New to Requesting ARCs? Here's How!

Are you a new book blogger, Bookstagrammer, or Booktuber who just started out and isn't quite sure how seemingly everyone you follow keeps getting advanced copies of books that you want to read? Then don't worry, because everyone starts out in that boat -- and we're here to help you out with some tips to get you on the road to receiving advanced copies of anticipated reads that you can review and gush about to your heart's content. So without further ado, let's get into it!

First: Some Basics

What ARCs Are

ARCs are Advanced Reading Copies of books that are coming out a few months (sometimes even longer!) later into the year. Publishers print advanced copies of these books as a way to distribute the book to press and media writers/agents/associates as a way of drumming up buzz for the book. You know how some books have glowing reviews from trade reviewers such as Kirkus *on* the day the book comes out? Yeah, that Kirkus writer didn't read and review the entire book in that single day. They read it and wrote their review waaaaay in advance, often by reading an ARC!

Why They're Important

Being able to review a book before its release drums up buzz about it, which helps everyone. Not only are people interested in what you have to say about it, but you're also giving positive press to the author and the publisher, because the more hype that builds around the book, the more other readers want to get their hands on a copy when it releases, either through preorders or hearing everyone else talk about the book. This happened to me just last month with The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon, which I eagerly purchased on release day because of all the great things I heard some other bloggers said when they read ARCs of it! 

How to Get Them

There are two steps to requesting an ARC that you're excited about: Finding out who you're supposed to contact, and then sending them an ARC inquiry email.

Finding Your Contact

Our hardworking, fabulous friend Angel from Avid Reader has created this incredibly helpful Book Publicity Directory, which she is constantly refreshing and updating. Pretty much any publisher that we ever want to reach has a contact email address on there (and if they don't, you can usually find it by doing some digging on the company's site). We recommend bookmarking that page, because we are constantly referring back to it, even after book blogging for 8 years! 

Crafting Your Email

The email part may seem daunting, but once you create a pretty solid template, you can always feel free to refer back to it whenever you want to send an inquiry. We drafted up a template years ago that we keep in a folder and tweak whenever we want to send a request out!

Sample Email

Here is a sample draft of the ARC inquiry email we use when requesting a book. This is the exact email we use, just editing out our stats! 

Hi [Publisher/Publicist Name], 

My name is [NAME], and I am a Young Adult book blogger at [BLOG]. Our blog is run by three longtime friends and avid readers, and we use it to share our passion for books. We aim to have between three to five reviews posted per week, broken up with Waiting on Wednesdays, Discussions Posts, and Debut Author features, and other ways to promote authors and their books. 

I am interested in reviewing:

[BOOK TITLE] by [BOOK AUTHOR]

We have previously received review copies in the mail from you for review. I believe that this title would be a good fit for us and our blog. All of our reviews get posted on our blog, Amazon, Goodreads, and also get advertised on our Twitter/Facebook accounts.

Our blog has been running full-time since [DATE], and our stats are the following:

about [X] Views Per Month

about [X] Page Views Per day

about [X] Unique Page Views Per Month 

[X] GFC Followers

[X] E-mail/RSS Subscribers

[X] Bloglovin' Followers [INCLUDE LINK TO YOUR BLOGLOVIN']

[X] Twitter Followers [LINK]

[X] Instagram Followers [LINK]

[X] Page Views since the blog's beginning

If it is possible to receive this title for review, it could be sent here:

[YOUR MAILING ADDRESS]

Thank you for your time and consideration! 

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

And that's it! When it comes to finding your blog's stats for this email, every blogging platform is different, but they all have a way to view your analytics. A quick Google search should clear that right up for you!

*IMPORTANT: Make sure that you're updating your stats regularly! Right before we send an inquiry, we pull this template out of our drafts and tweak the stats to make sure they're accurate.

FAQs

Am I supposed to follow up with someone if I don't hear back?

We wouldn't nudge them more than once, if that. We mention this later below in the post, but it bears repeating here, too: Sometimes, you're just going to get ghosted. Publishers are busy people and receive a whole slew of emails every day, so not only do things fall through the cracks, but sometimes they just may not be able to send you an ARC.

Can I use a private contact email that another blogging friend used for a specific publicist/editor?

No, we don't recommend doing so! If a publicist or editor reaches out to us from their own email address offering us a review copy, we do not share that person's email address. For example, we are in touch with several publicists at Simon Teen, but if a friend asked us how to contact Simon Teen for an ARC, we would do one of two things: We would either ask the publicist directly if it was okay for us to share their email address, or we would refer the friend to the general publicity email address that the company has. 

