Tell Me Something Tuesday is hosted by Rainy Day Ramblings and discusses a wide range of topics from books to blogging.
Question: Do you like getting unsolicited books in the mail?
Answer:
This does happen to me but very rarely. Maybe 5-ish books per year. Mostly from Skyscape publishing (Amazon), Penguin, Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins.
So yay! Free books and, yes, I’m thankful but on the other hand….
I have no idea who the contact person is, how they got my mailing address or anything like that. If I were to request a book from any of those publishers I would (& have been) be rejected. So I really don’t get it. 😕
And not to look a gift horse in the mouth, as the saying goes, but a lot of the books are not in genres I read and a LOT of them are mid-grade. I just wish I could fine tune it lol Like…thank you my secret Book Fairy but could you please send these types of books instead?
I don’t worry about it too much though because it doesn't happen often, I have found a few new authors this way and I feel absolutely no pressure to review anything I didn’t ask for.
So it’s fine but maybe a waste of resources on their part if the book doesn’t get in the hands of the right reader IMHO. I do try to pass the books on to someone who would enjoy them more but that can get expensive.
* I was sticking with actual snail mail here but any unsolicited books I get via email get deleted ASAP!
Do you ever get unsolicited books? Do you feel pressured to review them?
I feel the same. I don't get many so I can be grateful and no pressure to read it if it doesn't appeal.
ReplyDeleteI don't worry about it if I didn't ask for them.
DeleteI generally don't get unsolicited physical books but I do get a lot of "read now" NetGalley invites. I try to be really careful that I make sure I'm interested in reviewing them before clicking on them!
ReplyDeleteI've gotten a few of those but those feel optional and if you don't use the invite nothing was wasted. I wish I could at least target the unsolicited books to my tastes better.
DeleteI don't get any because I don't get physical ARCs. I have gotten emails with widgets for NG but usually are for authors I have read and reviewed prior so I don't mind them and u don't have to accept. I can see how it would be nice to get unsolicited copies but also a burden.
ReplyDeleteThe NG was are good because it's no big deal if you don't click. It is nice - especially when it's an awesome book but so many aren't even what I read.
DeleteI've only received like two physical arcs ever - and one of those was a giveaway win. LOL The other was unsolicited and while I was excited to receive it the truth is, it's not something I would read. I actually haven't read it (yet?) and feel low-key guilty about it.
ReplyDeleteI used to feel guilty about those but I figure I didn't ask for them and if anyone had contacted me first I could have told them it wasn't my jam.
DeleteHmm, that's sort of interesting that you are anonymously sent books. I have only been sent finished copies of books I reviewed and I got one of those boxes for another tour, though I requested a widget for an ebook. I guess it's nice to get book mail, but better when it's something you actually want to read.
ReplyDeleteMost of the ones I get are finished copies the week before a book comes out. I guess maybe they're books that need more hype or something. I once got a Jen Bennett book and that was AWESOME but they rejected me for the e-arc so it's weird.
DeleteYes, I do, but a lot less often than I used to. And I agree it's weird to not get requests and then get other books unrelated to your interests. Quirk books was that way, three or four times I even received doubles of unsolicited . Ha ha. I think it's the publisher's idea of lessening the disappointment while getting rid of extra books they have lying around. 😂
ReplyDeleteI think I could understand it more if I hd ever gotten books from them by request or had a contact person but I don't so why are you sending me things? Who are you? And why won't you approve me when I do request something? lol
DeleteI think the best book I ever got that I wasn't expecting was by Anne Bishop ( written in red). I haven't gotten books since forever but yeah I do enjoy them but wonder about how they got my name .
ReplyDeleteOh yeah - that would be a good one! My best one was Starry Nights by jenn Bennett
DeleteI randomly get books in the mail. Some are exciting and things that I do end up reading and loving like Dangerous Girls and Bring Me Their Heart. But I don't always have the time, or inclination, to read them.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
I have found a few gems but for the most part they aren't what I read.
DeleteThat's terrifying not knowing how they got your address or who it is that's actually the Book Fairy.
ReplyDeleteI know right??? It's a little creepy.
