Any independent author knows that it's hard to make a meaningful connection in a sea of people when new faces are popping up constantly. Any author also knows how important it is to make these types of connections, but what few people are willing to talk about is how hard and frustrating this process can be, especially when it comes to book bloggers.
Since the very start of my publishing journey one message has been the same: book bloggers are your best friend. In theory they can work a miracle for your career, but in reality is that what's really going to happen? After two books I've come to this conclusion: no.
This month alone I must've sent out between two and three hundred queries to different bloggers and it was probably the biggest waste of time of my career. First off, good luck finding one who still accepts submissions! I understand that they are busy and in demand people but it makes it no less frustrating at the author's end trying to find what's basically a needle in a haystack.
Secondly, good luck getting a response. You will not get any type of response from the majority of those who do accept submissions. In all fairness, some do write on their blogs that they'll only write back if interested, but for the rest how hard is it to actually politely decline a submission? Or at the very least, acknowledge the person?
The part that gets under my skin the most has to do with those so-called "reviewers" who only want your money. I did get a bunch of responses to my many queries, mainly from people who wanted me to pay them to review a book that I'd be giving them for free despite being listed on websites such as IndieView who list bloggers who review for free. At least it's all supposed to be free.
And don't even get me started on all the unsolicited spam emails you'll then be getting from even more people wanting to dip their fingers into your wallet. This enormous frustration of mine has even boiled over to me starting my own (actually free) book review service. I don't promise you the world, my opinion probably won't be the break your career has been waiting for, but I'll be your ally. I'll give you the time of day, I'll acknowledge your hard work, and most importantly I won't demand any money from you.
I also won't be accepting all the submission requests that I get, and I probably won't be advertising this review service outside of my own social media (at least not for now) to keep things clean, honest, ethical and personal.