Armchair BEA Day 4: Blogging Ethics

I've been apart of the book blogging community long enough to see both the good and the bad side of it.  Most days are amazing, where everyone gets along and the only comments you receive are encouraging.  Then there are the days where you want to give up altogether, because it's ridiculous how inconsiderate and small-minded some people can be...but that's life, right?

The first thing that I wanted to mention seems to be the largest part of becoming a book blogger.  Plagiarism.  I don't know why it happens as often as it does, but there's no denying that the chance of being plagiarized will be there from the moment you hit "publish".  What fun is blogging when you steal someone else's thoughts?  My favorite thing about being a blogger is getting to share what made me feel so connected (or not) to a book.  In my opinion, if you plagiarize, you're hurting that person you stole from as well as yourself. Nothing good can come from it, and chances are if you get caught, you're going lose a majority of your following.  If you want to share something you read somewhere else, all you have to do is ask the creator and source it!

That being said, blogging can be hard.  If reading is something you're passionate about, you're in the right place, but if it's not, your will to blog won't last very long.  Over the past couple years, I've been learning how to prioritize, and while I still don't have everything figured out, I know that I'm willing to do whatever I can to make this blog better.  Your posts are just a fraction of what it takes to make blogging work, so be prepared to put many hours, days, weeks, even years into it.

Be honest.  I don't care what you have to say, just share your honest opinion.  If you receive a review copy for free, don't feel obligated to give the book a bad rating if you feel it deserved one.  Your honesty may help someone who is looking into buying that book, and as we all know by now, books are expensive.  I love having bloggers that I can trust the opinions of when it comes down to choosing which books to buy next!

Also, do not feel entitled to review copies because you hit a certain number of followers or pageviews.  There are only so many copies to go around.  If you are lucky enough to receive some, make sure to review it on or around the release date of the book or the date that the publicist/author specified.  If you can't read it in that time span, for whatever reason, pass it along to someone who can!

Be considerate and polite.  It's common courtesy.  Would you walk up to a stranger and say something deliberately rude?  I'm always appalled by some of the nasty comments I see on certain blog posts.  Another thing that fits well here is if you have a problem with someone else, try and message them about it privately.  Calling them out in one of your blog posts draws SO much negative attention, and I hate to say it, but most people can be drama llamas.  I've seen too many things blown way out of proportion just because one blogger decided to rant publicly about someone else. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Let me know if you're participating in Armchair BEA this week so I can check out your posts!