What's up Tweeps?! No. 6

Normally on Monday I discuss the covers of books I'm reading, but today we're taking a break from that. "It's Monday, What's on the Cover?" will return next week. Now it's time for my monthly feature, "What's up Tweeps?!" So far the questions have ranged from, "Why do you read book blogs?" "Have you found your writing voice?" "Amazon.com's questionable business practices" "How to encourage a non-reader to read?" to "James Frey's fleecing the future writing talent of America." For March, I thought we would go back to the lighter side of things.

"With so many blogs out there, do you feel pressure
to pick a genre/niche? Ever wonder how you stand
out among the masses?"

When I started blogging, I wanted to get out of a rut. I needed a creative outlet. I have that book idea in my head, but I'm too scared to start trying that now. One day I hope to put the words down on paper. Instead, I decided to do the next best thing --- blogging about books. I was also in a reading rut. Before last April, it would take weeks, sometimes months, to finish a book. Blogging has definitely sped up my reading pace.

I started reviewing books I owned. I wasn't sure how to get books from publishers, but BookExpo America and the Book Blogger Convention changed all of that. Pass your business cards around to a few people at these events, and watch what happens! Everything changed for me after that. Soon marketing people, publicists, and authors were coming to me. After a while I wondered, "How do these people know about my blog?"

I read just about everything (except sci-fi, can't stand it). I read YA, memoirs, literary fiction, and chick lit. There are blogs out there that focus on just one of those. What makes me different? Why would someone choose me over another person? How do I stand out?

I don't think I have to choose and I think I do stand out. A personal blog is all about what you want, who you want to be, and what you want to write about. We all have different opinions. What we have to say about a particular won't necessarily be the same as another person. You can reach more people than you think with a blog. People from various states and countries read my blog. Who knew I had any reach in the UK? But a writer from the UK contacted me to review her book. I have my place in the rather large book blogosphere, we all do.

Next month's question: Do you post negative book reviews? Why or why not? E-mail responses to bookangel224@gmail.com. Entries are open until April 21. If you have a question or topic that you would like to see discussed here, feel free to e-mail me. Who knows what we can come up with. Happy reading everyone!