Katiebabs has a really interesting post up at her blog. It’s entitled Don’t Play In Our Sandbox Because You’re Not a Part of the “In-Crowd”.
KB starts by asking a couple of questions:
Does the consensus across book blog land believe there’s an “in-crowd”? Are there specific blogs or bloggers who give off the vibe that they are too cool to associate with or come across like the cool kids at high school who walk down the hallways with their nose in the air, where you don’t have the right to acknowledge them because you’re not important enough to be a part of their group?
Now whenever anybody talks about ‘The Big Blogs’ I automatically assume that they’re talking about the Smartbitches and Dear Author. Oh come on, you know you do too, but for some reason, people seem reluctant to mention them by name.
I could be wrong of course, there could be other Big RomLand Bloggers out there that I’m not aware of.
I did start answering the above questions on Katie’s blog, but you know me, why waste a perfectly good answer on somebody else’s blog when you can post it on your own? Hmmm….Does that make me a bad blogger? Ahhh fuck it.
Anyway, I digress.
With regards to the question about the ‘in-crowd’ – I don’t particularly think that there’s an in, and an out crowd in RomLand, however I do believe that there are blogs that people automatically gravitate towards, in large numbers, and some that a more select group of people will look at. I also believe that there are some blogs that tend to be involved in everything romance-related, and some who aren’t.
Let’s take Smart Bitches for instance. I don’t think it’s a secret that I’m no longer a fan of theirs, but I have to acknowledge that they’ve been great advocates for the genre.
The reason that they have so many visitors to their site is mostly due to their dedication, hard work, and consistency. And they also have a ‘voice’ that appeals to lots of people. Of course some of the success has probably been due to luck too – for instance that Cassie Edwards plagiarism lovefest totally helped take them to another level, but on the whole, I think the SBs have been the architects of their own destiny.
Come on, they wrote a book, and it got published. They did a million and one promos all over the States for said book. They did a million blog tours promoting Heaving Bosoms (well it sure seemed like it at the time) They’ve been on seemingly every romance panel known to woman. They’ve had lunch with publishing industry insiders. They attend a lot of book conferences, where they invariably end up speaking on various panels.
In other words, they’ve really worked their socks off, and the success of their blog is reflective of that hard work.
The same can be said for Dear Author.
I know that there are lots of collaborative voices over there these days, but the fact is, the driving force behind Dear Author has always been Jane. Even when back in the day when there was just her and the one Jayne, she had a greater ambition for her blog, than most of us have ever had for ours.
The guys over at Dear Author may not have written a book, but nobody can deny, that like the SBs, they’ve also worked their socks off to make their blog what it is today. I think that as far as e-book technology is concerned, Dear Author has always been the number one place in RomLand for people to visit for all things e-publishing. In fact, I think that their good work in this area was the reason why the SBs have also taken such an interest in digital publishing, because we all know that there wasn’t much about e-publishing being posted on the site prior to Jane’s Sunday Digital Publishing column, was there?
Anyway, my general point is, in order for both the SBs and Dear Author to have gained the army of followers that they both have, they’ve worked a lot harder than the average RomLand blogger.
The problem is, because of their success, it’s easy for other bloggers to either feel resentful towards them, or to feel inadequate in the face of their seemingly unsurpassable popularity. In my opinion, I think newer bloggers (and by ‘newer’, I mean people who have been blogging for less than two years) tend to feel this way, more than those who have been blogging for a good number of years.
As the resentment builds, you probably start taking things personally. For instance, if you take the time to post a thoughtful comment and the blog owner doesn’t even bother responding, you end up feeling slighted. As if they ignored you on purpose. This is what I call the paranoid phase in the blogging lifecycle. I think the majority of us have all been through this at some stage or another, I know that I have.
But the thing is the longer you blog, the more you understand that just because somebody hasn’t responded to your comment, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are ignoring you. You begin to understand more, how time consuming it can be to respond to every commenter.
I’m pretty sure lots of people have been annoyed at my lack of response to comments over the years, but I can assure you, it’s not a personal thing. If it was personal, I’d be more likely to comment, just so that I could tell the commenter to fuck off.
