Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Blog Tours… Yay or Nay?

Wednesday, March 19, 2014 with 40 comments




Blog tours seem to be all the rage these days. When we first started blogging, they weren’t as prominent. Not only were there not as many of them then, but they’ve changed a lot, too, over the few short years that we've been blogging. Both Jen and I have similar opinions about blog tours and today we would like to discuss them and see what the general consensus is these days.






As a reader, do blog tours influence you to purchase books?

April:  Honestly no, they don’t. It’s hard to look at it from just a reader’s point of view. I think in the beginning they did, back when I first started blogging, but after participating in a few tours, my views have changed. I’m more likely to purchase a book based on a regular review vs. a blog tour review.

Jen:  Not really. I mean, if I've never heard of the book before -- which is rare in itself -- it might pique my interest in a title. But I think tour posts and reviews may be a little skewed, meaning the blogger feels more pressure to positively review and promote a book, and so I'm actually probably less likely to purchase a book strictly based on posts from a blog tour. That being said, I don't think that's always the case, and I've purchased plenty of books that have had promotional blog tours...it just wasn't as a result of the tour. I'd already been intrigued by the book itself.

As a blogger, what are some things you like and dislike about participating in blog tours?

April:  When I first started blogging, I liked the ARCs. I rarely got approved for anything, and tours were pretty much my only opportunity to score an ARC. Plus, I found a few great authors through doing tours.

What I dislike - the restrictions. I don’t like having to post on a certain date. That puts a deadline on when I need to finish a book and it’s a huge kill joy for me. These days I stick to NetGalley and Edelweiss for that purpose alone. Yes, they prefer you post your reviews around or close to release date, but it’s not mandatory.

Jen:  Honestly, I just really love sharing books I've loved with fellow bibliophiles, and in the beginning, that's what blog tours were best at. You had your post, but then you also had the author and tour host and possibly even the publicist helping to promote your post through social media. That's still pretty much the case, but I just feel like most tours these days just have a different vibe than they did when I first started out. In the beginning, I felt privileged to be invited to a tour or to be approved to be on one. That's also still true, but now it often feels like a burden, a looming deadline on top of everything else I need to get done for the blog -- and in real life -- on top of all the reading I want to do. Also, I still feel the pressure to love a book I've received for review for a tour, or to at least pretend like I do. Which is why recently I've only been signing up for tours for novels that I know I will love, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Or for books I've already read, when possible. I think that would really help my touring experience...to be given access to the title before the tour stops are assigned, so that I know whether the book is the right fit for me and our blog or not.

I also really enjoy getting creative with the interviews and guest posts. Sometimes it can be a trying experience, especially when I try to get a little too in-depth with my character interviews, but overall, I love doing them. Even so, I'd much prefer doing special posts like that outside of a tour because there's less pressure: it's just between me and the author, there's not specific deadline, and more often than not, I've already read the book, so I'm happy as pie to promote it for the author.

Charging for blog tours… this is mighty common these days… thoughts?

April:  I’m tossed on this, because I know that running a tour is a lot of hard work. I organized one cover reveal for a friend, and it took up so much of my time. So I can understand why some tour sites charge. But…

I remember back when bloggers used to organize these things just because they loved the book and they wanted to share the love. Now it seems every tour comes with a price. So tours are being organized because the Author is willing to pay, not necessarily because their book was good.

Jen:  Hmm...I think maybe I just assumed that all tour hosting sites charged for their services? I know of one off the top of my head that does their tours for free, just out of love for the authors and their books, and they've always been my favorite to host tour stops for because of that fact. Also, they have really nice tours, promote some awesome authors, and they're really, really organized, which is a definite plus in my book. Anyway, I'm kind of indifferent on this topic because like I said, I thought they all charged from the get-go.

Overall, how do you feel about blog tours?

April:  I don’t hate them, but I don’t love them. I can see how they help get a books name out there. I think that if I read a book, loved it and was asked to participate in a tour, I’d be all for it. There is always that chance though, if you sign up beforehand that you won’t like the book. Then what? You opt for a promotional post instead?

