Hello sweeties,
half a year has already gone by while we weren't looking. Well, when I wasn't, at least - but I bet you're a little shocked too 😲. Now, you know I've been doing a 12-months recap in December for a while now, but my first midyear one was in 2018, thanks to the Tell Me Something Tuesday meme. And while it was nowhere as accurate as my yearly ones, I enjoyed having the change of stopping to look back for a moment, regrouping, and starting my journey again. So, even without a TMST prompt, I decided to do it again this year, and maybe make it a regular feature of my blog. Here goes...
😅 MEETING GOALS
I started this year aiming at an average of 1 post per week, with my sight set on reaching that elusive 5-posts-per-month goal (= 60 posts) that escaped me by a nose last year (I "only" managed to write 59). What with this one being the 26th week of the year, and the very post I'm writing being my 30th, it looks like I'm going strong and my goal will be met when the year ends - unless, you know, life.
😞 REVIEWS
Eh. I've only written 5 so far, plus I posted 2 Review Morsels installments, plus I wrote 4 "trope-free YA" lists that were, as a matter of fact, another brand of mini-reviews...so that makes for a grand total of 11 review posts - less than 2 per month. What's worse, none of those books were new (or even newish). For a couple of years I've been able to access a few digital ARCs, thanks to Curiosity Quills Press - books that almost always suited my taste because CQ specialised in speculative fiction, and had a few hidden gems under its belt. So hidden, it went out of business at the beginning of the year 😭 [let me say it again: SMALL PRESSES DON'T KNOW HOW TO MARKET THEIR BOOKS. I understand they don't have the money for huge publicity stunts, but for heaven's sake, can't they enroll more bloggers - maybe relevant ones - or do something more effective to promote their books than simply...put them out? I mean, I'm SO GRATEFUL when a small press doesn't care for my stats, but I also know that there's very little I can do to make their books known, so maybe they should try and approach some bloggers who get more traction too? End of rant 😉]. To date, I haven't find any other press that would send e-ARCs to a small blogger like me (not that I've looked very hard, because NO TIME, but still), so...I'm stuck with backlist books 😥. Which means, only people who have already read those books (if they have, because my tastes are pretty unusual LOL) are interested in reading their reviews and (maybe) commenting...
😕 OTHER POSTS
I haven't had the time - or been in the right mindframe - to come up with "real" discussion posts (which isn't unusual for me), so thank goodness (or Heidi!) for the Tell Me Something Tuesday meme. I did write a handful of personal posts though, that I tried to turn into discussions. The one about our dream careers vs. real jobs got a little traction, though I noticed some of my friends didn't get the chance to read and/or comment (I suppose because of uni/college commitments - but the post isn't going anywhere haha 😉), while the one about my poll-clerk experiences was nowhere as popular as I would have expected 😦 (but, again...see above LOL). Nevertheless, I planned to write a part 2 a month later, and I'm sticking to my plan. Also, I swear, those are not political pieces or anything. They're meant to be funny...though I'm not sure if I succeeded, but not for lack of trying! 😅
Also, I started a post series called Tooting Your Trumpet, to give a spotlight to the most interesting or unusual stuff I find on the net (and on your very blogs), that I've planned as a monthly feature. The next one will go live on July 7th!
💇 LIFE: SMALL MAKEOVER
Apart from having my yearly perm done, I finally got bold and did something I'd always meant to try, but never got around to...taming my wild eyebrows 😱 😂. See my avatar? A few years ago, after assembling its pieces on Face Your Manga, I tried to tweak it a little via PhotoFiltre to make it look more life-like. My hair is much curlier, which I could do nothing about, but the rest came out pretty close, eyebrows included. I mean...my old eyebrows (except they were much more unruly than that haha). I've never wanted anyone to touch my face because I'm a control freak, so for years I'd meant to take care of my eyebrows myself - only, I was too lazy, and it HURT. Until I was possessed by an imp a month ago, and I started picking, and in a couple of days I got rid of all that fur 😅. It was less hurtful than I remembered from my previous tries, maybe because our skin gets less and less resilient in time. And I didn't gave my eyebrows any fancy shape, nor am I pretending I did a spectacular job or anything, but it isn't half bad for someone who hadn't a clue what she was doing 😂, and the maintenance turned out not to be so bothersome, since most of the pesky hairs don't even grow up anymore once plucked (as I remembered from my tween-years unibrow-picking). Of course, if I had done a bad job, that would have been a problem...but I trust myself above any other person LOL.