Can I reach back out to a publicist for another ARC from the same publisher in the future?

Yes, unless they specifically ask that you don't. If we were in conversation with a publicist for a Simon Teen book, and then a few months later another book comes out from Simon Teen that we'd love to read, we tend to just find that old email chain and respond right there, as a way of refreshing their memory of who we are and how we've worked together before -- and then we politely ask if receiving an ARC of this new title is possible! But you can always re-send through the general publicity email address you find if you'd prefer that or lost the contact info of the publicist from a prior request.

*TIP: Keep a list of the publicists you're in contact with from each company, as well as their email address. DO NOT SHARE THIS LIST WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION, but it is helpful to keep on hand if you're trying to reach out to someone you had already connected with, but couldn't remember their info!

What do I do with an ARC when I'm finished reading it?

There's pretty much one golden rule here: ARCs are not for sale. Seriously, don't do it. It's very not cool. Authors don't receive any portion of those sales. But there are so many other things that you can do with an ARC if you're finished reading it and decide that you don't want it on your shelves anymore! For example, you can donate it to a local library, give it to a friend, or host a giveaway for it on your blog, Twitter, or Instagram account. Whenever we have a chunk of ARCs that we finished reading and want to pass along, we take a drive around our neighborhood and drop them in Little Free Libraries around town for new readers to enjoy. Any option is great, but just remember -- don't sell them!

How early do I post an ARC review?

That's up to you, but we usually post reviews about a month or two in advance of the book's publication! But everyone does it differently and it's totally up to you. Sometimes, if we don't get to an ARC before its release date, we still post the review after the publication date. There's no hard and fast rule here!

Do I send my review/feedback to the person that sent me the ARC?

Yes -- but not the author. Reviews are for readers, not for authors. However, sending the link to your review over to the publicist that you connected with is a good idea! And if you forget/lose their contact info (which you shouldn't, if you keep that handy dandy list we just suggested), you can always tag the publisher -- again, not the author -- in your posts about your review.

Some Things to Keep in Mind

Only request ARCs that you're genuinely excited to read. ARCs are often printed in limited quantities, so you don't want to just go around requesting every single book that's out there, whether or not you actually care about reading it. If it's something that you're interested in or really passionate about, then of course, request! But we don't encourage you to just request a copy of the hottest upcoming novel just because everyone else is, even if you have no intention of reading it -- because there are readers out there who really do want to read that book, and it isn't fair to take that opportunity away from them.

Sometimes, you're just not going to hear back. Publicists are busy people and have a million different hard tasks to accomplish every day. Sometimes emails slip through the cracks, which is why sending one nudge is alright, but if you still don't hear back after that, then it's just best to make a note on your calendar for when the book releases so you can read it yourself, or enter some giveaways or borrow a copy from a friend. Even after blogging for 8+ years, there are still plenty of ARCs that we don't get our hands on! That's totally okay, and sometimes it just happens that way. The ghosting may hurt a little bit, but don't take it personally -- there are plenty of great books out there just waiting to be read.

Some growth is required in the process. When we had just started blogging and barely had any views or stats, we got rejected from almost every ARC inquiry we sent. It stung at first, but then as we started to work hard and grow, one publisher sent us an ARC and gave us a chance, and then two, and then so on. So if you're just starting out and don't get a lot of bites right away, that's totally alright! Focus on reviewing books that you already have, generating awesome content, and growing an audience. As those numbers start to climb, you may find some more success with requesting ARCs. 

(Insider tip: We've worked as publicity interns for a few different major publishing companies, and sometimes we only accepted ARC requests for blogs/sites that crossed a certain threshold of views, because those sites had large audience reaches, which is what publishers want. So sometimes, you're not doing anything wrong and just need a little more growth!)

Whew, that was a mouthful! But those are just some tips, tricks, and advice that we thought we'd share, since breaking into the blogging/Booktubing/Bookstagramming world can sometimes feel so daunting as a newbie.

If you have any more questions about the process, feel free to comment down below or hit us up via our email here!

Do you have any ARC tips of your own? Comment down below and let us know!

