Are you a reader or a writer? And how does that affect your blog?

So I like reading books. I read at least three or four books a week. This is counting both published books, MS's from The Agent, and ARC's.

For published books, these are either borrowed from my local library, bought by me, or sent to me as wins from contests or the publisher.  I usually can only afford to buy books that I love and so I naturally want to share the lovely book with my blog readers.

MS's from The Agent are not shared with anyone, not reviewed anywhere, and the readers reports are only sent to The Agent and the person who keeps track of requested material. That will never change.

For ARC's, most of the time it's required that I review the books I get. Sometimes those books are awesome, like Hannah Moskowitz's INVINCIBLE SUMMER and Beth Revis' ACROSS THE UNIVERSE and I'm happy to contribute to the buzz that helps them to sell more copies when the book releases.

But sometimes those books just don't do it for me. Sometimes it's the writer's fault, sometimes it's mine. That's okay. Not every book is going to please every reader. 

But I'm not a reader. 

I'm a writer. I have chosen that as my ambition, and with that ambition comes specific obligations. One of those obligations is that I should never write negative reviews and post them in public places. 

They say that if you write unfavorable reviews, It's like taking a giant crap on the heads of the writer, the editor, the publishing house, and the agent who all worked to get that book published. You shouldn't say not nice things about people that you may want to have a working relationship in the future. Because, duh, if you say bad things about my friends I won't want to be friends with you either. 

So for me this means deleting my Goodreads account/reviews and removing book reviews from my website (or changing them to "book recommendations.") It means removing myself from ARC tours and waiting until books actually come out before I get to read them. It was a hard decision to come to as I enjoy sharing my opinions and I love Goodreads, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made.

I'm content to be a writer, and to leave the book reviewing up to those who make that their ambition. 

So, are you a writer or a reader? What will that choice mean for you?

~~~

C.A. Marshall is a freelance editor, lit agent intern, YA writer, and loves to play with her dog Mollie. She dreams of one day owning a small house near the water, preferably in England, with a shelf full of books she has written and has helped others to write. She is currently single. And unagented. She can be found in Emmett, MI, at camarshall.com for writing, editorcassandra.com for editing, and on twitter @CA_Marshall.