Happy New Year!!!
I am not generally one for making New Year’s Resolutions. To me, they’re more often than not a way of setting myself up for failure. I can’t count the number of times I’d resolve to lose weight, do better around the house (you know, cleaning, dusting, etc.), really focus on my relationship with Christ, exercise more, and so on. More often than not, it hasn’t happened. Generally, I hit the ground running in early January only to have something happen to derail me within the next few weeks/months. I have all sorts of things derail me. Getting pregnant, a back injury, getting sick, traveling – to name a few. But, when it comes to Proud Book Nerd, well, I am going to attempt to change things up a little bit as 2011 gets under way.
I still haven’t had this book blog for an entire year quite yet. I believe early April is whenI started this blog, but I’m not 100% sure. I feel sorta stupid about that, but this has been one heckuva year for me. A lot of things – injuries the biggie for me in 2010 – were completely out of my control. And now I digress…
Getting back on topic. I have learned a few things in my first 9-ish months of having a blog dedicated to books.
- For one, I have learned that there is a hell of a lot more out there to read than I will EVER have time for. Even if I resorted to audiobooks, which I abhor, there would NOT be enough time to read everything I want to read.
- You don’t have to be a good writer to get published, but some AWESOME writers have little to no luck getting so much as an AGENT! (How does that work?)
- Editing should not be taken for granted. Yes, most of the major publishing houses have near-perfect final products, but the smaller publishers need to focus a little teeny tiny bit more on quality. And don’t get me started on self-published works! And, yes, I am qualified say this – I am an editor by trade. (And, no, I don’t edit for free. See my About page for more information.)
- When editing – especially a novel – don’t try to read anything else at the same time.
- Don’t overdo it. This is a biggie. If I’m not paying attention, my time gets taken up FAST. I’ve started keeping a spreadsheet of what I’m reading and when it’s due. That helps me keep from getting overbooked (pardon the pun).
- ARC tours are a lot of fun, but don’t sign up for too many. It’s HELL when SEVERAL (from two or more tour sites) come in all at once! (I am ever grateful for the patience I’ve been shown by those who run some of these tours. If you’ve ever extended my time for reading or otherwise helped me dig myself out of a heap of ARCs, THANK YOU!)
- Negative reviews are scary stuff. Sometimes authors and/or their friends can get a little defensive. I understand. Their book is their baby. Badmouthing someone’s book is almost as bad as badmouthing their child. Almost – most of the time.
There are lots and lots of other things I could share that I’ve learned, but these stand out at the moment. So, I am going to make some resolutions related to the lessons listed above.
- I am not going to allow the volume of things to read to cause me stress. While I try to make sure to read everything I’m given by the time at which a review is expected, there are times that it just cannot happen. Instead of stressing over it and letting it rob me of time with my family – or time enjoying other things, like an occasional movie – I will just let it go. I’ve already started working on this, but still have a long way to go.
- Not much I can do about the people who do/don’t get publishers/agents. I will continue to sing the praises of my favorite lesser-known authors and hope that somehow my small contribution can make a difference.
- Also not much I can do about the editing after something’s been published, unfortunately. I can promise, however, that I will most definitely call anyone out if their book is lacking in the grammar/punctuation/spelling department. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again. Don’t like it? Get the damn thing edited!
- When I have an editing gig lined up (like one I expect in March), I will withdraw from the ARC Tour sites (temporarily, of course) and refrain from agreeing to do any tours for the entire month. That will give me, the author, and the publisher some much-needed wiggle room.
- To avoid overbooking myself, I will continue to maintain the spreadsheet. I will also refrain from signing up for tours unless it’s something I REALLY want to read, or I likely would pick up anyway. No more seeking out things to review. At least, not unless the well dries up a little!
- Similar to the previous item, don’t sign up for almost every ARC tour that’s offered. These probably have gotten worse for me than other tours, simply because I don’t necessarily know when something’s coming my way – or which book is coming. It’s like Christmas all year long, except for the weeks (summer, often) during which I get 4-8 books to read – on top of the previously scheduled reviews!
- I will continue to post negative reviews, and just hope to grow some thicker skin. I try always to be tactful, and I always try to find something positive to say – even if it’s as simple as having a great cover. I refuse to post only positive reviews, because I feel that hurts my integrity. It is simply impossible for me to love – or just like – every single book that I get my hands on. It is simply impossible for any one author to please every reader out there. I am going to be honest in my reviews, because I want my readers to know that when I say I love a book, I really do love that book. I believe my positive reviews have more weight to them if I also write negative reviews (when warranted – I’ll never write a negative review simply to have a negative review).
I addition to those above, I have one big one. This is probably most important, but won’t happen if I don’t heed the above “resolutions.” I must get back into reading more of what I want to read, and less of what I feel I must read. I need to read more for pleasure. There are tons of books I’ve put off reading this year because I had so many reviews to get done. I’m going to try not to do that so much in 2011. To help with this, I will be taking some time off from reviews. That doesn’t mean I won’t be writing reviews or blogging. It just means that if I do that, it’ll be because I really want to share my thoughts about something I read for fun. As such, the tentative schedule of months I’m taking off is below. It might change, as I have no idea what’s coming for the year. But, my goal is to take three months specifically for leisure reading.
- March
- July
- November
If you read all of that, thank you!
Happy New Year! I hope 2011 is a great year for you all, and I wish many blessings for all!
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Challenges keep reading even more fun, help me to push myself a little, but also to keep in touch with what I love. Translation: I’ve been reviewing so much that I’ve not had a chance to read certain books that I’ve been wanting to read (example: the Twilight books, to name a few), and I’m hoping that participating in these challenges will help me to make more time for the books I WANT to read simply for fun. With that said, let’s talk about this particular (and, I think quite exciting) challenge!
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