The pitfalls of receiving free books, or how not to risk your book blogging credibility

If there's one thing that unites book bloggers it's the ability to share online our love of books. So when someone offers you a FREE book you'd be silly not to take it, right?

We've all heard of the saying 'there's no such thing as a free lunch'. Well, I'm sorry to tell you, there's no such thing as a free book either, especially if it comes to you direct from an author, publisher or marketing department.

When I received my first solicitation to review a book via this blog back in June 2005 I was ecstactic -- someone wanted to give me a free book and all I had to do was post a review. At the time I was naive enough to think I was the only book blogger being approached in this way, but then my journalistic training came into play and I figured that even if I was the only blogger being asked to review a free book, didn't I have a duty to tell my readers that the book had been given to me for nothing on this basis?

After all, when you read a newspaper's book review section you pretty much know that every book that's being reviewed has been submitted by the publisher for review. For the mainstream media, there's no need to state that the books being reviewed are freebies, because, we, the readers, know that. (Or at least I hope we're all media savvy enough to know that book review editors don't go out and buy books for review, they wait for new books to come to them.)

With book blogs, however, it's a different story. As far as I'm aware most people review books from their personal collection -- ie. they spent money to buy the books -- or from public collections -- ie. the library.

So, when a blogger posts a review of a book that they received for free from a publisher, I personally feel that the blogger should make their readers aware of it. Of the 185 reviews currently listed on this site, just six of those reviews are based on books I received for free from publishers. And each of those reviews is marked as such in the hope that my readers can make up their own mind as to whether I'm being impartial or whether I might be peddling something to keep a publisher happy.

Which brings me onto something that's being bugging me for a long time: the industry's deliberate manipulation of bloggers to promote books that might otherwise not receive the same level of attention from the mainstream media, and the apparent willingness of many book bloggers to be used in such a manner.

Here's an example, sent to me on September 7, from Simon & Schuster's marketing department in the USA. The subject line is "The Thirteenth Tale Blogger Contest" and the body of the email is as follows:

Because you’ve done such a great job reviewing and promoting Simon & Schuster and Atria’s books in the past, I’d like to offer you an exciting and unique opportunity. Simply promote The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield in your blog, and you could be eligible to win a $100 American Express Gift Check and a library of Atria Books titles.

Any reader who visits www.thethirteenthtale.com before November 30, 2006, can enter to win a signed, leather-bound, limited-edition copy of The Thirteenth Tale.

Tell YOUR readers about the sweepstakes, so they can have a chance to win. They just need to give us the name of your blog when they enter, and the blogger who drives the most entries will win. All YOU have to do is mention “The Thirteenth Tale Special Leather-Bound Edition Sweepstakes” on your blog, and link to www.thethirteenthtale.com to be eligible to win the books and gift check.

This is followed by a small spiel about the book, which I've deleted, because, quite frankly, I'm not in the least bit interested in promoting it. It also provides a deadline for those wishing to participate in the contest or who would like to receive a free copy of the book.

Needless to say, I did not take part in this little "contest" and up until today I have completely shied away from mentioning this book. There's nothing like feeling I'm being manipulated by marketing people to bring out my stubborn streak.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like too many of my fellow bloggers shared my disgust at this kind of promotion, because not long after I received this email every second book blog seemed to be banging on about this book. Before I knew it, it had hit the best seller lists on both sides of the Atlantic, seemingly overnight, which only goes to prove that the marketers knew what they were doing when it came to enlisting bloggers to promote this book. Without a doubt this exercise demonstrated that book bloggers wield enormous power and word of mouth (or word of blog) is much more effective than traditional advertising campaigns. What's more, it costs the publishers next to nothing.

Now, I realise that many of you may have mentioned this book on your blog completely oblivious to the marketing campaign operating in the background. Some of you may have legitimately gone out and bought the book yourself and not even received the Simon & Schuster mailing.

And this is what makes me mad.

Because some have fallen for the contest and peddled the book on their blog for the sake of getting a freebie copy or having the chance to win some not-very-enticing prize, the reputations of those bloggers who have a legitimate interest in the book are being tarnished.

