I think we’ve all established that I love books – and a wide range of genres at that. I love following book bloggers and seeing what new (or old) books I have missed that sound perfect for a great night in/ commute. But blogging has its pitfalls and issues, and the more ex book bloggers I meet, the more I realise that they are a species to be treasured because large numbers start thinking (and acting on) thoughts of “why bother?” And that is a great shame. So in today’s blog, in an attempt to raise awareness, I’ve compiled the four most common complaints:

Deadlines – Most are happy to oblige with deadlines if notified in advance. However, very often there is no “If you would like a copy of this, please review by this date” but a “Here is a book to review. By the way, we expect a review in two weeks”. Most bloggers do it for free – they have jobs, families, friends, a life.

Being taken for granted – All book bloggers I’ve spoken to really appreciate a free copy of a book in exchange for a review. However, very often there is a lack of understanding that, in exchange for this, they have to read the book, write a review (of a decent length), ensure reviews are posted on Amazon on release day (you can’t review beforehand) and format any reviews that appear on their blog with links to the book, photos etc. All of these things take time.

Rudeness – Many have been asked to provide a review and then, when it turned out to not be their favourite book, been heckled, abused, and told to remove their reviews from retailers and/or their blogs.

They all spend money on books – and they’d like to read some of the books they’ve spent their hard-earned money on – Every book they review that is not one they have bought is almost always one they would probably not have read at that time. Thus, the pile of books they’ve bought just keeps on growing, while the books they’ve been asked to review take priority.

So next time you ask a blogger to review your book remember that, while they all clearly love to read, they are also human beings with other interests and lives. So be polite, give them time, and, above all, appreciate them when they do review your book. If they all succumbed to the pressures of book blogging, the book world would be a very different place. And not in a good way.