I’ve done this, and I hate it. Why would I want to promote a book I didn’t like? But I’ve signed up so therefore I’m obligated to post something. I once read an ARC I did not like at all. I tried to back out after reading it, but was talked into posting a semi-honest review keeping it at least 3 stars. I felt horrible after I posted it because I did mention things I didn’t like, but I was not completely honest with my readers or with myself. After that review, I vowed it would never happen again. At that point, I stopped signing up for them.

That is why I’m hesitant to purchase a book based off a tour review, because did you ever notice how vague tour reviews are sometimes? It’s because a tour is meant to be promotional, so I’ve always felt pressured to not focus on negatives. But the negatives are important. They could save a person from wasting money on a book they won’t like.

Jen:   I think it all comes down to the book, the author, and the tour hosting service. I've had good experiences, and I've had experiences like April, where I was provided with promotional material in lieu of posting a negative review. I don't think I've ever been told I couldn't post a negative review for a tour book, but I have been asked to hold my less than 4 star review until after the tour is over.

Seriously? I don't think of 3 stars as bad. I rate a lot of books I've enjoyed as 3 stars simply because they weren't all that impressive but I was still entertained, which is ideally what I'm asking of my books. I understand that the idea is to promote the title, and that in some eyes, negative reviews are the devil. But that old adage -- The only bad press is no press -- rings pretty true. I've read plenty of negative reviews that actually made me want to read a book, either to see if I had the same reaction or to prove to myself that the book wasn't nearly that bad.

I appreciate the attention blog tours give to books and authors, but I also feel that too many on our blog would be doing a great disservice to our readers. They should also have original content. It's kind of annoying to see the same promotional post across a hundred blogs. Same goes for cover reveals...make them special and exclusive to only a handful of blogs.

But I digress. I don't exactly have a love/hate relationship with blog tours, but like April, I've become extremely picky about which ones I accept invitations for. Rarely do I go out seeking them anymore. I actually do have a few coming up in the next couple of months, but they're for books I've already read and loved, and it is my absolute pleasure to promote them.


So, what are your feelings on blog tours and how have those feelings changed over the years? Does your opinion differ as a reader versus as a blogger? What's your favorite aspect of a blog tour: giveaways, guest posts, finding new reads, etc.? Are you sad that we don't do more blog tours, or do you prefer that we strive to bring you more original content and discussion posts?


40 comments:

  1. Interesting. I have participated in a couple of blog tours the past year, and I can relate to the pressure to be kind to the book, or to be more 'promotional'. One of the tours that taught me a huge lesson was one of my first. I signed up to promote all her books because I liked the author, but the third series was just really irritating. Afterwards, I felt bad because some people were saying blog tour posts should be 'promotional'. I tried, but I had to be honest. And in makes me feel a little chagrined until now that the author and I eventually became good acquaintances! Haha.

    What I do is I read the book before I consent to be part of the tour group. And there are a lot of times when I'm still honest, like give 3.5 stars because that's how I felt about the book. Needless to say, the publisher has never contacted me again.

    At first I thought blog tours were done out of, you know, love for the author. Then I saw some tours where authors had to pay up to be promoted! I was really surprised. But then again, it does take a lot of the time and effort of the organizer, so I understand them.

    Wow this is getting quite the long comment. But lastly, getting the same interview answers/guest posts is the reason why I usually opt to do a review instead. I prefer to do the interview if I'm the one who does the questions and I get original content.

    Nice post, April and Jen! :)

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    1. lol, I do that too, I'll be typing away and realize my comment is almost as long as the blog post. It's awesome! Thank you for your opinions.

      I was surprised when I saw them charging too. I know there were a few when I started blogging that weren't charging. And I hear you on the interview/guest posts. It felt pointless to just have material sent to me to post. Unless it came with something I was doing to.

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  2. I don't mind blog tours, I don't specifically read them, I don't skip them, but I don't thoroughly read them through. I have participated in a few, but I'm not really thinking about participating again anytime soon, unless I would be contacted. The ones I participated in had a lot of pressure. They were nice, but they had pressure. Especially when the book was okay, but not fantastic and I just didn't feel like finishing the book on time, but I had to because it had to be up on that specific date around that specific time. Sigh.

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    1. that's for sure the hardest part. Is finishing a book that is meh.. by a certain date. I feel the same, no desire to participate in any, anytime soon. :)

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  3. I usually don't read blog tours. Like you say it is not always clear if the person who wrote the review actually thinks the book is that good. Therefore I prefer reviews that are done outside of blog tours. I just feel like I can rely on them more.

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    1. Definitely! The reviews I see outside of tours are the ones that count most for me.

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  4. I intern for a publishing company and I am in charge of blog tours. First of all, yes, yes, yes it does take a lot of time to organize, and I always feel bad that I'm unable to give the blog more time to review a book, which is why I always tell blogs that if they are unable to make the deadline for the tour, they could just review it on their own time; however, I know that alot of companies are very strict about timeline (whereas, me, the lowly intern does not care since it's really the publisher who has pushed this unreasonable date onto me).

    I totally get where you're coming from. Most of the reviews I get for the books that I've been in charge of were not what I would consider actual reviews. They were more like promotional posts. I do feel like there is pressure to make sure you get a good review, or at least, a review that sounds pretty neutral but focuses on the book's positive aspects. Because our publishing company offers giveaways, that's even more pressure to do a good review.

    If a blog tour seems like a mess from the blogger's point of view, it's even more of a mess from the blog tour people. I completely see everything that's wrong with the blog tour, but because I'm only doing whatever the publisher wants, there's nothing I can really do about it.

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    1. Oh my gosh, thank you! It's so nice to hear your end of things, running tours.

      "Most of the reviews I get for the books that I've been in charge of were not what I would consider actual reviews." -- This is one of my biggest problems with blog tours. I've read them, and I've written them, sadly, and I just prefer to base my purchases off a regular review that's not swayed some way or another.

      That's awesome you are interning with a publishing company BTW

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  5. Like you, at first I was really excited about blog tours for my blog - arcs! As an international reader, Netgalley and tours are pretty much the only places I can get those. However, I soon realized they are not really for me as a blogger. First, I don't read well with a deadline. It kind of... well, takes out all my will to read the book. For the same reason I've stopped requesting arcs from Netgalley unless I know for *sure* that I want and will read the book ASAP.
    Plus, I'm not a big fan of the promotional content. The only times I take a blog tour now are for authors I love and want to support.
    Another reason is that I simply don't like the un-originality of the posts. I like having original content that I enjoy talking about. And most of the time, that's not I get from blog tour posts. Especially if I don't know the author...
    As for reading blog tour posts... I don't. I check out cover reveals, but I'm not really interested in blog tour posts (unless they are of authors I'm familiar with), and I usually don't even bother giving them a look. Even the reviews, because you're right - they are shrouded in an air of mistrust cause it's SO hard to give a bad review for a book you agreed to promote.
    I HATE blogs that have tons of blog tour posts all the time. It turns me off and even though I feel bad about unfollowing, I will. Because that's not the kind of content I signed up to receive.

    As for the payment angle... Is it weird I never even knew there are free blog tours for authors you love?? LOL I thought they were all for money and I've never heard otherwise. I'd love to get the name of the ones who do it for free, just so I could check them out and tell them to continue to rock on :)

    Great post girls! Was very interesting to read :)
    Nitzan @ Drugs Called Books

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    1. Reading with a Deadline sucks!! It makes it feel like work, right? boo to deadlines!! lol Same thing with Netgalley for me. I used to request all the books. Now i'm very picky.

      I'm glad you mention the un-orgininality. I've noticed that too. You'll have tons of blogs posting excerpts of their choice. There are like 2 to choose from, so my blog feed is full of the same freaking post.

      I do check out the cover reveals too, but like Jen says in our post, there will be like 50 blogs posting it.. I have no desire to visit every one of these blogs to see a cover thats already been plastered all over fb twitter, and up on goodreads already. lol.

      I also avoid those types of blogs who only post tour stuff. it's not interesting. When I have time to sit down and visit blogs, I seek out real material to read!

      That's funny about not realizing the payment thing. I'm even starting to question myself now, especially when Jen wasn't even aware of it. I am friends with someone who was helping run a tour site, and I remember it had started out as a free platform for Authors. I distinctly remember her telling me that they were starting to charge after the new year. I believe that began 2013 or possibly 2012. I can't remember the deets...

