We all envy those who throw them and wish we had thought of it first. It looks so easily and magical. But is it really?
Try putting together your own blog event.
I think I just might.
The things I learned:
- Authors are super busy. So busy in fact that if you hope to get them to participate you better ask six months in advance. Which is crazy insane. I didn't even have my little idea until three months in advance. I thought I was doing so good. Makes me wonder if I better hurry and get my next event together now so that I can have more author participation. The bigger the author the harder it is to get them involved. Makes sense and I am glad to know they are off writing the next awesome book.
- Getting a positive response from and author is just as awesome as getting an ARC. Such a high, and quite possibly addictive!
- Your idea may not be as brilliant as you think.
- People might actually not participate.
- You will have days you just want to cancel the whole thing because no one cares but you.
- Response turn out will follow the party invite rule. At best a third will respond.
- Keep it simple.
- There will be more work involved than you anticipate.
- By the end you are ready for a break/vacation.
- Wrapping up a giant event is more work than it would appear.
- Despite all the negatives you will have moments when you want to do it again.
- You will gain new friends.
- Throwing the event will open your creative flood gates. So many new event ideas will cross your mind.
- Some authors have an immense devoted fan base.
- Authors are super nice and often happy to have their books included.
- You will question your motives for throwing the event.
- Reading time will be limited.
I have a new found appreciation for all these blog events floating about the blogosphere. Throwing such a shindig is no small feat. I think this one month gig was enough to drain all desire to blog right from my system. I swallowed more than I could chew. Or certainly more than I could sustain. So now where do I go from here. Well hopefully I have learned a thing or two. I don't imagine I will be doing this anytime soon. I will be lucky to keep up my usual posts. Throwing a blog event is not for the faint hearted. I used to wonder why so many bloggers would start some immense event and then never follow through. There have been a couple of times I volunteered to be a part of the ordeal and never saw it come to fruition. It made me a bit sad. With my experience I can now say bravo to those of you who sustain this sort of energy. Thanks for keeping us entertained.
