Next Page Please!: Next Page Please Discussions

11/16/2016

A Loot Crate Fit For a Badass Queen // LootCrate Dream Crate

3/24/2016

Why Blogging for ARCs Does Not Work Out

I wanna say this before I start, this post isn't meant to school or tell someone what they should do. If you want to start a blog for ARCs, fine, but this post is just explaining why that may not always be the best idea and what happens when people become desperate for that one ARC. Okay, now read on.

ARCs...ooooh ARCs. They are a touchy topic of the blogging community in my opinion. I have heard some ridiculous stories of ways people have tried to get ARCs and one of them is just by simply starting a blog.

First of you, you must understand what an ARC is. It is a way for publishers to get early reviews on the book and to gain attention and publicity for that book so when it finally releases, sales do well. ARCs don't go to everyone and they're not meant for every blogger. One important thing I have come to realize pretty early on in my blogging journey and that a blogger is not entitled to an ARC. Just because you have a blog and sent in an ARC request to a publisher does not mean that a week later you will have an ARC sitting in your mailbox. As a blogger of almost 2 years now, that is something newbies need to realize. ARCs, followers, and page views (I feel like) is basically the West of American Expansion. (Comparison brought to you by the fact that I am currently learning about Manifest Destiny in school. Interesting concept by the way.) People stopped at nothing to get more land, to own more land and in some ways, people stop at nothing to get an ARC that they want, or just any ARC.

I'm pretty sure you have heard me or other people say this: "Don't blog for ARCs." If you haven't heard this yet, you might as well. "Don't start a blog for ARCs."

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Sure, I will admit, ARCs are kind of like free books, but not really. Publishers don't get money when they send out ARCs and us bloggers have now made a commitment to read and review these ARCs. Both sides of the situations pay in some way.

So why shouldn't I start a blog for ARCs? I mean, I love books and I want to be able to read books before everyone else. No harm right?

Mistake one, right there.

Starting a blog for ARCs is like building a treehouse on a skinny tree. There isn't enough support for the treehouse, just like ARCs won't give you enough motivation to keep blogging. Let me tell you one thing, ARCs don't come easy. They really don't. Ask anyone in the blogging community and I am pretty sure 99% will tell you they didn't get ARCs until they starting blogging for a good amount time.

Okay, so you start a blog and hope that sooner or later, you can get an ARC of that one book you have been having your eyes on. You make that blog, get that name, and start messing around with the posts and design. Maybe you try to find some posts on how to get ARCs. This is where the person finds out you have to provide page views, followers, and that fun junk.

A possible mistake two in the making.

If you're anyone who knows a moderate amount about ARCs and have read up to this part of the post, then you will know that ARCs don't come like free stuff at a carnival. If you have 3 blog followers and about 60 twitter followers then there is a pretty good chance the publisher isn't going to send you an ARC, I am not going to lie. So if you reeeeally want this book then you either build up your following orrrr....lie about stats.

If you followed that path of lying, boom, game over, mistake two.

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Finding the easy way out never works as well and publishers will know if you're lying. You started this blog a week ago, have one "Hi, Welcome!" post and already have 500 twitter followers and 300 blog followers. Yeah publishers aren't stupid, so you shouldn't be too. Lying doesn't work well and in the end, it will catch up with you.

Okay, rewind, (If you thought of Satisfied just because of the word rewind then high five to you) let's say this person decides to quickly build up some followers and page views. They become hell-bent of getting these people to follow them and view their blog. Worse case and laziest scenario: they refresh their blog a couple hundred times, make a few hundred twitter accounts, etc. If you're that desperate on getting an ARC, you might as well do #BooksForTrade because, people that is a lot easier and less time consuming. Or *gasps* how about we wait for the book to come out!?!? Like all the other people who don't have ARCs of the book!

But then you also have these people who follow a whole bunch of people and then TWEET or DM them telling them about their blog and to check it out and blah blah blah. (And you what is even better?? When they unfollow you because you haven't followed them back within the last 39 hours!) If you want to use that as a marketing tool, you do you but puh-lease do not tweet or DM me every 20 minutes telling me to check out your latest post.

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Yeah, no one likes that.