But I didn't stop there! All my life I've had the bad habit of biting my nails till I drew blood. I'd tried a few times to behave, but I ultimately couldn't stop myself. For instance, when in front of a TV show with nothing to do but watch, I would have DESTROYED my fingers by the time it ended. This time I tried to get serious about it, and it got to the point where I had to file my nails before they grew too long (which I DON'T want them to do, because I don't have any desire to sport long and painted nails. Just not my thing). I won't lie - I still put my fingers in my mouth and feel my nails with my teeth. And trimming them in order to keep them short is a pain in the ass. But I don't want to self-harm my fingers anymore if I can, and heck, I'm trying 😓.
👷 BLOG PLANS
After my invisible blog hiatus, I've been scheduling like a madwoman again, because I simply can't seem not to do that. But I've also started to move my blogging goals AHEAD in said schedule, because I was challenging myself to complete them in less and less time, and it worked. I'm particularly motivated to do so because 1) I should be called to beta-read again in July, 2) I have a buddy-read planned for August, and 3) I want to have a few posts scheduled beforehand in case I should need a break again. Also, guess who doesn't have a life? 😐
😅 MEETING GOALS
I started this year aiming at an average of 1 post per week, with my sight set on reaching that elusive 5-posts-per-month goal (= 60 posts) that escaped me by a nose last year (I "only" managed to write 59). What with this one being the 26th week of the year, and the very post I'm writing being my 30th, it looks like I'm going strong and my goal will be met when the year ends - unless, you know, life.
😞 REVIEWS
Eh. I've only written 5 so far, plus I posted 2 Review Morsels installments, plus I wrote 4 "trope-free YA" lists that were, as a matter of fact, another brand of mini-reviews...so that makes for a grand total of 11 review posts - less than 2 per month. What's worse, none of those books were new (or even newish). For a couple of years I've been able to access a few digital ARCs, thanks to Curiosity Quills Press - books that almost always suited my taste because CQ specialised in speculative fiction, and had a few hidden gems under its belt. So hidden, it went out of business at the beginning of the year 😭 [let me say it again: SMALL PRESSES DON'T KNOW HOW TO MARKET THEIR BOOKS. I understand they don't have the money for huge publicity stunts, but for heaven's sake, can't they enroll more bloggers - maybe relevant ones - or do something more effective to promote their books than simply...put them out? I mean, I'm SO GRATEFUL when a small press doesn't care for my stats, but I also know that there's very little I can do to make their books known, so maybe they should try and approach some bloggers who get more traction too? End of rant 😉]. To date, I haven't find any other press that would send e-ARCs to a small blogger like me (not that I've looked very hard, because NO TIME, but still), so...I'm stuck with backlist books 😥. Which means, only people who have already read those books (if they have, because my tastes are pretty unusual LOL) are interested in reading their reviews and (maybe) commenting...
😕 OTHER POSTS
I haven't had the time - or been in the right mindframe - to come up with "real" discussion posts (which isn't unusual for me), so thank goodness (or Heidi!) for the Tell Me Something Tuesday meme. I did write a handful of personal posts though, that I tried to turn into discussions. The one about our dream careers vs. real jobs got a little traction, though I noticed some of my friends didn't get the chance to read and/or comment (I suppose because of uni/college commitments - but the post isn't going anywhere haha 😉), while the one about my poll-clerk experiences was nowhere as popular as I would have expected 😦 (but, again...see above LOL). Nevertheless, I planned to write a part 2 a month later, and I'm sticking to my plan. Also, I swear, those are not political pieces or anything. They're meant to be funny...though I'm not sure if I succeeded, but not for lack of trying! 😅
Also, I started a post series called Tooting Your Trumpet, to give a spotlight to the most interesting or unusual stuff I find on the net (and on your very blogs), that I've planned as a monthly feature. The next one will go live on July 7th!
