Once again, I’ve hijacked today’s rant from Casey and this time I have an interesting dilemma. Well, I guess it really isn’t a dilemma since there’s nothing I can really do to change it, but I got to thinking about this last week. The RT Booklovers Convention (RT) is starting today and they have a number of different registration options:
- Reader – A fan who is not a writer or a bookseller.
- Published Author – A writer who has an e-book or a print book published.
- Aspiring Author – A writer aspiring to become a published author.
- Industry Professional – A person who works within the publishing/book industry.
- Bookseller/Librarian – A person who owns or works in a bookstore. A librarian.
That’s quite a lot of options and it made me wonder – where do book bloggers fit in? Are we overenthusiastic readers or industry professionals? Is there a certain point where we merge from one to the other? Should we be considered as something separate? But most importantly – How should bloggers be considered while at conventions?
Some conventions do recognize the works of book bloggers. Authors After Dark (RWA) offers bloggers the opportunity to apply to be a part of a blogger program, where if chosen, they get recognition by being “featured bloggers” during the event. Now this status does come with work (each blogger has to spotlight 30 of the AAD featured authors), but there are some perks. The Book Expo of America (BEA) has the Book Bloggers Conference (BBC), and in years past, has offered pricing benefits to bloggers who attended BEA. Recently, the BEA purchased the BBC from it’s founders and I’ve heard that this years may be a little different from years past. But there was still some recognition of bloggers. As for the Romance Writers of America (RWA), I’m not familiar enough with it to know for sure, but from what I’ve heard, it’s not a reader friendly convention and it’s aimed strictly at authors. Now of all the convention, this is the one that makes the most sense to me where bloggers would be recognized. We’re hear to help spread the word about authors after all.
Just taking these four conventions in mind, there doesn’t seem to be any real standard of how to treat bloggers. Yes, some of us do the whole blogging thing as a hobby; while there are others who treat it like a job and we take our sites serious. But where does that line begin and who can say for certain where a blog is at? Is it up to us to say we’re serious and for the publishing industry to take our word for it? Or should they be the ones to determine who is serious? If so, what should their guidelines be?
I’ll be honest, LE started out as a project to keep me from going insane from boredom; however, I never once thought it could be what it currently is. But that doesn’t mean that’s how I think of it today. Yes, it does keep me from getting bored, but it is by no means a hobby. It takes work, dedication and sacrifice to maintain a site that’s aimed at promoting books, and those of us who are doing it, we’re doing it out of love.
So should there be a way of recognizing us at conventions? Can we call ourselves industry professionals or do we need a different category? Does it all come down to whether or not we actually do influence book sales, and if so, do we really impact it enough?
I did ask this question on facebook last week, and if you’re curious to see what people said there, click here.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot with the registration of BEA…there have been some issues. There have been a few less than positive phrase words being bandied about making it seem that Bloggers are not professional and even a nuisance. I’m sure there are some people who don’t hold a high standard for their behavior, but this does not only apply to bloggers. It seems that sometimes the requirements to being taken seriously as a blogger are not always realistic, unless of course, you are a “professonal” blogger-getting paid by a company to blog…or making money somehow from your blog.
I think that because there are so many book bloggers it is kind of difficult to pin us down. I also think that in time, these conventions will define what/who we are and how we can work for the industry. Hopefully, things will get better instead of more confusing.
I’m really interested in this topic, Jackie. I think we’re the publishing equivalent of “Super Users,” which is a common approach in tech. There’s a decent article on marketing to Super Users here: http://mashable.com/2010/05/04/super-users/
The other thing that I think might be useful for book bloggers as a group, is for us — from the grass roots — to consider coming up with something like a professional society. Professional is probably the wrong word, since most of us do not expect to make a living from our book blogs. But a society can establish some voluntary regulation, some standards, some ways that industry professionals can differentiate between the bottom-feeders that are ONLY in it for the free books and don’t have any sense of obligation to give anything back for them; beginners who would like some guidance; mega sites with dozens of reviewers; and everyone in between… I’m just thinking out loud here.
But that’s what professional societies and certifications and unions and so on do for their members– set standards, recognize high achievement, and make it easier for hiring managers to understand what skill set they should expect for a particular title or level.
I’ve been pondering this off and on ever since you asked on FB.
Nicola, I’ve often thought of that too…a “professional” organization that sets standards…but sometimes when something gets so called “organized” other problems ensue. I’m just thinking out loud too…So who gets to decide? Who gets to make the definitions? I kind of like the idea, but I guess I’m a little wary of it too.
Thank you for the link about superusers…very interesting and helpful.