Armchair BEA : Author Interviews

Book Expo America is taking place this week in NYC. A few bloggers put together Armchair Bea to allow bloggers to virtually attend. Find out more about it here

Yesterdays Armchair BEA blogger interviews got me to thinking about author interviews. I like doing interviews like some like doing giveaways (maybe not that much) I don't know how many people actually read them. Though I hope those that do will find like something enough to check out the author's book.

I do not like when bloggers have set questions. Asking all authors the same questions. It seems so impersonal. I don't feel like I am getting to know the author. When I read an interview I want to get to know the author, as much as I want to know more about their newest novel.

With set questions there's no back and forth between blogger and author. I'd rather watch two tennis players hit balls to each other, than watch one player hit balls from a machine. Besides my favorite part of an interview is thinking up the questions. I also like doing the research. I think a little research is required when interviewing an author. A quick look at the author's blog , facebook page would work.

After the author answers the my first few questions. I'll have a few follow up questions and comments. It takes at least 3 correspondences to take the stiffness out of a blogger interview.

I used to really not like author blog tours but I am coming around to understanding the necessity. An author must get the world out on their book. Though the generic questions still make me cringe. Back in March blogger Ah Yuan, did a post on YA author's Y.S. Lee's blog tour Ah Yuan's right that was an awesome blog tour, the best I've ever seen. If more blog tours were like that, I could really get behind them. I know that took some work by the author and bloggers but I think its worth it.

I like to think my interviews have gotten better from this first one with YA author Dream Jordan, to the most recent with YA author Karen Healey.

If you haven't already and you want to see some great interviews I highly recommend checking out the Summer Blog Blast Tour A few of the authors that particapted - Kate Milford, Rita Williams- Garcia, Lisa Mantchev and Nancy Bo Flood.

Armchair Bea - Does Blogging Really Make A Difference?

Book Expo America is taking place this week in NYC. A few bloggers put together Armchair Bea to allow bloggers to virtually attend. Find out more about it here

"Today is ALL about things BEA oriented. Posts for today should be "bookish" in nature, the kind of things you'd find when looking through the panels and exhibits at BEA."

My topic - Does blogging really make a difference?

I love blogging and talking about books, though sometimes I wonder if people consider blogs reviews when deciding what new titles to read. If your a blogger or frequent visitor I am not talking about you. (of course the answer is yes) But what about people who simply enjoy reading?

One mark against blogs reviews (this is an assumption) is that its all personal opinion from non professionals. Professional or not, all reviews are personal opinions. To counteract this possible negative, I always try to link to an excerpt. If a visitor who discovered my blog when they googled a title believes my review is too nice or not critical enough, I say forgot me (its not about me its about the book) and go read the excerpt.

Sometimes I link to reviews by other bloggers and professional reviewers for the same reason.

Is that enough to get people to consider blogger reviews? What else do you think can be done?