DeleteI have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it's cool. Like, being thought of. At the same time, like you said, there are just some genres I'm not altogether keen on so I feel bad when they send it and I either (a) don't read it or (b) give it a really low rating.
ReplyDeleteI just wish there was a way to be able to tell them my interests so they could better target the right book for the right reader.
DeleteQuote: "I have no idea who the contact person is, how they got my mailing address or anything like that. If I were to request a book from any of those publishers I would (& have been) be rejected."
ReplyDeleteI remember you talking about this, and it's beyond odd. Plus, as you said, a waste of resources. There should be at least a contact info, someone you could email. Not to mention...why would they think you're particularly interested in MG? That's funny.
Occasionally they have press pages with a contact person but when I've contacted them they are either gone or give a generic reply.
DeleteThen they never answer you for something you actually want lol
Ma'am it is Wednesday. 😋
ReplyDeleteI don't get unsolicited #bookmail often, and when I do I never read it. Like that Hummingbird book (didn't you get that one too).
I delete the emails immediately too because they are 10000% of the time not my genre.
Oh hush - I'm a rebel!
DeleteI refuse to open any unsolicited attached book. I have no idea who you are and I'm not getting a virus!
That reminds me when I tried to get a book on NG and was not approved and then I was sent a hardback and I was all, really?! Which was yay but still. Pubs are weird
ReplyDeleteThis has happened to me 3-4 times! I don't get it.
DeleteI don't get many in the mail but I do get a few in email. Most I don't read because they aren't my genre.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like such a waste.
DeleteYesterday I would have said, "This never happens to me!" However, I received TWO unsolicited books today. One I'm excited about (Frankly in Love by David Yoon), and a finished copy of This is Not a Love Story. Like you, I would have been rejected had I requested these, but they somehow ended up in my mailbox. It's so weird, but I'm happy with it. Also, any MG books you don't want, I'll happily take! I've been reading them to the kids wile they fall asleep. We just finished all the Underland Chronicles books by Suzanne Collins. I bought Astrophysics for Young Readers, so I'm sure we'll start that one soon. I'm trying to get through A Monster Like Me, but there have been a few parts I didn't want to read out loud. They weren't bad necessarily, just not something I want to burden a five-year-old with.
ReplyDeleteI get emails ALL the time. I typically respond to them and say I don't have time, which is a nice way of letting them know they didn't read my policy or what genres I'm interested in. Rarely, I'll accept one, which is why I'm reading Among the Red Stars. It's been pretty good so far. I like that most of the book is her correspondence with someone else. We see their experiences of the war through their letters to each other. It's interesting. I also recently accepted Touch of Smoke, which piqued my interest. We'll see how it goes! <3
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬
Ha! I will definitely get in touch with you about the MG books. I've passed some on to my nieces/nephews but they're too old now.
DeleteI don't mean request emails but the ones that attach the book unsolicited. it says right in my policy that I will delete those so I don't open or respond to those.
Ohh, yes! I dislike those as well. They don't wait for a yes or no response, just send the book on over. If they can't be bothered to email back and forth, or follow guidelines, why waste my time?
DeleteExactly!!!!
DeleteI get a few, not too many. Of course, 9 times out of 10, they're stuff I'm not particularly interested in. A lot of MG. I do read them with my daughter, but it takes us a loooong time so I still feel bad hah. Though there HAVE been a handful of times that I have been VERY pleasantly surprised by bookmail!
ReplyDeleteAs for email, I just ignore them. Which I put in my review policy, so I no longer feel bad about not responding.
It's in my policy too and I don't care either. I have no idea who they are and I'm not risking a virus for a free book from someone I don't know.
DeleteSo, that's a lot of wasted MG books going out then.
I've never had that happen to me. I only receive the very rare competition wins or books I bought on Amazon!
ReplyDeleteIt's odd and vaguely creepy because I don't know how they got my address lol
DeleteI get a handful throughout the year and mostly they are ones that I will read, but every once in a while I will get one that just isn't for me. That's when I see if anyone else may be interested in it. That way it hopefully gets in the hands of someone who will read it and review it.
ReplyDeleteI try to do the same.
