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Friday 26 June 2015

You're a book blogger... Huh? What's that?

Have you ever wondered what's involved in running a book blog? How much time is spent on writing posts, reviews and reading? If your answers no I'm probably about to lose you, but if it's yes then you might be interested in continuing reading this blog post...

I'm going to take a step down memory lane for this entry, a few years ago I decided to pick up a book that people were raving about, my entire team at work (all eleven of us) decided to give it a go, you might of heard of this book, it was Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James. This series changed the way I looked at reading, not only because of the speed in which I devoured the series, or because of the content, or even that it reinvigorated my passion for the written word, what absolutely blew my mind was that this book opened a dialogue between work colleagues and friends, it gave us a topic to discuss, and avenue to open frank conversations about so much more than just BDSM and sex, it led to a deeper, more concrete bond between friends. 





From there I found Maryse Black, well known book blogger and I started reading with a renewed passion, I discovered Indie authors, and a whole new world of books and ultimately good friends were laid at my feet.



One such friend was Lilliana Anderson, Australian author, when she put out a call for ARC reviews I responded, having no idea what an ARC was, (I would find out it stands for Advanced Reader Copy) away I went, to read and review a book, when Lilliana asked me if I would be interested in BETA reading for her I was shocked, mainly because I had no idea what a BETA reader was, but Lilliana explained what was expected, I would read a draft of her book, I would give her feedback on characters, plot, pacing, what I thought worked, what didn't... It was a heady thing, giving a published author my honest thoughts on their words, one that hasn't changed, I still take the responsibility of being a beta reader seriously, almost two years and over twenty authors later. 



From beta reading and arc reviews, Glass Paper Ink was born, originally as a Facebook page, I had no clue what was involved, I thought I would have maybe ten followers, mainly family, I never had any idea that this blog would grow...

From there came book signings on Australian soil, #IADU in March 2014,  more authors to beta read for, new arcs to review, more books to read.


 In May the organising team asked if I would like to be involved with #SAE2014, Sydney Author Event was set to be a boutique style author signing set against the back drop of Syney Harbour in November and I jumped at the chance, the line up of incredible authors blew me away, people came from across  Australia  from around the world to visit our fair city and to meet authors, some for the very first time.



Ryn, Tash, Kell, Amanda, Natasha made the kind of team I was proud to be a part of. 



2015 saw a new year and exciting news for GPI, an actual blog was born, a one stop shop to catalogue my reviews, to share photos, my little corner of the Internet with the coolest logo ever (even if I do say so myself - created by Ben Ellis of BE Designs) 



Fast forward six months, and my days are spent working my full time job as a employment consultant, my lunch breaks are spent posting to social media, my drive to and from work is spent listening to books on audio so I don't waste precious time, my nights are spent beta reading for authors, reading arcs, writing reviews, preparing cover reveal posts, setting up giveaways, replying to review requests, responding to messages and emails.... book land never stops, it never sleeps, my blog diary is a colour coded wonderland 


I adore every second of this world I'm now part of, I barely sleep, I spend far too much time online and on Facebook, I always have my nose stuck in a book, and my book budget has grown in leaps and bounds, I think I underestimated how much time actually goes into operating a book blog, how much time is spent reading and then writing reviews. I've been lucky to have a husband who supports my foray into book land, Michael attends events with me, helps with the heavy lifting involved in event preparation and set up, he even gets my books signed when I'm busy being an organiser or author assistant. I think he secretly gets a kick out of the fact that authors, readers and bloggers know his name. 




August 2016 will see #SydneyAuthorEvent once again descend on our shores, and I can't wait to see what new adventures the life of a book blogger entails. 

 

2 comments:

  1. What a great post regarding this crazy hectic non-stop fun world of books. I admire the dedication, commitment and lack of sleep that you and many book bloggers endure to promote and spread the literary works of authors we hold so dear and the many more we'll discover thanks to you. All those cover reveals, reviews and posts get noticed by readers. Many as myself stumble across a post on social media regarding a book they've been wanting to read that has finally gone on sale for those coveted 99 pennies or stumbled across an excerpt that gets you even more excited for a book release. Whatever the reason may be, keep in mind that readers appreciate everything you do. Keep up the great work!

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