5 Tips for Blogging While You're Busy

Are you finding yourself in the same predicament that we are -- trying to juggle blogging with working, school, and other daily life tasks that you have to get done? You're definitely not alone -- we struggled with this a lot back in 2016 when we first started college, and then all over again once we started our graduate school programs this year. But you're in luck -- because after many years of balancing blogging with daily life, we have some tips to share. Bloggers and Bookstagrammers have asked us for these tips in the past, so we decided to share them with you now as well! So without further ado, here are 5 tips for blogging while you're busy:

1. Read in short snippets wherever you can catch the time. When your daily life is as chaotic as ours can be, it's hard to find time to read. But that's what fuels our book blogs, so what can we do about it? We read whenever we can find small snippets of time -- while waiting for our nail appointment, on the walk from class back to our dorm, etc. We also try to read for at least 15-30 minutes before going to sleep every night. It may not seem like a lot, but those small snippets of time where you trade scrolling on Twitter for picking up a book actually adds up, and you'll be finishing books faster than you'd expect!

2. Make it your routine to tap into the book world for at least a few minutes each day. When you're busy, it can be hard to stay in the loop with what's going on in the book community -- and as you all know, stuff is happening there all of the time. So we make it our goal to log on for at least 10 minutes each day, just to interact with our followers, reply to some other posts, etc. It's only ten minutes, but it can go a long way with keeping you in the loop!

3. Schedule a designated "Blog Work Day" each month. We started doing this when we started college, and it has been an absolute godsend. At the end of every month, we pick one day -- usually a weekend day -- to sit down and schedule all of the blog posts for the upcoming month. We buckle down for a few hours and schedule our Top Ten Tuesday posts, our Waiting on Wednesday posts, book tours, posts like this one, etc. That way, throughout the month, all we have to worry about is writing reviews as we finish reading books. It makes the workload a lot less stressful if we just take one afternoon to get all of that big stuff out of the way!

4. Book blitz events can be your best friend! When you're not reading as quickly as you'd like to, it can be hard to generate content. But book blogging doesn't have to just be about reviews -- we also love signing up for book blitz events and spotlight tours, and we also love to share excerpts, host interviews, and even do fun posts like these. So if you find that your reading is slowing down because you're busy, there are plenty of other fun ways to generate content for your site!

5. If it starts feeling like a chore more than it does fun, then there's no shame in taking a break. Sometimes life gets overwhelming and you just need to step away from the computer for a little while. You shouldn't feel a sense of shame or embarrassment if you need to take a little bit of hiatus. It happens at The Book Bratz all of the time! Emily and Amber are both currently on hiatus due to an influx of school work and nursing school clinicals that make it really hard to get blog work done. Your site (and this incredible community!) will always be here waiting for you when you're done taking a break, so there's nothing lost by hitting the pause button for a little bit!

So those are our 5 tips for managing blogging while you have a busy life. Do you have tips of your own to share? Agree or disagree with any of ours? Comment down below and let us know!

Coming up with Unique Author Interview Questions! (& Some Question Ideas)

In 2019 we have done A LOT of author interviews (to be honest, I've lost count at this point.) But the one challenge that I've found was coming up with unique interview questions that are going to intrigue readers. You don't want to be too generic, you don't want to be too specific (#SPOILERS) and you want them to be fun! To check out some of our interviews you can find them here!

In the years that we have been blogging and doing interview questions there is always that self doubt: This author is going to think that I am an idiot. Believe it or not, authors don't think that and many that I have talked to actually love answering interview questions of all kinds! They love the interest in their books and the eagerness in wanting to know more.

(I am the queen of self doubt so I'll think my interview questions are great and then I panic after I hit send. So if you do this too, you are not alone *Hugs*) 

The answer: YES YOU CAN! 

*Channeling my inner Dora the Explorer*

So, where do you start? Here are some of the ice breaker questions I'll use for the first question or two:

• {INSERT TITLE HERE} is coming out this year! How does it feel? 
• This is super important: Coffee or Tea? 
• What is the secret about being a writer? 
• Using only emojis summarize your book!

I try to make the first question as fun as possible and not all that serious. No need to dive into the hard questions right away. Think of the first question as an icebreaker, you know the ones that we all had to participate in on the first day of school: "Hi my name is ____ and I love reading." 

I found writing interview questions easier if I have already read the book that I am interviewing that author on, but sometimes this isn't always possible. But that doesn't mean you can't ask book specific questions! 

• Why did you decide on {INSERT TITLE HERE} as being your title?  
• Did you always know that {MAIN CHARACTER} was going to be the hero all along? 
• How did you know you wanted to write a story in multiple point of views? 
• What was your choice in having/not having a love interest in your book?

If you have already read the book that you are interviewing the author about, this is where I could get even more fun. I am going to use Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo as an example for these more specific questions! (Side note: I have never interviewed Leigh before, but it is one of my dreams to! These questions are just examples.) 

