Blogger Anonymous: All ARC'd Up

Hey, y'all! It's been a while since I did a Blogger Anonymous post (a post in which I not so anonymously post about an issue that's burning my biscuits so we can chat about it), and something happened last night that totally set me off.

I was perusing my Instagram feed as one does and what should I see but this:

An ARC for sale. By a blogger. Upon further looking I saw that this wasn't the first time this blogger had sold an ARC.

Giving this poster the benefit of the doubt (even though every ARC has "NOT FOR SALE" stamped across it in multiple spots), I commented on the thread and reminded her it was illegal to sell ARCs.

She deleted my comment and sold the book to another commenter. I commented again to both of them and told them both it was illegal. 

And I was blocked. 

It floored me that both the buyer and seller are bloggers. As bloggers, you know the Rules of the ARC:

1. Thou shalt not sell thy ARC
2. Though shalt abide by Rule #1
3. When thou is in doubt, thy will refer to Rule #2 for instruction about thy ARC

I mean, seriously - I says NOT FOR SALE all over it.

A few months ago there was a scandal over at eBay where people were selling ARCs of highly coveted books that had been gotten at BEA (Passenger by Alexandra Bracken and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo to name a few).

Maybe you're a newer blogger or new to the book world or new to ARCs, so let's go over a few things.

1. What is an ARC/ARE and what does it do?
ARC = Advanced Reader Copy
ARE = Advanced Reader Edition

Same thing, just different names. These are produced in limited quantity by a publisher or authors for the sole purpose of reviewing. These copies are distributed to media outlets, magazines, libraries, and (yes) bloggers and booktubers in hopes they will be covered on that particular publication.

Media coverage and reviews = sales = $$$ for publishers.

With me so far?

These books often contain imperfections that are worked out by the final bound publication, such as grammatical errors, spelling errors, formatting issues, and (in some rare cases) entirely different endings/plots/passages.

2. Why it isn't OK to sell them:
Publishing is a business. It's a career. From writers to editors to cover designers to the publicity and marketing teams, it is a real life job - the same thing that you or someone in your family does to make sure you have a roof over your head, clothing, food, and all the necessities. When someone sells an ARC, none of the people mentioned in the production of that book get a cut from it.

So basically it would be like getting your paycheck and it being $100 short because a few people decided to take a few dollars at a time from your check just because they can. Not because you didn't do your work (you totally did your work and kicked ass at it) but someone else decided that your work was also their work so why shouldn't they get a chunk of it?

See how that makes absolutely no sense? And how selling an ARC is basically taking money directly away from an author? A publicist? A company?

3. But I never asked for this ARC and I need to get rid of it - why should I have to pay to get rid of it?!
Oh, poor you. Poor, poor you. Someone sent you a book for free that you didn't ask for because they hoped you would enjoy it.

What is the world coming to when people get random, free bookmail?

If you receive an unsolicited book for review, you have a few options:

1. Read it and review it
2. Read it and don't review it
3. Pass it along to another blogger
4. Pass it along to friends and/or family
5. Donate it to your local library/school
6.Recycle it

See how none of those options involve selling it?

YA Highway actually did an excellent post about what to do with an ARC when you're done with it that I recommend checking out if you need options. I'm really blessed that I have YADC around me and I can usually pass my books along to another blogger when I'm done.

I can't afford to randomly ship books to people, but if people are willing to pay shipping, I will happily send them a book or 20. But note, I am not selling these books - I don't make a profit on them. It's one thing to be reimbursed for shipping. It's another thing to make a profit off something that isn't yours.

4. But I asked for a gift card ... not actual money:
Still counts. A gift card can be the same thing as money. A $10 gift card to Barnes & Noble spends the same as a $10 bill.

5. Digital ARCs don't count because they aren't real books, right?
Look, Pinnochio, that's not how this works. If anything, selling/sharing digital ARCs is worse. Once a digital file is uploaded in to the interwebs, it's out there for anyone to see and pirate. 

An author's pre-book launch is usually:

10% excitement
10% freaking out
30% planning launch events
50% playing 'Whack-A-Mole' reporting links to illegal copies of their books

Martina Boone's debut COMPULSION was up for illegal download on multiple web sites six months before release.

Would you photocopy an ARC and upload it it for people to read? It's the same thing.

6. So #BooksForTrade is evil?
No. Not at all. Trading an ARC for another book (finished or not) is OK and actually encouraged by publishers. I've actually spoken to a lot of publicists about this and it's bonus publicity for them.