💇 LIFE: SMALL MAKEOVER
Apart from having my yearly perm done, I finally got bold and did something I'd always meant to try, but never got around to...taming my wild eyebrows 😱 😂. See my avatar? A few years ago, after assembling its pieces on Face Your Manga, I tried to tweak it a little via PhotoFiltre to make it look more life-like. My hair is much curlier, which I could do nothing about, but the rest came out pretty close, eyebrows included. I mean...my old eyebrows (except they were much more unruly than that haha). I've never wanted anyone to touch my face because I'm a control freak, so for years I'd meant to take care of my eyebrows myself - only, I was too lazy, and it HURT. Until I was possessed by an imp a month ago, and I started picking, and in a couple of days I got rid of all that fur 😅. It was less hurtful than I remembered from my previous tries, maybe because our skin gets less and less resilient in time. And I didn't gave my eyebrows any fancy shape, nor am I pretending I did a spectacular job or anything, but it isn't half bad for someone who hadn't a clue what she was doing 😂, and the maintenance turned out not to be so bothersome, since most of the pesky hairs don't even grow up anymore once plucked (as I remembered from my tween-years unibrow-picking). Of course, if I had done a bad job, that would have been a problem...but I trust myself above any other person LOL.
But I didn't stop there! All my life I've had the bad habit of biting my nails till I drew blood. I'd tried a few times to behave, but I ultimately couldn't stop myself. For instance, when in front of a TV show with nothing to do but watch, I would have DESTROYED my fingers by the time it ended. This time I tried to get serious about it, and it got to the point where I had to file my nails before they grew too long (which I DON'T want them to do, because I don't have any desire to sport long and painted nails. Just not my thing). I won't lie - I still put my fingers in my mouth and feel my nails with my teeth. And trimming them in order to keep them short is a pain in the ass. But I don't want to self-harm my fingers anymore if I can, and heck, I'm trying 😓.
👷 BLOG PLANS
After my invisible blog hiatus, I've been scheduling like a madwoman again, because I simply can't seem not to do that. But I've also started to move my blogging goals AHEAD in said schedule, because I was challenging myself to complete them in less and less time, and it worked. I'm particularly motivated to do so because 1) I should be called to beta-read again in July, 2) I have a buddy-read planned for August, and 3) I want to have a few posts scheduled beforehand in case I should need a break again. Also, guess who doesn't have a life? 😐
So...that's it for now. (Also, for the record, my next post will be a Review Morsels installment, on July 2nd). And you? Are you keeping track of your goals and achievements for 2019? How have you fared so far? Are you happy with your blog and audience?
A midyear recap is a great idea! I'm glad you're doing well with your goal for 60 posts :-)
ReplyDeleteI didn't even realize CQ shut down until I saw you mention it. I loved some of their books as well. I'm not sure what the solution is for small presses (or self pub authors), to be honest. Some could stand to do a better job of marketing, but many bloggers won't read indie books. Sometimes it seems no matter how much a book is promoted, and no matter how good it is, it still can't get the sales. I know there are other small pubs out there that give ebooks to small bloggers (I consider myself a small blogger too). Parliament House has a blogger thing. I'll let you know if I remember more.
Can't relate to your eyebrow woes lol. I LOVE plucking my eyebrows. I love how it feels. Unfortunately I've reached that point where hardly any stray hairs grow anymore :-( Can relate to the nails though. I am a nail picker, and it's a constant struggle!
Parliament House has? I'll have to investigate the matter further, since I'm even following them on Twitter, now that they've bought the rights to some books by one of the old CQ authors! Though, as a matter of fact, I subscribed to their newsletter, but it never seems to offer ARC to bloggers...I thought I'd write to them and ask, but I was afraid I'd sound cheeky...