I guess the way I feel about the whole cliques/in-crowd/Out-crowd argument is that it’s usually not about the perceived clique/in-crowd, it’s usually more about the person who feels that they’re on the outside, and about their own personal self-esteem system.
I don’t believe that any blog owners out there seek to exclude others, because at the end of the day, we bloggers are fairly narcissistic individuals. We wouldn’t blog if we weren’t interested in getting feedback from our readers, after all.
I realise that some people probably will feel excluded, especially when they’re constantly seeing the same names extensively involved in various projects in RomLand, but I certainly don’t believe that that’s what the ‘big bloggers’ set out to do.
Off-topic slightly, how many people here have written what they thought was an amazing blog post, and got pissed off when hardly anybody commented? I know I have.
The one that always comes to mind for me was the post that I wrote about Romance Writers and Domestic violence. I’d put so much work into that piece, only to find that nobody seemed interested in talking about it. The comments started to flow eventually, but it took people long enough.
As I intimated earlier, I think the in-crowd perception can also arise, when you see the same names grouped together. For instance, how often do we see speaking panels that include SB Sarah, DA Jane, and Angela James? Also, how many times do you see Kassia Krozser’s and Malle Vallik’s name linked with the other three? Enough times to begin automatically linking them together perhaps?
Katie also wrote:
Blogging should be where you can have fun and relax, a way to put all the stress of your real live to the side for a few moments, a vacation if you will, where you can be another person or let your true self shine without the fear of being put down or ostracized.
I tend to disagree with this sentiment, mostly because I think one’s blog should be shaped however you want it to be. If you want the type of blog where people feel at home and comfortable, then go for it, but also, equally, I think that if you’re someone who likes to fan the flames, and make people feel uncomfortable, then that’s your prerogative too. There is space for both in RomLand. Personally I find really homey blogs, where it’s hard to pin down the blogger’s actual character, and belief system, very dull. Unsurprisingly, I prefer bloggers who misbehave from time to time, but I know that that’s not everybody’s cuppa, and nor should it be.
Katie continues:
I’ve never been a part of the cool kids or that “in-crowd”. I probably never will. I’ve always been on the cusp, on the outer edge, trying to figure out a way to belong. But I’ll always be an outsider left out in the cold, much like those who try and fail to enter that popular dance club and never will because their name isn’t on some sort of VIP list.
I think that we as a people are a little obsessed by the whole in-crowd thing.
In my opinion, the in-crowd label wasn’t thought up by people perceived to be in the in-crowd, on the contrary, I believe it was thought up by those measuring themselves against other people who they perceived to be of a higher status, and finding themselves wanting. In other words, it’s about you, not them.
Blogging isn’t my life, and I don’t ever intend to take it that seriously, but I know that not everybody feels the same. Those people who look at DA and the SBs and perhaps find themselves feeling a little envious/resentful of them, you have to ask yourself this question, do you really want that same success for your blog? And if you do, are you willing to work as hard as they have to achieve that success?
As a quick aside, personally I’ve always preferred Dear Author, even before The Unfortunate Chancery Stone Advertising Incident, but I wonder if I was to do a poll on which site, Romance readers preferred to visit the most out of the two of them, what the outcome would be?
OK, let me ask you anyway, if you guys had to pick either Dear Author or Smartbitches to visit, which would you pick? You can only pick one. No diplomatic bullshit answers please, just choose one.
Ann Bruce
February 14
4:46 pm
Neither, really. The only blogs I visit regularly now are Scalzi’s (his sense of humor is awesome and, well, the man’s books are pretty darn good), Mrs. G’s, and a couple of personal finance blogs (there is life beyond RomLand).
I used to go the SB’s regularly for the reviews, but those have dwindled. And while Jane always says she doesn’t believe in censorship, dissenters aren’t always welcome at DA. For someone whose tastes and takes don’t mesh with DA’s on a regular basis, it’s just easier to skim the occasional post and keep the commenting to the bare minimum.
Tara Marie
February 14
7:17 pm
My first stop is usually Wendy 🙂
But if I had to choose between SB and DA, it’s definitely DA–visit there when I have time to blog hop, but never comment. I was a regular a long time ago, but I have to agree with many of the other commenters, that DA doesn’t really like dissent. Sometimes it’s Jane, but more often it is other commenters that are ready to pounce.
