Welcome to a new exciting event here at the Bookworms:
As book bloggers our contacts with publishers are vital. They send us books and we work with them closely on promotional posts for their newest, exciting releases. It’s such a pleasure when we see that often they are just as excited as we are about the books! They’re like us, just with WAY cooler jobs and INFINITELY greater access to the authors we stalk love
Have you ever wondered who is behind sending all of those emails we get from the big houses? What they really do and why the work with bloggers like you and me? Ever wondered what we can improve and what do they like to see us post and maybe… even what do they not like?!?
Well…we’ve wondered those very things and we want to share the answers we’ve dug up with YOU!
So we’ve reached out to our favorite publishers and asked them the questions we know you’ve all been dying to ask (but were perhaps a little too shy to actually voice)!
Over the next few weeks, we will highlight different publishers, publicists and marketing associates from big publishing houses.
Previous Posts
This week we are extremely excited having Lisa Wray over who works at Harlequin and is the one working very closely with bloggers. Of course, we have an even more personal connections since we are working with Lisa on all Harlequin Blog Tours via Kismet Book Touring. And I can say that working with Lisa is simply amazing!
Please welcome Lisa:
Lisa thank you so much for joining us today!!! We’re so thrilled to get to give our readers a deeper look into the life of a Harlequin professional!
Could you briefly explain what your job entails and how you are involved with Book Bloggers?
I am the public relations coordinator at Harlequin and this involves creating events, getting media coverage, reviews, blog tours, for not only Harlequin TEEN but the other imprints that Harlequin has as well. I work with book bloggers when we have blog tours, through NetGalley, when I’m soliciting reviews and sometimes I get to meet them at various events.
What do you love most about your job?
When I get to contribute creative ideas to a PR campaign and when I get to travel for Book Expo America and the Romance Writers of America conventions.
What do you love most about working with Bloggers?
They have the same enthusiasm as I do for the written word, especially for a lot of the teen titles that I work on.
What do you expect from Bloggers when they post a review or a promotional post during a tour?
An honest opinion, but keeping in mind that the auhor may read the review, so keeping it professional. Book summary, short author bio, links to purchase and link to the authors website is also appreciated!
What do you look at when you decide to work with certain bloggers? Pageviews, Followers, Alexa? Design?
First I look for followers, then I check if there is a cooresponding Facebook page or Twitter, check to see if they post frequently and that the blog is up to date, look for comments on posts or entries into giveaways as this lets me know whether the audience is engaged with the posted content.
Is there anything that you don’t like us to do? For instance, posting too early, posting too late, not adding links, etc.
Writing any type of really negative post about an author or their work or plagerism from another website.
Is there an event or interaction you had in the recent past that went particularly good that you’d like to share?
We recently had a whole Harlequin TEEN week event with Teen Librarian Toolbox. They were very helpful and took on the role of organizing all of the details, so it made it easy to be involved.
I just Love Lisa! And if you see her at BEA or any other conference say Hello!! Plus, she loves bloggers just as much as we love her!!
Where to find Lisa and Harlequin
- twitter – HarlequinTEEN | Harlequin
- facebook- HarlequinTEEN | Harlequin
- website: Harlequin | Harlequin Paranormal Romance
and now… we have an EPIC Giveaway sponsored by HarlequinTEEN
We will have 4 lucky winners this time!
and HarlequinTEEN offers 4 amazing ARC’s for you to win!!
Giveaway is US /Canada only and you can enter via the Rafflecopter below!
Awesome hu???
So now it’s again your turn, what would you like to know from Lisa. Is there something that surprised you?
Much Love,
Latest posts by Danny (see all)
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- Locked in Temptation – Q&A withBrenda Jackson & Giveaway - August 4, 2017
- Locked in Temptation by Brenda Jackson – Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway - July 26, 2017
I love this event! I’ve read all the posts so far and I love how informative they’ve all been. It’s great to see a representative of the publishing house’s personal opinion on certain things. I’ve spoken with Lisa before, she’s always been super nice! 🙂
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I ADORE what Harlequin Teen’s been putting out these past couple of years! They’re sweet and well-written and all-around great stories. YAY! Lisa’s job sounds like a blast. I think it’d be so much fun to have a job where you get to “hang out” with bloggers and get paid to not just read awesome books but promote them, too.
