What’s All the Hubbub About BookBub?

 

 

I’ve been seeing a lot of hubbub about BookBub. It’s kind of all over the blogosphere right now.

From all the posts I’ve seen, it seems to be this fab, new site for authors. Yet, it’s hardly new and it’s not just for authors.

So what is it?

(Sorry. I’m not here to answer that question. I’m asking it.)

It appears to be, mostly, for readers to find books and get deals. But authors can join and put up a bio with their books.

Also…reviews. It’s another place to post reviews. That would be so very, very good. I’m just not seeing a lot of reviews there. Is this a new wave of amazingness that people are starting? Or is this just a trend that’s going to fizzle? I know it’s been around for years but so has Pinterest, Flipboard, Google+ and many, many other platforms we’ve signed up for and left to gather dust in the virtual corner of our online attic.

When I search the almighty internet, opinions vary. (I’m sure you’re as shocked as I am.) It’s wonderful, it’s horrible, it’s useful, it’s useless, you MUST join, don’t bother joining… You get the idea.

There is much ambivalence about the Bub so I’m wondering (among my bloggy friends) who is on it, how they like it, what it’s used for, etc.

Is this a useful platform (or…place? or…site?) for authors to be on?

 

 

I’ve seen a half dozen posts in the past month alone about the Bub but the most recent ones are from Colleen Chesebro who is on there and encourages other authors to get on there, too. And Georgia Rose who is on there and is bringing her reviews with her. ❤

 

Image Source

 

Are you on BookBub? Do you love it, hate it, or are you ambivalent about it? How is it working for you as an author? Do you write reviews on there?

 

UPDATE: Okay. I’ve joined. Click the cute, little button below if you’d like to connect on the Bub:

See you there! 🙂

 

Georgia Rose has created a fantastic tutorial: How to Post Your Reviews on BookBub <- (Check that out!)

 

Blue Sky Tag

 

 

1. If you lived in a house made of jello, what flavor would it be? Any particular reason?

 

I would cry. Or scream. Or both. I hate jello. It’s unnatural and wiggly and gelatinous. If I lived in a house made of sweetened slime, I’d wonder about my sanity. (More so than I already do.)

 

2. What is your first reaction when someone knocks on your door?

 

Hide.

 

3. Does a blue sky or blue ocean make you happier? Why?

 

Both. Neither. I love blues skies and blue oceans but also light, puffy clouds and rolling grey ones as well as crystal, clear turquoise water and stormy seas. I love nature in all her moods.

 

4. If you were out enjoying a beautiful day and suddenly it started raining, what would you do?

 

Dance in the rain.

 

5. Whose name makes you smile as soon as you hear it? Care to share why?

 

Spike. I envision lots of funny scenes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer every time I hear his name.

 

6. Dog, cat, fish, or rabbit?

 

Human. I’m actually human. Or do you mean to eat? Because I do like sushi (sorry, Nemo). Oh, a pet? Cat.

 

7. What’s your favorite mode of travel?

 

Transporter. “Beam me up, Scotty.” Teleportation is awesome.

 

8. If you had to stay up all night by yourself in a deserted building, what would you spend the time doing?

 

Sleeping. Oh. Crap. Never mind. Is there wine? It’s my fake all-nighter so I say, yes, there’s wine. I’m going to go ahead and let you all know just how boring I am: I’d stay up reading and writing.

 

9. Running in the rain or running in the gym? (Even if you don’t run! ha!)

 

Hmm. I don’t run. Ever. I’d probably slip and fall either way so it really doesn’t matter. Though, if I’m in the gym, I’d have to be around people so…rain.

 

10. To stand alone on a mountain peak or dance in a crowded club?

 

I think I just covered that. (Psst…I’m a hermit.) Alone on a Mountain Peak might be the name of my next book…

 

11. Who do you write for?

 

Me. (And I have at least two posts about this.)

