Welcome to my first Brandee's Bookish Babble post. There are many, many similar posts to this one - but basically I wanted a place to discuss bookish and/or blogging stuff and I needed a title. :) So this is my new discussion meme. (And thanks to my daughter, Sky, for drawing my banner!)
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I don't consider myself to be a very organized person. I mean, my kids are always fed, clean, in clean clothes, and where they need to be when they need to be. So in some areas of my life, I'm organized...well, as organized as I can be. But when it comes to my blog...not so much. Add to that I'm a procrastinator and... :)
After reading Terri @Second Run Reviews Blogging Routine posts and Nyx @Nyx Book Reviews' post on how they manage their blogs, I got to wondering. And so I thought I could pose some of my questions here (admittedly lots of questions) and see how you all manage your blog.
First of all, do y'all have a routine? Do you have a certain day where you sit at your computer and create/schedule posts for the upcoming week or month?
How many posts to you publish a week? Why? Do you participate in blog tours, cover reveals, etc.?
How do you keep track of which books you'll be reading next and your reviews of them? Do you have an app or use a spreadsheet to manage a list of the books you'll be reading, and whether or not you've posted your review on your blog and/or cross-posted it?
How do you keep up with commenting on others' blogs as well as commenting back on your own blog?
How do you use social media? Are there apps you use to pre-schedule facebook posts or tweets?
Is there a certain food or beverage you keep beside you while taking care of bloggy stuff? Do you listen to music?
As for how I'm doing things, I'm more of a fly by the seat of my pants type of blogger. I have historically prepared and published blog posts as I go. This year, for the first time since I started blogging, I have a backlog of prepared posts. And I admit, it's a rather nice feeling. But I still end up spending time daily to prepare posts, cross-post reviews, etc. And social media? Yep, I do that on a daily basis...if I remember to do it.
All this means, I'm usually rather stressed about blogging. And I don't want it to be stressful since I blog simply because I want to read, share, and discuss books (and other stuff). And I think that if I could approach it in a more organized fashion, maybe it wouldn't be quite as stressful.
So, I'd really appreciate any pointers y'all can offer. :)
I put in a few hours each day, writing reviews, commenting etc. I do an hour or so in the am and an again at night to comment back. I like having posts scheduled out 2 or more weeks. In Jan I had 48 posts scheduled ahead..and bam my daughter had a baby, I went on vacation and I am down to 2 weeks. I m hoping to build it back up during Clean Sweep.
ReplyDeleteI blog a little bit every day, and sometimes, I'll write and schedule a review as soon as I finish reading a book, while other times, I put it off for a while. I don't really have a plan for my blog, but I post reviews four or five times per week, and participate in different memes on some days, not always the same ones, and have at least one post every day.
ReplyDeleteI do participate in blogtours, but I prefer doing the ones where I get to read and review the book being promoted, because I don't want to promote a book I might not enjoy if I read it. For cover reveals, I only participate if it's for a book by an author I love, it's a way to help spread the love...
When it comes to commenting, that is something that takes a lot of time! But I visit all those who leave a comment on my blog, and if they have a post I want to comment on, I do... if they don't, then I won't... I also try to comment back on all comments on my own blog, and in WP.org, there's a great thing to help with that, as in my dashboard, I can see the list of all the comments I haven't answered. That way, I don't miss anyone.
And really, I hope you'll be able to find a way to make blogging less stressful for yourself, Brandee. It's supposed to be all about the fun, right?
Have a great weekend, my dear! Only 17 days! *happydances* I have started printing out stuff I need to take with me, and I'm just SO excited :) *BIG HUGS*
First of all, Sky is crazy talented!!! Well done, sweetheart :) Okay, yes, I've got a routine. I write all the posts on Saturday, publish 4/week - because 4 is a decent number and I honestly can't manage more. I participate in hops & giveaways, but not tours. I keep track of what I read and want to read through the lists on Goodreads. I don't always have time to answer the comments on my blog, but I spend about 1h/day commenting on other blogs (this is because my blog is new and I'm still working on building a following). I only use Twitter and Facebook twice/week, because that's all the time I've got. Coffee is my beverage of choice for just about any occasion, lol... I'm not a great multitasker, so no music while I do any of the above :) Really good topic!
ReplyDeleteI'm so thankful for my routine right now. My life has gotten uber busy and I'm thankful for the backlog in reviews right now. Since you mentioned my post in yours, my only advice is to find a solution that works for you and don't be afraid to tweak it if it doesn't work. Heck, shortly after writing my post, I switched from Trello to Asana. :)
ReplyDeleteTerri M., the Director
Second Run Reviews
I recently switched from Blogger to WP and they have a great calendar feature for organizing your posts. Before I kept a standard paper monthly calendar where I wrote when certain reviews had to be posted by and what I was actually posting on certain days using 2 different colors. I also don't really take much time w/ social media. GoodReads and Twitter are about it and I really only tweet when I read a great post, like this, or when I do my own posts.
ReplyDeleteLuckily for me I don't work or have a spouse or children so time spent blogging isn't an issue for me.
do y'all have a routine? Do you have a certain day where you sit at your computer and create/schedule posts for the upcoming week or month? No, I do batch posts with a template for WoW and StS. When I see that I am getting close to having none scheduled, I will just take the time. I start writing my reviews at 10-20% the way through so no spoilers and finish when I am done reading, then I schedule those out.
ReplyDeleteHow many posts to you publish a week? Why? Do you participate in blog tours, cover reveals, etc.?
Goal is 2 reviews, WoW, an interview/giveaway with authors who have contacted me, and StS. I sometimes do tours or reveals, but I have gotten pretty selective.