I know that whenever I have seen this book mentioned on blogs I've wondered about the blogger's motivations and I've chosen not to read the post. In some cases, I've stopped reading the blog altogether.

Before you jump up and down and say I'm denying bloggers the opportunity to receive free books, let me make it clear that I don't have a problem with people receiving free books or taking part in promotions like this. But I do have a problem with bloggers who are not being honest with their readers. How many bloggers who have taken part in this whole Thirteenth Tale exercise have stated that they are doing so on their blog? How many have put up their hands and said, look, S&S emailed me about this contest, so I'm taking part? How many have made it clear that the book they are reviewing is a FREE copy?

This is just the tip of the iceberg really, because the success of this campaign will only usher in more of them as other publishers realise the benefits of using bloggers in this way.

Personally, I think it's time that book bloggers came clean. It might sound ridiculous, but I honestly think we need a code of conduct. We need to tell our readers when we are reviewing free books or when we are taking part in marketing exercises, because if we don't we run the risk of just becoming yet another cog in the public relations industry. And surely the reason we all started blogging about books was because we were sick of the mainstream media's treatment of books. If we don't clean up our act now, we might as well forget any notion of reading unbiased, reliable and truthful reviews online, because how will we ever be able to tell the difference between a genuine review and one written on obligation? I don't think it is any exaggeration to say that our credibility as book bloggers is at stake.

I'm sure there are others out there who feel the same way. I'd love to hear your views -- for and against -- because if we sweep it under the mat we might as well call it quits right now. And I really, really don't want to do that.

Comments

[Danielle]

I have gotten a small handful of advance readers copies that I have read and blogged about. I always mention if they are freebies (I think I have gotten a total of four so far--plus an additional two or three from HarperCollins First Look lottery). It can be tempting to get these if they are books that sound appealing and you want to read anyway, but I almost prefer not to for the reasons you mention. For me my blog is more of a reading journal--I don't always review everything I read--I rather chat about books in general. As for the Setterfield I had read reviews on blogs about it (where I first discovered it, which is what prompted me to read it. I had planned on getting it from the library, but B&N had discounted it so deeply I bought it in the end, and enjoyed it. As for the contest, I had heard about it, but as I had a copy I didn't really have any desire for another one so never went and checked it out. I suppose on the part of publishers they are cluing in to how word of mouth can spread about a book on blogs--so I can't really blame them for wanting to get their books out there that way (if I was an unknown author it might be an avenue I would try--why not), however I think bloggers should say when a book is free or when they are specifically reading something for review for a publisher. Hopefully they are being honest when they read something and post about it--it is nice to be able to read book blogs and get honest opinions about books. And I definitely understand your meaning "we run the risk of just becoming yet another cog in the public relations industry". When I started blogging I never even considered all this...I just like to read and like to talk about books! But you raise some good points!

[Danielle]

Oops. Sorry that was so long!

[Brandon]

This happened to Bookninja, and he was so angry that he swore never to mention the book on his blog, and he even edited the title out when he shared the email. I wasn't even aware this contest was going on and so far, I haven't been "corrupted" in this fashion. But when I read Bookninja's post on the topic of selling your blog out (and he was spewing some nasty bile about S&S), it made me think. Your post made me think a bit more. I'd never really considered the issues you brought up. And now I understand why you state that you mark review copies and have a disclaimer regarding impartiality.

I actually lost interest in reading "The Thirteenth Tale" a while ago. It was so over-hyped that every time I heard about it, I just sighed and made another mental note not to rush out and get the book. I'm always suspicious of gushing reviews anyway, and now that I know about the contest S&S was running, I'll definitely wonder about a blogger's motivation if I read about the book.

In any case, I'm glad you alerted me to the contest. I'm definitely not going to read this book. Were bloggers being honest when they wrote about it, or had S&S bought their opinions? If S&S had to run a contest in order to sell the book, then it probably isn't worth reading anyway.

[jenclair]

I just finished TTT and enjoyed it tremendously. I had read reviews on several blogs and worried that it would not live up to the hype, but for me, the book was a pleasure. I was unaware of the contest until reading this post.