      Also, when I first started blogging I guess about 3 years ago, I participated in the blog tours where you would mail the book to the next person. I did two of them, and both of those were free. The bloggers had read the arc and loved it so much they decided to organize a little tour to help promote.

      Then there were other blogs hosting tours.. they were run right off their blog, then all these tour sites started popping up with charges. Now it seems the norm. Which is fine.. to each their own!

      Thank you so much for stopping by. I'm always so amazed at the responses we get for these discussions. makes me warm and fuzzy <3

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    2. I'm kind of scared of requesting on Netgalley, I requested a ton when I first joined (was so damned excited about ARCs back then!) but then... then I realize I don't really work well when it "feels like work" as you put it. My review ratio makes me feel ashamed xD I'm working on reading all my old request this year to close down the gap :/

      Oh, I only check one blog with the cover reveal, of course. Whichever is the lucky blog to appear on my dash first is the winner xD I do get WHY there are a lot of blogs doing the reveal, though. Trying to get to as many readers and all that jazz~

      I guess maybe at first blog-tours were such a new platform and unknown by authors that people did it for fun and because they loved certain books and authors, but once authors and publishers realized the gain those tours bring it started to become a way to earn money? I mean, its a lot of work and has a lot of demand cause it's a way to get your name and the book out there so...
      (Remember that a few years back people got their reviews and recs on newspapers?... It always gives me the chills to realize how fast the internet has changed everything and evolved.)

      Haha, I love your blog!! One of my favorites!, so of course I'd stop by and comment ;)
      And I know, comments are great like that, aren't they? My favorite blog posts are my discussions, cause I love seeing different opinions and reactions :)

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    3. Oh man, I hear you. I hate the feeling of having to read something. I've been so much more selective these days when I request, and if I start a book that I'm not feeling, I DNF it. I still respond feed back to the publisher though. I just type in the notes section saying I wont be reviewing it because it just wasn't a fit for me, or whatever the reason. That way is doesn't mess up my percentage.

      bahaha, @ the lucky blog to show up in the dashboard first. I do the same. I'm so glad I'm not alone.

      I think you make a very good point and it really is crazy how everything has evolved.

      and awwe, thank you <3 I just went and followed yours. I'm always so happy to meet other fellow readers! Discussion posts are so fun!

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    4. I first need to START the books xD But there is one that I remember I didn't finish and didn't know what to do about that, so I might just do what you do! Thanks for the suggestion :)

      I rather doubt we're alone in these. Are there any people out there who would check more than one of the same post? (they're usually completely identical! Some have a bit of commentary on the cover, which is something I do to make things a bit more personal, but aside for that...) There might be some who'll select the blog they love most, though. I am not that dedicated to cover reveal to bother xD

      Ohh, thank you sweetheart! You didn't need to feel obligated to do so though :O
      They definitely are! They are the only posts where I feel REAL conversation happens ;) Though some of my amazing readers can make ANY post a conversation :P

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  6. I love seeing both of your thoughts on this! I've seen many bloggers go from doing lots of blog tours to doing...none. I haven't done any and that's because I've mostly been scared. But now I'd even be more afraid to do it because they have rating requirements and such. Like April said, I don't hate them, but I don't love them :)

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    1. Not all have the rating requirements but pretty much all of the ones I've done do. They will tell you that if you would give the book less than 3 stars, to let them know asap so they can put you in for a promo post instead, and then you are free to post your review at a later day when the tour has ended.

      but I feel that's just lame, because if you do a promo post about a book, and then a few week later post a negative review? So you are all like, hey check this book out!! And then come back later and tell everyone why they might want to avoid it. doesn't feel right , ya know.

      And thank you!! <3 We love doing these discussion posts and see all of everyone else's opinions too!

