The Book Blogger Hop Returns!

UPDATE:  THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP OFFICIALLY ENDED AS OF 12/31/2012. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED THE HOP OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS! YOUR SUPPORT IS MUCH APPRECIATED!!  –Jennifer

 

I have really, really missed the Book Blogger Hop. I’ve missed connecting with some other bloggers every week, reading your responses to the weekly prompt, and overall just getting to know all of you in the book blogging world.

So, I’m resurrecting the Book Blogger Hop back to what it was when I first started it. I hope you will join me!

About The Book Blogger Hop

In March of 2010, in response to what I thought was a void in the book blogging community, I started the Book Blogger Hop. I loved all of the #FF (Friday Follow) tweets on Twitter, where everyone spreads love to their favorite people in order to help them gain new followers. So I thought to myself – “How cool would it be to have something like that where fellow book bloggers could come and find new book blogs to follow, find new books to read, and gain more exposure for our blogs?” This CRAZY idea became the Book Blogger Hop!

The Book Blogger Hop is much more than just a “follow for a follow”. It’s about making friends. There are literally thousands of book bloggers around the world. It can seem like we are blogging in a bubble, constantly checking the same blogs over and over again. The Hop is about taking the time to make a quality visit to another blog, getting to know the person who is writing that blog, and seeing if you really *want* to follow that person! I am not a big fan of blindly following other blogs just to increase your follower numbers. There is no guarantee the people will come back. Just because they are “following” you doesn’t mean they’re reading your posts. How many times have you “dumped” the messages in your Google Reader account due to the daunting number of messages there are, many from blogs you “had” to follow (in order to participate in a hop, giveaway, etc). I’d much rather have a lower “follower” count and know that these people are following me because they WANT to follow me and not because they HAVE to. I like the knowledge that I’m connecting with people on more than just a “have to” level.

Many spinoffs of the Hop are around in different incantations and they each serve their own purpose. I feel that any way our community can continue to grow and get to know one another is a step in the right direction. The number of book bloggers continues to grow daily and it can be hard to make connections with like-minded people. So, the purpose of the Book Blogger Hop is a bit different than other Hops. We are here to build relationships and community; to find other bloggers we want to follow (and not just blindly following someone for the sake of following them); and to get to know our fellow book bloggers on a more personal level.

Logistics

I anticipate running the Hop from Saturdays-Fridays Fridays-Thursdays (beginning May 11, 2012) each week. It may go up on a Friday night or Saturday morning and end the following Friday night. There will be a weekly prompt like before, with a question for you to answer on your own blog, but I will not be policing the Hop. If I notice a spam link, I will delete it. If someone else brings a spam link to my attention and I can verify it, I will delete it.

What do I consider spam? If you enter your link in the linky but do not post on your blog answering the weekly question. I got a bit frustrated with the previous Hop due to the amount of complaints I was getting for people not abiding by these simple rules. So, it will be very easy. If you do not post and I find out about it, your link gets removed. I’m not going to e-mail you asking where your post is as it should be up when you enter your link. The post you link to on the linky list should be the direct link to your post answering the weekly question. Easy peasy. Harsh? I don’t think so. The rules are quite simple, really. And it will keep me sane.

You may be asking – what exactly IS a book blogger? Here’s MY take: Do you have a blog? Do you blog about books/authors? Do you write book reviews on your blog? Do you rave about books and authors on your blog? Is your blog content primarily about books? Then you are most likely considered a book blogger and are welcome to participate in this Hop!

Things in my life are still a bit crazy so I may call on some guest hosts from time to time just to keep things fun. I will keep you informed if that happens. If you are interested in possibly being a guest host, please fill out the form HERE.

Weekly Prompts

I need your help! Do you have a great question that you would like to ask your fellow bloggers? Remember: it has to be universal to all bloggers and not specific to any one genre! It can be something bookish, something more personal, or anything else! Please keep it G-rated for our younger bloggers, please! If you have a question, please submit it using this FORM. If your question is selected, I will give you credit during that week’s Hop.

Please click here for a list of the upcoming Hop questions!

Hop Posts

Please click HERE for the latest Hop post (to be launched Saturday April 28, 2012 at 12am EST!)

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If you have any questions or suggestions for the Hop, please e-mail me at jennifer@crazy-for-books.com. Thank you for your support and patience during the 6 month Hop hiatus!

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