Mary @ BookSwarm recently posted..Run for cover: CHILDREN OF THE UNDERGROUND by Trevor Shane
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Have I told you how much I love this feature Danny? I think I have every week, but it bears repeating because it’s AWESOME. I love that Lisa looks at comments as well as followers, that’s always something I’ve worked really hard at with the blog — going out and meeting new bloggers and leaving comments — so it’s nice to know a publisher appreciates that factor:)
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Hello =) I’d like to know what your favorite book of all time is?
And my fave title is Pushing the Limits =)
Heather C. recently posted..Review: A Girl Named Willow Krimble (Willow Krimble #1) by Giuseppe Bianco
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Hi Heather. Personally, I have to say my favorite book of all time is the book that really got me into reading: THE GIVER by Lois Lowry. Otherwise, I LOVE classic lit and was recently obsessed with REBECCA by Daphne Du Maurier.
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I dont think i could possibly pick just one favorite! I have never been able to pick a favorite book, because it changes everyday! I just love reading!
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One of my favorite Harlequin Teen books this year is Hooked by Liz Fichera. I’m really looking forward to the next book in that series and the release of Kate McGarry’s Dare You To.
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I adore these posts, Danny! I met Lisa last year at BEA and she is so incredibly sweet. Seriously, this girl rocks. I love working with her.
These are a great way to gain insight into the minds of publishers – which is something I’m sure a lot of people have questions about. 🙂
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thanks for the fun post! These are so cool… getting to know the behind the scenes 🙂
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Another fabulous post! I adore Harlequin Teen! Maybe I’ll get to meet Lisa at BEA. 😀
Ashley recently posted..Blogoversary Day 2: Statistics About the Books I Read
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Yes, please! I’ll be there Thursday-Saturday!
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Thank you Lisa for sharing about your job! It looks like so much fun! I like a lot of Harlequin Teen books and the ARCs offered for this giveaway look amazing! Keep up the great work!
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This is a really cool & fun post! Love getting to know the people who coordinate events around our favorite books/authors!
thanks for sharing!
artichoke8 recently posted..Cover Crush: The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa
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Sounds like a fun and engaging job! Love HarlequinTeen authors – especially Julie Kagawa and Rachel Vincent!
Thanks,
Leanne
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Hello, thanks so much for this awesome giveaway!
My favorite book right now is Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Amazing book!!!!
Rose’s Book Corner recently posted..Waiting on Wednesday #9
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Hi – Thank you for the really nice giveaway.
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I haven’t worked with Harlequin outside of NetGalley where I’m on auto approve (which I LOVE!) but I do love the books they put out! I don’t know if I could even tell you a favorite but I REALLY love the Steampunk Chronicle books!
Candace recently posted..Review: The Exemeus by Folami and Abeni Morris
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Thanks Lisa for giving the duties of your job title. It is a very interesting position to have. Thanks for the giveaway.
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Do you have a favorite cover of 2012?
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Hi Vivien (love your name),
From HarlequinTEEN, I do so love every cover we produce, but I have to say I absolutely adore all the Steampunk Chronicle covers by Kady Cross, so in 2012 that was her THE GIRL IN THE CLOCKWORK COLLAR (I even got to try on the necklace from the cover!). http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13060608-the-girl-in-the-clockwork-collar
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Fantastic interview and a pleasure to meet you Lisa. I adore working with the folks at Harlequin and all of the different authors that make their home there. They have really evolved in the last 12 years and the books I have been reviewing have been amazing.
kimbacaffeinate recently posted..Review: The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig
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Is there a book for 2013 that you are most excited for ? What is you most covet book for last year ??
Love the books 😉
julie recently posted..Breeders Book Review @Kismet
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Again, I love all of the Harlequin TEEN titles so much, but for 2012, I have to say it was a tie between THE GIRL WITH THE STEEL CORSET by Kady Cross and THE IMMORTAL RULES by Julie Kagawa.
