The Big Bad Book Blog

Publishing, Avant-Garde continues with topic number two: BLOGS & ONLINE JOURNALS.

Assuming that you read any manner of blog or online journal—including this one—then you are more likely than not familiar with the concept. However, for the less initiated, we’ll turn to the trustworthy Wikipedia for a complete definition:

A blog (a contraction of the term “web log”) is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs.

Popular hosts and providers of blogs and online journals include Blogger, WordPress, Typepad, LiveJournal, Movable Type and Blogware. Some are free, some paid, and each offers a different mixture of features, applications, widgets and communities. It’s a matter of preference that determines which provider you use.

The reason I want to spotlight blogs and online journals for writers is their twofold function: a place from which to build a platform as a writer, and a place in which to showcase your work.

As to platform—it has become expected, if not an unwritten rule, that a writer should continuously develop a web presence. This is an extremely important aspect of platform-building, especially as more and more people every year begin to rely upon the Internet as a source of information for all things, including entertainment. Which means books. Which means you. (more…)

This week Jonathan Fields of the Huffington Post posted an e-mail exchange he had with a publicist from a major house who was pitching a new self-help book. The publicist not only sent the same cookie-cutter release twice, but then engaged in an argument with Fields—the person he wants to be on his side—about why his outdated methods work for everyone else. Fields uses this almost unbelievable exchange as the starting point for an insightful commentary on book publicity as it should be today. You may have heard the basics of how publicity has changed already (broadcasting to old media doesn’t work anymore, social media requires joining the conversation, etc), but the post is a graphic demonstration of what we hear all the time.

Fields, who wrote and promoted his own book, Career Renegade, also points out a truth that held for both himself and 4-Hour Workweek author Timothy Ferriss: mentions on top-notch blogs and other social media can do a lot more for book sales than advertising in national newspapers and magazines or even appearing on national television.

As further evidence of the power of conversation, some great points are made in the comments section of Fields’s post, so check that out as well. HuffPost blogger Lisa Earle McLeod chimes in with a piece of wisdom we’ve given you already: it’s critical for authors to understand how media and publicity work today. Depending on your publisher and/or publicist to do it all for you is a sure formula for weak sales.

This week from September 14 – 18 marks the second year of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, an initiative started by passionate reader and twentysomething blogger Amy Riley, proprietor of the blog My Friend Amy. BBAW is a week devoted to the appreciation of bloggers of all things books, from reviewers to cultural commentators to writers to those blessed with loquacious or taciturn writing style. The winners are chosen by a group of panelists who represent a spectrum of bloggers, readers, and authors.

I have closely followed the awards as they have been announced, and am extremely excited to have discovered a wealth of new blogs devoted to my favorite pastime. Whether a winner or shortlisted, these blogs and sites represent the best of the best in the online publishing world.

If you are an author looking to start or improve your blog, or an enthusiastic reader of books who wants to share your thoughts, or a member of the publishing industry wanting to represent yourself or your company digitally, explore the blogs who were nominated for inspiration and ideas.

To see the complete shortlist for the 2009 BBAW Awards, visit http://bookbloggerappreciationweek.com/index.php/awards/comments/the_2009_bbaw_awards_shortlists/

Wondering about the past blogs who were given awards? For a taste of the variety of blogs that captured attention last year (and in many cases continue to do so this year), look below for the list of last year’s winners by category:

• Best General Book Blog: Bookgasm
• Best Kidlit Blog: Jen Robinson’s Book Page
• Best Romance Blog: Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
• Best Christian/Inspiration Fiction Blog: Free Spirit Blogs
• Best Literary Fiction Blog: Caribou’s Mom
• Best Book Club Blog: Reading Group Guides
• Best Thrillers/Mystery/Suspense Blog: Bookgasm
• Best Non-fiction Blog: A Striped Armchair
• Best Young Adult Lit Blog: Bookshelves of Doom
• Best Book/Publishing Industry Blog: Galley Cat
• Best Community Builder: My Friend Amy
• Best Challenge Host: The Hidden Side of a Leaf
• Best History/Historical Fiction Blog: Medieval Bookworm
• Best Design: Bookgasm
• Most Chatty: Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin?
• Most Concise: Bookgasm
• Most Eclectic Taste: Bookgasm
• Best Name for a Blog: Bookgasm
• Best Published Author Blog: Neil Gaiman
• Best Meme/Carnival/Event: Book Blogger Appreciation Week
• Best Cookbook Blog: Books and Cooks
• Best Fantasy/Horror/Sci-Fi/Spec-fic Blog: Fantasy Book Critic
• Most Extravagant Giveaways: Maw Books Blog
• Funniest/Most Humourous Blog: Rip My Bodice
• Best Commenter/Commentator: Musings of a Bookish Kitty
• Best Book Community Site: Good Reads
• Most Altruistic Blog: Maw Books Blog
• Best Book Published in 2008: The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Be sure to check out the big bad book blog’s blogroll in the next week or so—we’ll be adding new blogs to our list of favorites and recommendations!