I received a book recently from a publisher that I thought I might enjoy, but a few pages was enough to tell me that I had no intention in wasting my time.

My "reviews" are neither professional nor particularly literary, just my opinion. I'm not terribly judgmental because my reading is for pleasure. They succeed in keeping me entertained, or they don't.

[kristen]

Here's what I think:

You know Daily Candy? The fashion/spa/lifestyle email list for affluent young ladies of style? They have their editorial selects, where they talk about whatever they want based on a database of submitted "Tips" from readers.

And then they have the "Daily Candy Dedicated Email", which readers are meant to understand are paid advertisements.

I think this is the fairest way for bloggers to proceed. It will work out the best for everyone, because then the blogger can set the "fee" depending on his or her popularity. If a blogger can command cash + a free book in exchange for a review that will be very clearly labeled a Paid Book Review, then nobody suffers.

I do however think that the publishers need to keep in mind that the blogger's opinion will not be bought.

The risk to the blogger is that you may not get contacted by that publisher again if you pan their book. But if you're reviewing books for no reason but to earn a quick buck, then you're in it for the wrong reasons anyway.

Really, the biggest risk in this case would be where it should be: with the publisher. And they shouldn't be contacting bloggers for reviews -- paid or free -- if the material at hand stinks anyway.

[iliana]

Well here I am 2 1/2 years of book blogging and have been doing this wrong ;)

I have received a few free books from publishers and have reviewed them without mentioning they were free. I honestly didn't even think about it. To me what was important was to be honest in my review. I mentioned things I liked or didn't and that's it. I really appreciate your post Kim and think you brought up some excellent points.

I actually don't accept free books anymore. I rather my book reviews don't feel like a chore. I do reviews when I'm in the mood and sometimes even some of my favorite books don't get a review. Go figure. Anyway, great post.

[Amelia]

Since the start of my blogging venture, I have only received two ARC's - one reviewed on my blog (and duly noted as such) and the other in my TBR towers. It had never crossed my mind not to mention that they were review copies - because I feel very strong about being honest and also because I started my blog as a means of expressing MY thoughts on books and life.

I have to admit that, like you, I was super excited to receive my first ARC - I felt (and still do feel) privileged to be solicited for my opinion on a novel!

I love perusing book blogs and adding books that interest me to my wishlist or purchasing them on a whim. I had TTT on my wishlist after reading so much praise about it - I even convinced my husband to purchase it for my birthday. Then I learned about TTT contest via Bookninja. One blogger was honest enough to post about the incentive on her site while promoting the contest and I appreciated that. But this made me think how many others promoted the novel, or any other book, just because. I spend A TON of money on books, mainly due to positive book reviews, so I find it disappointing to know some reviews may not be honest. I'm in the opinion that this may just be a select few who have done this as I liked to remain optimistic (or else I'll get really pissed).

Like Jenclair, I read for pleasure and my thoughts on a book are my opinion rather than a professional review. I personally enjoy discovering why a blogger loved or could not continue to read a book.

Thanks for an inciteful post!

[kimbofo]

I haven't seen the Bookninja post. Can anyone provide a URL or approximate date so I can hunt it out myself?

[Les in NE]

This is such a timely post and very thought-provoking. When I first started my book blog, it never occurred to me that publishers would seek out MY opinion and send me ARCs. I've been "solicited" twice now (received one and the other is en route) and felt quite flattered that someone in the publishing biz was paying attention to my blog. Of course, I later learned I was one of MANY bloggers to receive those emails. Now I hesitate to review these books. But if and when I do, I will certainly disclose the fact that they were review copies sent by the publishers.

And on another note, I read TTT (bought my own copy at B&N) and didn't think it lived up to all the hype. I was quite disappointed and wished I had saved my money and borrowed the book from the library instead.

I've rambled on far too long, but this is such an interesting topic and I'm glad you brought it up. Look forward to reading more comments by other bloggers.

[Marg]

I agree that it should be clear if a blogger has received a review copy, especially if the review is gushingly glorious!!

Personally I read The Thirteenth Tale and enjoyed it. I had never heard of the competition before you mentioned it here today!

