The Essential Book Blog: The Complete Bibliophile's Toolkit for Building, Growing and Monetizing Your On-Line Book-Lover's Community (Brinestone Guides)Author: Ken J. Howe
Publisher: Brinestone Press
Date: August 4, 2012 (Second Edition)
About The Author
Ken Howe is the founder of Brinestone Press, an independent small press established to provide publishing services, including editing, design and formatting, and cover illustration, to the burgeoning army of new indie authors.
Blogging About Books
Book blogs have exploded in numbers over the past several years. This book provides information about getting a book blog started, finding appropriate books to review, writing book reviews, building a community of readers and monetizing the blog.
The book features 180 links to useful articles, products and services on the Web.
My Thoughts
I started my book blog four years ago. I chose this book because there are very few books available on starting and growing a book blog. I try to read each new book that comes out on the subject.
The information on finding books is good for beginners. When I first started my blog, I would go to the library and check-out the new books to feature on my blog. When I got a Kindle ereader, finding books was no longer a problem. The author explains how to get review books from publishers and free digital books from Amazon and other sites.
I found the section on how to write a good book review very interesting. I have learned that reviewing books is much more than just liking to read. You have to be a good writer and be able to express your opinions in an interesting manner. Dr. Howe gives some excellent tips on how to evaluate a book and write a review that displays your own voice and personality.
The book explains why it is not ethical to charge money for book reviews. He gives a variety of options for monetizing your blog and your services. These are all practical things that can be done by a blogger with average technical know-how.
This book offers dozens of links for finding more information and services to grow a book blog and get more readers. I think this book is a MUST READ for anyone who is thinking about starting a book blog or is just starting out.
A veteran book blogger will find the tips in this book useful for tweaking their existing blog and taking it to the next level.
My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5
FYI ~ I purchased a digital copy of this book from Amazon.Com with my personal funds...well worth the money!
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