I find it very curious how many people comment anonymously–this really bothers me, I prefer to see people owning their thoughts. Also, there seems to be somewhat of a double standard. Last week’s Tuesday column was about the irredeemable in romances, and of course rape is always a quick response and yet in the review right before that post there is a comment about it having one of the “… best forced seduction scenes I’ve ever read.” Isn’t there a fine line between rape and forced seduction? I probably should have asked this over there. Oh well.
One more thing, I didn’t always agree with Candy, but I miss her voice.
Sunday Ramblings: cliques, conventions, and books I’m reading | Flight into Fantasy
February 14
7:33 pm
[…] the blogosphere this week I’ve noticed a few conversations about cliques in blogland. To be honest, I think cliques happen no matter what community you belong to. It’s just how […]
katiebabs
February 14
7:51 pm
@Maili I totally agree with you where if someone has the confidence, what does it matter? I truly believe there is such an amazing support here and among the blogsphere that someone won’t feel left out. And if they feel they are, I will pop up annoy them. 😉
Las
February 14
7:58 pm
Thinking about it a bit more, I think this is my problem(and I use the term very loosely, since I really don’t have a “problem” with either of them)with both sites. Not that anyone on DA has written a book(right?), but the fact that they are both so connected to publishers–that’s my perception, anyway–makes it impossible to really consider them regular bloggers. To me they’re more like a bookseller’s or author’s* blog, existing to provide some info but they’re mostly about promotional stuff.
*Not that there aren’t some awesome author blogs out there…Karen Ranney’s is another one of my must-reads in RomLand, and that’s precisely because she doesn’t come off as just being there to promote her work, but instead has opinions and a “voice” that I find interesting.
Pam
February 14
8:35 pm
I haven’t read either one of the blogs you mentioned 😉 I have to say I like the name Dear Author better.
Venus Vaughn
February 14
8:56 pm
@AztecLady – I forgot about the whole Amazon debacle. But that definitly lowered my opinion of both blogs. They were all, “Amazon Bad! Stand up for gay rights! Boycot Amazon!”
Until a week later when it was, “Weeeellll, we kind of miss their money. So, um, nevermind on that whole principles thing.”
Talk about showing your true colours.
Lenore
February 14
9:00 pm
I don’t read romance blogs generally since I don’t read romance, but I do like Katie’s blog. I’ve heard of both SB and DA, but I don’t think I’ve ever visited. Love your thoughts on the in-crowd thing though.
eggs
February 15
12:03 am
I am not part of the in-crowd anywhere on earth, but I like to comment anyway! DA has replaced AAR for me in my online romance reading. When the forums got rejiggered at AAR, I just lost interest in it and needed a replacement. I read SB every day too, but I read a lot less content there since Candy left. I always read the HABO and Presents reviews (which I love), but not so much the book reviews, which seem to be heavily weighed to the very cool supernatural stuff that my uncool self is just not into these days. DA has all that legal and tech stuff which I do find cool, so although I visit both once a day, I read more of the blogger content on DA than SB.
Because both blogs are so popular, the comments threads usually provide WAY more reading than the blog postings themselves, so the community of followers really defines the vibe of the blogs. Which is where the whole in-crowd thing comes in for me.
On DA there are usually several someones who will step in with a “keep it on topic” nudge when comments go off on a tangent and (more importantly) I feel that bullying of minority POVs is better self-policed by the DA community. It’s not so “in” to bully there, even when a commenter says something incredibly stupid.
At SB, the bullying of minority POV’s seems to be more prevalent and I just don’t enjoy watching that happen, so I don’t read many of the comment threads there anymore. Seeing as many of the posters are the same on DA as on SB, you have to wonder why the culture is so different? Why is it cool to be “mean” on SB, but uncool to be “mean” on DA?
katiebabs
February 15
12:07 am
It’s true that Candy is no longer with SB? That’s a shame because I loved her voice and we had some great conversations together when she came for a visit in NYC and at DC natonals.
I’ve always wondered why Sarah never comments anywhere. Too busy or she doesn’t prefer to?