DeleteIt's sad, isn't it? There are some fantastic books out there (cue the Deadgirl series LOL) that most people would never consider reading. I'm not a straight-up fantasy fan, but I love afterlife/supernatural/sci-fi stories, and would try most of them unless they're heavy on romance. I don't care where they come from.
You love plucking your eyebrows?!? Now that's funny. I hate to have to do certain things more than once...I wish I could preserve my eyebrows, my nails and my hair (mostly!!!) the way I want them to be, and never have to worry about them anymore LOL.
I used to love getting my brows done, because I am so lazy. I guess I am lucky they don't get too bushy. I admire all you bloggers, who plan so far ahead. I have exactly one week of posts right not. I think I blogged ahead for my vacation last week, but otherwise, only blog tours are planned far in advance.
ReplyDeleteLOL, yes, you are!
DeleteYou know I admire you and all those bloggers who manage to put forth several posts a week, all while dealing with work/school/life in general. If I didn't plan ahead, I'd probably post once a month!!!
More things we have in common!
ReplyDeleteI just started doing (my own) eyebrows a few years ago. Nothing fancy but I never realized how bushy they were lol It does hurt though!! Once you do it once though it's easy to do a few plucks hear and there.
And I bite my nails too. I've hunkered down lately and they grow but they're so brittle they split or crack once they get to a certain length - even with those strengtheners.
I have my post for tomorrow ready so that's success to me BAHAHAHA!
Karen @ For What It's Worth
What?!? Things in common?!? LOL.
DeleteI would never have picked you for a fellow nail-biter. I don't know why - maybe because you sound calmer than me, and definitely less stressed. But considering I've been at it since I was a kid and NOT stressed yet, I suppose it's in our genes or something haha. Anyway, it seems like even your nails are...rebelling now 😂. I hope they'll get better eventually, now that you're making the effort!
I DID realise I had bushy eyebrows - all my life I've been self-conscious about them. But since I wear bangs, it was only a real problem when I got my hair permed and my bangs got dramatically shorter in a matter of hours and never covered them anymore. It wasn't like they terribly bugged me, but still, I didn't like what I saw. I would never go and have them done though, because as I said - control freak. I don't know what happened to me this year...maybe I wanted to prove something to myself, too...Yep, it DOES hurt, but I think it hurts more when you're younger and the hairs are embedded more strongly.
Anyway...WE'VE GOT THIS! We're champions of self care! 🤣
And don't be so humble. You've been posting like a madwoman for a couple of weeks now, so you must have unlocked some secret ability! 🤣
Eeee! Congrats on being halfway to your goal! I think the trope free lists should definitely count toward reviews. They were so thoughtful, and that takes at least as much time and effort as a review.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you've considered it, but now that CQP is gone, have you reconsidered something like NetGalley or Edelweiss? I've heard from some overseas friends that the options are more limited outside the US for licensing reasons, but there might still be some out there that suit your interests. I mostly get approved for small press books too, and as an established blogger with weekly posts, I don't think you would have any trouble. (The marketing on small press books makes me really sad too. Surely, with the inventions of the internet and blogging, there are more options. But what do I know? I'm just a small blog shouting into the void. 😂)
I'm glad the mini-makeover was a success, and I'm looking forward to the beta/buddy reading! 💛
Quote: "I think the trope free lists should definitely count toward reviews. They were so thoughtful, and that takes at least as much time and effort as a review."
DeleteThank you - it indeed does! Though in some of them I incorporated (and reworked) a few sentences from my actual reviews, but still - it was hard work LOL.
I know this will make me sound like a special snowflake, but I can't be bothered with NG or E. Let me explain. Apart from being a small blogger (which I'm sure would limit my options even more), I'm too busy and too picky. I can't spend time on a platform like those, browsing through books, worrying about stats and deadlines, etc. Plus...I know that with every book I buy I take a leapt of faith, and there's no guarantee that I'll like it as much as I think I will, but...physical or not, I want it to be mine to keep. Say that I get to read a small-press book and I can't buy it from my usual source after - it would break my heart. I don't think I'm cut out for that...