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  7. Oh gosh, THANK YOU guys for writing this post. My thoughts exactly, actually. I used to do blog tours because the Cool Kids were doing it. (I'm hopelessly swayed like that.) Buuuut, well, frankly I find them kind of boring to read. I know the blogger is required to love the book, and the books that go on tours I hardly EVER see around. Why is that anyway? I like seeing books on stacking the shelves and wow posts and just being talked about regularly on blogs. I guess I just don't really "trust" blog tours so much? And I also hate how the giveaways are almost always USA only. I can't do that on my blog if I'm an Aussie! It feels weird/wrong. And I feel dreadful if I don't like the book and therefore need to pull out of the tour. >.< SO YES. All the reasons. You guys said it all so well!!

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    1. LOL at the cool kids were doing it.. Peer pressure is the worst. I like stacking the shelves and wow posts too. That's where I find a lot of new books. The giveaway thing sucks. I always feel so bad doing giveaways that are USA only, but to send a book to your neck of the woods would probably cost me more than the book. :-/ I've seen Aussie only giveaways around! I haven't been offended by them at all. :)

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  8. I've had pretty good experiences participating in blog tours but I don't do very many. I learned the hard way that I should always read the book first, even if taking the time to do that causes me to miss out on being part of the tour. It's pretty awkward on both sides (host and blogger) if you don't like the book.
    Jen @ YA Romantics

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    1. It really is, I hated sending those " this book didn't work for me" emails.

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  9. Interesting discussion! I wonder if it makes a difference in whether its for YA or adult or even publisher when it comes to opinions formed about tours. We don't do many YA tours and posts so I don't have much experience with those publishers and tour companies.

    Our blog does regular tours for two different publishers for the most part though we have worked with many and they don't seem to mind honest reviews. At least if they do, it is shown by not requesting us to do another tour and not by pressuring us to be less than honest.

    I don't notice less interest in blog tour posts than regular review posts for the most part, but we tend to do at the most a tour a week. Most of our tour posts are our own questions answered by the author, character visits, excerpts, discussions about a theme in the book and generally a review.

    We've had trouble with blog tour contacts not getting us the stuff they promised and being disorganized which was why we stopped working with them, but for the most part we have good experiences with the ones we have continued with.

    As a reader, I have never minded blog tour posts and still don't. I like getting the author's thoughts on their books and even mostly positive promo-type posts still give me an idea of what the book is about. But it is just one of the many sources I use to check out books so I don't rely on it as the sole recommendation.

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    1. Hmm, I'm not sure. I think maybe it's just the difference on tour companies? I haven't ever done a tour directly through a publisher, so perhaps they run differently.

      And as far as pressuring to do a less than honest review. I only had that one incident where they needed review posts, so I was encouraged to keep it a review after emailing to say the book wasn't all that great. The pressure for me is always, well if I dont like it enough to be a 3 start, then I'll have to send that awkward email saying it wasn't for me, and please give me a different post.

      I'm glad you haven't really had an negative experiences. :)

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  10. I do enjoy blog tours, though I don't participate in too many anymore. I find myself only signing up for tours for books that I was going to read anyway. I feel that if I planned on reading the book, I might as well participate in a tour with my fellow bloggers to read the book, helping both the tour host and the author/publisher. I figure it's better to be part of a group and help my bloggy friends, than to read the book and review it on my own. I might as well help others when I have the chance. :) If I didn't plan on reading it already, or it appears to be something I may not enjoy fully, I tend not to sign up. Both because my review schedule is so packed I most likely won't have room for it, plus it's pretty awkward when I don't like a book on a blog tour and I need to contact the tour host and let them know. That's only happened once or twice, but it was embarrassing. So overall, I do really enjoy the tours that I participate in. :)

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    1. Just wanted to say: Yes! This. If I'm planning on reading it anyway, might as well join the fun ;)

      Cyn @ Bookmunchies

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    2. That's a very good point... they can be fun if your blog friends are doing them too. I am always scared though because even if I plan to read a book I think I will love, I don't always love it and then... I feel bad and wish I never signed up in the first place. lol.

      I think the pressure to read a book for tour, also effects how I like the book. I have issues. :o)

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  11. I use to try to do more blog tours just because it helped with hits and things, but now I usually only try do blog tours of books that I really want to read anyways. Though I totally understand the idea of mistrust, since tours are suppose to be "pro-book". When I did more tours, I've had a few books were I ended up hating them, so instead of a review, I just did a "spotlight" post, but it's a bit weird being part of a tour for a book you didn't end up liking...
    Great discussion!

