The Book Blogger Buzz Tour: Guest Post from Rachel at Fiktshun.com

Welcome to another great stop on The Book Blogger Buzz Tour. This tour was created by the awesome Rachel at Parajunkee.com. Today we our excited to share with you a guest post from Rachel at Fiktshun.com.

Then on 7/29, You can read OUaT's guest post over at Author Gwynn White's blog.

Here is Fiktshun About Me:

My name is Rachel and I’ve been reviewing/blogging about books since November 2010. I am a not-so-young adult who fell in love with YA books in the fall of 2008 and decided to start reviewing them on the blog two years later.

I have a full-time job during the day and try to squeeze in as much of a life as I can outside of that. Somewhere in between I like to read books and write about them here on the blog.

You will find me on Twitter in the evenings (mostly). I tend to be a shy Tweeter but feel free to say “hi” if you find me there.

I love most genres in YA, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be paranormal. I used to think I only loved vampires, but due to some amazing authors have fallen for those angels, demons, werewolves, faeries, spell casters, magicians and zombie-killers.

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Rachel's Book Blogger Buzz Tour Topic:

Things I wish others would stop judging book bloggers on

Everyone judges. We judge people on what they wear, on who they date, on the kind of cars they drive, on who they call friends. So the fact that we all judge other book bloggers on the types of books they read, the types of reviews they write, the types of ratings they give is no different.

But it’s one thing to quietly judge, forming our own personal opinions, it’s an entirely different thing to write posts about the judgments we’ve made, comment loudly and often about those opinions on the blogs we show disdain for, share our thoughts on social media in a way that makes others feel that they’ve done something wrong, that they are somehow less.

And it’s one thing to have an opinion on something that differs from someone else’s opinion. It is very different to pass judgment on someone for their actions or opinions. So while I’m all about the freedom to express one’s thoughts, it does tend to irk me when judgments are made and laid down as if they are the law.

And while I have quite a few, the judgments that annoy me the most are…

Review length and style. Not everyone can go on and on ad nauseam about their thoughts on a book. Some people only have a few words at their disposal to express their thoughts. Judging someone for writing a review less than X number of words serves to virtually silence those voices, making those who put themselves out there to share their thoughts feel self-conscious about doing so. And the same is true as regards style. Some reviewers like to squee, fangirl and gush. Some like to include animated gifs that more accurately represent their emotions than their words. Not every reviewer can or wants to write an in-depth analysis of their experience with a particular novel. And they shouldn’t be judged for it.

Review ratings. There have been many posts and comments over the years that talk about how untrustworthy reviewers are who only post positive or negative reviews. Positive reviewers are seen as liars. Negative reviewers are seen as attention-seekers. But it’s possible that the positive reviewer is someone who only reads books they love and the negative reviewer is someone who can only find the words to express what they don’t enjoy versus what they do. And really, ratings are subjective. What you like and don’t like is personal. Unless you’re in someone’s head, how do you know if they don’t love, love, love every single thing they read?

Social media interaction. Twitter, specifically. I have seen countless Twitter conversations and posts about how people should act on Twitter when it comes to tweeting their posts. How often. Who should be @‘ed and who shouldn’t. What should be hash-tagged and what shouldn’t. I’ve seen people become condescending toward those who don’t follow a set of “rules” deemed acceptable. I’ve seen snarky comments about those who use all the various “tricks” to make their posts, and blog, more visible. It’s Twitter - don’t like it, don’t follow. But snarky, judge-y comments? Not cool.

Post types. Not everyone can read and review a book a day. Not everyone can think up clever memes and features that will engage. Not everyone can write a weekly discussion post that will get people talking. Sometimes bloggers want to participate on a tour, share a reveal or blast. Sometimes they want to join a meme. I was around when everyone was judging others for participating in multiple memes each week instead of coming up with original content. Now the judgment seems to have moved on to promotional copy/paste blasts. And while it might be frustrating to see tons of the same types of posts in a feed, is it fair to judge those who want to promote a book and author in this way? Book blogging isn’t just about writing reviews - in fact, it doesn’t even have to be about reviews at all. It can be about promoting authors and books in other ways. And what’s so wrong about that?

Book hauls. I feel like I’ve read almost as many posts bashing book haul posts and videos as there are book haul posts. Bloggers passing judgment on those who share their pics and vids of stunning ARCs each week seems to be a common thing. And while these posts may induce all sorts of jealousy, it does not mean the blogger is flaunting their status in other bloggers’ faces, as some might conclude. They could be genuinely excited to share what they received. They could be giving attention to books as a way of thanking the authors and publishers who sent them. Or they could be saying, “Nyah, nyah, nyah, look what I got and you didn’t!” Whatever the reason, it’s their blog, it’s their place to share what they want to share, judgment-free.

Okay, so I decided to share five judgments that happen to be judgments from bloggers about other bloggers. I knew that if I started talking about those outside the book blogging community, this would be the length of an epic novel versus a post. And I don’t know that I’d have been able to discuss this without the expletives flying.

Just thinking about how paid reviewers look down their noses at unpaid bloggers gets me all riled up. And those who see YA book bloggers or romance bloggers as somehow less than those bloggers who review “literature” makes me see red. RED. Grrr. So I don’t think I could talk about my disdain toward those pompous a**** who snub… oops, I think I just let a judgment slip past. My bad.

Those who spend their time publicly judging others about what they should or shouldn’t do, how they should or shouldn’t act, what they should or shouldn’t say, and who they are or aren’t, aren’t without flaws, so who are they to judge? If the lens was turned on them and their blogs, would they stand up to the scrutiny? Could they handle the criticism? Would they even recognize their hypocrisy? Probably not.

Just remember this: (And no, I’m not going to quote that verse from The Bible.) It’s your blog. It’s your space on the Internet to say what you want in the way you want to say it. Ignore those Judgey McJudgpersons. BLOG YOUR WAY.

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The Book Blogger Buzz Tour Giveaway: