I've been thinking of doing a series of discussion posts for a while now, and I've finally come to the decision that I will post my thoughts on a different topic every Sunday. The series will be called That's What Chey Said, and hopefully these posts will be able to help some of you out in one way or another.
My first discussion post will be about how to deal with rejection in the blogosphere.
At some point as book bloggers, each one of us is going to send
out requests for ARCs or eGalleys.
Unfortunately, most of us will go through a lot of rejection before that
glorious acceptance email. We do our
research, put hours of hard work into our blogs and sometimes we barely get
noticed.
Instead of getting down about each rejection, stay
positive! Just look at things this way:
Publishers receive hundreds of requests per title, and most
times they don’t always have that many to go around. I promise you, they’re not denying your request out of
hatred for you or your blog.
If you’ve been accepted any books for review, feel
grateful! Someone is investing in you
and your thoughts and that’s something to happy-dance about!
There are worse things than not being able to view a certain
title before its release. I hardly ever
get my most-anticipated books for review, but when you do eventually get that
highly-coveted book, it makes you appreciate it a little more!
What I’m trying to say is sure, it really sucks getting denied,
and no, I’m not calling anyone who whines about it ungrateful. I know the feeling pretty well. I used to take it personally, but now I
realize that there’s so much more to it than the amount of followers you have
or how much a publicist may or may not like you as a person. Also try to keep in mind that just because you're denied for a certain title doesn't mean that your work isn't good enough. Always try to look on the bright side and
seeing as there’s no harm in requesting, don’t give up!
How do you deal with rejection as a blogger?
Exactly what you said. In the past when I was rejected for ARC requests and such, I took it personally and thought my blog just wasn't good enough. But, after some hard work and time, I'm now pretty grateful to those publishers today who ask me to review their books.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with what you said. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI really like your discussion posts title :) And I agree with everything you just said. I used to feel sad whenever publishers declined a review request, but now I only feel grateful when someone considers me for a review. It's an honor, really :) Love the post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I especially agree with "seeing as there’s no harm in requesting, don’t give up!" I don't care if I'm turned down a ton of times, I'm still going to request what I want.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I would love to work with publishers and publicists, but I doubt my blog is "big enough." Oh well.
I still don't feel as though my blog is "big", despite the 1,000+ followers. I'm sure you'll be able to work with them if you keep at it. I just began receiving emails from certain publishers to join in blog tours and there are still certain publishers that won't work with me yet. It's all just a matter of time. :)
DeleteI never dared to request for review copies from the publisher for the first 6 months or so when I was blogging because I was so sure that I will be rejected. These rejections can be a blow to me, but I've survived many of them and I believe they're the indicators that I have a lot more work to go! Well, even if I don't get a review copy, I can always buy the shiny, finished, hardcopy :D
ReplyDeleteThank you for holding such discussions!
Alicia @ Book a World
Congrats on the new weekly discussion - loving the name & the idea of it all. Really well written post on a topic all bloggers have to deal with. You're right about staying positive! Everybody has to start somewhere and we can't all expect to get approved for everything right away. Sure it sucks sometimes but if you keep working hard, eventually it'll pay off! Thanks for sharing Chey & I look forward to more of these :)
ReplyDelete