Tagged: book bloggers conference
The Best and Worst of November 2014
November went by in a blur for me, to be honest. Between not having internet for half of it and not having water for the past day and a half currently, I’m really quite sick of rural life. Still, it makes me appreciate all the more the fact I’m moving to a real-life city in the summer. So overall, not a bad month but not a great month.
In November, despite spotty posting, I managed to get 6,022 views including a total of 3,875 unique views. That’s fewer views than October, but I can’t really complain because of the aforementioned spotty posting. Hopefully the internet I pay through the nose for will be slightly more consistent in the future.
So what were my best posts this month?
1. Why Girls Hate Game of Thrones—A Rebuttal
2. How to Read 100 Pages in an Hour
3. The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome
4. Best Seller by Martha Reynolds
5. The Mad Reviewer is Open to Review Requests (Temporarily)
That’s actually a pretty respectable list, with two new posts finally making it. My review of Best Seller by Martha Reynolds is still going very strong and I’m glad that the author is still promoting it. It makes me far more likely to review books by authors in the future when they promote the heck out of my reviews, even mediocre ones. As for the last item on my list, I’m quite happy with the response I’ve had to my call for submissions. I’ve got 14 locked in right now and I’ve reviewed four of them; so far, so good.
And what were the worst posts this month?
1. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
2. Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess by Carolyn Meyer
5. “Game of Thrones man hatred” and More Weird Search Terms
The only surprise there is that one of my weird search term posts finally made the list of the worst in terms of views. That’s shocking, actually. As for the rest, I can’t really complain. They’re either old articles or announcements or books that aren’t necessarily the most popular at the moment. Next month that list will totally change, just like every other list of the worst articles/reviews.
Well, that was how my November went. How was yours? Did you watch that heartbreaking mid-season finale of The Walking Dead last night?
Blogging Goals: Attend Book Expo America
Many, many people have asked me where I’m taking this blog. What are my goals for its future? Do I foresee a time where I’ll have to stop blogging? (Let’s hope not!) What direction do I want to take The Mad Reviewer? Is my goal to monetize my blog?
To tell you the truth, I don’t know the answer to any of those questions at the moment. Right now I just want to talk about books like I always have while building up a following of awesome readers. So far, so good. It’s basically what every other book blogger wants.
But lately I’ve been thinking about book blogging conferences and book fairs. Particularly Book Expo America (BEA), which has a book blogger’s conference in conjunction with the regular show. From what I’ve seen of other blogs it seems like a great place to go: you get some free books, listen to interesting talks from industry professionals and network with other bloggers. So yes, as a dedicated book blogger I obviously want to go. The only question is when.
Looking at my financial situation right now, going in 2014 is out of the question, unfortunately. 2015? Maybe then, but certainly not next year. Right now it’s really only the financial part that’s holding me back. Travelling alone to somewhere like New York is a little intimidating I’ll admit, but it’s not like I haven’t travelled alone before. Just never that far. I may splurge and buy a bunch of business cards for my blog beforehand, but that’s something to worry about in the future when I actually have a permanent logo and more followers.
So yeah, attending Book Expo America is currently my only book blogging goal. If you’re a blogger or an author, would you want to attend something like BEA? Have you already attended it? What was it like?