 

It’s been a bit since I joined in a blog hop. Thanks to Rachael Ritchey for tagging me and making me answer these questions she made up. Yes, she made them up. That’s in the rules. Yes, there are rules. I broke them. And had fun.

There’s a thing about 11 for this tag: 11 rules…no. 11 cups of coffee…hmm. Ah. 11 tags, 11 answers, 11 questions… Something like that.

For me, I’m going with this…

Consider yourself tagged.

Join in, have a bit of bloggy fun, use the awesome Blue Sky Tag banner (that Rachael designed).

 

Okay, if you’re going to play, here are your questions:

 

1. Do you judge a book by its cover?
2. What’s your favorite color? (Specific shade would be awesome…just saying.)
3. Which animal is smarter: chimpanzees or dolphins? (Except if Geoff Le Pard plays because he will say “mice”.)
4. What’s your least favorite part about writing: editing, revising, or proofreading?
5. Are there any mythological creatures you believe are real? (Or wish they were?)
6. Which ridiculously popular book did you not enjoy?

Do You Prefer / Which Would You Rather questions:

7. Pen or pencil
8. Wine or beer
   
9. Bean bags or straight-back chairs
10. A pile of proofreading or a stack of math worksheets
11. Monty Python or Three Stooges
    

 

Tag. You’re it. Have fun, gentle readers. 🙂 Let me know if you play…I’d love to see your answers to my questions! Yup, I made up these questions just for you. You get to make up your own for the bloggers you tag. 🙂

 

I Am a Dragon

 

 

Dragons hoard treasure in their lairs. Gold, mostly, but the occasional jeweled chalice or silver goblet can be found.

As you know, Smaug did it. And now all the cool mythological reptiles are doing it. Because. Tolkien.

Actually…

This trope dates back to Beowulf which was written during the time period academics call, “A wicked frickin’ long time ago.” That’s the earliest literature I can think of where a dragon is hoarding gold.

“the…dragon…is driven to hunt out hoards underground, to guard heathen gold through age-long vigils…” – Beowulf

It’s a thing. It just is.

In the wonderful world of Harry Potter, dragons are used to guard treasures in Gringotts Bank. (But, let’s not go there. Evil lurks in the hearts of goblins.) In the Goblet of Fire, one of the trials in the Triwizard Tournament is to get an egg from a dragon. A golden egg.

I know what you’re thinking (or maybe not). Why gold? I mean, the dragon can’t walk into a cobbler’s shop and order shoes. Can’t buy a Van Gogh. The gold is useless. Precious…but not enjoyed. Just hoarded. So…why? And where am I going with this?

I hoard books.

I have a TBR (To Be Read) pile that is large enough to fill half my house. There are books I’ve been meaning to read and ones I’ve already read that I won’t part with. A dragon could sleep, curled up, quite comfortably on top that pile. I could have a party on there with room to spare. I could send invitations with an option to bring a guest and still we’d be able to move about freely.

If I live another 100 years, I will never get a chance to read them all.

I am just like the “dragon jealously guarding its gold hoard…” *

Things don’t usually go well for these dragons. I know this.

Yet…that’s me. The greedy book-loving word nerd who jealously guards its book hoard. Unlike a dragon’s gold, books are not useless, they are priceless. But what good are they if they’re sitting here, staring longingly at me from their shelves? I should be ashamed. That I don’t give my books away. That I breathe fire at anyone attempting to steal from my pile. That I hoard in the first place. Alas, I am not ashamed. And I continue to collect and hoard. *sigh* I’ve learned nothing.

Except that I am a dragon.

 

Am I a reader or a collector? Hmm… Do you hoard books or do you buy, read, give away, repeat, and keep your pile manageable? I’m wicked curious how many book-lovers out there actually have a manageable TBR pile.

 

Photo source

* Quote source

 

I Like Short Books and I Can Not Lie

 

 

Last summer, this happened: James Patterson’s BookShots.