It's simple math (and I suck at math). Let's say the average blogger's post reaches 500 people.

1 ARC + 1 Blogger = 500 people
1 ARC + 3 Bloggers = 1.500 people
1 ARC + 6 Bloggers = 3,000 people

See how the more you share, the more chances a book has to be review/featured? 

Trading a book for a book is one thing. Trading a book for a form of currency (money or gift card) is not OK.

7. How do we stop the madness?
Before you go grabbing your pitchforks, take a breath. I was so mad last night that I was tempted to throw this person's identity out there and just let the chips fall where they may. But what good would that do?

I did report what I saw to the publisher who was publishing those titles I found for sale and what they do now is beyond me. 

Publicly crucifying and shaming someone just stirs a lot of people up and leads to more drama. Which is why I'm not going to publicly share the bloggers that inspired this post.

If you're unsure about something, ask. Ask a publicist. Ask another blogger. As both. Ask 20 bloggers. Pose the question for all of twitter. But willful ignorance isn't a defense, especially when a book plainly says NOT FOR SALE on it.

Blogger Anonymous: Fifty Shades of Book Shaming

Welcome to the third edition of Blogger Anonymous. Not quite so anonymous, but definitely a place where people (mainly me, but feel free to join in), post about issues and drama that is currently plaguing me pertaining to blogging and books and reading.

So let's talk about a subject currently burning my biscuits: Fifty Shades of Book Shaming.

I've been an avid reader all of my life, ever since I figured out how to sound words out and have them make sense. I've always been that girl with her nose stuck in a book. The girl who was just as likely to sit at the lunch table reading as she was to chat with her besties.

Around high school, I felt this ... shift in my reading. I remember reading a Sweet Valley High novel (one that I had actually re-read several times) before class started and a classmate sat down next to me and posed the, "What are you reading?" question. I flipped the book around so she could see the cover and was met with a small smile and a nose wrinkle.

A freaking nose wrinkle. Like I was an adorable little sister who just didn't get it. She leaned over and proceeded to pull out a Stephen King novel that was easily five times the size of my SVH one and leaned back in her chair and started reading, making sure to angle the cover towards me.

Hint, hint, Hannah. Time to grow up.

That was my first taste at someone judging my reading. So I did what any normal teenage bookaholic would do - I went to the library and checked out some Agatha Christie, Stephen King, and (because I had enjoyed the mini-series) Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. 

I made it about halfway through Agatha. Stephen and I got pretty close over bonding with a psycho clown, but even that was ... weird. As for Larry and Lonesome Dove, well it wasn't the same as what I had seen on TV and I knew it wasn't the book for me when one of the prostitutes described a guy's business as a shriveled carrot with the roots attached.

But I felt confident whipping that book out of my JanSport backpack before class. Even if instead of devouring a book a day I was lucky to sludge through a chapter. It didn't matter because now I was reading like an adult.

Albeit an unhappy one who developed an aversion to carrots (seriously, I don't eat them anymore). 

This went on for a few years where I secretly read my Francine Pascal fluffy goodness in secret while keeping a dusty stack of "age appropriate" material on my nightstand. Towards the end of high school and college I found a new genre to sink into.

Christian Fiction.

Being raised in a very Christian family (and being Christian myself) this was the perfect medium. I loved finding essentially clean, adult books. I wasn't all that into the sexy scenes back then - give me some kissing and emotionally vulnerable moments and I was golden. I still maintain that these are some of my favorite authors: Tracie Peterson, Dee Henderson, Deanne Gist, Terri Blackstock, Lori Wick ... These women can write romance like you wouldn't believe. And I bought these books by the series, eagerly reading everything I could.

Until one day, I was sitting in the break room at work reading and a coworker walks in and asks the question: "Whatcha reading?"

I show her the cover. Cue another nose wrinkled, but this time with a question: "What's that about?"

I hand over the book so she can read the back cover because I suck at summarizing plots out loud when put on the spot. I seriously kinda fangirl and flail and screech, "It's good! There's kissing! And I love it! And you should READ IT!"

But after a second she hands it back and does the sucking-air-through-teeth thing with a wince. "I didn't know you were so ... religious." She set the book down and high tailed it out of the room.

I froze for a few seconds, trying to figure out a reply, but she left. I mean, yes, I am religious, but I wasn't going to start a prayer circle around her by myself. Or start preaching. But suddenly, my "safe" books didn't feel safe. They came with judgement. Again.