How do you keep track of which books you'll be reading next and your reviews of them? Do you have an app or use a spreadsheet to manage a list of the books you'll be reading, and whether or not you've posted your review on your blog and/or cross-posted it?
I keep a calendar of the ARCs I request or recieve that I want to read. I have amazon and goodreads lists for other books, what's at my library and the top reads I want to fit in when not reading arcs.
How do you keep up with commenting on others' blogs as well as commenting back on your own blog?
I usually try to do about 10-12 blogs per weekday except Weds when I visit my blog buddies who do WOW and those who visit me and the same for Sunday StS
How do you use social media? Are there apps you use to pre-schedule facebook posts or tweets?
I am bad about social media, I do triberr for a group of friends posts, and mine automatically publish to twitter and facebook
Is there a certain food or beverage you keep beside you while taking care of bloggy stuff? Do you listen to music? a lot of diet cherry coke
While I would like to say I am pretty organized I don't have a routien when it comes to blogging, i fidn that havign a routine when it comes to blogging kills my creativity, so I simply write my posts when I find the motivation and try to stay a few months ahead with Lola's Ramblings and Lola's Kitchen posts. My reviews posts I schedule as soon as I finish the book and wrote my review.
ReplyDeleteI try to post 5-7 times a week, only one post a day, with some exceptions. I participate in some blog tours and cover reveals, about 1-5 each month i think. I participate mostly in my own tours as I've gotten to know the author and feel that hosting them on my blog is another way to help. I participate in some other tours when it's for a book I really want to read.
I have a rough schedule on my head for what to read next, but it's pretty flexible as I don't want to feel forced to read a certain book and I am a moodreader. I use google calendar to keep track of deadlines for books and for when I schedule my posts.
My first priority is replying to comments on my own blog, second is commenting back and third is commenting on other blogs. Sadly when i am busy I don't do as much commenting. I try to make some extra time on sundays for blog commenting.
I use multiple social media: facebook, twitter, pinterest, google + and Tsu. I don't use scheduling plugins, except for tweetdeck where I use the schedule options for tweets.
I drink a lot of tea when I am working or blogging. I often have a cup beside me, like now. When my boyfriend is home there is some music on sometimes, but I don't put music on myself. I am not really a music person, although I can work with instrumental music on.
I blog ebst when I don't have to stress, so I try to stay ahead with posts as much as possible, since the begin of this month I've finally been ahead with review posts as well and it feels so good to be ahead. When deadlines come close I stress and lose focus, while I work better when scheduling posts months in advance. Yesterday I wrote a Lola's Ramblings posts for half June and that's stressing as I am usually two months ahead. But it works for me. I know that the first 20 days of a month are for marketing assistant work and I have less time for blogging, so those last 10 days of each month are important to get blog posts written. Often when I finally get to writing posts I write two after each other, like yesterday I did a Lola's Ramblings and Lola's Kitchen post or some days I wrote two Lola's KItchen or two Lola's Ramblings posts after eahc other. So I don't really have a rigid system, but it works for me.
I used to be very organized down to the last minute. Then I started working 10-11 hours a day and now I sneak in reading and blogging when I can. It's stressful for me because I like things in order. Free styling makes me crazy
ReplyDeleteI am currently on a day by day basis because I am looking at making a few changes. I am going to put a few of my posts together so you can get quotes and read reviews on the same day. Once I am ready, I will schedule ahead, and at the moment I have enough posts to be a month ahead.
ReplyDeleteI try to catch up on comments daily, but not on weekends. This week I have been slack though. I am only catching up now. But I think it will all run a little easier once I combine some posts.
I spend a morning cross posting, annnnd i am a little behind on that. It is my next catch up item. But if I do it once a week it is pretty stress free.
This is a great post Brandee and to answer your questions:
ReplyDeleteI do and don't have a routine. I sign up for blog tours and stuff like that regularly since it helps keep my post running every day without having me do a lot. I know that sounds terribly lazy but I find it really helps to do promos and stuff so I can actually get stuff I want to get done done. I can read, review, and post on my social sites during promo days and not worry about having to do much. I also have a planner with LOTS of colors signifying when I have promos and deadlines so I can know when I need to get stuff done. As for days...well I try for weekends. I try to cram all my hw and stuff into the week so I can enjoy the weekend to read and get caught up on reviews. As for posting comments well I usually take a day where I clean out my e-mails to schedule everything and that's the day I end up commenting on peoples blogs. It may be one week or two weeks after they've posted but I always get around to it.
Keeping track of what books I will read next...well I don't do that at all unless I have a blog tour. I have over 400 books on my shelve and over 200 of them I haven't read. That's not including e-books or reviews copies so I have a lot to choose from so I just wing it. When I feel like reading something I do. I don't have a spread sheet but I use goodreads a lot.
I use my social media irregularly. I post my blog stuff like one day a week and then post book sales every other day. I notice not a lot of people look on my blog from my social media so I tend to put minimal effort into posting there.
I listen to music when preparing my blog posts, clean out e-mails, and those kinds of things. I can't drink coffee since it makes me incredibly tired, energy drinks make my tourettes really bad so I don't drink those and I have given up pop so it's mostly a water diet for me. I tend to go into flow while writing for my blog and don't' get too hungry but I do eat a lot of fruit while blogging.
P.S. Sorry this is so long.
Not much of a routine here. We do have some posts that go up on a certain day of the week, but I don't have a plan as to when I write posts or go on social media. That just happens as it happens. I use plugins for WP to share posts and I also use Buffer when browsing to schedule shares. That's for the book blog. My lifestyle blog is very much fly by the seat of my pants.
ReplyDelete