Everyone will have their own views on these questions, but I'll throw mine in, going backwards. How much you enjoy doing the blog is what matters. Only you can balance that factor against reading time. Personally, I do infrequent updates on my blog. I plan out what needs doing, put aside a few minutes and post.
I'm not very active on Twitter, but there's always more good material.
Authors do like to know when a review goes up. Some react well, some don't.
Long reviews get tedious when people Witter on about themselves. If you're putting good information about the book in it, at least some readers will find that valuable. Some people will always skim the first few lines, but that's our low attention culture.
I'll add a bit more tomorrow but my initial thoughts are, I don't mind reviews about mid-length, but too long does put me off. Also, as an author myself, I would appreciate being informed via twitter if someone had mentioned my book.
In my experience, review posts are not as popular as other posts, especially in the comments department. Readers/followers seem to love discussion posts the most (other than maybe giveaways - haha!). I'm not too sure on the length of reviews. Mine tend to be a bit on the shorter side and I guess I prefer them shorter as well, but I think that depends. I know a lot of popular blogs that write longer reviews and they get comments on them.
As for Twitter, I really don't use it nearly as much as I should. I basically share my blog posts and the odd other thing that I found interesting. I do not utilize it to the best of its ability, so I'm not much help when it comes to that.
Sometimes I spend way too much time not doing anything really. I just sit and look at other blogs and at my blog and think of ways to improve it or creative new posts to write. Usually, I decide my blog is good enough as is and I really don't have enough time to completely re-do it, so I end up just leaving it and then I just wasted soooo much time thinking/planning for no reason when I could have been reading or at least writing some new blog posts! Haha. So, welcome to that world. It's just bound to happen. Just try to learn to organize your time to the best of your ability and to whatever works with you and your schedule. You'll be fine. Something to keep in mind - don't stress over your blog; it's just a hobby so make sure to always keep it fun!
I apologize in advance because this got *really* long! I don’t know how useful my thoughts will be anyway, because I really don’t see myself as a “blogger”. I realize this here thing is essentially a blog, but I just mean that I don’t necessarily have the same goals that I typically would associate with a blogger. I was just looking for another place to post reviews, with the fervent hope that people might sometimes talk to me about them. Likewise, I wanted to find people reading things that interested me and who welcomed comments about their reviews. Initially, I never wrote any non-review posts. That changed as I came to know more people here, and I do often have fun reading some of the non-review posts. I still consider reading and writing reviews to be my main purpose here, though.
I’ll read reviews of any length if they’re about a book in a genre that I’m particularly interested in. The exception is when it’s a book I think I may want to read eventually, and if I feel like the review gives too much detail about the plot. I like to go into a book as blind as possible. When I finish reading and reviewing a book, I always go to the book page to find the reviews that people I follow have written. That’s one of my favorite things to do, actually. So, even if I skip over a review the first time around because I planned to read the book, I’ll read the review eventually.
Although the social aspects of this site are wonderful, I really find value in the process of writing the review itself. I first started writing reviews a little over 2 years ago and, for probably a year, few if any people were reading them. Despite that, I still enjoyed the process and I wouldn’t stop writing them now even if nobody ever read another review I wrote. It gives me a chance to think through my opinions and organize my thoughts. I also like having kind of a tangible result of having read the book. Looking back over an old review helps me remember things about the book that I didn’t even write about, because it triggers memories of the thoughts in my head when I wrote the review. Even when I don’t go back to read an old review, I feel like I remember books better and longer than I did before I started writing reviews. When it comes to reviews, my only regret is that I didn't start writing them sooner.
I can’t comment on Twitter because I’ve never used it.
I also can’t really comment on the issue about posting all your best material, because I don’t set out with the intent to post on a schedule. I think this comes back to what I said in the beginning -- that I don’t see myself as a blogger. Trying to come up with things to write about isn’t something I personally would enjoy; nothing would drive me away from blogging faster! I post reviews whenever I finish a book and, if at any point something else comes up that I want to post about, I post it. Truly, I would be shocked if anybody even noticed how often I post unless they’re only following a handful of people. I’ll notice if somebody disappears for an extended period of time but, in general, my feed is a constant buzz of activity and I don’t notice or care how often people post.