I went through these cycles for years. Yes, I found my way back to YA but it was sudden;y more acceptable because Stephenie Meyer made it so. She (along with a lot of other authors) made Young Adult something that was accessible and ground-breaking and compelling. The tiny little mass-market paperbacks of 200 pages were replaced by gargantuan novels that were 300-400 pages of hardbacked brilliance. 

But even still, I carry around a book and sometimes, I still get the, "What are you reading?" accompanied by the wince and pity look. Because clearly an adult reading young adult fiction is means I am somehow lacking something in my life that makes me stuck in the teenage past. Or I'm an idiot.

No. That's not it.

Whatever.

Now it seems people are switching their focus from adults reading YA to the Fifty Shades craze currently taking over the world. I am reading tweets, facebook posts, and articles criticizing people who read this series, fanfiction, the unrealistic way it portrays relationships, the BDSM aspect that is borderline abuse ... Can we all just stop for a second?

No matter what your stance on Fifty Shades of Grey, E.L. James, fan fiction, here are a few things to consider:

1. Fifty Shades of Grey may not be your kind of book but it is someone's kind of book. So if you don't like people judging what you read, you have no place to judge what they read. Critique/review the work, fine. But not the reader. Reading is just starting to be cool again, let's not send people scurrying back under the covers with their books.

2. Ana and Christian do have an unrealistic relationship. She's a shy, wallflower virgin and he's a 27 year old tycoon. And they fall in love. And do ... things. So, what exactly is the problem with this? That a 27 year old can be that successful? That a gorgeous guy would go for a quiet wallflower? It's called fiction for a reason. I don't read fiction for the realism. It's OK to write about dragons and faeries and a twelve year old wizard, but we draw the line at two adults falling in love and being kinky? 

3. If BDSM isn't your thing in fiction or real life, cool. Don't read it. Don't go to playgrounds or engage in these activities. Personally? It's not my thing. I don't mind it in fiction (again, fiction), but in my day-to-day life, I know it could never be for me. But that doesn't mean it can't be for other people. I have friends who engage in this lifestyle and neither of them is abused or mistreated or are serial killers - it is consensual and safe and sane. And they are adults in a committed relationship. 

4. A lot of people criticize that this was once fan fiction. "Bella and Edward porn" is the term most often thrown around. Yes. This once was fan fiction. But so what? I've been part of the fan fiction community for years, decades even. I have several websites where my work is up and I've won awards for my writing from various fandoms and even won a few contests. The process is different for every person, but taking a character from someone else's creation (be it a book, TV show, movie, etc.) and creating a new story, world, interactions for them is work. It is a lot of work and fandoms are a lot less forgiving than bloggers and the general public. It is a whole new level of rabid addiction you cannot imagine if you've never been involved. 

So, just to lay a few things out there:

1. I read all forms of fiction - young adult, Christian fiction, adult (romance and erotica).
2. I've written fan fiction for years.
3. I don't hate Fifty Shades of Grey. It's not my favorite book or one I would re-read, but it isn't the Devil's Handbook either.
4. I probably will see the movie because ... why not? *shrug*

Any questions? Comments? Or are most of you like:

Blogger Anonymous: Blogger Burnout

Welcome to the second edition of Blogger Anonymous. Not quite so anonymous, but definitely a place where people (mainly me, but feel free to join in), post about issues and drama that is currently plaguing me pertaining to blogging.

Today's topic of choice? Blogger Burnout.

I am currently suffering from this very condition, as is my co-blogger. Typically Gabrielle and I try to time these things so one of us is on their game, but this summer, we've both been going like crazy and there hasn't been much time do blog updates. (Please notice how there have been no updates in 2+ weeks.)

And honestly? I'm OK with this, but I didn't used to be.

The first time I experienced Blogger Burnout (we'll just call it the Big BB from here on out), I had been blogging just over a year. Life was good. I had my followers, I went to my first BEA ... and then my life went into overdrive.

I got back from NYC, my brother got married 2 days later, and then I started a new job the day after that. It was crazy and my blog went untouched for the better part of the Summer of 2012.

But you know what? When I started blogging ... I found not much had changed. The majority of my followers were still there and the world kept going. I was so worried that my followers would scatter to the four corners of the earth, 

but they didn't. 

I've had several friends say to me lately that they're tired of scheduling posts, making sure they're on top of books, blog tours, and trends, and all of the things. That blogging has become more an occupation than a hobby.

If that's you, can I give you a little bit of advice?

WALK AWAY.