I love it. I want to sing it to the world! I’ll settle for the tiny corner that reads my blog but I’m singing, my friends. Loud and proud. “I like short books and I can not lie!”

Take a look at this. (And, if you’ve seen it, heard of it, know everything about it…don’t spoil my fun.)

Their message for readers is:

BookShots
Under 150 Pages. Under $5.00
Impossible to Put Down.

All the info you need (plus a modest boost) in a small, catchy slogan.

What’s this all about? This is what it’s all about.

Patterson’s catering to people who love to read but have very little time to do so. In fairness, he’s also targeting those who don’t read often or have the attention span of…what was that? Aw. A chipmunk! How cute!

The bonus for me, aside from having very little time to read, is that, as we’ve established, I love short books. I’ll be writing more on my undying love for novellas later but, the thing is, BookShots is bringing back novellas for the digital age with some clever marketing. Because, really, they’re just novellas in disguise.

(This whole line of books kind of reminds me of pulp fiction but, eh, what do I know about that?)

My Sunday thoughts in 200 words or less.

 

Have you heard of BookShots? What are your thoughts on it? In general, do you prefer shorter or longer books?

 

Blog Comments — Why Do We Reply?

 

I haven’t replied to the comments on my last few posts. Egads! So I’m not allowed to post another one. I mean, it’s an unwritten rule, right? Wrong. It’s a written rule. You must reply. Also, there’s a written rule that says you don’t need to reply. There is disagreement in the blogosphere. And so it goes. I feel I’ve danced this dance before.

You simply must reply to comments on your blog because:

1. It’s rude not to
2. The whole point of a blog post is to generate conversation (i.e. comments) and you should keep that going
3. If people take the time to comment, you should take the time to reply

These are all true. But so are these:

1. Some people don’t care (or even notice) if you reply
2. The whole point of a blog post is whatever the person who wrote it wants it to be – regardless of whether or not it generates conversation
3. If people take the time to comment, it’s because they wanted to and you shouldn’t feel pressured to reply

I attempt to reply to every single comment on my blog. And not just a string of “thanks” but thought-out responses (with the occasional “thanks”). There are times, especially with my shorter posts or my flash fiction over at the Reef, it takes longer to reply than it takes me to write the piece. Also, as I’ve mentioned, I feel I can’t publish my next post until I’ve responded to each comment.

In this way, blog comments stress me out. But I love them. I love my readers and appreciate their comments. So much. I also love the conversation that can emerge from a simple Thought Bubble. I try to reply to all of them and 90% of the time, I do. Because. Love.

But sometimes it takes me a little while or I miss one. And I need to be okay with that. I suppose I’m writing this in part because I hope you’ll be okay with that. (And to ask you to continue commenting because, if you don’t, I will cry.)

When I publish a post, some readers return to “like” my reply. (“Hey! Saw that you wrote back. Cool.”) Others reply to my reply. (“I like what you said and have something to add.”) Others comment and move on their merry way, never returning to said post. (“I didn’t notice you replied.” Or “I’m up to my earlobes in work and writing and reading blogs and composing my own replies to comments and I don’t have time to come back.”)

It’s all good.

When I read another blogger’s post, some reply to my comment within minutes. Some reply days or weeks later. Some never do.

I’m not offended if they don’t reply or if it takes weeks. I’m not annoyed if they do reply and I’m alerted via email 30 seconds later. It’s. All. Good. See? Things are good. This is serious stuff, this blogging business. But, really, in the grand scheme of your local ice cream parlor, it’s just plain vanilla. Not a chocolate sundae with whipped cream, colored sprinkles, and hot fudge with a cherry on top, you know?

If you miss a post or two or a comment or two, forgive yourself. Your readers will. Hell, if they don’t, you don’t need them.

Anyway, I forgive you. So, there’s that. *hands you a cookie*

 

 

What say you, gentle readers? Do you reply to every comment? Do you just click “like”? Do you ignore and publish your next post?