Ashley Ladd
February 15
12:21 am
Smart Bitches is on my daily blog list. I only visit Dear Author once in awhile. In fact, today, after I left Smart Bitches, I came here next.
Chantal
February 15
3:06 am
You didn’t list my reason for liking DA over SB. SB is boring.
But #2 and #5 are spot on!
But I actually like TGTBTU better than DA.
Sayuri
February 15
3:43 am
I prefer DA over SB but that because SB never freakin post anything anymore unless it’s promo.
That said, I prefer TGTBTU over both of them.
I’m just back after a hiatus and I am enjoying catching up on a lot of blogs I lost track of.
I think it all comes down to what you want out of your blog. Like you said, Karen, if you look at one of the ‘big blogs’ and you want that for your blog, you need to put in a hella hard work. And have a level of professionalism I’m not prepared to put in.
That was never my purpose for blogging. I just wanted to spew about stuff I enjoyed because I’m not allowed to at home *g*. It’s a fun release valve.
I don’t want to be philospical and I can’t muster up enough energy to defend the romance genre with my scholastic genuis (I haven’t any) and who wants to make a fun subject so hard to think about? I’m not saying there isn’t merit in it, I just don’t want to ruin the glow of a good HEA with all that pondering.
I don’t even enjoy writing reviews that much. I just want to gush about book I like. And warn people when I think a book is henious.
I’m happy just to get a comment on a post. *g*
And I rarely comment but that’s mainly through laziness. People who are more articulate than I will probably say just what I am thinking, and say it a lot better. Plus, I find the level of outrage and terminal intensity some bloggers have about the ‘romance genre’ uncomfortable.
K. Z. Snow
February 15
5:36 am
I generally share Tumperkin’s sentiments, although, to be frank, I’ve been feeling Harlequined to death at both sites. Blech. SB has become virtually intolerable to me — it now seems like infomercial central — but often the opinionators at DA, especially when they’re in swarm mode, get pretty insufferable too.
I’ve been gravitating more and more to smaller, more specialized blogs where good-natured personal interaction is still possible. Hyper-commercialization coupled with sycophancy destroys the blog experience for me.
limecello
February 15
5:57 am
Dare I say neither? Actually, I’m not familiar with enough to really pick one or know much about them, but the SBTB posts that I’ve seen seem more… now I know the wording is wrong, but “neutral”? At least in content?
Aside from you know, the google bombs O_o
🙂 Also, just wanted to say that after the past few weeks, and being directed to your blog, Karen, I’ve decided to shoot off about “the same” topic. But the way things go, it’ll probably be months before it goes live. (Or not, once I said that.)
Edie
February 15
7:49 am
I am a DA junkie.
I like that a large range of stuff gets discussed there, and they often touch on things/issues that do not pop up too often anywhere else It always makes me think, whether I agree or not, though I probably agree more often than not, which probably helps.
I have only discovered blogland in the last 8 months or so, but SB never really grabbed me, I do pop in there roughly once a week as there is normally one post that is of interest but it not the daily fix requirement that is DA.
Edie
February 15
7:56 am
I should probably also mention that I am not much of a review reader, as I read mainly epubs these days.
So I am more interested in wider discussion and technology/industry info for procrastination purposes.
Monday Morning Stepback: Links, Cliques, and Randomness « Racy Romance Reviews
February 15
11:46 am
[…] Flurry of Posts on the In Crowd … Katiebabs and then Karen Scott and then Mrs. Giggles posted on the question of an “in crowd” in romance blogging. […]
RRRJessica
February 15
1:40 pm
K.Z. Snow writes
I have been hearing this a LOT behind the scenes. I confess, I am so ignorant of publishers (I focus on authors and books), that I haven’t noticed. But, doesn’t it make sense for Harlequin to take the lion’s share of the publicity, since they are the biggest romance publisher?
I’m not taking issue with your comment, at all, just genuinely asking for more information.
che
February 15
3:00 pm
Definitely DA. I stopped reading SB a while back because it started getting too boring. The only redeeming value they have for me now are the HABO and a male’s perspective on reading a romance posts.
But DA is getting to the boring point for me, too with all the emphasis on e-books, e-readers, and the technology. I don’t read e-books, nor do I have a reader, and I don’t plan to in the future.