Not forever. Maybe for a couple days. A week. Pick up a book that doesn't need to be reviewed until 2015 just because you can. Sometimes I forget the joy of losing myself in a book just because. I forget that I started blogging as a way to squee and share my love of all things bookish. But somewhere along the lines, it got twisted into an obligation. 

So, if you feel like you're hitting that burnout point, the Big BB, give yourself a break. Your followers will still be there when you come back. In fact, taking a beat and letting yourself breathe can be amazingly refreshing.

I am loving my current hiatus, even though it's coming to a close because I've had my break. Now I have energy and more importantly, I want to blog again. I've missed this community and seeing what my friends are loving and reading.

But I promise - you aren't admitting defeat if you take a break. Quite the opposite in fact. Come back more fabulous than ever.

Bloggers Anonymous: Enough is Enough

Welcome to the first edition of Blogger Anonymous. Not quite so anonymous, but definitely a place where people (mainly me, but feel free to join in), post about issues and drama that is currently plaguing me pertaining to blogging.

I debated about making this post for over a month now. Debated, toiled, fretted, worried, plotted, pondered, agonized - 

OK, maybe not agonized.

I feel like this is an issue every blogger faces at some point: Jealousy. And not just "Oh, that's a cute bracelet" jealous. I mean gut churning, dark thoughts, I give up jealous. I seem to be seeing more and more of this, and I will admit I've struggled with this myself. 

About two months ago I was truly fighting daily with myself about closing the blog down for good. It's something my friends and my awesome co-blogger knew about, but I felt like admitting it openly - to everyone in the blogosphere - was ridiculous and so not important in the grand scheme of things. But I didn't like the person blogging was turning me into.

What started as a fun hobby had morphed into an obsession that was constantly eating at me. Every instagram post I saw where a blogger got an ARC or 10 I didn't get, I wondered what I had done wrong. How could I be a better blogger? How could I get on people's radar? What new ways could I up my comments? Or bring more page hits?

It got to the point where I was legit obsessed to a point that was scaring me. I feel like since I started blogging I've always been chasing an unattainable number. When I first started it was all about the GFC count. I convinced myself that if I could hit 1,000 GFC followers then I had arrived. Cue the marching band and confetti. (Please don't ask where/why/how my twisted little mind decided that was the magic number.) And then, about a year and a half after blogging, I hit that number. I was elated.

For a week.

But then it wasn't about GFC numbers anymore. I was about my Klout score. My Twitter followers. My Facebook likes, my email subscribers ... Every time I wrapped my mind around one set of numbers, it changed. Now it's page views. Or unique page views. Maybe both (it took me almost a year to figure out the distinction). 

Wait - or is it Bloglovin' followers?

HOLD ON! This just in! Something called an Alexa is the new standard by which bloggers are judged? The only Alexa I know was in a couple Spy Kids movies back in the day, but OK....

Blogging stopped being a fun hobby and became a chore that I dreaded. Reading books wasn't exciting - it was a means to an end. Read a book to write a review. Post a review to get some page views. I found myself competing with my friends - I got irrationally jealous when they had more twitter followers than me. Or more comments on their posts. 

I finally hit my breaking point one night where I had my cursor positioned on the "Delete Blog" button. I was done. I was over feeling like crap and worrying and freaking out about stuff that - at the end of the day - wasn't the be all/end all of my life.

It took a lot of furious text message sessions between some bloggers friends before I finally settled down and decided to take a step back. I made a conscious decision to breathe and not touch the blog for a week and back away from social media. After the first couple of days, it became easier. Instead of trying to adhere to a a strict book reading and posting schedule, I just did what I wanted.

You know - the way I did when I first started down this rabbit hole 3 years ago.

I guess the reason I'm bringing up all of this now is because I have several friends who are currently struggling with this very thing. And I know we can't be the only ones. I don't want to see a lot of awesome bloggers throw in the towel because they forgot - we forgot - why we started doing this at in the first place.

So what if you don't get that ARC everyone else did? Can you honestly tell me you don't have a shelf or more of unread books somewhere? If people have better stats than you? More followers? More power to 'em. 

Every follower you have in every facet of blogging and social media is someone saying, "You're worth it and you matter" on a daily basis. If even 5 people are willing to follow you, that's amazing. You've influenced and touched those 5 people.

So, stop and count. Right now. Do it. How many people have you reached? Can you name them all? How long would it take you to write each and every single one of them a quick "Thanks for following me" note? 

I'm not saying I'll never get jealous again. But now I can keep it in better perspective and I'm loving blogging again. It's fun. And isn't that the whole point?