A Whole Lot of Posts
For some bloggers this was one of the first times they wrote a post every day for a week. That was the case when I did my first Armchair BEA and I was totally exhausted. By the second year, I was use to posting 5 days a week, but not actually writing articles every day. Even this year it was still a challenge as I have regular contributors, and I'm so thankful for them.
I hope that bloggers discovered other "topics" they can write on. I often hear from bloggers that they aren't sure what to write about besides doing reviews. Last year I even did a series of tips posts on creating other content. If you found discussing the various topics presented this week fun and would like to do more, I have a weekly discussion on Sundays (though the discussion lasts all week). I hope you will stop by tomorrow for "what makes a book a classic".
If you missed my thoughts on this week's topics:
Day 1: Introduction & Literature
Day 4: Beyond the Borders
Day 5: Middle Grades & Young Adult
Commenting
My goal during Armchair BEA is to visit 10 blogs and leave some kind of comment. I did well the first three days, but then on Giveaway Day I don't think I commented on 10 blogs (unless that was an entry). Yesterday I didn't get to any of the blogs. Just too tired. I will try to get by some of them today and tomorrow. Looking at the comments left on my blog I think a lot of others had the same issue.
But what this week did show me was that I was capable of visiting blogs and leaving comments. If I can do that when I'm also responsible for writing a full post each day, then I could do that when I'm on my normal posting schedule. I'm going to try really hard to visit at least a couple of blogs a week and leave comments. I know we all love comments so I hope others saw that leaving comments wasn't that difficult and will also try to comment on more blogs on a more regular basis.
Twitter Parties!
I have always enjoyed the Twitter parties, but this year I had more trouble connecting within the chat. I attended 3 parties. The best chat was the Wednesday morning chat. Though it still was very fast past, there were defined questions (Q1, Q2, etc) which helped organize the discussion - you knew what people were responding too. I chatted individually with a few people at last night's party so that was nice. I also won prizes at two of the parties.
If you haven't made it to a party yet, there is another one tonight at 7 pm US eastern time.
As we usually finish up on Friday with all the Armchair BEA fun, I wonder if tonight's party will be less well attended. That isn't necessarily a bad thing as the chats really fly and are crazy with a multitude of people chatting. I've been using Twubs.com to follow the chat (it looks more like a chat room). But I do flip back to Hootsuite to check my mentions to ensure I don't miss anyone responding to me.
Giveaway Day
Arguably the most anticipated day of the week. It is always fun just to see what everyone is giving away. A number of blogs that I visited for that day were doing giveaways for the first time. Others used it to clean shelves or just share their favorite books with others.
My giveaway was a combination of cleaning the shelf and letting other authors promote their books. Because I know it is difficult to get around to the 111 blogs that hosted giveaways, my give away is open until Monday night. Besides the 2 paperbacks for US only (because of publisher restrictions), I'm also giving away 2 paperbacks internationally and then there are several ebooks that authors donated. There are 10 prizes so there will be 10 winners!
Not part of the Armchair BEA giveaway, but because I thought many of you would be interested there are still a few hours left in the Fierce Reads giveaway where I'm giving away signed copies (4 winners will get 1 book each).
Instagram Challenges
I did the first two days of the Instagram Challenge. On Wednesday, I didn't really have anything to take a picture of since I'm reading mainly on my Nook and it was "current bookmark". I had good intentions of doing yesterday's - "what can I build" with books, but yeah, I was too tired. Today is "where I ArmchairBEA" and I might get around to it.
Getting Back to Normal
So that is pretty much my week. A lot going on and I, at least, tried everything that was offered. I don't feel too bad about what I missed or didn't get to. I'm learning there is only so much I can do each day.
I am looking forward to getting back to my normal schedule. I think May is the first month ever (or in a very long time) that there was a post everyday. That is 31 posts!
I'm responsible for Two Cents Discussions on Sunday, but after I write tomorrow's post I may leave next week completely to my collaborators. I hope that if you discovered Girl Who Reads this week that you will come back to see what a "regular" week looks like. We have a great line up next week.
An interview from our new staff interviewer on Monday. Claire will have a review on Tuesday. Wednesday will be some of June's upcoming releases. On Thursday I provide tips useful to bloggers and authors. Friday I will have a review.
Okay, so I won't get much of a break, but then again I don't know what I would do if I wasn't writing for the blog!
This week my reading has also suffered so hopefully I will get back into my books. I have several set to expire on Netgalley soon.
Now Armchair BEA is over, what are you looking forward to? What is your "normal" blogging week?
Posts
Great post! You really immersed yourself in Armchair BEA. Except for Friday, maybe. I didn't do a post yesterday - it just was too much. But you sum up well what I felt as well, it was great to visit other blogs and when you really try, a blog post a day isn't completely impossible.
ReplyDeleteHope you found a lot of new blogs. I did!
I noticed the commenting action slowing down a bit as the week went on, too. Hectic week! I imagine a lot of folks will do some catch up commenting this weekend. And, back to reading!
ReplyDeleteJoy's Book Blog
I’ve had so much fun visiting all the blogs on Armchair BEA. This is my first year and I’ve had such a good time that I plan to come back next time. I’ve added a ton of books to my TBR list as well as added a lot of book friends on twitter, goodreads, and bloglovin. Thank you so much for participating and making it a great first year for me.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a great week. While I always post every day, this year I managed to make the Twitter parties, all of them, and that's a big thing for me. No Instagram this year. I visited a lot of blogs and commented on all of them. I'll continue to check out those I've missed this week. For my third year at this, I'd have to say it was fun and a great success.
ReplyDeleteIt was great seeing you here Donna! I know it was a hectic week for me blogging every day with making my own posts, even if I blog every day it was still very crazy. And then there was trying to get to as many blogs as I can. Phew~ I'm kind of beat but it was a blast meeting new blogs and talking about books.
ReplyDelete~Ki
@doingsomereading.wordpress.com
I love the way you formatted your wrapup! Ooh, blogger tips on Thursdays? I will definitely have to come back to check that out. Was great chatting with you on Twitter. Hope you get some breathing room. And don't worry, my reading suffered too, so you are not alone.
ReplyDeleteLisa @Just Another Rabid Reader
Sounds like you had a fun but busy week!!
ReplyDelete