Armchair BEA: Ask the Experts

Today is the final day of Armchair BEA and the suggested writing topics is "Ask the Experts". It's going to be all about tips and advice and questions about making your blog better. So I thought I would share some tips/advice that I've found works for myself after almost two years of blogging--not that it makes me an expert by any stretch of the imagination. I also have some questions so feel free to answer those in the comments.

Advice

Don't be afraid not to post every day - And I really mean this. The weeks where I manage to post something relevant every day are rare. Personally, I try to post 3 - 4 times a week including weekends so that I'm posting every other day or so. I find that it's a lot easier to manage this way and people still come visit the blogs when I don't have anything new that has been posted. It's a lot less stressful and you run less of a chance of running out of things to post. This also helps ensure that you have more quality content. Personally, I'm much more likely to go visit a blog who doesn't post every day but has quality content than one that posts every day and those posts are all memes. On the subject of memes, don't overdo it. Pick one or two that you really like and work for you and stick with those and everything should be good.

Make your blog your own - This is sort of related to the first one, but make your blog your own. It should be your corner or the Internet where you post about books the way you want to post about books. Just be yourself, don't try to be like someone else. It's okay to aspire to what other blogs have become, but don't feel like a failure just because you're not like them right away. If you are not being yourself it often shows so if you are being who you really are then things should work out fine.

Twitter - Twitter (or any other social media) is such a great tool for a blog. I cannot even begin to count how many people I have met through Twitter and now I even meet with some of those people in person. Twitter is probably the best way to start networking your blog. You can easily talk to other bloggers and even authors. It's also a great way to draw attention to your blog by tweeting whenever you have a new post up. The only thing with that is to make sure you don't start over tweeting about your new post because then people tend to get annoyed. So if you're on Twitter, use it. And don't be afraid to say "hi", I'm usually a very friendly person and you can find me @emiliebookworld.

Don't be afraid to ask for help - No one is going to think any less of you for asking for help. I know it sometimes takes me a while to ask for help and I'm working on becoming better at it. People in the book blogging community are all really friendly and great resources when you aren't sure of something. So don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it, regardless of what it's for. There's bound to be at least one person with a helpful answer, if not more.

Questions

Original Content/Features - While I'm really good about posting reviews, taking part in blog tours and participating in a couple of memes, I'm always kind of stuck when it comes to other types of content. I'm talking things like features or original content in the form of discussion posts and like the like. How do you come up with that content? Any friendly advice you would be willing to share?

Staying on top of things - I have my own system as to the order in which I'll read review books and sort of plan when I'm going to post what but the second part of the system could be better. So how do you manage your review pile/TBR pile? And how do you keep track of what you have to post when or decide when you're going to post what content?

Thanks for stopping by again today. I've really enjoyed taking part in Armchair BEA this week. It made the longing to be at the actual BEA a little less and if I can't make it to New York next year I'll definitely be taking part again.

Armchair BEA: Beyond the Blog

Today is Day 4 of Armchair BEA and it was suggested we talk about how book blogging may have opened doors and given us opportunities outside of blogging. Off the top of my head I can't really think of anything like that happening to me so far, but  things outside of blogging have helped with the blogging.

While book blogging has yet to give me some outside opportunities, my book blogging has been influenced by outside factors. All through middle school, high school, and my first couple years of university I was writing for various school publications so writing has always been a part of my life. Though creative writing is definitely not my forte, I do have a lot of experience with news-type writing and informative writing. Having that kind of writing experience outside of blogging has really helped me when it comes to writing my reviews. If the chance presented itself, I would love to do some freelance review writing but, so far, that opportunity hasn't arisen, but maybe in the future.

A book blog can definitely be a good stepping stone for bigger things, and I hope that I can have those opportunities in the future. If you have any tips about going beyond the blog, I would love to hear them.

Armchair BEA: Networking in Real Life

Today is day three of Armchair BEA and it's all about networking in real life, which can mean a number of things for book bloggers but I'll be talking about my own experience.Most of my real life networking when it comes to blogging has been at author signings or with book bloggers from my area so I'll be talking about both of those things.

When I first started book blogging I didn't even think that there could be other book bloggers in my area. After a year of being on Twitter and talking with other bloggers I realized that there were quite a few bloggers in my area, a lot of them focusing on YA books just like I do. From then on we started planning to meet up at different times. My first experience meeting other bloggers in person was at on the of the Smart Chicks Kick It tour stops. We all met up for dinner before the event and then all went to the signing together afterwards. I'll admit that I was a little nervous about meeting the other bloggers. While I had talked to all of them online, it's not exactly the same thing when you find yourself face to face with them. But everything went off without a hitch and it didn't take long for us to start talking about books and losing track of time a little. 

A few months later, another meet-up was organized where even more bloggers came it was really great to meet up with the ones I already knew again and talk about books. Every time there is a signing in my area, which isn't all that often, I always ask the local bloggers I know if they are planning on attending and want to meet up at the event. That way it makes it so I don't feel all alone at the signing and gives me someone to talk to while waiting for things to start. Most recently, I met up with even more bloggers from my area on the release day of Insurgent so we could all go to the bookstore together to buy it and then go out to dinner. Every time I've met up with my local bloggers I've had a great time.

Meeting up with bloggers who live in the same area as you do is a great way to network. I know for me, I love talking books with people but my roommates, while they read a lot, don't always understand my clear obsession with books. So having people I can do that with is always great. If you know of any people in your area who are also book bloggers I would definitely recommend getting in touch with them and seeing if they are interested in meeting up with you. It's always been a great experience for me and I've loved getting to know all the wonderful bloggers in my area and talking books with them. 

Armchair BEA: Best of 2012 (so far) & Giveaway

Today is Day Two of Armchair BEA and that means it's giveaway day. The suggested writing topic was "Best Books of 2012...so far". In the spirit of things, I came up with my Top 10 favorite books I've read so far that have been published in 2012 and there is a giveaway below, so be sure to keep reading. So without further ado, here are some of my favorite reads so far this year (in no particular order -- links go to my review of the book if it has been posted).

Dreamless by Josephine Angelini 

I absolutely adored Starcrossed when I read it last year and had been waiting for Dreamless since reading the last page. Now that I've read it, I can say that it was absolutely amazing, even better than Starcrossed. I don't really know how to put it into words. It was a book I loved and with every page I turned I tried to slow down to make it last longer but I just couldn't because the book was so good.

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

The Mortal Instruments series is easily one of my all time favourite series and I've loved every book so far. When City of Fallen Angels came out last year I read it right away and while I really liked it, it wasn't all I was hoping it would be. City of Lost Souls on the other hand was fantastic. I was back in the world I love with the characters I love and the story simple did not disappoint.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Do I even need to explain this one? I loved Divergent when I read it last year and I loved Insurgent even more when I read it a month ago. This dystopian story is such a great one and despite the size of the books, you just end up speeding through them. If you haven't picked these two books up already, you seriously should.

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

I absolutely adore Richelle Mead and her Vampire Academy/Bloodlines series. And I'm lucky enough to have already read The Golden Lily and it was so, so, so good. I can't even begin to explain how good it was. I am so happy to be able to see more of Adrian, Sydney, Jill and Eddie and then certain characters come back and it makes the book even better. And now I'll stop rambling about The Golden Lily.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder is unlike any other YA book I've read. There are plenty of story tale retellings out there, but none of them felt quite like the one Marissa Meyer wrote. This is a retelling of Cinderella in a futuristic world where there are humans, androids and cyborgs. It's a little out there when you think about it this way, but it works so well in the book. It was really a fantastic read.

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

I love Kody Keplinger's books and A Midsummer's Nightmare may just be my favourite. When I picked it up and sat down to read it, I didn't get back up until I was finished reading it. And that happens to me with all of Kody Keplinger's books, but this one in particular just had something that made it stand out. The story was great and this is also definitely a fantastic summer read.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Again, do I even need to explain this one? I'm not going to lie, The Fault in Our Stars was only the second book by John Green that I read. But it was so good. It was funny but completely heartbreaking and often had me laughing through my tears. Before I even started reading I knew that my heart would be breaking pretty much the whole way through the book. But I just couldn't help but keep on reading.

