Tag: reading ecosystem

Book Bloggers and Bookstagrammers

M.K. Tod5 Comments

I’m always looking for fresh ideas and not long ago thought that it would be a great idea to feature book bloggers and bookstagrammers – and the work they do to connect readers and authors.

Our reading ecosystem has changed a lot in the past ten to fifteen years and readers are playing an increasingly  crucial role. The diagram below gives some sense of what’s happening to a landscape that used to consist of book reviewers in traditional media recommending books to their readers and literary publications featuring authors and books on a monthly basis.

 

Today, you hear about a book from a myriad of sources and check out what other readers are saying about it on Goodreads. You can find a book blogger or bookstagrammer whose recommendations suit you or participate in a reader/writer forum like Wattpad. You can follow an author on BookBub and be notified whenever that author releases a new book. You can join one of thousands of book focused pages on Facebook and not only discover new novels and authors, but also interact with those authors.

Why do readers make a decision to share their thoughts about books? Why do they take the time to write thoughtful reviews every week? Who are their followers? Without these passionate readers, many authors wouldn’t be able to spread the word about their novels.

So let’s talk to some of them and find out.

PS – I’m sure my diagram is simplistic! Feel free to make suggestions.

Harald Johnson suggested adding author website & email lists … which I’ve done in the diagram below.

FOR MORE ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION  FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.

10 Thoughts On Social Reading

M.K. Tod12 Comments

It’s time to switch from ‘inside historical fiction‘ to ‘social reading‘, the second of two themes A Writer of History is exploring this year. Why am I interested? Because I want to be part of the conversation readers have with one another, with writers and with bloggers, and I want to embrace, not resist, the change that’s happening in the world of content creation.

Social Reading Landscape

To begin, I thought I would set out a few thoughts about social reading. The headline says 10, but you never know, I could come up with more.

  1. Social reading is about relationships. Readers with writers. Readers with readers. Readers with reviewers and bloggers. Writers with writers. Bloggers with bloggers. Well, you get my point.
  2. Readers expect writers to be social. As a writer, if readers want to hear from you, your books will sell. Achieving this objective requires an active, sincere, personal, content-rich social media presence.
  3. Ultimately, “the audience grows the audience”. I borrowed this line from Seth Godin who was commenting on his own digital media presence.
  4. Engagement is personal. Readers seek like-minded people. They enjoy the give and take of conversations that occur via social media and want to establish connections.
  5. Social reading is two-way not one way. Pure one-way broadcast is dead–one of the reasons why traditional book reviews are giving way to bloggers, Goodreads and other mechanisms that provide a forum for interaction.
  6. Social reading requires social listening. Readers value conversations. Good conversations involve active listening.
  7. Social reading facilitates discovery. For example, Goodreads recommendation engine suggests new books based on the books a reader has on their shelves. Data from 2013 indicates 11 million books discovered via Goodreads every month.
  8. Social reading is dynamic. It “will evolve in response to ever–changing hardware and software platforms”. Bob Stein, Institute for the Future of the Book. What works today will change tomorrow.
  9. Social reading requires trust. Trusted connections facilitate more open communications. Readers depend on trusting those who review and recommend books, with others involved in the conversations around books, with writers who participate.
  10. Social reading involves a new set of influencers. Goodreads, book bloggers, Facebook, Twitter, LibraryThing, Shelfari, Wattpad, Book Riot, Amazon, Fantastic Fiction, Paperback Swap, Book Bub are just a few of the players in the changing reading ecosystem.
  11. Social reading facilitates the shared experience of reading a book. Readers love to talk about a book they’ve read. Some do so in physical book clubs, others choose online book clubs. Such conversations enhance the book experience by bringing additional insights and varied opinions.
  12. Social reading can extend into the creation process itself. New sites like Wattpad allow readers to post suggestions chapter by chapter so writers can change what they’ve written or what they were planning to write. Some suggest that over time, the boundary between writing and reading will blur.

Twelve thoughts to start this topic off. What do you think?

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction and blogs about all aspects of the genre at A Writer of History. Her latest novel, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE is set in WWI France and is available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. Her debut novel, UNRAVELLED: Two wars. Two affairs. One marriage. is also available from these retailers.

Mary can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Looking for Readers of Historical Fiction

M.K. Tod16 Comments
Source: Beyond the Elements of Style
Source: Beyond the Elements of Style

Surveys provide data. Interviews enrich data with context and depth, specifics and anecdotes.

I’ve interviewed many authors on A Writer of History and several bloggers but I have yet to interview readers. This post is an appeal for readers willing to answer questions about their reading experiences, their motivations for reading, what they seek from historical fiction, what turns them on (about reading, of course), how and when they read and so on.

I’m not looking for writers who read or bloggers who read but rather regular readers, with an interest in historical fiction.

If you are interested please send me an email: mktod [at] bell [dot] net. If you are a writer or blogger please consider passing my request on to someone you know.

I will offer an e-book copy of Unravelled: Two wars. Two affairs. One marriage. to those I interview.

Many thanks! Looking forward to hearing from you.