QUILLBLOG

Revenge of the litbloggers

It’s sort of fun to watch litbloggers, who want, and deserve, to be taken seriously as an outlet for book coverage (and advertisements), get worked up about their interactions with those nefarious publicists and the occasionally seamy (read: profit-oriented) side of publishing.

In this case, Maud Newton is upset because Crown, in its fall catalogue, listed her eponymous site (along with other prominent litblogs, some of which have advertising) as a possible venue for online promotions. Problem is, there are no ads on maudnewton.com, and she is, as she dramatically titled her post about this, “not for sale.” Fair enough.

George Murray, one of the Bookninjas, used Newton’s situation to let everyone “know what I consider to be good form when approaching new media outlets such as blogs.” This 10-point guide reveals that Murray likes to feel special. “If it looks like your e-mail has gone out to all bloggers,” he writes, “I’m frankly less interested.” And he would rather receive books he likes instead of stuff he doesn’t like. “Octavia Butler? Yes. Your Tom Clancy-wannabe military-pr0n [sic] schlock novel from iUniverse? No.”

The first person to comment on the Bookninja item (a publicist, who isn’t at all thrilled with some of the tactics publishers commonly employ) puts it best. “If blogs are looking for credibility as legitimate print venues in this field, then they should be willing to subject themselves to the same conventions as other print venues.”

Related links:
Click here for Maud Newton’s post
Click here for the Bookninja post

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