Don't worry about the length, I appreciate the thought you put into it. Those are really great points. I too got into this simply because I was looking for another place to share my reviews. I will try to remember that.
I AM excited about posting discussions, since I am having fun doing them; but I don't want to let them crowd out the pleasure I got in designing my reviews to include the kinds of things I look for myself.
Most of what I'm going to say is going to sound pretty much like what YouKneeK and Bookstooge already said, but I'll do it anyway... ;)
1. Long reviews. For the most part, no, I don't read really long reviews or reviews that come closer to literary criticism. There are exceptions: reviews about books I'm really interested in, books I've already read or those written by people I know are entertaining writers. But mostly, 5 paragraphs is a good number, anything longer is too hard on my eyes and comprehension (it's a digital thing).
2. I don't Twit. See Bookstooge's response, above. I will add, though, that Tweeting authors to let them know about your review could be seen as a tacit invitation for the author to comment about your review - something that could be seen as good, or horrifically bad, depending on the review/author/blogger combination.
3. Posting good stuff... I've never heard that thing about reviews being the least popular content before. If that's true, I'm the exception because I'm here for the reviews. I enjoy seeing my BL friends non-review posts if they aren't too numerous, but I have stopped following a few people because the balance of their content was non-review content. This includes (and this is JUST me) the author interviews and obvious marketing stuff. A minimum amount of this kind of thing, I just skip it and move on, but if a user's primary focus is to market books to others, I'll just quietly unfollow. I'm here to find out what my friends think about the books they read, and if I get a few cool holiday/project/cat pics and links to interesting articles about books, that's a bonus. :)
If you're having fun doing what you do on your blog, the rest will sort itself out.
Thank you for your comments. They actually made me think of something else. I do include BUY buttons and GR buttons, because I've seen them elsewhere and thought of them as a service. I've never actually made a single penny from them, and that's ok. How do you decide if there is too much "marketing?" I don't want to be offending people when I thought I was being helpful.
Oh, and I forgot say - I do like to do interviews, but I always tuck them in at the very bottom of the review itself in a separate "box" (i.e. where they are easy to skip). What are your thoughts on that, would you avoid the review altogether if I mentioned the interview in the title?
In reply to your first question: how much is too much?, let me start by saying that I'm not the norm; I'm hypersensitive to marketing, so take my answer with a grain of salt. Now that's done, I don't mind an occasional heads up about special prices, or giveaways (although I never participate b/c I'm in AU and don't read ebooks). Those associate links don't bother me at all; unless someone is making giant graphics screaming "buy me!" they're easy to ignore. But if there's more marketing in your post or your blog than there is content that focusses on your thoughts about reading/books, then I'm going to skip over them. But that's just me; I know a lot of people who find it interesting/helpful.
Second question - and again, this is just me - but yeah, generally speaking if I see something about author interviews in the title, I skip it. I give it a quick skim and if I see there's a review, I do go back and read it, then just skip the interview. That sounds harsh as I type it, and I don't mean it to be. It's something else that I know a lot of people enjoy, it's very book-related and objectively I can say it adds a touch of completeness to a book review. I just generally am not as interested in the authors as I am in their books. :)
I keep saying it, but this is just me; I don't want anyone to imagine that I think I'm speaking from a place of authority or expertness.
Thanks for answering. Don't feel you have to apologize for sharing your opinion; that's what I am asking for. The great thing is that whatever it is you prefer, you'll likely be able to find it somewhere in the expanding cyberworld.
Thank you for your thoughtful response. I keep a journal, but often feel guilty because I write so little in it. Thinking of my blog as an extension of my journal with help with both the blogging and the journaling.
These are all really great questions!! YOU'RE NOT ALONE IN WONDERING THEM. :P For the content one: I think it is important to put your best content out right up front, because people want to know what they're getting! And also you'll grow and improve the more you blog, so you'll always be giving good quality content if you work hard at it. ;) I firmly believe that. (This is coming from a blogger who's content was AWFUL to start with. hah! But I thought it was good...ahem.)
Twitter is awesome! I see a lot of people have commented their tips, so I won't say too much. :D Just that I think be VERY careful about tweeting negative reviews to authors. Basically: don't. Nobody wants to be told "Hi I didn't like your book" no matter how nicely worded the review is. I personally don't tag authors at all??? But that's because I'm shy! So I think it's up to you. Whether you WANT to try and connect with the authors or not? (I think definitely tag them if you did an interview!) And yes, tweet your posts several times. Because twitter moves fast and not everyone will see it the first time!
