Yesterday I got some really great news that I was honestly not expecting: I am a part of J. Elle’s Wings of Ebony Street Team, also known as Rue’s Crew!

I am so grateful to J. Elle for accepting me into Rue’s Crew. This book is definitely one of my top 10 most anticipated books of 2021, and February is going to be awesome. If any authors are reading this, just know that street teams are so much fun and I will 100% recommend your book in a lot of posts. Street teams are such a special experience. I love doing them because 1. I get to help people who write, which is slowly becoming an idea for what I want to do when I’m older, and 2. The community you get from a group that is dedicated to one book is so fun.

What Should You Know About Street teams?

1. Make sure you want to read the book first. For example, I knew I loved Sandhya Menon’s books because I read all of them. I knew I wanted to work with Hafsah Faizal because she’s so kind. I knew that A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown would be excellent. However, one exception is for the Faring Society: I hadn’t read any of Sara Faring’s books. Being on the street team pushed me to read her upcoming book: White Fox.
2. Fill out the application. Double check your responses. For Rue’s Crew, the application had a space for me to describe myself. You don’t have to write a super long response, and you want to convey that you are passionate about this author and their works. If the only reason you want to join is for the free items or ARCs, then don’t join.
3. Be certain you want to support this person and their book. If you’ve been in the community for a while or follow people in the industry, you’ll know who you want to work with more. For example, a multitude of YA authors ship this incestuous couple of an adopted sibling and their sibling, and as an adopted person, I don’t support any of them even though some might say “it’s just fiction.” Well, to me, it’s highly offensive and I just feel sick thinking about it.
4. Actually participate. Make sure you are transparent about if you can carry out tasks. My new rule for myself is to only join teams and to make sure I am on Instagram less and the Slack more to make sure I’m following up on what I need to do.
5. You won’t get paid, but that’s not the point. Street teams are about connecting with a community and promotion. You have to keep confidential information CONFIDENTIAL!!!

Also, know that you aren’t any less of a book blogger/bookstagrammer if you don’t do these or have never been on one. I am currently on 6 and have been on 7 total, and I’ve loved my experiences on all of them. I do feel the pressure to read my e-ARCs quicker, and you should know that promotion is more than reviews. It’s about spreading news about the trailer, commenting on the author’s posts, and in the case of Rue’s Crew, there are some very exciting things coming up.

I’d say that a few goals for me are to join less teams next year because I will be in second semester of a critical year of high school and to keep promoting authors’ books and works after the time on the street team ends. They are a lot of fun, so just keep an eye out for opportunities!

Have you ever been on a street team?