DeleteI very rarely get unsolicited books and whilst I'd feel compelled to read them unless it was a book I really wanted to read I certainly wouldn't feel any perish to lets say add it to the top of my TBR pile.
ReplyDeleteIf I didn't ask for it then I don't worry about a review. I do try to promote it in some way though - on here of Instagram.
DeleteHuh, that is a bit of an odd situation that they deny your requests but then someone sends you other books lol. I've only gotten an unsolicited book in the mail once (from a pub I got other solicited ARCs from, so at least I didn't have to wonder how they got my address), and tbh it made me feel a bit stressed, so I'd kind of rather not lol. But not so stressed that I was gonna forced myself to read it (it was something I wasn't interested in). You would think it'd make more sense for pubs to send the books to the people who actually want them and will read and review them, right? I don't get it either!
ReplyDeleteSo starnge! And they'll reject me all the time on Netgalley then send me finished HC copies the week before the book comes out. And I feel like that costs so much more??? And then I don't need to buy it.
DeleteBut the random ones from publishers I've never dealt with are weird. And why would you send me MG? It just seems like such a waste to me.
It must be different people dealing with NG and sending out the print copies. That's why one denies you but the other sends you books in the mail lol.
DeleteMost likely. And then it may depend on the early buzz???
Deletethey want it to go to select bloggers at first but if the early hype isn't good then expand some.
No clue lol
That's kind of odd and I would feel obligated to review them if I received them in the mail like that. I do on occasion get asked to review books by email (with links to download to kindle) but that's not my thing. Also, like you said, it's nice when it falls IN your wheelhouse/or the type of book you'd typically read, but if it's not I feel like it's a homework assignment and I'm basically giving publicity to your book for free if that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI used to try to read them and feel guilty when I didn't but now I don't care lol
DeleteIf they spent 2 seconds looking at my blog, they would know I don't read MG and then they reject me for everything I do read when I request it. So PTTTHHHH ha!
I do feel so awkward when I get unsolicited books, especially because they're almost ALWAYS from genres I don't read. :/
ReplyDeleteI just wish there was a way to contact someone and be able to ask for what you would like instead lol
DeleteIt's hard when they are genres or books I am not interested in. I share on social media and donate but I love ones that are from authors I adore or ones that pique my interest and I end up loving them. Unless I requested it, I don't feel guilty if I don't review. Mass market paperback size are the hardest because I cannot read the font. I end up requesting them digitally if interested.
ReplyDeleteI try to share the books online (IG etc) and maybe someone is interested enough that I can pass it on to them but I don't worry about it.
DeleteI only read the books I get that I would read on my own if I chose to. If its not a story or author that appeals to me than I won't read it. Too many books to read to pick up something that doesn't appeal to my reading tastes.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I feel now.
DeleteI'm the same Karen, unsolicited eBooks are automatically deleted. It's like with any spam mail, you wouldn't download anything from an unknown sender. I do receive a lot of unsolicited books in the mail and it's both a blessing and curse. I used to feel the pressure of reviewing but I've also found so many new favourite reads. Now I only read those that interest me, otherwise you end up reading books you'll despise and it becomes a chore.
ReplyDeleteE-books are a big NOPE to me. I'm not getting a virus!
DeleteIt's not awful to get surprise books! I've found a few great authors but it seems so wasteful when it's something I will never read. I feel 0 pressure now though.
I have only ever got one, and I didn't mind because it was from a publisher who I usually receive books from so I knew how they knew the address and how to contact them if I wanted to. But if you don't know that stuff... I understand how it can be unsettling :/
ReplyDeleteSome of these I have no idea who they are - how they know my address or how to maybe adjust it so that they send what I will actually read.
DeleteI've never had unsolicited book mail via snail mail... I'm kinda glad. It'd really freak me out if I hadn't solicited it, lol.
ReplyDeleteI've had the occasional book spammed into my inbox but - like you - I delete those.
I kinda like offers from publishers to send a netgalley widget in my inbox for those I can ignore or accept...
It's really weird when it's someone you've never dealt with. How did you find me???? lol
DeleteThe widget's are great! Like you said there's no pressure but a fun surprise!