We do shout into the void a lot LOL.
Looking forward too!
Hmm. Those are all completely fair reasons. I can't speak to Edelweiss because I've never used it, but a couple of those things may not be much of an issue on NG. If you're only browsing YA books, the process is MUCH faster than in the general fiction section. There are maybe a dozen new books a week at the most, and likely not that many that often. I browse around once a week for less than an hour looking at titles, but I'm also not as dedicated as you are to reading up on reviews and making sure it's a good fit for me.
DeleteDeadlines aren't so much an issue either. You choose how many books you request, so if you know you're busy, you can request fewer or none. Books are archived after a length of time, but you can post feedback at any point, even after archival. There's some expectation that feedback will be timely, but it can take me a month to a month and a half to read a book, write a review, and get it into my queue. As for books vanishing, I read on a Kindle, and none of my .mobi books have ever vanished or timed out. I'm still able to access ones from over a year ago, presumably forever. The .epub ones do time out after a month or two, but I think I've only gotten one of those out of 50+.
Haha, anyway! You know what's best for you as a blogger, and I totally understand the lack of interest. I wasn't planning to join it either until The Art of Escaping!
First off, thank you for the detailed explanation!
DeleteBut oops...I forgot to mention...I don't even have a Kindle, so I wouldn't be able to read books if not in PDF form (with Adobe). If someone sends me a book in another format, I can always put it through CloudConvert...but if it's not been downloaded, of course I can't. (Unless NG does have a PDF option?). It's good to know that books wouldn't vanish as I expected, though!
Also, I'm such a small blogger with a small audience. And I don't post that much (that's an understatement). I believe those factors would impact my chances to get a review book from them...?
I think even without a Kindle, you can download a Kindle Reader app on most devices. Most books also offer either a protected PDF format or a protected EPUB. However, since I've never used it, I'm not sure whether the PDFs would eventually time out or not. In the case of EPUBs, you would likely need another app like Aldiko--in which case, every book but one I've ever read on there has a time-out date (but most of those were from First to Read, not NetGalley).
DeleteBy Tumblr/Goodreads standards, I'm a small blog too. Mostly, that only affects requests from the bigger publishers, and I still get approved for those every now and then. I'm much more likely to be approved for books from small presses, which is a major part of your blog anyway. Many small presses, like Amberjack, don't even require requests. Their books are Read Now, so any NetGalley user can access them. There's a whole section of Read Now books that has 100+ titles in it. (That includes general/adult fiction as well, but still, it's quite a few.)
Many publishers list their approval preferences, and they differ on what they're looking for. Some want blogs that post every day, but many just want established blogs with regular postings. You've been doing this for several years and post a couple times a week, so I think that would be in your favor. In any case, if you decide it's something you want to do at some point, I'm happy to try and answer any questions! You might also check with Cri (PaperbacksandPizza), since she's another NetGalley user in Italy. She would know more about the availability.
It's funny, because I was just looking into NetGalley today, and from what I read, it seems like the Kindle version of their books never expires, while the other formats do. I didn't know a Kindle reader app existed - I'm so out of the loop LOL. Anyway, as usual, thank you! Maybe I'll look into it more closely later, and decide if it's something I can invest my time and energy in trying. Right now I need to schedule a bunch of stuff in advance so that I can rest a little later in the year, so my time is...already booked LOL.
DeleteI've been on vacation, so I'm catching up on your posts now - can you tell? ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad things are on track for you so far, it must feel great.
Oh, if you could see my eyebrows! I don't like the maintenance on them, and I only really started doing a little bit of maintenance here and there a few years ago. Bold is beautiful!
Haha, nothing against bold, but mine were unruly. Also, less tick eyebrows go better with my eyes. But yep...maintenance is definitely no fun *grimaces*.
DeleteI hope your vacation was awesome! Where did you go?
The Maritime provinces in Canada (eastern areas by the Atlantic). I have been a bit before, but I had a few different areas of focus this time. It was really lovely.
Delete