• Out of all breakfast foods, why waffles? 
• Why did you decide to continue on after Ruin and Rising ended? 
• Each character has their own unique back story, where their any challenges in making each character different? 
• Was it hard to find each characters voices? 
• Did you write Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom with the intent of Kaz and Inej becoming one of the biggest ships? 
• How did you construct the world building in a world post Darkling's rule? 

See how the questions are less generic and I can ask about certain instances? Interview questions can be fun and interesting regardless if you read the book or not. There are so many different questions you can ask. One of my favorite questions to ask is: If you can create social media handles for your characters, what would they be? I love asking this question to fantasy authors and seeing how the incorporate their character's abilities and powers into the handle. Think outside the box when you are asking questions. That burning question you have? Ask it! Sometimes authors can't answer certain things because the possibility of spoilers, but most of the time they love answering questions! 

Still at a lost for questions? Here is a few for inspiration: 

• Is {INSERT TITLE HERE} the first book you have written that is being published?
• Did you pull inspiration for your book from an real life experiences? 
• Can you tell me a secret about {INSERT TITLE HERE} that no one else knows? 
• What is your writing routine? 
• What is your favorite book?
• How did you know that you wanted to write this genre?
• Do you remember the exact moment that you knew you wanted to write this story?
• What is your method to outlining? 
• This or that: Cats or dogs? Coffee or tea? Physical book or e-book? SFF or contemporary? Ect. 
• Growing up did you know you wanted to become a writer or was it not until you were older did you realize? 
• Why did you decided to go this way in publishing vs another? (traditional publishing vs. indie or vice versa.)

At the end of the day you shouldn't stress interviews too much. They are fun for the author, blogger and the reader! In the six years of blogging we've done hundreds of interviews and it is always fun. Not everyone needs to be serious. Remember, your favorite author? They are people too! (and I say this as the blogger that still gets tongue tied when communicating with authors.) 

Sending tons of hugs to all who struggle with this! I hope this little guide helps and makes coming up with interview questions or at least thinking about them a little easier! 

Talk to me! Have you ever interviewed an author before? How did it go? Do you have a favorite question to ask? I'd love to know!

How-To: A Beginners Guide To NetGalley!

Back in 2016 I made a guide on how to use NetGalley and Edelweiss for those bloggers and reviews who were struggling with it. Since then both platforms have changed their layouts and things work a little differently now. Also in three years I learned a lot more about NetGalley and Edelweiss then I did when I first made that post. So, today I am excited to say that here is the new and improved NetGalley 101 post! (I do plan on making on for Edeweiss, I am just going to do them separate!) 

*I just want to stress something before I continue on with my post. Nobody is entitled to ARCs, they are a privilege that bloggers have. We aren't entitled to them by any means and they are not everything in the blogging world. You can still do plenty with out ARCs.*

What is NetGalley? 

NetGalley is an innovative and easy-to-use online service and connection point for book publishers, reviewers, media, librarians, booksellers, bloggers and educators. NetGalley delivers digital galleys, often called advance reading copies, or ARCs, to professional readers and helps promote new and upcoming titles. Professional readers--reviewers, media, journalists, bloggers, librarians, booksellers and educators--can join and use NetGalley at no cost. - NetGalley

 NetGalley is a good resource for new bloggers who aren't quite sure on where to start with reviewing galleys. I first started using NetGalley when The Book Bratz was three weeks old and was approved for several titles from smaller publishers. 

Part 1: Your Profile

When you create your profile there are a few things you want to keep in mind: the type of reviewer you are, feedback ratio, blog stats and links. 

Reviewer Type: There is a drop down menu that gives you 4 different options as a type of reviewer. Pick the one closest to what you are. If you are blogger, choose blogger. If you are a trade professional, choose that. Make sure this title is as close to what you are as a reader/reviewer as possible. 

Feedback: This happens more as you begin to review books. Your feedback ratio basically tells Publishing Houses how likely you are to review their books. Out of the 246 books I have been approved for, I've reviewed 204 of them. So there is an 83% chance that I will read and review a book I am approved for. 

The suggested feedback ratio is 80% but I like to keep mine at 85% or higher. Right now I am not where I would like the be, but I am also a little back logged on review copies. So as I read and review those, my ratio will increase. 

If you have a poor ratio you are going to have a hard time getting approved for titles, so make an effort to read and review every title you receive. Sometimes it isn't possible and that is understandable. 