Also I get somewhat annoyed on the really bad book reviews (Knight Moves for example). Sure they’re funny in a oh no they didn’t sort of way, but intentionally or not, aren’t they sort of promoting those books, too? I feel they pick those books on purpose because they know how bad they are. I sort of empathize with some authors frustration that they can’t get their “better” books reviewed. Yes, it’s DA’s blog and they can do whatever they want.
SarahT
February 15
3:15 pm
@Jessica: I think the objection to so much coverage of Harlequin – which I don’t share, BTW – harks back to the perception of Harlequin books being the inferior romance novels on the market.
My personal take on the fact that a large number of Harlequin books are featured on DA and SBTB is that they are readily available in digital format at a competitive price. Both blogs have been outspokenly pro ebooks, so it makes sense that they would read them and promote them.
While AAR has traditionally featured comparatively few category romances, The Good, The Bad and The Unread regularly reviews them. For fans of category romance, it’s nice that at least a few review sites feature them beyond Romantic Times.
Miki S
February 15
4:53 pm
I definitely prefer DA. I used to read SBTB every day, but stopped about the same time they changed to the current design. The design is just too busy, and apparently, I’d been getting uninterested enough in the content that the design change was the last straw.
I don’t read DA quite as often as I used to – they’ve been increasing their m/m romance coverage (I have no interest) and some non-reading topics (Friday movie night?) – but I still check every day.
What’s TGTBTU?
KristieJ
February 15
5:14 pm
Dear Author – though I don’t visit there as often as I used to either. But *sadly* I can’t remember the last time I visited SB’s. This truly isn’t jealousy, but both have the lost the focus I enjoyed when they both first started blogging. I prefer the smaller, less popular blogs where romance books and romance topics are the main feature.
Mireya
February 15
6:56 pm
@Miki: I believe it’s The Good, The Bad and the Unread. I follow that blog. I may be wrong, but the initials match 😉
Lynne Connolly
February 15
7:36 pm
The Good, The Bad and The Unread.
Jodie
February 15
8:45 pm
Honestly I never even think of SB as bloggers in the same sense as myself and the community I follow, it would be like comparing myself to Jessa at Bookslut. They’re kind of in a whole different field of blogging to me and I don’t think of them as part of the community, rather outside stimulus that the community reacts to like a publisher blog, or an author’s blog. Saying they’re outside the community isn’t me trying to be mean, it’s just fact, they don’t take on the same kind of role that other bloggers do (the returning comments at other blogs etc) and that’s fine by me.
JessW
February 15
11:42 pm
Dear Author for me. I like the combo of reviews, industry news and ebook info on the site. I think the site has improved since its beginning, and I cannot even imagine the work and money Jane puts into keeping it up.
SBTB was my intro to romance blogs, but, as stated by other already, not so great place to visit now without Candy (who makes an occasional cameo) and few reviews.
I also like TGTBTU for the reviews, and I miss Sybil’s commentaries also, although the others are great too.
I know that I can usually find an interesting discussion here at Karen’s. Thank you.
Janet W
February 16
1:09 am
Sarah Tanner, I’m not sure that I would agree with you that AAR doesn’t review a lot of categories. By categories do you mean HQN or one (or many) of the HQN lines?
My tipping point for SB was the very funny guest commentator who delved into the Dark Lover books. The first commentary was hilarious, the next not quite so funny and the third, well I knew what to expect. I guess the site lost its freshness for me. Plus the combo of Sony Reader + Harlequin review combos. Too much of a muchness.
DA is an incredibly great place to go for aggregated threads about the changing digital landscape … but for me, it never was a destination for reviews. I’m taking a bit of a break … I’m just not in sync with it these days: me, I’m sure.
Smaller, idiosyncratic blogs that review, or not, seem to be where I land these days. Plus with Jessica and Sarah T and you doing such comprehensive week-in-romanlandia wrap-ups, I never fear I’ll miss anything terribly important.
Just as an aside, snaps to AAR for freshening their approach — they are reviewing far more YA than before, some M/M books, great author/interview/giveaways … and I think it’s hard for such an institution to shift gears, even slightly, but I think they have.