Thank you so much for your comments. The thing about being awful at the beginning is another concern (which I was too shy to share, since I didn't want to sound completely pathetic).
And I really appreciate the Twitter info from someone who knows, since lots of people don't use it.
I still wonder about some of these questions, while I have blogging for a few years now. I write pretty long reviews too and I just seem unable tow rite short reviews, nor do i want to. Although sometimes I do wonder if anyone reads them, but so far I think some do and some don't. And I try and work with that. Includes empty lines in my reviews and include a summary at the bottom for those who prefer the short version.
It does seem that reviews are the least popular type of posts, I've heard that often as well, but I still love them so I keep sharing them and while my discussion posts get more comments the reviews still get visitors too. So as long as there are people who read them you aren't doing that for nothing, right?
Concerning twitter never start a tweet with the @ unless you only want that person and those who follow both of you to see your tweet. I usually tag authors on positive reviews (3-5 stars), but only once a day. I don't want to bother them too much, but I do want to let them know about my review. I usually tweet about my posts 3 times a day. But to be honest I am just doing sometimes. I do know that not everyone is online at the same time, but you also make a good point about not wanting to bother everyone with the same tweet to often. I guess there's a sort of balance you need to find.
Concerning the blogging question, in my opinion everyone is different. Everyone has an unique viewpoint to share, which is why you aren't blogging for nothing. there are always peoepl who like your style or like hearing your viewpoint.
Thanks for the thoughtful comments. I'm currently putting my Summary at the top, I'll have to think about whether I want to move it. I tell myself that if even one person decides to look up the book I've reviewed, then it's a success.
I didn't even think about the fact that if I do multiple tweets, the author would get multiple mentions. Thankfully I haven't implemented that yet, I will un-@ the author on the subsequent sendings. What I really need to do is actually start following some people, so I know what it is like.
I'm not very active on Twitter, but there's always more good material.
Authors do like to know when a review goes up. Some react well, some don't.
Long reviews get tedious when people Witter on about themselves. If you're putting good information about the book in it, at least some readers will find that valuable. Some people will always skim the first few lines, but that's our low attention culture.
As for Twitter, I really don't use it nearly as much as I should. I basically share my blog posts and the odd other thing that I found interesting. I do not utilize it to the best of its ability, so I'm not much help when it comes to that.
Sometimes I spend way too much time not doing anything really. I just sit and look at other blogs and at my blog and think of ways to improve it or creative new posts to write. Usually, I decide my blog is good enough as is and I really don't have enough time to completely re-do it, so I end up just leaving it and then I just wasted soooo much time thinking/planning for no reason when I could have been reading or at least writing some new blog posts! Haha. So, welcome to that world. It's just bound to happen. Just try to learn to organize your time to the best of your ability and to whatever works with you and your schedule. You'll be fine. Something to keep in mind - don't stress over your blog; it's just a hobby so make sure to always keep it fun!
--Sam @ Sharing Inspired Kreations
I'm definitely inclined to spend too much time planning and planning and not enough time doing.
I’ll read reviews of any length if they’re about a book in a genre that I’m particularly interested in. The exception is when it’s a book I think I may want to read eventually, and if I feel like the review gives too much detail about the plot. I like to go into a book as blind as possible. When I finish reading and reviewing a book, I always go to the book page to find the reviews that people I follow have written. That’s one of my favorite things to do, actually. So, even if I skip over a review the first time around because I planned to read the book, I’ll read the review eventually.
Although the social aspects of this site are wonderful, I really find value in the process of writing the review itself. I first started writing reviews a little over 2 years ago and, for probably a year, few if any people were reading them. Despite that, I still enjoyed the process and I wouldn’t stop writing them now even if nobody ever read another review I wrote. It gives me a chance to think through my opinions and organize my thoughts. I also like having kind of a tangible result of having read the book. Looking back over an old review helps me remember things about the book that I didn’t even write about, because it triggers memories of the thoughts in my head when I wrote the review. Even when I don’t go back to read an old review, I feel like I remember books better and longer than I did before I started writing reviews. When it comes to reviews, my only regret is that I didn't start writing them sooner.