I have a 80% ratio and still got declined? Sometimes this happens! Digital Galleys are numbered just like physical ones. Sometimes there just aren't anymore galleys to give out and you get declined. Other times you don't quite meet the criteria the the publisher is looking for. This happens and it sucks but just remember: Every book is going to be published and you will get to read it! 

Bio/Stats: Here is where the lines get a little confusing and I am going to talk about what I found has worked back for me in using NetGalley. But I know everyone has their own systems. 

My Bio Looks something like this:

My name is Amber and I am a Young Adult book blogger at The Book Bratz. (thebookbratz.blogspot.com). The Book Bratz is run by three long-time friends who use it to share their passion about books across the internet.
Blog Stats:

• GFC Followers

• E-mail/RSS Subscribers
• Bloglovin' Followers (LINK)
• Twitter Followers (LINK)
• Facebook Followers (LINK)
• Instagram Followers (LINK)
• Pinterest Followers (LINK)
• Page Views since all time

All of our reviews can be found here: (LINK)
We have read and reviewed galleys from NetGalley since 2014. All of our reviews get posted on our blog, Amazon, Goodreads, and also get advertised on our Twitter/Facebook accounts.

I update my stats weekly or bi-weekly considering they change week to week. Everyone has a different style for their profiles, I keep mine neat and broken down, I've seen some people combine all their followers and include that number as well. It is open to how ever you want to do it. When it comes to this stuff the right and wrong lines are a little blurred, honesty is always the best policy! 

Links: In the bottom of your profile you have the option to add the links to all your social media accounts. I use this spot to include the links to Twitter, Instagram, Bloglovin' and Goodreads. If you don't use all of those sites link the ones that you use to talk about books often and where your reviews will be posted. 

Part 2: Finding / Requesting Titles 

Now the you have your profile set up it's time to go look at books to request! It is super easy to get overwhelmed at this point.there are so many categories and so many different titles. Sometimes I'll flip through the "Recently Added" so see if there is anything that catches my eye, but most times I'll scroll down on categories and click on "Teens & YA" but if you are looking for another genre click on that! 

You have several different options once you get to this page. On the left side bar you have the options: "Available for Request", "Read Now", "Most Requested" and "Previously on NetGalley." 

• "Available for Request" is where you are going to go in to actually request books to review. 
• I use "Read Now" for when I have nothing to read and want to read something different and new. These books automatically get added to your shelve rather then you waiting on an answer of approval or not. 
• "Most Requested" is the same as available for request, this just lists them in popular order. 
• I rarely ever use "Previously on NetGalley" because you can't request books for this page. These are titles that have now been archived. But it's cool to see some of the familiar titles that were once available for request!

Now here comes the fun part! After searching through and finding a book or books you would like to request, click on the cover! If you already know that it is a book you are interested you can click "Request" and if you want to learn more you can click on "See Full Details" and it will take you directly to the about the book page. 

Now you wait! 

Sometimes it take publishers a few weeks to approve requests and other times in can happen in hours. It all depends on the publisher. Continue to check the e-mail associated with you NetGalley account because that is where you will receive an e-mail if you were approved or denied for the title. 

*I have my NetGalley account hooked up to my Kindle library, so all my review copies are accessible on my Kindle. To see more information on HOW to hook up your Kindle or other devices supported please check that out HERE!*

Once you are ready to read your review copy simply click on the Send To Kindle tab or you can directly download the EPUB to open on your computer instead. 

Time to Submit Your Review! 

Now here comes the fun part! So after you download a title, it be moved to your "Give Feedback" tab. Under this tab will be all the books that you have downloaded for review and have not yet submitted your feedback on. They'll be shown in the ordered that you downloaded them, the oldest being at the bottom of the list! To give feedback click on the green "Give Feedback" button next to the book you will be providing the feedback for! 

I write my review in a blog draft before I copy it anywhere else. After you read through your review and you included everything you wanted then you can paste it into the Feedback box! 

*Not sure in what to include in your review!? We got you covered!*

• Make sure to give your book a star rating! 
• I add the blog link and the Goodreads review link when I leave feedback. Even if the link isn't live for the blog pot. I make note of when it will go live! 
• When you are done hit "Send Review!" 

That is all there is too it! 

See! We told you that it is really easy. Especially when you begin to use NetGalley more and more, it becomes even easier. The biggest challenge is sometimes keeping up with your review titles and making sure everything is submitted before publication date, (but that is a topic for another post!)

Was there any questions that I didn't talk about that you have? Leave them in the comments below and I will try to help you as soon as possible! 

