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Apr
21
In which I pimp the Book Blogger Convention one more time
2010 at 8am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
I’m going to assume by now that if you have a book blog or work with book bloggers on a regular basis or follow book bloggers on Twitter, you’ve heard about the first Book Blogger Convention, scheduled for Friday, May 28th (just a little more than a month to go!) at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The Convention is officially affiliated with Book Expo America, and it will be a phenomenal opportunity for bloggers to (finally) meet each other in person, learn about how to improve their blogs and their blogging experience, and connect with authors and publishing industry professionals for networking opportunities.
I am beyond proud to be serving on the planning committee and even more excited to be moderating the panel on writing and building content with Amanda from The Zen Leaf, Betsy Bird, Christina from Stacked, and Kim from Sophisticated Dorkiness . (See the full Convention agenda here.) And I’d love to hear from you. The basic outline of this panel is set, and we’ll be covering these issues:
- Tips and tricks on writing good book reviews
- Tone – humor, sarcasm
- I’m out of ideas what do I do now?/How do I keep it fresh?
- Planning a good feature/series
- What content is most popular? How do I innovate/differentiate?
- How do I balance reviews with other content?
Under these headings, what do YOU want to hear about? There are only five of us, and time is limited, so there’s no guarantee we’ll hit on your question or issue, but I figure the more prepared we can be, the better, right? (And if we don’t end up covering your question in the body of the panel, you can always ask during the Q & A, so it’s all good.)
Please leave your thoughts/questions/etc. in the comments, and I’ll take them into consideration as I work on the final layout for the panel.
Learn More
If you still need convincing (or you’re just curious), check out the piece about Book Blogger Con in today’s Shelf Awareness (holla!), follow @bookbloggercon on Twitter, and tune in to a special edition of That’s How I Blog on Wednesday, May 12th.
Register for the Book Blogger Convention here (it’s the best $115 you’ll spend on your blog this year), and check out the deets on the Thursday night kick-off reception here. Authors: the reception is a particularly great option for you, as you’ll have two hours to mix and mingle with book bloggers, put faces with names, and make invaluable connections.
Also: there will be swag bags! Who doesn’t love a good swag bag?
So whaddya say? Will I see you Friday, May 28th?
No related posts.
How do you recommend a blogger evaluate their own style? Do you judge a “good” review by number of comments it generates or if a respected blogger leaves one of those heartwarming comments of “This is a great review!” Do you suggest a checkup post every once in awhile to ask readers what the blogger can do to improve?
I’ll pass this along to the panel, but my personal opinion is that “good” is defined in terms of the quality of the writing, thoughtfulness of the review, etc. Comments, feedback, and support from respected bloggers are wonderful, but they’re a reflection of quality rather than a piece of the definition (in my opinion).
I’m so excited for the convention!
In regards to tone – how much personality is too much? How to I decide where the line is between sounding professional while letting my personality shine through and just chatting with friends who “get” me and my slightly quirky personality?
Congratulations on the ShelfAwareness mention – too bad they couldn’t have written it up while the survey was going on to get even more respondents! You’ll have to give them a heads up when you do the publishing side survey.
Glad you’re doing some prep here – it’s nice to see what topics and areas of writing for a blog people want to hear about in advance rather than being put on the spot!
My question concerns the nuts and bolts of a book review: What do you absolutely need to have as far as book info and links? I’ve seen everything from the bare minimum of title + author up to listings of publisher, page count, genre, buying link, link to author’s site/facebook/blog/twitter, links to other reviews, suggestions of similar books, cover comments, etc.
And I can already tell you what content is most popular: discussion posts. I hardly ever do them because I generally like to focus on books rather than the antics of the community – but my recent ones got me more than quadruple my usual unique visits. I’d love to see you all talk about presenting issues fairly (yet passionately) vs posting issues just to stir up drama and hits.
I can’t even express how jealous I am of all you wonderful bloggers going to these events! I keep having second thoughts saying oh well maybe… Good luck and have fun!
You’re so right that it’s the “stir the pot” posts that end up most popular. Constructive conversation vs. drama for traffic is an important issue. Duly noted!
Every time one of you guys talks about this convention, I want to cry. How can I call myself a serious blogger and not go? I know I will be crying more once you get back and report in. I think those topics sound great…I could really use some help in those areas! One of these years, when my kids are old enough to take care of themselves, and I have lots of extra cash, I’m coming up there!
You know… This was a very well timed post Rebecca. I am thinking here and realizing that there is no good reason for me not to go – I can fly down on points, I can book a room on points, I can get the time off work, I would get to meet everyone… Hmmm…
Do it!!!!!
Yes! Do it!!
I agree with Christina, it’s too bad the SA piece didn’t appear sooner, as I might have remembered to fill out your survey! Baah! Anyway, congrats on the mention and I’m so excited to be going to Book Blogger Con!
HOLLA!!
This could fit under a few of your headings, actually: How does a book blogger find and develop her own voice? (I talked about that a bit on my blog last month, and it kicked off some discussion on Twitter.) It can be especially challenging for book bloggers, when so much of our content is fueled by prompts like books and memes.
I realize it’s a broad question, but I’m throwing it out there anyway.
As you know, I won’t be at the convention with you…and I’m afraid there won’t be many book bloggers at BlogHer’10 in August with me.
.
This situation must be fixed in 2011
With Amanda, who is a writer by trade, on our panel, we will DEFINITELY be addressing the issue of voice, but I’m glad for the reminder, and I think you’re right that the memes and prompts can get in the way sometimes.
Super exciting — I’ll be there!
Coming in from D.C. late on Thursday and up bright and early for the big day on Friday, so I have a feeling I’ll be hooking myself up to a Red Bull-and-coffee IV.
Yay, I’m excited! I think my biggest question is one you kinda mentioned in your basic outline…what do I do when I don’t have a review to post and still keep the blog fresh? I don’t read 24/7 so I usually average 1-2 books a week…that’s not enough to fill posts everyday! And I often can’t think of anything else to post about. Can we discuss the line between book and non-book related, how person bloggers can (or should?) get, what else makes an interesting post?
“personal” I mean…not “person”
That’s a great suggestion.
I am so jealous that you get to go. You wouldn’t have to convince me to go at all – I was totally convinced already – I just wish that I COULD go.
Hi all.
I wish I could come to the BBCon this year. But I’m not. I live in outback Australia, so it takes a major effort to get to something like this. However, I was wondering if you have any tentative dates for the BB Con NEXT year (2011) yet?
Or perhaps we could join forces and create a BBCon Downunder?
We’re so focused on getting through this first year with BBC that no one has given any thought to next year, though I imagine it will continue to be tied in with BEA. A BBC downunder would give me a great excuse to travel! I’d love to see you do that.