While this series started as a forum to share my thoughts on various trends that have me rolling my eyes, raising my eyebrows and in general wondering about the state of book blogging, it has taken off more than I ever expected. This modern-day expose on the world of book blogging has become quite popular, and I continue to accept suggestions from fellow bloggers about various trends they would like to see discussed in future editions. I’ve discussed readathons, giveaways, blog hops, rules and reasons to start blogging, followers, comments, and overdoing guest blogging.
Another blogger brought this to my attention, and I have to say it is probably the most egregious, in my opinion, of all. All of the blog tours in which I have been a member have meant the publisher or the author sends me a copy of the book, which I then get to keep said book or pass it along to someone else at my leisure. I get to pick the date of my review, more or less, and if I cannot meet the date, the tour hosts will adjust the schedule for me, if possible. Yet, there is at least one blog tour out there that handles things differently. One I found forces the blogger to pay to send the book to the next stop on the tour. Also, a blogger gets publicly admonished if he or she fails to follow the rules in a timely manner. In-sane.
Blog tours are providing a service to the author and to the publishers, but I cannot help but think that these blog tour hosts/organizers are taking this idea of a blog tour and bastardizing it to something it is not. To call out those bloggers who do not send the book to the next stop in a set time is just awful. Blogging should not be about public humiliation, ever. I just cannot get over the fact that at least one blogger does this. How awful.
Has anyone else seen this? Is this as disturbing to you as it is to me? Thoughts? Can you even really call these book tours in the true sense?
