Book Blogger Interview Series

Getting To Know The Book Blogging Community One Guest At A Time

Are you ready to get to know another member of the book blogging community?

I'm looking forward to chatting with other book bloggers during this series to get some behind the scenes insight into how they are approaching the book blogging community and what they've learnt so far.

I hope you're enjoying this series of book blogger interview posts and getting to know some great members of the book blogging community along the way.

In case you missed them, you can check out Bookstagrammer Hayley from Shelflyfe here, Booktuber Kira from TheBookBella here and Book Blogger Holley from Chasing Destino here. 

Today the focus is on book blogs.

Today's guest is Book Blogger Sadie from See Sadie Read

Getting to Know Book Blogger Sadie from See Sadie Read

The Interview

1. When did you start blogging and why?

I started my blog, See Sadie Read, in March of 2013 because I discovered that I could.

I’ve always been a bit of a list maker. I like to see accomplishments pile up in a tangible way. I have a little black notebook, for example, that’s I’ve been documenting the books I’ve read since they were written in colored pencil. You can see me move from Dr. Seuss to Nancy Drew to Anne McCaffrey to Stephen King. So, a book blog was just kind of a modernized version of the old habit/hobby.

And it’s specifically a book review blog for similar reasons. Writing a review is a really satisfying way for me to put punctuation on an experience. Like marking that check next to a task on your to-do list. It’s DONE. 2. Do you blog as a hobby or is your blog monetised?

100% hobby. I don’t make any effort to monetize it in any way. Mostly because that’s not what it’s for. I enjoy it and don’t want to do anything that might dilute that fun. But also so that I’m not accountable to anyone or anything. I post what and when I want and no one else has a say in that, not even some algorithm that would like me to post more or less often, or about more mainstream books to optimize income.

3. How often do you post to your blog? That depends. Like I said above, for me, synthesizing my thoughts into a review, writing and posting it is part of my reading process. So, I really like to finish a book, sit down and immediately post a review. (As opposed to writing it and scheduling it to post in the future, such that they come out exactly every other day for example.) That means how often I post depends on what and how much I’m reading. If I’m reading standard 300 page paperbacks, you can expect a review everyday. If I’m reading an epic fantasy or a series I want to review all in one post, it’ll take me a bit longer.
And then there is just life. Quarantine, for example, was disastrous for my reading. I’d have expected the opposite—stuck at home, you’d think I’d get a ton of reading done. But for several months I really struggled to concentrate on anything. Thank goodness for audiobooks, they’re what got me through. The result was more time between reviews though. 4. What social media sites do you use most to spread the word about your blog posts/to network with the book blogging community? Since See Sadie Read is a hobby blog, I don’t bother to try and drive traffic or track stats or anything. But I do have social media because I like the shareable aspect of reviewing. I’m here:

Twitter @see_sadie

Insta @see_sadie_read

FB @SeeSadieRead

5. What do you wish you'd known about book blogging before you started? Top tips for other book bloggers?

So Much! But I have two main points (and I’ve never been known for brevity).

First, how desperate authors are for reviews. The whole Indie Revolution started while I was at Uni and most of my reading at the time was textbooks and academic papers. I was largely unaware of what was happening in publishing at the time. So, when I graduated and was able to read for fun again and then discovered book blogging, I didn’t know there was a tsunami of authors waiting to flood me with review requests. Nor did I have much practice at saying no. Authors were celebrities in my mind (well, let’s be honest, they still are) and to be asked personally to read their book was exciting and new. I read a lot of books outside my genre preferences simply because I’d been asked.

But I couldn’t keep up with the number of requests I was getting. So, I reasonably set some limits. I wrote clear policies about which genres I read, what formats I accept, etc. And quickly learned that almost nobody reads them. It didn’t stem the flood at all.

So, I really encourage new book bloggers to think about what they want to read and then be rigid in what they’ll accept. I used to feel really mean declining to read an author’s work. But I eventually accepted that by sending me a request for a book I’ve already clearly stated in my policies I don’t wish to read (be it because of the genre, content, format, whatever), the author is putting me in the uncomfortable position of having to decline. That’s them being rude, not me. You can say no.

I think a lot of bloggers can probably relate to the author who’ll write and request (sometimes demand) you read their book, but won’t give you the 3 minutes it takes to read your policies and procedures. Or worse, they read them and then ignore them. Some think they’ll be an exception. Like, “She doesn’t read thrillers, but maybe she’ll make an exception for mine.” Which is all well and good until 50 people thinks the same thing and suddenly saying, “I don’t read Thrillers” feels completely ignored. Or some Suspense genre publicist adds you to their mailing such that you get a generic email for every book they publish. It’s my biggest frustration as a blogger (and I vent about it pretty regularly on the blog).

Second, I feel like there’s always a debate about ‘good reviews/reviewers’ and ‘bad reviews/reviewers’ in the book community. Someone has one-star carpet-bombed an author or some author has gone on a rant, bashing reviewers. But really the authors vs reviewer war is entirely made up. There is too much overlap between readers and writers for it to actually exist. The idea that you are either a sycophant or a petty tyrant as a reviewer is a false dichotomy. You can say whatever you like in a review, however you like, and it doesn’t make you a good or bad reviewer. You are a person who wrote a review and are not accountable for other people’s feelings about it. Let that go and be honest. 6. What are your goals for your book blog? Do you have any plans for your blog in the future? I’m just going to keep on keeping on. I’ll keep reading and reviewing. I don’t have any new plans. 7. What's your most popular blog post?

I said earlier that I don’t track stats and that’s true. I can see what’s getting the most traffic at any one time, but I don’t usually bother. But I’ll tell you what my favorite posts are. I occasionally build reading challenges for myself. Recently, for example, I realized I owned several books with the same name. So, I read 12 books basically titled Awakening and call it The Awakening Challenge (http://sadieforsythe.com/wp/wrapping-up-the-awakening-challenge/…). I realize others might not be as amused by this as I am, but I got a little thrill out of it and enjoyed myself. I’ve done this several times and they are always some of my favorite posts to write.

8. What are your favourite genres to read?

I am a dedicated Fantasy and Sci-Fi girl. Lately I’m very into Urban Fantasy especially.

9. Best book you've read so far this year?

Oh, I hate this question. I always suck at picking a favorite. But I think so far Network Effect, by Martha Wells is the best I’ve read so far.

10. What are you currently reading and why did you choose to read it?

I used to be a real literary monogamist. I read one book at a time only. Lately, though, I allow myself to physically read one and listen to one. So, I’m reading Gods of Jade and Shadow, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and listening to the Psycop series, by Jordan Castillo Price. I’ve just finished Spook Squat (#7).

I chose them because Gods of Jade and Shadow (and Mexican Gothic actually) has been on my shelf for ages. But I have a bad habit of putting books on the shelf and them forgetting about them. So, I've been trying to make an effort to read more of my physical books. Thus, my choice to read Moreno-Garcia at last. Psycop however I’m listening to because I basically have enjoyed everything by JCP that I’ve read or listened to so far and wanted a guaranteed winner.

I hope you've enjoyed getting to know Sadie better and encourage you to visit her blog.

FYI I'm always available to be interviewed or work on collaborations 😉

Get in touch

Are you a book blogger? Check out 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers