Jane Cable talks to Abby Endler about book blogging for love

1) What is your book-related job or business?

I run Crime by the Book, a crime fiction review website and its associated social media accounts. My largest platform is on Instagram (@crimebythebook), where I take photos of the books I’m reading and provide my audience with updates as I read them. I also use Instagram to link to my website, where readers can find reviews, author interviews, and more. Crime by the Book can also be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, and has a weekly newsletter as well. Crime by the Book is a passion project – while I would never write off the possibility of turning it into a business down the road, the goal is purely to share a love of books, and as of this moment I don’t make money from it.

2) What is the most rewarding part of it?

I would be hard-pressed to find an element of CBTB that is not rewarding, but if I had to narrow it down, the most rewarding part is the knowledge that I’ve connected readers with books they love. Whether that feedback comes from readers who have bought a book on my recommendation and loved it, or from authors who have seen the enthusiasm of my audience for their book, nothing could be more exciting to me than knowing I’m helping those books find great homes! There’s such an appetite for crime fiction out there, even on a platform like Instagram which is dominated by a younger audience, and I am thrilled and humbled every time I hear from my audience that I’ve helped spark their interest in crime fiction. Likewise, it’s extremely rewarding to hear from authors who are excited by the ways I’ve helped connect their book to those readers!

3) What do you consider to be your major successes?

The growth of my platform on Instagram has been a huge success. Crime by the Book just turned two years old, and also just passed 40,000 Instagram followers. As previously mentioned, Instagram does have the reputation of being dominated by a younger audience, so I consider it a huge success that I’ve found footing with a younger demographic! It’s very exciting to me, as a younger crime reader myself, to see my peers connecting with crime books. I also consider every single chance I have to interview an author a major success, whether that author is a big name (authors like Jo Nesbo, Sara Blaedel, and Clare Mackintosh have all appeared on Crime by the Book), or a debut author. No matter the author’s name-recognition, I’m honored to speak with and learn from every single author I interview. It’s a huge privilege!

4) Have you always loved books, and what are you reading at the moment?

I’ve loved reading for as long as I can remember. I started reading mysteries when I was very young – I started with Nancy Drew! And then as I grew up, I transitioned into Agatha Christie, James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell… and my love of reading crime books has just evolved and grown from there. At the moment, I’m reading ORDEAL by Jorn Lier Horst. This Norwegian crime book is part of his William Wisting series, and is the newest installment to be released in the US. I love this series for its detailed portrayal of police work, and its endearing characters.

Bio: Abby Endler is the creator and reviewer behind Crime by the Book, a crime fiction review website and its associated social media accounts. www.crimebythebook.com