Romancing the Blog | Romance Authors and Readers Who Blog

First, I have got to apologize to the “Powers that RTB” for the tardiness of this post. Life got in the way bigtime in recent days. And second, I’ll apologize to the readers in advance for the hastiness with which I wrote it. I thought being less late and less polished was better than being [...]

Part of putting out a product for consumption and expecting consumers to pay for it is the need to accept criticism for said product. Once someone pays for something, they own it and have a right to proclaim dissatisfaction with it.
Authors must build a “thick skin” to prevent wounds from negative reviews. I remember my [...]

Yesterday I happened to wander by the blog of an author whose books I have shipped to me from Australia. They’re only published in Australia and New Zealand, so I can’t buy them here in the States. The third book in her series was published there in the past week and I, of course, haven’t [...]

by Gena Showalter
Reader comments can sting. Worse, they can be posted for everyone in the world to enjoy. I mean, really. Look around review sites and you just might find such delightful gems as:
“I hated this book. Seriously, when the book ended I needed Tylenol and therapy.”
“Pure crap. I’ll [...]

Once upon a time, authors wrote books, and reviewers reviewed them. Usually, the reviewers were professionals who worked for newspapers or magazines, were paid by same for their reviews, and possessed at least some qualifications for the job. As a result, most of these reviewers, whether their reviews were positive or negative, could [...]

Book covers. I love them. I often joke that I write books just to get cover images. One of the boons of releasing eight books in 2007 is getting covers in rapid succession. I look forward to those emails the way I looked forward to Christmas Day as a kid. I always take a moment [...]

Did you ever have one of those days where you felt like no one was listening? I have so often heard writers talk about working in a vacuum. And I sympathize. There are days when I sit in my office, tapping away at email, reviewing manuscripts, getting projects ready to go to editors, deciphering royalty [...]

I’ve been watching “American Idol,” as hooked on that show as the rest of America. However, I’ve about had it with Simon Cowell. Not that I want every judge to be as nice as Paula or as “dog” down sorta honest as Randy, but I would like to see a bit more niceness, particularly from the King of Mean…

By Tara Gelsomino, originally posted 06/16/05
There are a lot of folks, both online and off, lamenting the problem with romances today. Kassia Kroszer, of whom I’m a fan, posted days ago on this site that Romantic Times BOOKclub magazine is part of that problem.
I’ve been at RT for six years, and now as the managing [...]

I have long held a skepticism of reviews and review sites. My cynicism about the veracity of many reviews is a combination of comments made to me by reviewers, things read on blogs, and my own observations. In other words, I readily admit my opinion is based on a liberal mix of truth, fiction, and [...]