This is one of those shared experience things. As soon as you say the word shared, you know I’m in trouble. I write a blog and another author posts it on their site and theoretically their readers will buy my book. In return, they write something and I share it with my readers. It’s probably very effective is some sort of way, but that doesn’t mean I’m in favor of it. Mostly because this just feels so God-awful artificial.
“Hi everyone. My name is Mabel J., and I’m just so excited that Suzy Q. invited me to tell you a little about my new book on her blog.”
[Insert the sound of me retching here!]
While I’m sure at this point you might welcome someone besides me on this blog – tough. You signed up for me.
I certainly didn’t subscribe to Suzie Q.’s damn blog to read something by Mabel J. Suzie Q. can read Mabel J.’s stuff and if it’s that great than Suzie Q. can tell me exactly why I should give a damn about Mabel J. And in a meaningful way – not some bull**** happy backslapping kind of thing. And not because your damn publisher said you had to!
I’m being honest here – I really don’t want to do guest blogging. I’m selfish enough that all I can think about is just how much will this benefit me. Are your readers going to understand someone like me? I’m not your average romance writer. Can’t I just send you my link and you can post it and say nice things about me?
Seriously, wouldn’t it be better if I wrote something decent and personal about a book that I read and liked and then shared a link to that author’s book on Amazon or their website? And if I liked it that well, shouldn’t I also have taken the time to write a damn review?
Because what if I like the book and I’m willing to talk about it, but have no use for the author as a person? That may sound strange, but I can like a book by someone while hating the personal or political views the author embraces on their website. While I’d be willing to tell you that I liked the book, I’m not interested in giving that person space to vomit their views on my site.
I’m back to Dean and the concept of the website being the face of your business. In his words, “You won’t find McDonalds letting Burger King advertise in their restaurant.” A silly example, but very true.
Guest blogging to me is really part of the social networking thing. I’m not against it – I’m just not really interested in doing it. Every minute I spend working on a guest blog for someone else is time that I’m not spending writing my next book or communicating with people that are actually interested in me and what I’m doing. And hey – it’s really all about me and my time.
My current plan is that if some other author says something that I think is important or interesting on their blog, then I’ll tell you what I liked and why, and you can make the choice to go check it out or not. That seems like a better deal for me.
Once again, I seem to be failing at the self-promotion thing as recommended by the “experts.”
