Blogger: Rachel Zurakowski
Location: Books & Such main office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Last week I found out about blog carnivals. Perhaps I’m behind the times and everyone else knows what these are, but just in case, here’s a definition from Wikipedia: “A blog carnival is a type of blog event. It is similar to a magazine, in that it is dedicated to a particular topic, and is published on a regular schedule, often weekly or monthly. Each edition of a blog carnival is in the form of a blog article that contains permalinks to other blog articles on the particular topic.”
This Thursday, November 19, I would like to use my blog to create a blog carnival of sorts, bringing together as many blogs as I can that relate to the book publishing industry and writing. If you have a blog that you would like included in the post, please email the link to representation@booksandsuch.com with the subject line “Blog Carnival.” I’ll post all of these book publishing-related blogs in my Thursday post, and we can browse the blogs together and share interesting tidbits on the comments section of the Books & Such blog. I’ll have more detailed instructions on Thursday, but for now I need links. So send them to the “representation” address above.
Blogs are a great tool to help authors connect with readers, and I believe that blog carnivals help blogs to gain readership from other blogs on similar topics.
Did you already know about blog carnivals? Have you participated in any?
No,blog carnival is a new one for me. I’ve heard of blog tours and even blog parties, but not a carnival. I guess if someone wants to be cutting edge they’d better start a blog circus, blog cruise, blog festival…guess there’s no limit!
I’ll send a link via e-mail. It sounds like Thursday’s a day not to miss here!
Oh wow. I hadn’t heard of these carnivals either. But sounds sweet. I’ll be back to see all the links for sure!
Happy Monday.
Someone (on a blog I was reading) tried to explain blog carnivals about a month ago, but I didn’t “get” it. Thanks for offering a unique opportunity to walk through the process. No better way to learn than by doing, eh?
No, I’ve never heard of them. I’m intrigued and will definitely send a link!
I have a group of blogger friends who participate in a blog carnival every two weeks (I think). They take turns hosting, and the blog articles always take on a one-word subject. Many of the blog posts are inspirational in nature or simply articles that make you think. Their next carnival just may be this week. If so, I’ll come back and share the link. Their carnival became quite large last time. I think blog carnivals are a great way to get to know other bloggers.
I’ve heard of blog carnivals before many times but the how and why of it still seemed to elude me. I’ll definitely check back to see what it’s all about.
Rachel, when you talk of blogs that are publishing-related, do you mean blogs that talk about writing? Talk about specific books? Emanate from writers of books? Or from people in the publishing industry?
Maybe I’m dense, but I’m not sure how narrow your scope is meant to be.
I’ve participated in blog carnivals, and they are a great way to connect with other people who are in your industry. For instance, on my parenting blog, I hosted a carnival called “Best of the Mommy Bloggers.” You can see the post here: http://susanheim.blogspot.com/2009/11/november-3-best-of-mommy-bloggers.html. Blog carnivals are helpful in directing people to blogs on topics they’re interested in but that they might not have been aware of. At the very least, it’s a gathering of some great articles all in one place.
Lenore, I know I should probably narrow my scope, but I’m happy to include any blog that’s related to books, writing, or book publishing in some way.
Susan, thanks for sharing your carnival!
I was the Carnival of Christian Writers coordinator for 1 1/2 yrs at Writer Interrupted. We aren’t doing it anymore, but it was a wonderful experience getting to know everyone and seeing what was going on around the web. We hosted the carnival each month and had everyone from authors, to literary agents, etc. featured.
Sounds like fun. I’m emailing you a link to my writing-related blog.