Evil Warlord Book Hoarding Bloggers

Did I catch your attention? I hope so!

Recently on Twitter (like today) #kloutthecrown has been trending with book bloggers along with this pretty sweet image created by Michele @ Reader Respite

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So, of course I needed to look into it. Apparently Crown considers any blogger who does not review a book immediately an "evil warlord book hoarder". Yup, you read that correctly, for a break down of their program Blogging for Books and their fine print, head over to Reader's Respite Blog and read her extremely informative post.

My feelings on this are as follows:
  • To say that a book blogger is a hoarder because it takes them time to read and write a review is pretty harsh. Personally, I have a full time job and I am a part time student, reading and book blogging is a hobby so sometimes it gets put on the back burner when I'm busy - that is just part of life. (*Please note that since starting this post, Michele has said that Crown has apologized and taken the phrase "Evil Warlord Book Hoarding Bloggers" down from their website and is making changes, but I still think the damage is done)
  • Measuring a bloggers influence just seems weird to me and I agree with Michele from Reader's Respite that I feel bad for authors who are given to bloggers with low Klout scores. I also think that by doing this they could be potentially limiting themselves, but I guess that's more their problem then mine.
  • To require book reviews to contain specific elements and be a certain length takes away creative freedom, which is part of what a blog is all about; I share my thoughts as they are formed in my head - I'm not preparing a book report and actually don't like book reviews that are too lengthy and sound like book reports.
  • To require reviews to be posted to specific places also rubs me the wrong way. I post to my blog and goodreads because I enjoy both. I share on facebook and twitter when I feel I have something worth sharing with more than my regular followers. I post to Amazon when an author or publisher has asked me to, and asking is much different than requiring.
What does all this mean? I most definitely will not be joining Blogging for Books! 
Will I boycott Crown all together? No, but I won't go out of my way to purchase or review thier products either.

Let me know in the comments: What are your thoughts on being an "Evil Warlord Book Hoarding Blogger" or on the policies when someone enrolls in "Blogging for Books"?

2 comments:

  1. Wow. Really? I think this would only apply to book bloggers that are actually PAID full time to blog. Sure, some bloggers are given a free review copy, but that doesn't mean they should review it immediately.

    Nice post Emily! This is the first time I've heard of this happening. I'll make sure to look into it more :D

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    1. I agree, which is why I wanted to share. :) Thanks for reading

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