Friday, March 25, 2011

DECISIONS AND REVELATIONS

After much thinking and soul searching, I have made a major decision in regards to this blog.  I will no longer be accepting review copies from authors/publicists.  I do have one exception to this, which I will explain below.  My reasons for this are various and include the following:

  • I still have many titles left over from 2010 and have not been good about my goal to only accept a title per month in the new year.
  • My personal library numbers at 3000+ books (fiction and non-fiction) and I really want to be able to get to the great titles I already own.
  • Most importantly, I want/need more time to concentrate on my writing.  I want to get this first novel written, darn it!
Here is my new review policy which is located in my 'About' tab:

I am no longer accepting review copies for The True Book Addict except in rare cases and with the exception of historical fiction.  I will still accept historical fiction titles for review, especially titles set in medieval or ancient times.  My reasoning behind this distinction is due to my desire to establish this blog more prominently in the historical fiction niche.  Publicists and authors are welcome to contact me with review requests at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom.  However, be advised that I will turn down a very high percentage of offers.

My one exception, as you read above, is historical fiction.  I'm still working on establishing this blog with a more historical focus, as my favorite genre is historical fiction.  By no means does this mean that HF will be the only genre I'll be reading.  

I am committed to review books through June/July and hope by then I will be free to start reading from my HUGE library.  All review obligations will be completed as promised.  Also, I will still be participating in the book tour sites, Jennifer's Crazy Book Tours and Amy's (Passages to the Past) Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours.  Also, every two months, I will be reviewing a book and participating in an internet radio author chat with Angels and Warriors.com.  Finally, I will still be co-hosting/authoring the blog, Historical Fiction Connection, with Marie from The Burton Review.


Whew...what a relief! I really feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  How about you?  Are you thinking of making any changes in your blogging?

14 comments:

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment. It means so much.

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  1. Good for you! I didn't accept any books for about three months and I felt so much better and it's given me a chance to get to some of the stuff I already had. Of course, I stupidly started saying "yes" much too often again and now I have stacks of review books weighing on me! I may just have to work up the determination that you found. Besides, I love to read reviews about the books that aren't the latest thing--it's much more likely to be a review that's unique instead of one in a long list of reviews popping up for a new book.

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  2. I have very similar limitations to the ones you are going to and still get way more requests than I can do so I have to say no to some. For a long time I limited myself to one a month (except in very rare circumstances) but that all went out the window towards the end of 2010. So far, I'm OK with it, but at some point I might go back to the one a month rule.

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  3. don't blame you one bit! it can get ridiculous after a while.

    I basically prefer to blog just 3 days per week and since October I have blogged nearly EVERY day (except for Sunday and in some cases I have blogged on a Sunday) and it is toooo much! I am trying to get it back to 3 days per week...we will see!

    I have to ask you. I won a book a few months ago and for the life of me I can't remember which blog I had won it from! Was it from yours? I am losing my mind trying to remember. Long story short, I never received the book.....I will have to check with everyone.

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  4. I totally get where you are coming from. Good for you~

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  5. Good for you! And for your flexibility. It's hard to find that balance and I hope this works for you. A 3000+ personal library is amazing and scary, lol! :D

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  6. Good for you. I still accept books but I'm a greedy man LOL.

    However, I'm quickly getting to the realization that if I want to continue with my blog I need to start reading what I want to read, not what's new or hot.

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  7. I'm cut way down on accepting direct requests from authors/publicists/publishers. Most of the time they aren't something I would normally anyway. If it sounds like a really good mystery, I will still accept from them.

    I'm continuing to accept books from TLC Book Tours and PTA since I get to pick which books I want to read. Both of them have great people in charge as well and are always fun to interact with.

    Other than that I read what I want, when I want and if others don't like what I'm reading, that's ok with me to. I love getting comments on reviews but I'm not going to pick my books based off of what others are reading or want to read.

    Last, but definetly not least, I'll stick around no matter what you choose to do with your blog. You are one of my favorite people and I'm blessed to know you. So you are stuck with me :-)

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  8. This is a very sound decision, Michelle. I get where you are coming from and I would do the same in your place. I hope that you finish your novel!!!

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  9. I know just what you mean!! I've stopped accepting books as well- except for a few that I know I am completely interested in reading (time periods and historical figures I'm into) Good for you!

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  10. Hey I understand. I actually feel bad lately as I've had to turn down some amazing sounding books because I can't get through them fast enough. I'm booked into August already for reviews. And I'm afraid I wont be able to keep up with those. And I wont be able to read books I've purchased either. It's a hard decision but I understand. :)

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  11. 3000! I thought my library was big! I totally understand the not taking review copies any more... I am not there yet.... so many I want to read but I can see that at some point I too will need to really rethink my reading strategy :)

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  12. Thank you all for your kind words. I feel like this is the best decision for me at this point in time and it means a lot to receive so much support and encouragement.

    Ryan, my friend, I feel exactly the same about you. =O) *virtual hugs*

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  13. Life is too short to read bad books right? That is really why I don't review books, well, that and I probably won't do a good job, haha!

    Thanks for the anniversary wishes. It's nice to hear words of support from bloggers like you.

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  14. At the end of the day blogging is still supposed to be fun so if it isn't working for you at the moment, then the best thing is to absolutely make some changes like these.

    I hope you enjoy your blogging more.

    The hardest thing about not accepting certain books though is as soon as they do start getting reviewed you think I wish I had of accepted that one, but you really can't accept them all!

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