Blogging 101: About Creative Common Licenses & Free Graphic Resources

So, you want to start a book blog and you don't know where to start. This is completely normal. Starting a blog is an overwhelming feeling, there is so much you need to know that you don't. We are hoping with this new series that we will be able to help new bloggers navigate the blogging world!

Previous Posts: Platforms | Websites Essential for Running a Blog | Staying Organized | When, Why & What To Post | How to Write a Banging Book Review | What NOT To Do in the Blogging World | Why Sometimes Book Reviews Aren't Enough

I think the biggest part of blogging is the ability to be able to make blog graphics and put things together that are created by you. Here are some of the many websites we use to make the graphics you see daily here on The Book Bratz! But before we get to the resources I want to talk about Creative Common Licences, because they are really important. Especially when uses images and graphics from the internet on your blog. 

Creative Commons 

***All information on Creative Commons I got directly from their website (and all credit is due to them) and for more information you can visit them here to find it!***

There are several type of Creative Common Licences and each one will determine whether or not you can use certain content on your blog, adapt it to your needs or make any edits to it all. Creative Commons is a set of terms and conditions that authors/content creators have over their work. 

What type of Creative Common Licences are there? Well there are several. Let's break it down! 

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)- This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered. As long as you are following the licence terms, the licencor and content creator cannot revoke you these rights. For more information please click here!

Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)- This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. This is the license used by Wikipedia, and is recommended for materials that would benefit from incorporating content from Wikipedia and similarly licensed projects. Again, as long as you are following the terms your rights cannot be revoked! For more information please click here!

Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) -  Basically you are free to, share the content for any purpose as long as it is unchanged and credited to the content creator. For more information please click here!

Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) -  With this you can redistribute and copy the content in any medium and adapt, such as remix, transform, and add upon the material. For more information please click here!

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) - This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under the identical terms. For more information please click here!

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) - This license is the most restrictive of our six main licenses, only allowing others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially. For more information please click here!

Is your head spinning? Believe me I understand the feeling. But these are also super important to know. You don't want to be using someone's work that is protected under Creative Commons in a way that breaks the licence. A big key and gold rule is: Always give credit where credit is due. 

With all of that being said, below I compiled a list that we use to gather images for graphics on the blog and websites we use to creative the graphics. Most of these are protected by CC BY but please make sure to check their licenses before using them! 

Free Design Sites: 

• Canva (We use this! You can pay to unlock certain features but the free version is just as good!)
• GIMP (This is a dupe for Photoshop and you have to download it to your computer, but I have used this before and loved it!) 
• Pic Monkey (When you sign up you get a 7 day free trial!) 
• BeFunky

Free Stock Photos: 

Nearly all images on these free stock sites have a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. This means you can copy, edit or distribute the images (even for blog purposes) without requiring author expressed permission. We use these sites a lot in finding background for banners and other bookish related images for blog use! 

• Pexels (We use this one a lot!)
• Canva
• Pixabay
• Rawpixel
• Pik Wizard
• Stockvault
• Unsplash
• Life of Pix

Free Color Schemes: 

When making graphics and redesigning the blog I always find a color palette that will work best with what I am doing. It is also a good way to find colors that go really well together and are pleasing and easy on the eyes. 

• Coolors
• Canva (You can upload an image and it will pull the colors into a pallet for you!) 
• Color Hunt
• Colormind

Free Fonts:

Some websites let you upload your own fonts or if you use GIMP or have Photoshop you can upload fonts into those as well. Here are some of them. Some of these you have to read the fine print on whether or not they are under the Creative Commons Zero but a majority are! 

• DaFont
• Font Squirrel 
• Font Space
• 1001 Fonts

I hope this post was helpful in helping you learn all the different Creative Common Licences out there as well as giving you some good resources to find graphics. If you have any questions please drop them below! Also, if you have anything you want to see us cover in our Blogging 101 feature please comment it below as well! 

Blogging 101: Why Sometimes Book Reviews Aren't Enough

So, you want to start a book blog and you don't know where to start. This is completely normal. Starting a blog is an overwhelming feeling, there is so much you need to know that you don't. We are hoping with this new series that we will be able to help new bloggers navigate the blogging world!

Previous Posts: Platforms | Websites Essential for Running a Blog | Staying Organized | When, Why & What To Post | How to Write a Banging Book Review | What NOT To Do in the Blogging World

In the years since we created The Book Bratz we learned one big lesson: Blogging isn't just writing book reviews. Sure, book reviews are a part of having owning/running a book blog BUT they aren't part of your blog as a whole. To be quite blunt with you: Book reviews sometimes don't cut it. This post isn't about me telling you to cut down orn reviews or cut them out all together. Book reviews are fun to write and they are how we express our like or dislike for a book! This post is just to give you some ideas on other things to post and some things to keep in mind! 