[Clare]

Very good point. Oddly pertinent for me too since I received my first offer of a free book only last night - after I had expressed an interest in the story of an artist which appeared to be only in books in Dutch and French. The author of a similar English book contacted me just a few hours later - too fast for google - and I can't understand how she found me.

[kimbofo]

Thanks to Google I've found the bookninja post, which I obviously missed when it was first published back in early September.
You can view it here:
http://www.bookninja.com/?p=1417

[Isabella]

I wrote a bit about this back in September myself, hoping to help sort out my own policy on book reviews. I was aware of TTT tactics, but also I was feeling pressure from a publisher that I now OWED them a review.

In those cases where I've written about a review copy (4 or 5 times), I've always noted the fact, though perhaps not as clearly as I might.

I'm not sure how we go about "cleaning up our act" — there is a problem, inherent in the very nature of blogs, that blogs serve so many different functions to very different groups of people. Some blogs are virtually webzines — no doubt they assume their readership will realize they received review copies(and many bloggers pretend to having that status). I'm not really sure where my rambling is heading, but I'm just not sure how our act can be cleaned up. What do you propose? A book blog manifesto?

[Dorothy W.]

Hey, how come Simon and Schuster didn't contact me? Just kidding :) I like your idea that bloggers should indicate when they have received a book from a publisher for review -- for me it's about trust; I want to trust that the blogger I'm reading hasn't been unduly influenced. I have gotten maybe 2 offers of books from publishers and have ignored them mostly because the books didn't sound interesting, but also because it felt just a little bit funny. But ultimately I think the reader has to know what's what. In traditional book reviews we understand (mostly) how things work; and on blogs we should understand too.

[renee]

I think I feel a little differently from most other people on this issue. Or, at least on half the issue.

While I think that it's absolutely wrong to plug a book in return for something from the publishers, there's a term and a forum for that: advertising. I agree wholeheartedly that an advertisment should be labeled as such. I also agree that the S&S contest is an abominaton.

However, as a bookseller who recieves TONS of review copies, I don't feel that there is any difference between blogging about a book I bought myself, a book I borrowed, or a book that's lying around my office because it was sent by a publisher. The key here is that the publisher has no editorial control over the content of my review. They can send me a book, but I might very well write that it was awful and tell everyone not to read it, or not write about it at all. To the format of my particular blog, it makes no difference where I got the book. I write what I think. Sometimes, yes, I read a book I wouldn't have normally read only because it showed up in the mail. But I think that's a good thing for everyone, and there's nothing shady about it at all.

[Perry Middlemiss]

I find myself in the same boat as iliana. I've been blogging for nearly two years and have received 4 books from publishers in that time, all of which I reviewed, but none of which I identified as being free. It wasn't something that even crossed my mind when I was writing the reviews, I was more interested in being honest in what I said. But your post has convinced me that identifying the source of a book under review is an important piece of information for readers, and I'll attempt to do just that in the future.

Of the four books received only one was requested by me (the review was favorable with qualifications), two were initiated by authors (both of which I really enjoyed and which I have since bought for other people), and the last was sent by the publisher and received a very qualified review.

Thanks for the posting. It's made me rethink my approach. After this it's all your fault of course.

[Lazy Cow]

I bought The Thirteenth Tale on the strength of the many book blogger recommendations I've read. It's only just starting to get reviewed in Australia and Borders are pushing it, so it was interesting to be 'ahead' of the hype here. I do take blogger recommendations at face value, but was wondering why this was such a hot book. It was good, but not great. (I know I'll never get free books sent to me, obviously the publishers are only targeting 'good' reviewers :-))

[Toni]

Thank you for sharing that, kimbofo. Lately, I have been buying books based on what I read from several book blogs. I have not had a bad book buy yet, but I will be more wary about what I read on the net. Thanks.

[maggie]

Wow, blogger ethics!

I read and enjoyed 3T on my own, unaware of a contest for a free book; although, I do remember entering a contest for a free leather bound copy months ago. Maybe I missed the fine print.;)

I don't mention whether a copy is free, because I just don't think it matters. My goal is to let people know the book is out there. Let them be the judge. I will say something such as "save your money, if you must read this, get it at the library".

