Category: Site Announcements
My Backlog
As you guys know I have a huge backlog of reviews for authors. Well, no more! Every weekend I will now sit down and make sure I read one book from an author on my backlog. I should have done this a long time ago and I feel awful about putting it off for so long, but I guess it’s better late than never.
Basically: Sorry and your book will be having a review soon. This will not happen again because of the new review request system I’m implementing next year.
I’m Taking the Day Off Due to On/Off Power
Yep, it’s the first snowfall of winter here in my area of Saskatchewan so of course the power has been flickering on and off all day. And yes, that’s why there’s no real post today. So if I’m not around on Twitter or have not responded to comments, there’s a very good reason. (But please keep up the comments on the latest discussion post! They’re awesome.)
Have a nice Sunday!
My First Ever Interview
As you guys know, I do review a fair number of authors considering the size of my blog. But in the nearly two years I’ve been blogging I haven’t once been interviewed. That’s why I jumped at the chance to be the first blogger to be interviewed for The Masquerade Crew’s new Blogger Banter feature.
So if you want to know a little more about me, The Mad Reviewer or blogging in general, you can check out the interview here.
The Best and Worst of September 2013
Overall, I’d have to say that September was a pretty good month for me. Although my stats are down from last month because there was no author drama, I’m very happy with my 5,138 views, which is the highest number of views I’ve had in a non-drama month since January. I’ve also welcomed 33 new followers this month and that makes me extremely happy; I pay more attention to follower statistics anyway.
So what were my top articles in September?
1. The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome
2. Why Girls Hate Game of Thrones—A Rebuttal
3. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
4. The Day an Author Suggested I Kill Myself
5. How to Read 100 Pages in an Hour
Every single one of these except #5 has been on the list at least once before. The fact that my article about speed reading is just now picking up steam is nice because I did put quite a bit of effort into writing it. It’s nice to know that I can pass on a skill of mine to other people who read it. The other articles, aside from the author drama one are popular simply because kids are back in school now or because it’s about a popular TV/book series.
So those were my five best articles. What were my five worst?
1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
2. Kaiulani: The People’s Princess by Ellen Emerson White
4. Looking for Alaska by John Green
5. The Time Travelers by Linda Buckley-Archer
Nothing is really all that surprising on this list. They’re all newcomers to the list and are either books that aren’t exactly popular or popular books that are much older. People won’t show much interest in The Hunger Games until Catching Fire releases anyway, so I’m not going to lose any sleep over my review of Mockingjay getting so few views.
Miscellaneous Blogging and Life News
1. I have more time to read so there will be less of a back log.
Yes, I know this is a long time coming but finally, finally after the summer rush at work in my little boom town I have time to read some more. What this means for all of the authors counting on me is that I will be clearing my backlog a lot in the next few weeks. Those that have been waiting the longest can expect some reviews in their inboxes very soon.
2. I’m considering doing the Amazon Affiliate program.
Yes, I’m finally considering monetizing my blog to a certain extent. Since I already post links to Amazon at the end of every review, why shouldn’t I be making money for the free promotion? I know that it will be a long time until I start making anything substantial through the program, but at least it’s something, you know? I may do a separate post on this, but if you’re reading this now please let me know your thoughts about the program in the comments. Would you be comfortable with me doing this? Do you have experience with the Affiliate program?
3. I have decided to make attending BEA in 2015 a goal of mine.
I already did a post about this, but was rather non-committal about the whole thing. But now I’ve decided that yes, I will be saving up and if all goes well, attending Book Expo America in 2015. I hope some of you guys can join me there when the time comes!
4. My off-topic birthday post is coming up in a few weeks.
Remember how last year on my birthday (October 13) I went completely off topic for just one day and wrote about bullying? Well, this off-topic birthday article will be an annual thing so I just want everyone forewarned that yes, I won’t be talking about books and/or book related topics for one day out of the year.
So that’s about it for me. What’s new with you guys?