I've noticed a trend of the years that the post that end up getting to most engagement (views/comments/retweets/ect.) are posts that aren't book reviews. Occasionally a review will surpass other posts in engagements for the week but I find it to be super rare. Sometimes discussions posts, memes and bookish lists are more interesting then a book review. That is 100% okay and there is nothing wrong with that. 

On The Book Bratz we aim to post 2-4 reviews a week and then use the other days for discussion posts, author interviews, weekly memes, tags and other bookish posts. With the three of us we often post almost everyday of the month and sometimes even twice a day. I know this isn't possible for many bloggers for the fact that you run your blog on your own. There is no right or wrong amount of times to post on your blog per week/month. You only got two posts up this week? That's awesome! That's two more posts. My point is: Your effort doesn't go unnoticed. Running a blog is a huge responsibility and you are doing it! 

A book blog doesn't have to strictly be book reviews! It's an outlet to share your love for books. You can talk about anything you want on it. Here are some examples of post ideas:

• Discussion Posts - Have something bookish that you want to talk about? Write a post on it! Want to give advice to new bloggers and older bloggers on things you learned? Write a post! The sky is your limit. 
• Book Tags - There are so many Book Tags floating around and you can find a bunch of them on Pinterest. They are really fun to do. 
• Weekly Memes - There are so many weekly posts that bloggers participate in: Stacking the Shelves, Top Ten Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesday! There are more that I didn't list but they are fun way to compile book lists to share with your followers. 
• Book Lists - I love making book lists. I've done so many over the years and they are so much fun to make. I love when we compile lists of our favorite spooky reads for Halloween and our favorite romances for Valentines day. We even compile a list at the end of the year with all of our favorite books! 
• Own Voices and Diverse Reads - This is such a huge and important topic and so many people have their own thoughts and opinions on it. Write a post sharing yours! You can even talk about some of your favorite #ownvoices and #diversereads. 

The post opportunities are endless and the above are only a few *ideas.* I've said this in some other posts but: No one can tell you what you can and can't post on your blog. It is your own and you can do what you want with it. Have fun! Be creative! Your blog is your outlet. 

Let's gear away from your blog now and talk about other social media platforms. Another big part of blogging is following the community and taking part. Twitter is a huge way to connect with readers/bloggers/authors/publishers and the book community is massive. I know that sometimes it seems intimidating but everyone is super amazing and we are all there to support each other. I've found so many blogs that I love through twitter that I probably wouldn't have found otherwise. But there isn't just the twitter community, you have Instagram (Bookstagrammers), Pinterest, Facebook. There is so many different places for you to connect with you followers and engage with the community. 

I love writing book reviews and I love reading book reviews. It will always be my favorite part of blogging (besides all the amazing friends I've met through blogging.) This post is simply about something I noticed and ideas of other things to post besides reviews. I hope this helps in some way for you! 

Do you like writing bookish posts more or book reviews? Do you find this to be true as well? Let me know below! I would love to hear from you :)

Blogging 101: What NOT To Do in the Blogging World

So, you want to start a book blog and you don't know where to start. This is completely normal. Starting a blog is an overwhelming feeling, there is so much you need to know that you don't. We are hoping with this new series that we will be able to help new bloggers navigate the blogging world!

Previous Posts: Platforms | Websites Essential for Running a Blog | Staying Organized | When, Why & What To Post | How to Write a Banging Book Review


Whether you're a brand new blogger or a seasoned veteran, there are some unspoken rules in the blogging and reading community that keep things orderly and keeps the space fun and enjoyable for everyone. While a lot of these "rules" seem to be unspoken and mutually understood, it's never a bad idea to 

*Please keep in mind that this list is not meant to offend or antagonize anybody -- rather, hopefully everyone reading this (ourselves included) can learn and move forward in a way that is positive for the bookish community as a whole!*

So without further ado, let's jump into it:

1. DON'T neglect a blogger's review policy. Most bloggers have a separate tab on their website where you can access their review policy. This policy not only outlines the guidelines of how to submit books for review, but it also speaks to their reading tastes, which is something important that you want to keep in mind when asking people to review your book or to work with you. It is very, very clear when authors reaching out to us haven't read our review policy -- please respect the policies on each blogger's site!