    Cyn @ Bookmunchies

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    1. exactly!! I never felt right about spot lighting a book I didn't like. It bothers me. lol. thanks for stopping by! <3

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  12. As a reader, I don't mind blog tours. I had no clue some were paid. I didn't even know it is expected of the reviewer to write a positive review even if they did not like the book. Now I feel like I can't trust any of those reviews.

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    1. Well, the tour company is paid to organize them. Not the reviewer. Maybe I didn't make that clear enough. And I'm sure not all reviewers will post a fake review, and some I'm sure you can trust.. but the underlying rules to tours I've participated in, is that if you are going to rate the book less than 3 stars, than let them know asap so they can give you a promo / or spotlight post instead.

      This is where the paying comes in, because an Author is paying the company to put out a promotional tour.. so they don't want negative reviews on that tour. They can post their negative reviews at a later date.

      This is why I trust regular reviews over tour reviews, because most tours will only show the positives of a book.

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    2. April,

      I wouldn't work with blog tour company &/or publicist if my honest opinion could not be expressed. Therefore, you will find positive, neutral, and negative impressions of all the books I receive for review on a blog tour. I outline what I like, what didn't work for me, & what I felt had merit. I'm honest and I always hope readers who are looking for a book blogger who is as open as I am will drop by, finding they can converse in my comment threads & talk about books!! :)

      I never rate my reviews either -- it goes against my beliefs. Personally if a reader wants to know how a book might translate to them they can find out by reading a review of mine. Ratings are not the whole of the parts and they are only one person's opinion of the whole as well. I'd rather read a longer review (like the ones I write regularly) to really get a feel for the subject, topic, genre, writing style, and author I might not have read prior to that blog tour.

      I hadn't realised there was so much going on with blog tours that wasn't as positive as the ones I participate in myself! :( I feel bad for the readers! :(

      I'd love to hold up a flag that says, "Come read Jorie's book blog! Its different than you are expecting it to being!" :)

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  13. I don't mind blog tours, and do participate in them if I've worked with the publisher before. I do get emails from non-publisher tour sites, but I once got an email saying we need to at least rate each book we reviewed as three stars, and so I decided it had to be pub-only for me.

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    1. I feel like i need to check out tours only through publishers. I've only worked with non-publisher sites, and that seems to be where the problems are for me. I would maybe participate in more tours if I could rate the book anything I wanted and not have that pressure to put forth a positive review.

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  14. I've only done a handful of blog tours and majority are through the publisher. I am picky about which I do but enjoy them when it's a book I really love. I always read the book prior to being on the tour because I don't want to get stuck on a tour for a blog I don't like. I've not been blogging long enough to have seen any type of shift in the tours. Great post ladies!

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  15. I used to do a lot of book tours, reviewing books that caught my eye and choosing interviews/guest posts for those that I didn't want to feel pressure to read. I still that, but at a much lower pace. I do just a few tours a month now, and only for either books that grab my attention, or a few select tour companies that I join for almost every tour. I think the biggest thing is to find a tour company that you click with.

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  16. I just think there are way to many on some blogs and way too many of them out there. Some book blogs seem to have nothing but book tour after book tour after book tour. OVER KILL! I did it when I first started blogging cause they were easy post fillers. But I don't do them at all now. I blog about my books only.

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  17. I don't particularly like them, on my own blog or others. I signed up for LOADS when I first started blogging, and they were probably my least viewed posts. It feels really false to just post this guest post, interview, excerpt etc that you've had NOTHING to do with. Cover reveals are really boring to me, I never read book excerpts as I'd rather just read the book... etc.

    The only time I'll do them now is if it's a book I've really loved, or I've loved the author's previous work. For example, a recent one I took part in was for a book I requested on Netgalley - it sounded brilliant to me, and I noticed a note about emailing the publicist for a blog tour. So I did that, after reading the book (and loving it!), and I got to interview the author - with my own, rather than pre-set questions. What was great is that the author is an archaeologist, which is my field of study so it was relevant in lots of ways.

