Amanda Hocking

Amanda's Blog Post

Calling All Bookbloggers & Readers

June 22nd, 2012 by
This post currently has 63 comments

As some of you may know, my newest book Wake comes out August 7th. So I was thinking that I wanted to do some fun stuff with book bloggers and readers over the course of July and August not only to get people excited about the new book but also to show appreciation for all the people who have worked so hard to make my life so awesome (namely, you guys).

So here’s my question: What are some things that you guys would consider fun? What would you like to see on my blog? And/or what would you like me to do on your blog?

I’m considering and probably will do the more obvious things – like giveaways, interviews, etc. I also plan on reaching out to some other YA authors, and see if they would be interested in doing guest posts/giveaways, etc, on my blog.

But really, I want to know what you want to see more of. After all, if I’m doing something for you, it would be best if I give you what you want.

If you guys have any fun events or blog-iversary type things going on in the months of July or August, let me know. Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments or email me/Eric at hockingbooks@hotmail.com

Once I hear back from people and get an idea of what you guys are interested in, I’ll start rolling out some ideas to gather even more feedback. I know for sure that I’ll be giving away some of my books, and that I’ll probably do some sort of completely-unrelated-but-totally-awesome Batman giveaway around the time The Dark Knight Rises comes out. But that’s because I need to.

I think I’d like to start kicking off around the beginning of July and go right on through until the end of August. I don’t think I’ll be doing something every day, though, and I would probably like to do the most things around the end of July and beginning of August.

But anyway. Yeah. Let me know what you think.

Leave a Reply to Liviania Cancel reply

  • I agree with Briana. I think your blog is awesome and you’re writing about pretty much everything I am interested in but it would be nice to see some more about the nitty-gritty of your writing (including days when your fingers fly and those days when a writer’s block creeps in, and so on). I still refer back to your early posts where you wrote about your fears and demons (i.e. will people like your books or not). I am finalizing my first novel right now and feel every single word you posted in those early days. Apart from that, keep going, you are our hero!

  • Briana says:

    I think u have most of the things that i at least enjoy on authors and readers blogs. I guess the other thing i would like to see would be something for those of us that love to write and read are working on novels but are not yet accomplished or known. Alot of authors have like writing tips and stuff but i dont personally find it helpful and find that it makes me fell like a lower wanna be rather than an equal writer so maybe like some thing to show aurthors like my friends and i that are not really acctually published or anything yet feel more connected to the pro author world i dontknow quite what but sime thing for that crowd would be much appreciated

  • Hi Amanda,
    I’d love to share time and space between our blogs and I’m open to all ideas for give aways and interviews. I’m trying to break into the YA market myself as I’ve previously wrote a mystery novel and I have a YA female protagonist zombie book coming out august 1st. It’s on my blog at RichardHowesBooks.com and the novel is called Julie Rayzor ~ Romance, Adventure, Zombies.

    I’ll keep checking back here and see what we can come up with. I know you are very busy. – Richard

  • Bryan Young says:

    I would love to do an interview for Huffington Post and maybe a giveaway for Big Shiny Robot!….

  • Amber Dane says:

    This sounds like a great idea! Sent you an email. Love your blog

  • Liviania says:

    I agree with everyone who has said something about character interviews. They definitely seem more popular than author interviews.

    I know guest posts about the authorial process always go over well. And people would definitely be interested in hearing about the differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing.

    People like to hear about which actors/musicians/famous people you think the characters look like. Playlists are also popular.

    Since Wake is set in a tourist town, it might be fun to talk about your favorite tourist activities.

    Anyway, I’ve read Wake and really enjoyed it! (I popped by your blog because I’m writing my review right now.) Good luck with your promotion!

  • G D Tinnams says:

    I was thinking perhaps a series of writing masterclasses dealing with things like –

    The authors that have influenced you. (Who did you read as a young adult? What was good about them?)
    What gets your writing going? (music? Coffee? Good weather outside?)
    Editing, editing, editing (the bane of it, how to overcome it.)
    Plotting/pre planning (do the novels evolve as you are writing them, or is there a clear plan and structure in place from the get go?)
    Descriptions? (What is a good description anyway? What’s a bad one?)
    Dialogue? (What makes good dialogue? What makes bad dialogue?)

    GT

  • Oh! I love character interviews/posts! I also love when a character interviews another character, or just a conversation between the two were they reveal tidbits about each other.
    Or, one of your characters can post a journal entry, or keep a diary for a week and post for a few days! Would love to see how Loke is handling fatherhood 🙂
    Or, lol, a character can write a letter to another character – and it can be from two different books, hmmm, maybe not since how would they know each other, lol! But how fun would that be… well, it sounded good in my head 😉
    Another fun idea… your top 10 favorite tops 10! It’s 10 lists of 10 faves, i.e. top 10 authors, books, foods, book covers, cities, etc.

    Ok, sorry, I should stop now, lol! I can’t wait to see what you’ll be up too! and like everyone else, I’d love to have you featured on my blog too. So if you’re ever bored and feel like doing something different, it’s all yours 😉
    Thanks!!!

  • cfboehlke says:

    Hi Amanda,

    I am an enormous fan of your books and of your blog! I have read every book and really enjoy your posts. I am an aspiring author who has had short stories published and am wrapping up the draft of my manuscript. You have given me hope in the self publishing realm, as I am one of those people who have no problem with putting in the work to promote my work.

    My idea is that we should go to Chicago for a day, with Eric and my fiancé Matt, and do nerd things while we interview people about books, storytelling, and anything else we want to talk about! I could turn it into a video and post it on my blog, and you could do the same. We could include a traditional interview about Wake and about you if you’d like! I would be thrilled to learn more from you and get to know you! I think we could safely say it would be one of my dreams coming true!

    I live about 2 hours from Chicago and I don’t believe you are terribly far. Feel free to contact me (cchester@pnc.edu) and let me know what you think! If you are too busy for something so extravagant, I have a back up idea!

    Dreaming Big,

    CF Boehlke

  • Amanda,

    I’m currently scheduling a series of author interviews for my blog, The Object Serial, and so far the list of authors is pretty exciting. It includes one author currently ranked on Amazon’s Top 100 Bestseller List and another author recently published by HarperCollinsUK. If you’d like to participate, email me at winstonemerson@gmail.com and I’ll send you a round of interview questions.

    Winston