Author vs. Blogger - A Balance of Power

I've been a book blogger for nearly two years now and I've really enjoyed it. I love being asked to read a new novel, even when I sometimes have to decline. On those rare occasions when I'm asked to read something that rocks my universe there is no better feeling. It is out of this world.

As a book blogger, fairly early on I set up a clear and detailed review policy to help me weed out requests from people who wouldn't take the time to work with me in an efficient manner.

Now that I am an author, I'm looking at this from a whole new perspective. I can look at my blogger review policy and say - hey I did something really good here!


See, I'm now looking for bloggers who would be willing to review MY book. The shoe is now on the other foot. I'm finding, that for authors this is not an easy task.

First, you have to find the bloggers. You've exhausted your friends so you resort to lists. You find a list, and you are lucky enough that this list is separated by genre so you think - Great! It will be so easy to find bloggers who want to read my sci-fi/suspense novel. All I have to do is look for the science fiction fans, right?

Wrong.

You may find the bloggers who say they read science fiction, yet when you go to their individual blogs you can encounter some unforeseen problems.

Problems like:

• They have no contact information listed.
• They have no review policy at all.
• They are so back logged they aren't accepting review requests.

If you are lucky enough to find a blogger who does have their contact information listed, who does have a review policy and who IS accepting review requests, it is a rare and beautiful thing.

Yet this does not guarantee they will read or review your book. So you do what you are supposed to do. You read their blog, you follow their policy, and you send a polite and individualized request following their review policy to the letter.

And you wait. And you hope. And you realize how hard it is to be an author begging from the other side of the fence.

I used to think the authors were like gods and I was the privileged worshiper who wanted to bow down before them in gratitude when I received a request for review.

Now I find the bloggers are the gods, and I need to bow down before them and hope they will accept my lowly gift of my book, and in return grant me the gift of a review. The blogger holds all the power. Book review bloggers I bow down before you.

Are you a blogger and an author? Have you found this to be true? If you are one or the other, what do you think of the balance of power?