Question: does anyone for TGTBTU tweet? I never know when they have new blogs up. Also, and altho I do know they don’t always like the titles/covers either, they review a lot of books I tend not to read.
Just in passing, I really like bloggers who go back in the time machine and review long OOP books. Keep ’em coming!!
Bonnie
February 16
1:29 am
Janet, I like this, too! I wish I could find more. Or any really.
Janet W
February 16
1:38 am
Bonnie: here are three — avidbookreader, monkeybear review and All About Romance. And there are so many more: a website devoted to the novels of Betty Neels. And Tumperkin’s great blog, Isn’t It Romance.
My suggestion: go the Racy Romance Reviews (by Jessica) and look at her sidebar. Let me know if you want more ideas.
And if you like Regencies, I know a few websites devoted just to them.
Bonnie
February 16
1:53 am
Thanks, Janet! Very helpful.
Sunita
February 16
4:41 am
AAR reviews a lot more Harlequins these days than it used to. I remember a few years ago there was an F review of a book by a Harlequin author whom I regard as extremely reliable, and the review basically mischaracterized the book, giving it an F for something it didn’t do (it could have been interpreted the way the reviewer did, but the reader would have had to miss all the other information). Anyway, I was so annoyed that I did a search on “series” (AAR’s word for category), and I found that not only did they review very few of them compared to the other areas of romance, when they liked one, the reviewer frequently added in the review that she usually didn’t expect much from categories but this one somehow made it over the bar (clearly an outlier).
Things are much different now. Maybe they have more reviewers that like Harlequins (multi-reviewer sites are really dependent on their reviewers’ tastes) or maybe they changed for some other reason. But when DA, especially Jane, started reviewing categories, they were the first high-traffic site, multi-reviewer that I read (besides TRR) that regularly reviewed them that wasn’t somehow connected to HMB (author site or publisher sponsored).
TGTBTU has been reviewing Harlequins for at least as long as DA, I think. But my point is that HMB were the neglected publisher in the independent online world for years, probably for the reasons SarahT gave.
SarahT
February 16
9:24 am
@JanetW: AAR has reviewed far more category romances in the last year or so than it did before. I’m not sure if this is a deliberate decision on the part of the new publishers, or if it’s simply because more of the reviewers like to read categories. As you mentioned, they’ve also been reviewing more YA, mysteries, and so on.
What I find too much at times on DA (and on many other sites) is all the promo, be it for Harlequin or any other publisher. But I’m sure there are others who love the contests, so you really can’t please everyone.
As for The Good, The Bad, The Unread: several of their reviewers are on Twitter. @limecello, @bardsong (Shannon C. – used to review for them), @redwyne (Sybil – she often tweets links to their latest posts), and @SuperWendy. I’m sure there are more but I don’t know their Twitter names.
Sybil
February 16
5:29 pm
Haven’t read the comments yet but my thoughts on your post… off the top of my head *eg*. I didn’t pay much attention to KB post because it was put up the same day or the day after she was rejected by RWA for her panel. The timing was suspect and seemed a bit like licking her wounds. Maybe I should go back and read it.
I always like candy and sarah much more than I did SBTB. Than again I liked Jane more than DA as well… but that is more because of the posts being much too long for my attention span.
The idea of an ‘in crowd’ is something I find dumb. Of course there will be popular blogs, what is hawt today can be hated tomorrow and hawt again in a week. But I also think the idea of you just don’t like such and such cuz OMFG you are the jealous is silly. There are people who have no use for those who can’t do things for them, that is life. Just as much as others will ‘help’ people because it is ‘good’ for them. ::shrug::
What matters is deciding what makes ‘YOU’ happy. And doing that. Worrying about what others are doing, why they are doing it, what their traffic is, how they did it, why they don’t like you, how many books they get or drilling people for information on other people just tends to make the people doing it pathetic.
Of course that is just my lil opinion *g*
now off to read the comments
katiebabs
February 16
5:33 pm
@Sybil Not licking my wounds at all over being passed up for the panel at RWA because I’m now going to Hawaii, so either way I win. It’s their lost.
Hmm sexy Hawaiian surfer boys…
Sybil
February 16
5:44 pm
I agree with Keishon and Diana. DA is a great place for E info (I think you mention that).