Last Rite by Lisa Desrochers

I would consider Lisa Desrochers' Personal Demons trilogy one of my favourite series and Last Rite was the perfect conclusion to it. It was filled with action and the hot and sexy romance I've come to expect from Lisa Desrochers. And all things considered, it was going to be difficult to have an ending that would fully satisfy me and with Last Rite there was.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Before reading The Immortal Rules I had already read and loved Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series, so I was really excited about this new one. And it really delivered. Just when I thought vampire stories were getting kind of repetitive, Jullie Kagawa went and wrote The Immortal Rules and it was fantastic. The story, the world and the characters all blew me away.

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

I have always had a thing for mermaids and Of Poseidon was a fantastic new mermaid story. Right from the first page I was laughing out loud and it lasted through the whole book. It was a really great read and it definitely lifted my spirits while I was reading it. And it would definitely make a great summer read if you haven't already read it. 

And now for a giveaway!


Two lucky winners will each win a book of their choice from my list of Favorites of 2012 so far. The giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY, wherever the Book Depository ships. Good luck to all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Armchair BEA: Introductions First!

Since I'm not able to make it to NYC for the actual BEA conference, I decided to participate in Armchair BEA and today is the first day. For the first day, we are asked to answer five questions so that the other people participating in the event and our readers can get to know us better. So without further ado, here's a little more about me.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?

If it wasn't obvious by my blog's name, I'm Emilie and I'm a 21-year-old university student. Come the fall I'm going to be in my final year of my undergraduate studies, working on a double major in communication and political science. So outside of blogging, a lot of my time is spent studying and doing school-related stuff both for my studies and for my work. As far as blogging is concerned, I've been at it for almost two years and I never even thought I would last this long. As to how I got into blogging, it was kind of out of sheer boredom. The summer after my first year of university I was living alone and I wasn't working so I spent most of my days reading since it was too hot to do anything else. I had been following a few book blogs and I thought I maybe should try my hand at it. I mean, I was reading all these books and wanted to talk about them but I didn't really have anyone with whom I could talk about that. So I figured that if nothing else, starting a book blog would at least give me a place where I could express my thoughts on those books and from there the whole thing just sort of took off.

Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.

English isn't actually my first language. Originally I'm a French-speaker and until I reached middle school my English was relatively limited. But then I started going to school in English and I realized that a lot of the books I had been reading in French were actually translated from English so I decided to read the original versions. I still speak French whenever I'm home or with my family and still read in French from time to time, but nowhere near as much as I used to, especially since I've been going to school in English ever since and I now live in a more anglophone area.

Where do you see your blog in five years?

I really have no idea. When I first started blogging almost two years ago I didn't even thinkI would keep it up for that long. But it didn't take long for blogging to become a pretty important part of my life. I guess in five years I would want to still be keeping it up. I don't necessarily have high expectations as to what my blog will become but I'm at least hoping that I will still be reading as much as I am now and still talking about those books I'm reading. So basically, in five years I still want to be blogging but my blog doesn't need to have become something big and amazing.

What literary location would you most like to visit? Why?

I've always had a thing for mermaid stories and when I was a kid I was obsessed with The Little Mermaid (arguably, you could say I still am sometimes) so if I could visit a literary location I would pick an underwater mermaid world. It would just be awesome to see how the mermaids really live and to experience living in an underwater world. Though I have my suspicions that if I were actually able to visit a mermaid world it would only make my obsession with mermaids even worse.

Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?

My reading tastes haven't changed all that much since I've started blogging. Before I started blogging I was reading YA and that's still what I read now. I would say the main difference is that I read a lot more different genres within YA. Before blogging I mostly only read contemporary and paranormal but now I've widened my tastes. The other way my reading habits have changed is that I read a lot less in French than I used to. Before I started blogging my reading was not a perfect 50/50 division between French and English but there was a lot more French than there is now. Though that might also have to do with the fact that there are less French books around where I am living now.

Come back tomorrow for the second day of Armchair BEA to find out what have been some of my favorite reads of 2012 so far and maybe even a giveaway.