The whole problem with people starting a blog for ARCs is that usually, they start to become impatient for ARCs. They started for ARCs and they become disappointed when they publishers don't have ARCs flooding their mailbox. I'm not saying that all people and bloggers are like this, but this is usually what happens. If you walk into a store intending on finding one thing but they don't have it or you have to order it, you're most likely going to leave. (Or you end up buying something else. In that case, that person may have started a blog for ARCs but later find they enjoy sharing their thoughts more than getting ARCs.)

So people either stop blogging because they don't get what you want or they become more desperate. Yep, I'm talking buying ARCs, annoying publishers, buying followers, frauding #BooksForTrade, and those are only a few ways a desperate person can get ARCs.

Don't be that person that blogs for ARCs. People, if you want ARCs or are thinking of starting a blog for ARCs, I want you stop and think for a second. Blogging takes time and effort and you will lose sleep. If you're not willing to give that up for ARCs then don't start a blog for ARCs. Publishers don't send ARCs to everyone. Loving blogging and having a passion for it is only one of the things that makes a great blogger/blog. If I can see someone is trying to get ARCs by blogging, publishers definitely will definitely be able to as well.

Moral of this whole post, blogging solely for ARCs does not work out because ARCs don't come easy and they take time. People who blog for ARCs can get impatient, desperate, and just not really be blogging for themselves and what I see blogging as, a way to share a love for books and connect with other readers.

So tell me: What are your thoughts on this matter and have you heard stories of someone starting a blog for ARCs? I would love to know!

2/19/2016

Where My Asian Characters At?!

When I was coming up with characters for my Chinese New Years post, I was kind of disappointed in how much of a struggle it was to find characters who were Asian. Authors have been doing a great job writing books more with diverse characters, but I still and struggling to find books where an Asian character is a main character. Stacey Lee is going to have two books where the main character is Asian. Park is Asian in Eleanor and Park. Lara Jean is Asian. That's it?

One of the reasons why I think YA lacks Asian characters is because there aren't a lot of Asian YA authors. I could maybe name four or five of the. Stacey Lee is Asian, so is Jenny Han and Cindy Pon. They all write about Asian MCs. If you were to look at the majority of popular YA authors, they're mostly Caucasian. Veronica Roth, JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyer, ect ect.

Authors tend to sometimes write about from a ethnicity/culture that they're most familiar with and I have definitely noticed that. So why can't anyone write about Asian main characters? I mean, you don't nessesarily have to write about a main character as the same race as you. For books that do have characters of color, the author definitely did not get someone to write their dialogue because that is unnecessary. Authors are perfectly capable of writing about main characters that aren't "white," so why don't they? All it does is take a bit of extra research and someone could totally be able to write about an Asian character.

It also really saddens me when I can't find Asian characters in books because there are so many different ethnicities under an "Asian." Not only Chinese but you have Japanese, Filipino, Mongolian, Korean, Malaysian, and just sooosososos much more. And it's not like there is very little information on Asian people. Whether and author wants to include Asian culture in their books is their decision, based on how much they want to include.

Now you may be wondering why I want more Asian main characters. If you don't know and probably aren't able to tell already, I am Asian, Chinese specifically and I am always on the look-out for Asian main characters. One of the reasons why I had my eye on Under a Painted Sky. UAPS is such a great example on why I want more Asian characters and Asian culture in YA. Not only was Samantha, the main character, Chinese but she spoke Cantonese! (The main language spoken within my extended family. [Yes, my cousins and I do talk about people in public places in Cantonese. It's an ability we have and fully embrace.]) I was so excited to be reading about a Chinese character who could speak Cantonese because it was relatable.

Readers building connections with characters is so important because that's what keeps some readers reading. A person can easily like a character, but it is more special when they build and connection with them. That's one of the reasons why I love UAPS so much.

Because I was able to relate so hard with Samantha.

I understood the Cantonese words in that book without even needing to read the translation that came after it. It is such a great feeling to be able to relate to characters, I will be straight with you there.

So if I want to be able to relate to more characters, why don't I ask for more Chinese characters. Yeah that's just simply because this isn't about me. Sure, it may seem like it because I am an Asian myself but really, YA lacks Asians. White characters? Psht! We got a navy-fleet of those! You have some of ours! Black characters? Hey, we're slowly getting more of those characters. (But seriously, if you asked me to know 5 black characters I could do that no problem). Latino/Mexican characters? Okay, I admit we lack those characters as much as Asian characters. Asians and Latino/Mexicans. We need more of them in YA.