My struggle is to promote reading, any kind of reading, and that may skew my ethics. Did I mention I live in the state of Mississippi?

[Kate S.]

I think that there's a marked difference between promoting a particular book in exchange for an incentive and accepting a free copy for review. The former is advertising and ought to be disclosed. The latter doesn't create a debt to the publisher and so doesn't raise any concerns about bias for me. My understanding is that whether I get a review copy from the editor of a print publication for which I've been asked to review it, or from a publisher who hopes that I'll mention it on my blog, my only obligation is to the readers of the publication or of my blog. I don't owe anyone a positive review. I owe it to myself and to those who read what I write to be honest about my impressions, positive or negative. I don't feel a need to know where my fellow bloggers get their books from. My trust in their opinions isn't based on an abstract code of ethics; it's based on having read their blogs over time and having measured their opinions against my own when the book under discussion is something that I've already read and gaining a sense of where our literary tastes overlap that way.

[Cam]

Publishers give away free promo copies all the time. Only because book blogging is new is the practice with bloggers a recent twist on the old promotional tactic. Review copies are a common promotional event in technical and academic publishing as well as for trade market books. How do you think that those blurbs get on the back cover?

That said, I do think that it is a good idea to indicate if something is a review copy. But, I also think that the blogger shouldn't feel obligated to review a book positively. One's obligation ought to be to review it honestly. Just because the TTT promo was a little too slick, I don't think it is fair to assess that all of the blogger reviews were not fair and accurate expressions of the reviewers. I'd say that if a blogger feels that they are censuring their opinions when reviewing a book, they ought to recognize that as a red flag and be honest with their readers about the origin. There is a difference between shilling for the publisher and writing a review.

[Karen M from Euro Crime]

I posted about 3T on my blog before I realised there was a controversy (where had I been?!) hoping to solicit a response about whether it was a crime novel. Several crime booksellers had been promoting it but it didn't seem to fit into that genre from the blurb. I have my SO reading a library copy to let me know :-).

I regularly mention what I'm reading on my blog and include a publisher's synopsis. I review nearly everything I read and the reviews appears on my associated website a couple of weeks later. I don't mention where I get my books from normally. Most are review copies from publishers and some are from the library. I treat them the same when it comes to writing a review. My reviews are just my opinion and not especially sophisticated but I do tend to enthuse madly when I like something!

[Lotus]

A timely post and well said.I happen to agree with Kate S. when she says there is a difference between promoting a book for an incentive and reviewing a book one acquired free of charge. I was recently sent a couple of books by a well-known publishing house and I immediately let my readers know it, so yes, it should be incumbent upon bloggers to indicate when a review is based on a publisher's copy.

[Heather]

I just want to say that, while I was one of the bloggers that loved The 13th Tale and told about it, I did not do it for any reason other than I actually loved it and thought others would too. I don't remember for sure, but I'm pretty sure I said that I received it free. I didn't even know about that contest until later. And I didn't even know about any controversy until I stumbled upon it here! (Sometimes I think I live in another world.) I would never promote a book for any reason other than I liked it. And, if I did receive money for it, I would be sure to say so. It would be dishonest to otherwise.

[patricia]

What an excellent post! Congrats, Kimbofo, for bringing up such a timely and important topic in the world of blogging.

Overall I agree with Kate's perspective on this. If you are promoting a book, and getting something in return, then that's rather distasteful. (And I wasn't even approached about TTT!)

But I see no reason why I have to say on my blog if a book I am discussing is a review copy or not. I've been approached quite a bit over the past 3 years to review books, and sometimes I decline (if the book is not my cup of tea, or if I am just really busy) and sometimes I say yes. Even when I say yes, I don't always review the book, because the book is so bad that I can't even finish it. When I discuss a book on my blog, I am not beholden to anyone. I write my honest opinion, regarless of whether the book was bought by me or given to me by a publisher. That, I feel, is the most important part of blogging about books. I recently reviewed a book which was a review copy, and I was very disappointed in it, and said so in my review. I got a VERY angry and very long comment from someone who was obviously friends with the author, who was not pleased with what I had to say. My response? Too bad. My blog, my opinion.