I can’t comment on Twitter because I’ve never used it.
I also can’t really comment on the issue about posting all your best material, because I don’t set out with the intent to post on a schedule. I think this comes back to what I said in the beginning -- that I don’t see myself as a blogger. Trying to come up with things to write about isn’t something I personally would enjoy; nothing would drive me away from blogging faster! I post reviews whenever I finish a book and, if at any point something else comes up that I want to post about, I post it. Truly, I would be shocked if anybody even noticed how often I post unless they’re only following a handful of people. I’ll notice if somebody disappears for an extended period of time but, in general, my feed is a constant buzz of activity and I don’t notice or care how often people post.
I AM excited about posting discussions, since I am having fun doing them; but I don't want to let them crowd out the pleasure I got in designing my reviews to include the kinds of things I look for myself.
1. Long reviews. For the most part, no, I don't read really long reviews or reviews that come closer to literary criticism. There are exceptions: reviews about books I'm really interested in, books I've already read or those written by people I know are entertaining writers. But mostly, 5 paragraphs is a good number, anything longer is too hard on my eyes and comprehension (it's a digital thing).
2. I don't Twit. See Bookstooge's response, above. I will add, though, that Tweeting authors to let them know about your review could be seen as a tacit invitation for the author to comment about your review - something that could be seen as good, or horrifically bad, depending on the review/author/blogger combination.
3. Posting good stuff... I've never heard that thing about reviews being the least popular content before. If that's true, I'm the exception because I'm here for the reviews. I enjoy seeing my BL friends non-review posts if they aren't too numerous, but I have stopped following a few people because the balance of their content was non-review content. This includes (and this is JUST me) the author interviews and obvious marketing stuff. A minimum amount of this kind of thing, I just skip it and move on, but if a user's primary focus is to market books to others, I'll just quietly unfollow. I'm here to find out what my friends think about the books they read, and if I get a few cool holiday/project/cat pics and links to interesting articles about books, that's a bonus. :)
If you're having fun doing what you do on your blog, the rest will sort itself out.
Second question - and again, this is just me - but yeah, generally speaking if I see something about author interviews in the title, I skip it. I give it a quick skim and if I see there's a review, I do go back and read it, then just skip the interview. That sounds harsh as I type it, and I don't mean it to be. It's something else that I know a lot of people enjoy, it's very book-related and objectively I can say it adds a touch of completeness to a book review. I just generally am not as interested in the authors as I am in their books. :)
I keep saying it, but this is just me; I don't want anyone to imagine that I think I'm speaking from a place of authority or expertness.
Twitter is awesome! I see a lot of people have commented their tips, so I won't say too much. :D Just that I think be VERY careful about tweeting negative reviews to authors. Basically: don't. Nobody wants to be told "Hi I didn't like your book" no matter how nicely worded the review is. I personally don't tag authors at all??? But that's because I'm shy! So I think it's up to you. Whether you WANT to try and connect with the authors or not? (I think definitely tag them if you did an interview!) And yes, tweet your posts several times. Because twitter moves fast and not everyone will see it the first time!
And I really appreciate the Twitter info from someone who knows, since lots of people don't use it.
It does seem that reviews are the least popular type of posts, I've heard that often as well, but I still love them so I keep sharing them and while my discussion posts get more comments the reviews still get visitors too. So as long as there are people who read them you aren't doing that for nothing, right?
Concerning twitter never start a tweet with the @ unless you only want that person and those who follow both of you to see your tweet. I usually tag authors on positive reviews (3-5 stars), but only once a day. I don't want to bother them too much, but I do want to let them know about my review. I usually tweet about my posts 3 times a day. But to be honest I am just doing sometimes. I do know that not everyone is online at the same time, but you also make a good point about not wanting to bother everyone with the same tweet to often. I guess there's a sort of balance you need to find.
Concerning the blogging question, in my opinion everyone is different. Everyone has an unique viewpoint to share, which is why you aren't blogging for nothing. there are always peoepl who like your style or like hearing your viewpoint.
I didn't even think about the fact that if I do multiple tweets, the author would get multiple mentions. Thankfully I haven't implemented that yet, I will un-@ the author on the subsequent sendings. What I really need to do is actually start following some people, so I know what it is like.
Thanks again for the encouragement.