I've been thinking about my blog and all the things I want to accomplish by the end of the year (see my post First Half of the Year Wrap Up! for what I'm talking about). I haven't been posting as many reviews as I'd hoped I would be by now. And there were a few weeks that I didn't even post ONE review. That seems kind of lame for a book blog for crying out loud.
So, what HAVE I been doing?
Memes.
Meme after meme after meme... every single day. Literally. I love to do them. I was getting pretty addicted to them. They are so much fun and you get to meet lots of other book bloggers. Thanks to every single one of them, I have gained at least one follower per meme I've done. And that's awesome.
Here's the problem... while memes are fun and can unite bloggers to people who love the same things they do, there is one minor flaw in the meme obsession. I couldn't pinpoint what was wrong until I read this blog post from Parajunkee: Book Blogging 101: Major Book Blogger Mistakes
What was the mistake? Quantity vs. Quality. I've been filling in all these blanks with so many memes that I haven't given myself any time for other book blog things. I spend at least 15-30 minutes working on my memes every day (sometimes it took longer than that). That's about 2-3 hours per week... Copy/pasting the format and the links from the previous post and from the meme host's post. Uploading pictures to use in posts. Picking out lines from books for TT. Going through my Goodreads TBR list to find an unreleased book for WoW.
I could probably have read another book or two with that time, AND written out more reviews, AND come up with more useful/interesting/hilarious articles/essays.
This, of course, has me flustered. Like I said before, I enjoy the memes. Lately though, it seems like the memes have overpowered me. And even before that article from Parajunkee, I was considering stopping a meme or two. AFTER reading the article though, I see the need to drop almost all of them. I'm going to schedule out my blog every week and stick to it. I'll still do a random meme or two here and there, but it'll be fewer and far between. I'll probably keep up with Follow Friday for sure, that way I can still meet and follow new book bloggers. The rest are up in the air (aside from my personal meme, Update Thursday).
I want to focus on doubling my book reviews, and start my nostalgic article series, and read more, and write my novel.
SO! In conclusion, expect some changes to my blog. I may not do much over this coming week in my attempt to get prepared and come up with posts and scheduling them. I'll definitely be posting the winner to my FIRST ever Book Giveaway (you still have until midnight tonight to enter) by hopefully tomorrow or Tuesday night, and I'll participate in Follow Friday.
I'd like to give a shout out to Parajunkee and say thanks for her wise ways and book blogging information that is more than beneficial for newbies like me to take into consideration to get our blogs going the way we would like them to. (Run on sentence, but I don't care!)
Happy reading, happy blogging, happy posting, happy everything!
~Jessica
I'll admit, I get really bored of memes. Not just reading them but writing them too. It's a great way to find more blogging buddies and get more followers but when every blog I read is talking about the same thing nothing stands out in my head and I get bored...fast. I look forward to you're improvements but I'd read your blog even without them. ;) Good luck.
ReplyDeleteYES. It does get boring after awhile. Thanks for being such a loyal follower! ^_^
ReplyDeleteI have to agree, the memes do get time consuming and boring. I have been wittling my participation down as well. Though I usually post at least 3 reviews a week, I still feel like my blog is filled with useless information.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to seeing your changes and of course I remain a follower (as from the beginning)!
Doing 3 reviews a week is great. ^_^ And thank you for your support (from the very beginning)!
ReplyDeleteI think we all know exactly what you mean - as well as being a great way to connect with fellow bloggers, memes can make you *feel* as if you're being productive. I couldn't write a review every day, but I could do daily memes and then my blog would have constantly new content. But, yeah...the quantity over quality issue is there.
ReplyDeleteI've tried a few of the memes and I'm going to try to do them only when I really want to, not out of obligation. Like only doing Top Ten Tuesday when it's a topic I've got a lot of ideas for, not when I have to rack my brains to come up with a list. And Waiting on Wednesday when there really is a book I'm waiting for, not when I have to go searching for one.
I think the most important thing to remember is that blogging is supposed to be fun and not a burden. I've noticed a lot of blogs slowing down on fresh content now that it's summer and that's fine. You (and me) should feel fine doing that, too and only posting when we truly want/need to.
Exactly! I did Top Ten Tuesday ONCE, when it was a good one that I could do. WoW is one I might do once in awhile. I'm actually feeling much more relaxed now that I've taken a break from it. Plus it gives me more time to check out other blogs and write and read. And watch some TV marathons... lol.
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean about memes. Sometimes I look through my dashboard at the blog updates and they will all be for the same meme. As I don't really do any except FF, I tend not to participate or comment on those posts. Having said that though, I don't know how people get the time to read 3-4 books a week to review! These people are super-readers or something because I can barely get through one book! Then again, I am blog stalking a lot too :) Great post. Looking forward to the new changes in the blog.
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