The closer I get to my release date, the more contact I am having with book bloggers. I’ve always been an advocate of privacy for the sake of safety on the internet and I am finding myself worrying about some of these bloggers a bit. Many of the ones interested in YA are teens and many of the emails I receive are requests for ARCs. The problem I’m seeing is that these young bloggers are more than willing to give out their address to me. Not just a mailing address, but a physical address.

It’s not so bad when they come to me, but I really find myself hoping that when authors approach them, they are more careful about this. Recently, I worked up a list of safety tips for the Grade 6&7 class that I teach workshops to. So, today, I’m sharing them in case any of you young bloggers are reading this!

1. Get your parents’ permission before starting a blog.
2. Use a pseudonym for your blog like ReadingGirl or BookReviewGuy. If you really want to use your name, use only your first name.
3. Have a designated email address to go with your blog that also does not have your real name in it. readinggirl@yahoo.com or bookreviewguy@gmail.com
4. Use only first names or nicknames when talking about your friends or family on your blog.
5. Use a site like blogspot, wordpress or livejournal to host your blog. They have strong spam filters.
6. Never give out personal information like where you live or your school on your blog. Doing so makes it easy for people who don’t know you to pretend like they do. Especially when you live in a small town or on a small island like I do.
7. If you start doing book reviews and people plan to mail you books, CHECK WITH YOUR PARENTS BEFORE GIVING OUT YOUR ADDRESS and never include your address on your blog. If you’re serious about reviewing books, maybe you or your parents can afford to get a P.O. Box at the post office.
8. Delete any obvious spam, but if something looks wrong or scary, let an adult see it first.

Anyone else have any safety tips they want to add to this? I’d love to hear them!