tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post2694009180895406355..comments2024-03-15T01:19:05.548-04:00Comments on Ramblings on Romance Etcetera. Etcetera: Just tryin' to stay awakeKristie (J)http://www.blogger.com/profile/15743921647882733738noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-32772180304577197072015-05-14T00:32:25.206-04:002015-05-14T00:32:25.206-04:00Keishon, I totally get the attraction of ARC's...Keishon, I totally get the attraction of ARC's , I really do. They do help the author a lot. But like you said- and me in a. Different way, it is so freeing not being obligated to read a certain book. Plus this way, again as you say, the reader is free to say whatever they want.<br />Say I'm in a terrible reading slump & not in the mood to read anything. There's no pressure to have to force myself due to an author or publisher or agent waiting for my review.<br /><br />Wendy, I can't imagine anything worse than HAVING to finish a book when it's so not working. It would just drain all the joy out of reading. And if I did accept ARCs, that's what would happen. One year I accepted books to judge and it was a horrid experience- for me. I think I got 3 books and all three were horrid and I couldn't finish a one. I ended up lying feeling a lightning bolt was goona get me.<br /><br />Nath, LOL for the first while, it was thrilling to be asked and I accepted. But then either I didn't like the book, couldn't get into it or just wasn't in the mood and I felt like I'd let down whoever it was who sent it to me as well as myself. That was almost self induced slump right there. How could I move on when I still had the particular book to read? For me, and I only speak for me, it wasn't worth losing the joy and enthusiasm.Kristie (J)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15743921647882733738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-42368514759579226032015-05-13T14:08:36.153-04:002015-05-13T14:08:36.153-04:00Hi Kristie :)
Nice post. It's nice not to hav...Hi Kristie :)<br /><br />Nice post. It's nice not to have to worry about that. The fact that you've received a free copy from the author or publisher. but yeah, to be able to read a book early... That's always exciting :)<br /><br />I don't really do ARC anymore. I barely go on Netgalley either because I doN't like the format LOL. Yep, I'm picky :P<br /><br />But personally, I've always tried to be as honest as possible... because at the end of the day, that's what we want. If authors and publishers decided they didn't want to send me any ARC, fine with me.<br /><br />However, gotta say, it's nice to get request. It's like recognition :Pnathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02626894830238717124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-42738431944312980812015-05-11T20:10:31.291-04:002015-05-11T20:10:31.291-04:00I get around the "honest review" stateme...I get around the "honest review" statement thanks to the magic of tags. Any review I do on my blog for an ARC includes "ARC Review" in with the tags.<br /><br />I've been getting ARCs since my TRR days (so, 1999 - yikes!) so don't really treat them as "special" in anyway. The one shift I've tried to adopt however is to allow myself to DNF ARCs more. Again, another hold over from my TRR days where I read every single sentence of every book no matter how awesome or terrible said book was. Once I stopped that "heavy-duty reviewing" I allowed myself to DNF, but.....I still found that hard to do with ARCs.<br /><br />These days I would say I get the vast majority of my ARCs from services like NetGalley (which I actually prefer), the occasional publicist, and the occasional author. Most of the authors who contact me are Harlequin authors because....hello? Wendy = Harlequin Ho. I get the occasional self-published author request, but given the sheer volume of self-pub out there? Not too many actually.<br /><br />And AL is right - they'll still contact you, but I still think it's good to state your policy somewhere on the blog. If they still e-mail you? That's on them, not you.Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12485867264936716806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-48969359246548943662015-05-10T11:08:47.678-04:002015-05-10T11:08:47.678-04:00I refuse ARC's but on occasion, I'll see o...I refuse ARC's but on occasion, I'll see one I want to read but in the end I never post a review and hardly ever finish it. ARC's are supposed to be used to generate buzz about a book. I'm not down with having to read and review anything on a time table. I read in moods. There is something freeing in not having to review ARC's. You can read at your leisure. You won't be judged on the content of your review (meaning saying as little or as much as you want about the book). I don't do well with analysis and I don't really care for those reviews. I just want to know if it's entertaining or not. <br /><br />ARC's are a good way to generate traffic for blogs and increase readers and build up influence which is great if you have great taste in books and can point out the good books. These days, I'm reading a lot of older books (mysteries) and there are readers who enjoy that, too. Sorry to ramble and Happy Mother's Day to you (sorry you have to work! but I hope the hours at work goes by fast!)<br /><br />Keishon Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-67500879920085940162015-05-09T19:40:55.376-04:002015-05-09T19:40:55.376-04:00But!! AHA!! At least I won't feel guilty now i...But!! AHA!! At least I won't feel guilty now if they still try and get me to review. Because if they paid any attention to the blog at all, then they would see my newly posted reviewing policy and if they still send me an email, then they didn't really pay attention - thus freeing me of any guiltiness.<br />And I can't say strongly enough that "this is the opinion of this particular blogger and not to be confused with this blogger holding the same standards to anyone else". <br />I'm very fortunate to be in the position where I can afford to buy any books I want. I may CHOOSE not to buy books that are more expensive or same price as mass market books, but I could.<br />In the long run *laughing* it's all about me not adding more guilt when I'm already such a magnet for it :-)Kristie (J)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15743921647882733738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10897259.post-76176743600236048282015-05-09T19:25:53.660-04:002015-05-09T19:25:53.660-04:00You realize they will still contact you with those...You realize they will still contact you with those offers, right?<br /><br />Unless, of course, you unsubscribe from whatever newsletters have put you in their sights.<br /><br />I agree with you on many points, and I wish I could say I'm as strong as you, never taking ARCs.<br /><br />However, I confess I've been weak enough, on more than one occasion, to accept ARCs, including very recently.<br /><br />Most often it has been only for books I've been dying to read, and often books I've already pre-ordered or end up buying anyway, but that has been blind luck.<br /><br />It really would suck if I had hated an ARC and still felt obligated to write a review, because (and perhaps I flatter myself here) I would not lie about my reaction to the book, and that would make me uncomfortable.aztecladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14857872357667370906noreply@blogger.com