Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Blogging Confessions.
- I quote from unfinished, uncorrected egalley and advanced reader copies. Is there anyone who actually contacts the publisher or waits for the release date to verify with the finished product before quoting? I’m just curious. I feel a little guilty about it, but then I don’t also.
- I get serious anxiety when my TBR list in my possession gets over 100 books. I need to know that I can feasibly read all of the books I own or possess. One hundred is doable. It might take me an entire year to read them all, but I could totally do it. More and I start getting all panicky.
- My ratio on NetGalley is over 100%. Apparently “read now” books don’t count against you as books you’ve been approved for, but they do count for you on books you’ve reviewed. So I’ve been able to get a really positive ratio even though I still have about 11 books from NetGalley that I need to review.
- I hate how NetGalley asks you if you would buy the book or if you’d like to connect with the author. I’d like a “maybe” option. And it’s really awkward when you have to click “no.”
- Sometimes I’m jealous of bloggers who are in with specific authors. While I think it’s cool for publishers to send packages to some bloggers, I’m more jealous of the bloggers who managed to hit it off with my favorite authors. Yet I also know that I’m not sure it’s really me to put myself out there to most authors like I assume they must have.
- I try to meet publication deadlines for reviews, but I try not to stress out about that. Sometimes I even purposefully miss a deadline to read a “non-review” book just so that I don’t get into a reading slump.
- I refuse to follow other bloggers who ASK me to follow them. Don’t get me wrong, I voluntarily follow A LOT of bloggers (book bloggers and otherwise), and if you follow me chances are good that I’ll follow you back. But there’s just something about someone asking me to follow them that rubs me the wrong way.
- I’m not really a fan of Twitter. I have my blog posts set up to tweet automatically, but to actively tweet….yeah I’ve not gotten there yet. And I don’t really understand how you carry on a conversation with someone through Twitter.
- I’m an organization nerd when it comes to my blog. I’ve got Goodreads shelves, Excel spreadsheets, Google calendars (okay just the one) and various other tools to keep my blog organized (and color coordinated). And that’s helped me stay at least a month ahead on scheduled posts and events.
- I pretty much never sign up for blog tours. It can get really awkward if you’re reviewing a book for a tour that you don’t like. And I hate signing up for cover reveals because I’m a little picky about the covers that make it onto my blog, and you never know what the cover is going to look like when you sign up to be a part of the reveal.
*Bonus: My SNL and I exchanged Kindles, indefinitely yet not permanently, so that we can both have constant access to each other's books. (We both own multiple devices so we both have access to our own books at any given time also.)
I’m sure I have other blogging confessions, but this is what you’re getting this week. What about you? What are your blogging confessions? Do you have any “weird” blogging quirks? Let me know!
Great confessions! I don't sign up for blog tours as well and it took me forever to learn how to speak twitter. I'm still learning, but I'm starting to like it :). I love your blog!
ReplyDelete1, 4, 5, 6, 7.. pretty much all of them can apply to myself too! I get uber jealous of not just bloggers who have ins with authors, but also bloggers who have made lifelong friendships with others. I hope to do the same. And because my NG ratio is SO LOW, I haven't been able to review that many books before their publication dates. And then I feel really bad about that. But someday, I will get to all of them! Hopefully. :) Oh, and I've always wondered about #1: I definitely don't check with the final copy with quotes. Oops.
ReplyDeleteHolly @ Part of that World
Thanks so much! I'd love to visit you back if you leave me a link! :)
ReplyDeleteHaha...I love that we have so many that we agree with. I'm the same way. Sometimes when people talk about the friendships they've made through blogging I wonder if it'll ever happen for me. But there are a few people that I can say I now call a friend that I "met" through blogging. Just keep plugging on with your NetGalley books and your ratio will get better and better. I also recommend if you find that you requested a book that you're no long interested in reading then you can provide that feedback to the publisher through NetGalley and that will boost your feedback % too. Thanks for stopping by Holly!