There are only a handful of blogs I read often (something I am changing and trying to get out more) – SaraT (Monkey Bear), Jessica’s blog (Racy Romance Reviews), Book Binge, Avid Reader (Keishon), CindyS, Kristie J. I do try and skim through DA but rarely go to SB unless sent over there. Gwen adores it IIRC.
If I am short short short on time I check here, Avid (prolly cuz it is an A *G* and I have met her) and BB.
Personally I have always tried to help others if I can (if I know they need help) but I think that is because when I started blogging and reading romance I felt soooooo welcomed. I wouldn’t have a blog if it wasn’t for Maili. I won’t still be around (and I am really, long story) if it wasn’t for Maili, Sarah, Candy, Angie, KristieJ, Nicole, CindyS, CW (who I so miss) and even you doll).
Preeti
February 16
5:54 pm
@SarahT I have so much to catch up on in romancelandia. What’s the story behind this reference to AAR? “I’m not sure if this is a deliberate decision on the part of the new publishers.” Who are the new publishers? Is it not still a Laurie Gold operation?
SarahT
February 16
6:14 pm
@Preeti No, Laurie Gold ceased to be the publisher towards the end of 2008. It’s now published by Blythe Barnhill, Lynn Spencer, Rachel Potter and Sandy Coleman, all of whom had been involved with AAR for quite a while before taking over.
Sybil
February 16
6:28 pm
This is way fucking long
Thanks Sunita and totally my fault… most of the reviewers aren’t ‘bloggers’ or I should say ‘bloghoppers’ like I was. So while I have been dealing with my health and net crap we don’t have as big of a PRESENTS. It is sort of shocking we still have the traffic we do.
@RRRJessica
I ‘tried’ to pick reviewers who liked different things. And ‘tried’ to only have one mikey (Sandy *G*) who was really easy to please. My hope was since readers had so many different tastes they could find one reviewer (at least) they meshed with… dunno if it worked.
@KarenS
I love her voice as well. And hope she starts to post more… the lazy whore.
@Lynne @ShannonC
Thanks and happy to have you (have you back *g*)
LOL your post is already set for today lime
Whoever ask it is The Good, The Bad, The Unread
@Chantal @Sayuri
Thanks
We have been pimping out Harlequin for years. And tried hard to spotlight them. It has been my long standing belief that everyone should try one at least once. So that is totally my fault. Well most things on TGTBTU are 🙂 I suggest Harlequin Historical, where else can you get a new Western EVERY MONTH?
@JanetW
Every post should go through on my twitter feed (redwyne)
@JessW
I am sort of worried I have been gone so long people have forgotten that I really am a bitch. And when I start to post again people will go omg ok, go away again. Of course that won’t stop me… LACK OF INTERNET… that does.
Ok I will shut up now, oh if you forgot, I also ramble tons
Melissa Blue
February 16
9:13 pm
I pick DA because they have content i.e. subject matter you can bite into. They also have variety. Mid-day links, reviews, thought-provoking posts, etc. SB does feel more like promo. Kind of like an author who only blogs when they have a new release. But when Sarah does delve into a subject I’m there. I prefer her view over DA when things get controversial.
But I think the major difference is that DA has managed to stay fresh. I know what I’m getting, but there’s also something new to keep me there longer than five seconds. Versus at SB, “Oh, another help a bitch out.”
Karen Scott
February 16
11:45 pm
Bloody Nora Sybil, I see you decided to come out of your cave, I hope you’re feeling better these days? You should blog more. Really. You should.
Sybil
February 17
12:07 am
OMG I have commented here… it hasn’t been that long. Tis not my fault you and your INCROWDNESS just ignore me
::CRIES:
How will I ever live if you don’t lurve me! LOL Sorry there are tons of people here who don’t know me, I am kidding. This whole omg why don’t you love me shit is stupid. No one can give you self esteem, not even a popular blog. The romance community for the most part is great and BIG. If you can’t find a place to fix in you aren’t looking. AND if someone place makes you feel unwelcome… fuck them if they can’t take a joke and find someone place to appreciate you.
So uh I just don’t get it… feel free to ignore me