    So in conclusion, nope I don't like blog tours! They feel like filler material a lot of the time.

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  18. When is started blogging, I did tours all the time. But as my taste changed (and I realized not many people LIKE tours) I stopped. I don't like the restrictions either, and I always felt bad if I had to write the host and ask for a promo post. I participate in a few now, many 2-3 a month

    If I see a tour for a book I have been anticipating, I will sign up. But honestly, as a reader, I don't read the interviews or character interviews.

    Ya know, I see a lot of bloggers not reading many tour posts lately which sucks for the Authors. Honestly, I just think there are too many.

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  19. I liked tours more in the beginning. I'd get excited if it meant I got to read the book early and help support a book I want to read. Now I find myself taking so long to put the posts together and I feel like you said, that people won't take the review as seriously because it was posted on a tour. I'd rather just post a review separately. But there are some I totally make exceptions for! Especially when the author gives you some really great content that is unique.

    There seems to be so many different types of blog tours too. Like the book blitz or just the copy and paste models that a lot of bloggers do. It's cool if people want to post those but they aren't for me. I usually won't read them either.

    Aaaand then I went on a rant about something else in relation to blog tours and I deleted it because it went off course. lol But thanks for discussing this! It's nice to hear what people think about tours and I bet authors like to see it too.

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  20. I never got into doing blog tours, so I can't speak from personal experience, but I hate the spam I get almost everyday to join this tour or that tour--almost always for a book I would never read. While I do get books from NG and EW, you're right April that these sites don't have the same pressure to 1. get a book read by a certain day (yes you're supposed but...) and 2. write a positive, promotional review. I very rarely read any kind of promotional post. Blog tours and cover reveals and that ilk just don't interest me. Great post!

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  21. One of the reason I actually love blog tours is the deadline. I work so much better if someone tells me I have to have something done by x time. Otherwise, I flounder and spend a lot of time procrastinating. I also love that there is a giveaway attached usually. However, I have actually started (about 90% of tours) only signing up for books I've already received on Netgalley/Edelweiss or books I already know I want to read. If I go in knowing it is a book I would read regardless of the time conditions, it just helps me get the book read and review out there.

    You ladies have brought up some excellent points - this was a really interesting discussion to read. :)

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  22. Hallo, Hallo!! :)

    I was reading my "Oh, the Books" feeds by email when I saw this curious topic was broached, and I wanted to simply say, that I'm not your avg book blogger! I always felt that by being honest & up front about my reading life was the best course to sail whilst blogging! Therefore, whether or not I am hosting a blog tour OR reading a book off a tour, you'll get my full and honest opinion therein! I seriously only select books which interest me & would be ones I would normally request for myself at my local library! I used to purchase quite a heap of books regularly, but we all have budgets that change and therefore I borrow more now than I buy! I even have a cross-indexed category called "Fly in the Ointment" which is my own personal way of expressing 'what I felt' was wrong with the story OR the inclusions of book turn-offs (I also wrote a meme entry for this!) which do not float my boat!

    I've even have had a few books on a tour where I simply could not finish the book -- which shocked me as I felt that I could always read a book even if it were disagreeable -- clearly, there is a surprise for every book blogger! I still stated exactly how I felt as I read the story & what differed from the plot from when I picked up the book! I went in expecting one thread of thought and found myself betwixt understanding how the premise was off-kilter from the narrative!?

    I simply wanted to say I'm one of the book bloggers dropping by saying not to shy away from visiting a blog tour post of mine! One blessing the tours give me is the ability to read self-publishing & Indie publisher titles I might otherwise would have waited longer to read. Those are a bit trickier to find via ILL (inter-library loan) and my local library is brilliant for purchase REQs, but they can only bring in so many a year! :)

    I'll drop by your blog again -- I like your honesty!
    Perhaps you'll drop by mine!?

    ps: I should say in return my book reviews are more along the lines of "book showcases" as I am not a natural book reviewer in the sense that I like to really dig into the heart of the stories I am reading! The few books that didn't generate an emotional connection inside me aside; you'll find big posts on the books which soaked in, and gave me food for thought!

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