2. DON'T use the wrong name in emails when addressing bloggers and authors. It'd be silly to say we don't know people copy and paste emails to different bloggers when they're looking to have their story covered, or when a blogger wants to collaborate with a bunch of other bloggers. That is totally fine. What isn't as fine, however, is when we see emails sent to us calling us by different names that aren't ours, or the dreaded "Hi," with no name following at all. Reaching out to a blogger means that you want to collaborate with them -- so take an extra two seconds to type out their name, or their blog name, if you can. It makes it a lot more personal and makes us feel less like another faceless cog in the publicity machine.

3. DON'T harass an author or another blogger when you don't get an answer. A gentle nudge after a few days of waiting for a response is totally justified and in fact encouraged. On the other hand, sending them 400 emails, DMs, and Tweets constantly harassing them for an answer is definitely not the polite way to go about things.

4. DON'T tag authors in negative reviews. For starters, reviews are for readers, not for the authors themselves. You shouldn't ever feel afraid of speaking your mind if there's something you disliked about a book -- you're not going to love every single thing you read, and that's completely normal! However, it isn't really very nice of you to tag the author in that negative review -- if they want to look it up on their own and read it, that's their own decision to make, but going out of the way to tag them in said review just to hurt their feelings is kind of cruel. Our general rule of thumb is that we only tag authors in reviews if it's a 5-star review that is glowing and positive, not critical -- if it IS critical, which is totally okay, we just don't tag their Twitter handle when posting the link. Sometimes they Google search their name and find the review anyway, but that's out of your control, and their own choice to make.

5. DON'T use social media just to drop links. While that's certainly a big part of running a Twitter/Instagram/Facebook account for your blog, don't just be a space full of links and no personality. Engage in the wonderful community  that the bookish world has to offer! In addition to constantly Tweeting links to our posts, we make a conscious effort to check in with the bookish community at least once a day, either by Tweeting about what we're up to, participating in a chat, replying to a few Tweets, or shouting out an author that we like. Staying engaged in this wonderful community is half the fun of being part of it, and it helps keep your blog and your name relevant! 

6. DON'T assume pronouns or genders of authors/bloggers. This one doesn't even need much explaining. Just don't do it! When in doubt, feel free to ask who you're speaking to what their preferred pronouns are. Some Twitter accounts even have them listed in their bio if you don't want to make someone uncomfortable by asking outright. This also goes for not assuming sexualities or ethnicities! 

7. DON'T be afraid to reach out to publishers. Part of their job is getting to know you and your blog, so don't be afraid to Tweet them! Email them! Tag them in Insta posts! 

8. However, DON'T use private publisher email contacts that you get from other blogging friends. Unless an agent or a publicist specifically tells you that they don't mind their email account being shared, don't share those private addresses without permission. Just because Suzy from Publisher X doesn't mind a one-on-one correspondence with you doesn't mean she's necessarily open to her inbox being flooded with ARC requests from hundreds of other people. When in doubt, always ask before sharing, or give your friend the publisher's main public publicity email instead! Similarly, don't go around messaging private contacts that you swipe from other friends without the publicist's permission. It goes both ways.

9. DON'T jump into a heated debate without doing your research. Unfortunately, lots of drama goes down in the bookish community every single day. If you feel you have something important that you want to add to the conversation, that is totally welcome -- just make sure that you get the general gist of what's going on before you participate. 

10. DON'T forget that not everyone has access to the same books. A lot of international readers may not be afforded the same opportunities as U.S. bloggers due to shipping costs and distance. Don't take the things you've been given for granted -- and when you get the chance, reach out and try to lend a helping hand to those international bloggers if possible. They're just as important to this community as you are! Similarly, keep in mind that publishing contacts may be different per country.

11. DON'T feel like you have to play by a certain guidebook! That might sound a bit counter intuitive after this entire post, but hear us out -- while there are definitely some important things to take note of (AKA what we mentioned in this post), blogging should be a fun experience that doesn't feel like a chore. We do daily posts and wrap ups and Waiting on Wednesdays and Top Ten Tuesdays and giveaways and Twitter chats because we WANT to, and because we enjoy it -- we don't do it because everyone else is, so therefore we feel like we have to. Feel free to go out there and do (or don't do!) whatever you please -- your blog is YOURS, and you can run it however you'd like! :-)

So that's the list of some of the important things to keep note of when blogging, working with authors, writing reviews, and more. Do you agree or disagree with any of the particular points? Have any more to add? Feel free to comment down below and start a conversation -- we'd love to hear from you! :-)

A special thank you to all of the bloggers and members of the bookish community that helped us curate the content of this post!