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And my most anticipated title of 2013 is Aimee Carter’s new series, which starts with book 1 in December 2013, PAWN. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10838787-pawn
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Hi Lisa! I love Harlequin Teen! They’ve got my favorite combinations anything and romance! I think I’ve been reading Harlequin since I was in about 7th grade. I won’t tell you how long that is! You’ve got so many great titles coming out this Spring and Summer, I can’t wait for The Girl With The Iron Touch, Dare You To, Ink wow great things coming in the Fall too! I gotta find some time to read!
Heather
Heather @ Buried in Books recently posted..Book Signing Lenore Appelhans, Beth Revis, Victoria Schwab, Megan Shepherd and Meagan Spooner at Malaprops in Asheville, NC from a few months ago
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What has been your favorite lifetime book so far? And if it was a movie, would you want to be the main character?
TayteH recently posted..Giveaway Alert!
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My favorite all-time book is THE GIVER by Lois Lowry. For the role of the little boy, I don’t think I could say as I don’t really know any young actors at the moment, but for the elder Giver, I would love to have: Ian McKellen (Gandalf from Lord of the Rings!)
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Awesome post. Danny! I really like Lisa and Harlequin Teen, they are super easy to work with. I appreciate hearing this feedback so much, and I also appreciate their position on plagiarism in particular. It’s nice to hear a publisher make a point about these things.
No need to enter me in the giveaway–this series is honestly a pleasure in itself to read. 😀
Wendy Darling recently posted..Golden: review
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GREAT giveaway!
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I think this is my favorite feature you ladies have run on the blog.
While I haven’t worked with Harlequin Teen much, the time or two I have I always have loved it and I just adore their books since they have some of my favorite authors (namely Julie, Aimee Carter, and Hannah Harrington). Plus they have some outstanding looking titles coming up!
Erica recently posted..Guest Post from Jen Calonita: The Rules for Turning Sixteen
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One of my favorite Harelquin books is definitely The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa, I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.
I’m not a blogger and even when I post reviews on Goodreads, I try to be semi-nice about someone’s work, but there are times when I have to go off like a bottle rocket because the story was just so awful (it seems this is happening more and more with the NA genre as even well-known authors seem to be publishing dreck just to jump on the bandwagon) or they’ve messed the plot and/or characters up so badly, in my opinion. Are you saying you wouldn’t want a blogger to express how much they disliked a book, even if it wasn’t a personal attack on the author, simply because it’s negative and might dissuade people from buying the book?
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Uh, meant Harlequin!
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Good question Kristin. I think there is a fine line between providing some creative criticism and attacking someones work. I never prohibit bloggers / reviewers from voicing their opinions though, as I believe they should have control over the content that they post on their websites. After all, most of the blogs I see are creative works in their own right! Such as the lovely Bewitched Bookworms blog. I could spend hours on here surfing the posts.
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I am so glad you did an interview with Lisa!! She ROCKS!!! She totally goes out of her way to assist bloggers and deserves all the praise!!! :):)
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This feature is so informative. Thanks so much for answering the questions, Lisa! Why have I not read Pushing the Limits yet? I really need to get on that soon. 🙂 Hope to see you at BEA, Lisa!
Steph Sinclair recently posted..Review: Ink by Amanda Sun
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Hey Ksenia! I regrettably haven’t read any of your books but i will be soon!! I was wondering how you got into writing your genres?
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Great interview with Lisa.
I’ve read Dark Side of the Moon By Sherrilyn Kenyon.
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My favorite book will have to be “Cinder”
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Too many books to name, but a few that stands out would be Inside by Maria V. Snyder and The Immortal Rules, which I loved though I’m not a fan of vampire.
Question to Lisa: What’s the scariest thing about working as part of such a large publishing company? Weirdest/coolest thing to happen while you were on the job?
Grace Lo recently posted..Waiting on Wednesday (23): The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher
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The scariest thing when working on a publicity campaign for a title, is that I feel a real responsibility to help the author succeed in gaining awareness and sales for their book. This is a huge duty that I don’t take lightly. Although it can feel terrifying, it is also really energizing and once I start pitching a book, I have a really hard time stopping and moving on to the next project. Coolest thing was going to the set of Virgin River in British Columbia with bestselling author Robyn Carr! You can catch it on Netflix now!
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