ReplyDeleteALL OF THIS. Well... I think I'd be dead of anxiety now if I got nervous when my TBR was more than 100 books. Ha ha HA. I've got to have at least 100 books sitting on my shelf here at school, another 100 on my Kindle, and another 100 at home. At least, but it's probably more--and they keep piling up. I just want to have them all! :) And I'm seriously jealous of your Netgalley percentage! I think mine's at 60 something, but I'm really trying to get it up... Except I keep getting more books. Oops. :) I quote from advanced copies of books, too, because if I'm trying to get my review up ahead of publication, how can I possibly check them? I try to go back at some point, but that often doesn't happen. I also definitely don't follow people who ask for it. If you follow me, I'll almost always look at your stuff and if I'm even just a little bit interested, I'll follow back. But asking for it just rubs the wrong way. And yay for organization! I love my calendars and spreadsheets! It's the only thing that I'm organized in, too!
ReplyDeleteI feel ya about authors....I want to be able to chat with an author enough that they know who I am. I think that would be so totally awesome! And I totally wish I was more organized with my blog. But at the same time, I know I am not that organized of a person and would just fail to keep all those tools organized. haha. Such is life.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stoppin' by! Hope you have a great week, Sandy!
Oh, I wish #9 were true for me! I've got the organizational tools, just not the discipline to stick to a schedule. I'm working on it, though.
ReplyDelete#1 made me laugh, because I've been pretty careful not to quote from ARCs, when it's obvious that everyone else does. (Well, anyone who posts a quote before publication, anyway.) I think I'll lighten up - in fact, you inspired me to include quotes in the review I posted this morning!
#2 made me laugh, too, in a slightly envious way. My combined "want-to-read" and "someday" lists on Goodreads are probably over 3000 books by now. And you're right; I know I'll never get to them all, and it bothers me. I'd like to prune them, but that takes time, too. But I'm not sure I could ever get it down to just 100!
Reading your confessions, it sounds to me like you are a very balanced and organized person (and blogger!) You're not letting the blog run your life. I'm looking for some of that balance in my own life and blogging; I'm glad you've found it.
Haha...the TBR list made it about 30 over 100 shortly after posting this funny enough. And it's true that my anxiety level has increased as well. But your TBR would give me a heart attack for sure. I'm not joking. I go into crisis breathing as it is. I totally understand the desire to have them all though. Definitely the read now books helped my NetGalley ratio and while I've only DNF'd like 2 review books ever, I try to make sure I let NetGalley know as soon as possible if I don't plan to finish a book and that boosts your ratio as well. EXACTLY about posting your review before the book publication date! I always try to beat the publication date IF I CAN. So exactly. Thanks for commenting! I hate that I'm so late responding. I have no idea how this one got away from me for so long!
ReplyDeleteChatting what authors is amazing. What I'd really love though would be to get in enough to be a beta reader! But that would require a huge level of trust. You've definitely got a lot going on with trying to get your masters and being a fairly newlywed and all that. So I definitely understand the organization part not being a priority. Thanks for stopping by and commenting Jennifer! Sorry I'm so late responding!
ReplyDeleteLike Rachel commented below...if I try to publish my book review BEFORE the publication date then how can I verify with the published copy? It's like impossible. And who has time for that? I see the benefits of Twitter, but it's another thing I haven't felt like devoting any time towards. Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteWell my schedule is flexible which is one of the things I love about my tools. Because I'm so organized I can be flexible sometimes.
ReplyDeleteKudos for not quoting from an ARC. That's really great. Glad I could help inspire you. As a blogger friend of mine (Rachel) commented below...how can you expect to verify with the published version if your review goes up before the publication date? I never thought about it that way before, but I definitely try to get my reviews posted before the release date if I can.
That's my TBR list in my possession that I get anxious if it grows over 100. My TBR list on Goodreads is over 400 books (which still doesn't compare to 3000), but periodically I go through it and anything below 3.5 stars overall rating and books that I just realistically don't think I'll ever get around to. Doing it periodically helps to keep it from being so daunting of a task.
Thanks Lark! I really try not to get too stressed about the blog. I take it seriously, but my mental well-being is more important than getting too stressed out about it. I will say that it's probably more like a constant battle for balance as most things in life are. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to reply. I have no idea how it got away from me without replying. And thanks for commenting!
www.librarianlavender.com :), thanks for visiting back.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I quote from unfinished/uncorrected ARC's too. Never thought about it before though. And Twitter isn't so bad. It's not meant to carry on long meaningful conversations but it's a great way to lightly interact with other bloggers and authors will surprise you with their interaction. Blog Tours can be fun IF (and that's a big if) it's a series or author you are familiar with. I've done a few. But I turn down way more than I've ever agreed to participate in.
ReplyDelete