All I'm saying is that there are more Asians in this world than any other race, and not all books take place in America. Why do YA novels make it seem like we Asians are the 10% of the world? It's 2016 people, everyone should be able to relate and connect to characters of their race in some way.

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So tell me: What are your thoughts? Do you think we lack Asian characters in YA and what are some characters you have read that are Asian?

9/07/2015

Leisure Reading

Leisure reading, what is it? In my eyes, I see it as reading for fun. Reading because you want to. Reading because you can. If you're a book blogger, leisure reading is something you do a lot. Leisure reading helps you relax, connect with new worlds, and just learn more. I love leisure reading.

Reading isn't always for leisure though. You know those books you had assigned for reading? That can always destroy reading for people and it honestly breaks my heart when I hear the reason people don't like reading because "It's boring" or something like that. When you read boring books, you will think reading is boring. That is just how it works. Many people get assigned this boring book for school, drag their way through it, and never want to read again because they get the impression that reading is boring. It helps students learn but really, teachers should be choosing new books every so often so we don't end up reading this boring book written in the 1970s! (My language arts teacher this year had students read Divergent and that lasted for 3 years. We need reading assignments more like this one!)

However, I am not here to rant about assigned reading, no! That is for a later day. I am here to talk about ARCs and whether I consider them as leisure reads. First, let's get a refresher on the definition:

Leisure reading, also known as recreational reading, pleasure reading, free voluntary reading, and independent reading, is independent, self-selected reading of a continuous text for a wide range of personal and social purposes. It can take place in and out of school, at any time. -Literacy Worldwide

Based on this definition, ARC reading seems pretty recreational right? Personally, I don't really see ARC as leisure reading. Yes yes, you are still reading it on your own time but you also have to look at the fact that publishers are asking you to read them and write about their book. Plus, the best time to read and review ARCs is about a month before or after publication, so not only is someone asking you to read and review this book, there is an (optional) time limit to go by. That doesn't sound like leisure reading to me.

There is nothing wrong with reading ARCs though. ARCs or more like reading for business and promotion however, you should always want to read the book you're reading (unless it's assigned. That's when you just don't have any choice...) If you're reading an ARC and suddenly realize that you don't want to be here! You don't want to be reading this book! If so, put the thing down and read something you actually want to read. It just defeats the purpose of reading if you feel forced to read something that you don't want to.

Do I really mind over the fact that I don't consider ARCs as books I read for leisure, not really! I still get to read the books, I still get to enjoy it.

So tell me: What are your opinions of ARCs and reading them for leisure?

8/21/2015

Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover

7/21/2015

Class of July 2014 Book Bloggers' Anniversary Bash

3/08/2015

Love for bloggers and authors!

So about a week ago The Book Bratz and A Perfection Called Books posted small quotes from authors and bloggers and their appreciation for each other. With that they asked for us to (this was optional!) write a post explaining more about our appreciation for bloggers/authors. Don't know if you guys saw my quote but here it is if you missed it.

"One thing I really like about authors is that they're just like us bloggers. We publish our thoughts and feelings. Authors publish their thoughts and feelings, but in a story form. Plus, they write amazing stories!"
-Kaitlin, blogger at Next Page Please

Amber and Jess did a great job with these posts and I thought it was great idea. So I am here to elaborate more on my blurb thingy up there and will be adding a few points of my own. Let's get to it.

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To elaborate more on my quote: I think authors are very much like bloggers. We share our thoughts on books and the world while authors do that, except in a story form. We share our experiences with books while they publish their experiences in life. They write down their imaginations into a story, we write our thoughts into posts and review. Authors and bloggers are related in many ways. Also, book bloggers wouldn't even be here is authors didn't exist. That is pretty obvious. Authors are the reason why I sit in front of the computer everyday typing away with my thoughts. They are the reason of friendships made, opportunities with books are being taken. Basically here is how it goes:

Author->Book->Fans/Readers->Blog then... Blog-> Blog readers -> Interaction with other bloggers -> MORE GREAT FRIENDS!

I love having people I can turn to anytime and literally either jump with them in excitement about the book or cry on their shoulder. I am still fairly new to the book blogging world and talking to people on twitter has been a blast and I love it. I have made internet friends in different fandoms before but I would never have someone to freak out and turn to. It's a great thing really. I also love interacting with authors and they are great people to talk to.

I appreciate authors because they spend so much time getting a book written and published and we bloggers are happy to help promote. :)

So tell me: How do you appreciate bloggers or authors?

2/13/2015