found better success and the possibility of success with companies who operate on a small, hobby sized scale. This is also true for genre specific companies.

    By offering positive press/reviews these companies will have more repeat business. The only way an author would be unhappy is if a negative review slithered in, or something happened like failure to post and such.

    3) as a researcher I spent the past year looking into tour companies. I watched how they worked, followed/joined their tours to learn the ins and outs. I then compared how the tour went to what they charged. Taking it a step further, I looked into the blogs of the reviewers (I actually followed many of them already.). I paid attention to the interaction and comments, but it felt lacking.

    I’m not against tours. I love to participate in them, read new authors, and eventually I’ll be doing one for Prophecies, but I already know that I will go with a company who only allows honest reviews. If someone loves my book at least then I’ll know it comes from the heart. I also know that if there are flaws or problems that reviewers need not be afraid to post it. We are told to have a thick skin for a reason. I learned that lesson hard when my first review was a DNF, but she provided me with some feedback critique groups missed, and I was able to correct the problems (a simple mathematical error in my heroine’s age).

    Writing is an art form, but it also evolves. No one is born an Anne Rice or Stephan King. There are plenty of authors who spew out junk that no one will ever read, and if they do it will get criticized.

    When I first released Prophecies, I put my best out there to my knowledge. It wasn’t, and it may not be at its absolute best right now. But reviews are meant to give feedback to the author for ways they can improve and to let the masses know what you like/disliked, or to let the author(s) know, “Hey this is what I like about you, so keep on doing it.”

    I still have faith in tour companies, but here are things I’d like to see (more lists!):

    1) Let reviewers know that constructive criticism is welcome. it is helpful to the author.

    2) More genre matched tours. Don’t send my book to someone who doesn’t read paranormal/fantasy/mythology-based alternate worlds when they prefer Christian themes.

    3) Do offer the option of not posting a bad review, but make it available only when it is asked for. There are bloggers/reviewers who will not post a bad review, give them the option of an excerpt, interview, or guest post, but don’t force it down their throats.

    3a) Ask them to write the review and give it to the author. that feedback is still vital to the development of their craft.

    4) Offer a beta reading service. Many independent authors fail to have their work beta read by more than one person (guilty! no, not really…I had 3). Depending upon what the author asks for, depends if a charge is needed. For a straight read by 5 people looking only for flow? IDK if that is worth money or not, but as long as it is just a feedback type thing…yeah I don’t know.

    5) Don’t offer any editing unless you have at least someone in your arsenal with an English degree, or equal industry experience. There are so many authors who get raked through the coals for grammar/spelling/structure when they hired an editor. In addition, don’t charge what a real editor makes unless you have the skills to back it up. Most editors (freelance) make less than $40,000 per year. There is one I saw recently whose website is littered with typos, even her pricing page is all out of whack.

    6) Take number 5 and replace editor with graphic designer and e-book formatter. Both are tedious processes that require skill and expertise that the majority of the world does not posses. Tour banners are easy peasy, but do not sell cover designs and book trailers with your packages unless you are an actual artist (or learning to be one with at least some skill.)

    Ok I’m done.. I do have tons of issues, but as I said I’ve researched tour companies heavily. All of the above doesn’t refer to any one company, but to all of them as a whole.

    Authors need to know this side of the industry. This is especially true for indie authors who aren’t sitting on a huge fortune. All of the above costs money, but with research, you can weed out the baddies.

    • http://empyreanedge.com/ Diayll – Mother/Gamer/Writer

      Agree with everything you said. This will be discussed more in the follow-up post next week. ;-)

  • Teri

    I’m confused (so what else is new). What is a blog tour?

    • http://empyreanedge.com/ Diayll – Mother/Gamer/Writer

      No worries! A Virtual Blog/Book Tour is where an author essentially “puts their book on tour” around the Internet. You’ve probably seen them before (I put up one this morning). They can consists of interviews, guest posts, reviews, novel playlists, or anything a reader might find interesting so they will read the book. They are a ton of fun to check out for sneak peeks about upcoming books, to read exclusive excerpts and get more insight into the authors.

      • Teri

        Awesome, thank you for the clarification! I shared you on Twitter from our tribe. :)