WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!
Hey everyone! I think it's safe to say that, by now, you all probably know about the limitations Netgalley and Goodreads have put on authors and international readers. You've seen the posts, the tweets, the confusion and anger, which I've felt, as well as many, many other international readers and reviewers. It's only natural.
Source: Giphy
And before anyone starts thinking "OMG, yet another international blogger complaining about ARCs", the point is so not about the ARCs here. The entire situation is not about that. I'm one of the lucky, privileged bloggers that do get ARCs even if I'm international. But the ARCs are not the point.
And this post isn't about the negative side. It's about the positive side. Here's why:
After people started discovering the changes in Netgalley and Goodreads, a bunch of international bloggers started getting together. And lo and behold the International Book Bloggers group was born. And here's why it is absolutely awesome:
1. Meeting new people and making friends
It is fantastic to discover bloggers. I love the feeling, because we're not only united by a common passion, which is books, but I got to discover the people behind the blogs. I can safely say I've made new friends. They're truly awesome people and beside following each other and supporting each other, we're really just people having fun, talking, making friends, and being nice.
2. Support Group
This is obviously one of the "perks" if you want to call them that, but not only do we follow each other, we also support each other. There's no competition over there to be the "best", the most popular or to one up one another. Which is something I think a lot of bloggers have forgotten a little bit. We've all heard the talk about the competitive side of the community, but when you dig deep enough, you realize it's actually not competitive at all. Which to me never made any sense. It's not as if certain books are available only to a certain group of people, while the rest of the population doesn't have access to them. We're not in the middle ages, basically. In the time I've been in that group, the members have shared giveaway links, tutorials, blogging hacks and ideas, arc announcements, they've commented on each other's blog posts and have been offering encouragements. If that doesn't prove that this isn't a competitive group, I don't know what will.
Before you go thinking that we're only talking about books, let me tell you, it is not true. We talk about everything and anything. Wanna talk about fitness? You can do that. Video games? They're your people. TV shows and movies? Most definitely. Vent about something? You can do that too. Want a virtual party? You guessed it, we got that too.
It's a safe place and I don't say that to get on anyone's good side.
3. Non-bookish Support and General Fun
Before you go thinking that we're only talking about books, let me tell you, it is not true. We talk about everything and anything. Wanna talk about fitness? You can do that. Video games? They're your people. TV shows and movies? Most definitely. Vent about something? You can do that too. Want a virtual party? You guessed it, we got that too.
It's a safe place and I don't say that to get on anyone's good side.
It just has that feeling, you know?
Do I need to go on? No? Thought so.
In case you're wondering who these awesome human cupcakes are, Pagan over at Paperback Kingdom compiled a list including all of them, a list that's growing constantly by the way, so be sure to check it regularly. Also, check out Fanna @ Fannality, as she interviews each of the members of the group who signed up for an interview/guest post over on her blog. As a side note, my dear friend Rafael from The Royal Polar Bear Reads also has a blogger spotlight feature where he interviews bloggers, but I don't know if all of them are in the International Book Bloggers group. I may be wrong, but I'm not sure.
Anyway, this is why being international is awesome. And I'm glad I get to end 2017 with this Wednesday Chatter, because I can only imagine how much better 2018 will be with these amazing people.
P.S.: If you want to be a part of such an awesome group and if you're international, send me a tweet over on my Twitter account and I'll see what I can do.
I so agree on this post! And I don't feel competition at all. I'm always amazed at the beautiful things the Bookbloggers make, from the layout to the well written posts! Hooray for INTL Bookbloggers <3
ReplyDeleteRight? I always feel the need (if you want to call it that) to push myself to be more creative, inspired by these bloggers. Because they're amazing and I feel like I have a lot to learn from them and I want to learn from them. Yes, hooray for us internationals :D Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteI love this post so much! It's such a different take on the whole international blogger thing, I adore all the positive points you've mentioned <3
ReplyDeleteThank you! I've said this before, but I tend to focus on the positive side when it comes to changes. Blame the psychologist in me, the optimist or both really. :D Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteThis is so sweet! Youre awesome
ReplyDeleteThank you! You're awesome. We're all awesome, really :) Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteThanks so much for this post. It's easy to get distraught over changes in the book community and I like that your post has a positive side to it. How can I check out the group please?
ReplyDeleteHey Taiwo! Sorry for the late response. I think you're actually on the group. The Discord one started by Evelina?
DeleteYAS GIRL! There are so many reasons to appreciate the international element of things. Sure, ARCs are harder, but hey, we have a brilliant community and we are all really looking out for each other. And that's such a plus!
ReplyDelete