Continuing the event Busting the Newbie Blues is a guest post from Looksie Lovitz from the fantastic blog Looksie Lovitz: Books and Wits. She'll be guest posting her responses here, but be sure to go and check out her blog as well! Lucky Looksie, she even has a review up already for Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins (the second book in the Hex Hall series, and I'm just dying to read it!)
Guest Post: Looksie Lovitz: Books and Wits
1. When did you start your blog?
In a time of great triumphs and epic notions. I started my masterpiece on July 15th, 2010.
2. Why did you start your blog?
Because NONE of my friends read books to the capacity and with the same amount of passion I do. When I discovered the world of book blogging I was all, "I want on this beast!" I love finding out about new books and obsessing about my favorites and I just can't do that anywhere else
3. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
The ins and outs of Blogger. I am very technology inept and most of the time I want to throw my computer/ cellphone against the wall. It took me like two months before I realized I could schedule posts. And I STILL don't know how to design my blog. My banner and background change a lot. hopefully it doesn't bug anyone that I do that. If so, my bad. I might be a little ADHD and can't just stick with one idea because I get bored of it. I don't know what my problem is there. Haha.
4. What do you find most discouraging about being a new blogger?
Well, I'm not on a first name basis with hardly any publishers so the only time I ever get Advance Reader Copies are when I join book tours and the occasional author sent book. Sometimes I would worry about my reviews not being full of those wonderful ARCs cause I love to read ARC reviews and I guess I assume thats what my readers want too. At this point I have a mix of both ARCs and released books but I guess I'm a little self conscious of not posting what people want to read.
5. What do you find most encouraging?
I'm sure EVERYONE has said this but the book blogging community has been awesome. It's funny because I'm 23 and here I am getting giddy about fictional 17 year old boys and I'm relating to 15 year olds and 30 year olds. Books have definitely bridged the generation gaps and I think it's phenom.
6. What do you like best about the blogs you read? Have you tried to replicate this in your blog?
Hmm.. I love reading certain peoples blogs that have a strong voice that's fun to read and has original content. I try to be clever and original but I don't know if I have chops to stand up to the greats. I give it my best but most of the time I probably think I'm funnier than I really am. As far as original content, music is something that I have decided to incorporate via book playlists because I see myself as a music guru. I consider it my duty to educate every one on non-generic good music. *shrugs* I try, but phenom music is an acquired taste. But I do feel like the music thing sets me apart from other book bloggers. One thing I wish I had more of was character and author interviews but I feel like I wouldn't know what to ask! I'm not a journalist by any means, just an avid reader.
7. What do you dislike about blogs you’ve read? Do you try to avoid this?
Memes. The only meme I have is one that is relevant to the music on my blog and it's called Thumpin Thursday, where I post a song that doesn't fit in my book review playlists. I don't mind reading others In My Mailbox posts but I post on irregular days so looking at what books I got each week would be tough to keep up with. Some bloggers have too many memes though and it gets distracting. I like simple.
8. Any advice for other new bloggers?
"If you build it, they will come." I'm sure Most of you have heard that quote from the movie Field of Dreams. If not, that's ok. Just pretend. But that quote is totally false. Just because you have a blog, it does not mean you are going to get a ton of followers. You have to have interesting and well thought out content and you have to get involved in the blogging community. Read reviews, author posts, interviews and COMMENT to let them know what you thought. And don't just comment with one vague sentence. When I receive a interesting comments from bloggers on my posts, I go and check out their blog.
9. Anything else you’d like to share about your experience?
I started out on GoodReads before I got myself a blog and I still use it. It's a good way to keep track of books I have read, want to read, etc.. So I recommend getting a GoodReads account if you don't already have one. A lot of bloggers have multiple social networks like Facebook and Twitter too and while you don't have to, it is nice to have multiple ways for followers to stay connected. Also, it's a good idea to post your reviews in more than one place. Amazon, GoodReads, Barnes & Noble and where ever else. It builds exposure. I'm terrible at that. I tend to only post my reviews on GoodReads and my blog and maybe a book tour site if that's where I got my book from but I really should post in more places. Blogging is time consuming though and I don't know how some people have the time. Where is Hermione's Time Turner when you need it?
10. Is there anything you’d like to tell us about your blog?
Sure. It is phenom. I review mostly YA books, I share my ah-mazing music taste with you and yes, it's entirely possible that if you visit my blog, my awesomeness might rub off on you. :)
Looksie Lovitz
http://looksielovitz.blogspot.com/ Book Reviews and More!!
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Thanks for participating :)
ReplyDeleteI love your answer to number five! I refer to so many people of all different ages as friends because of our shared love of YA books. YA books really do transcend age. It's wonderful that we can all find a common ground to connect on.
I'm glad you included the quote "If you build it, they will come." I've seen that quoted referenced a few times throughout this event and I even thought of it myself. On one hand, I completely agree with the people who stand by that quote. You do need to build a good blog, and if you put in the effort and make a quality blog, eventually people will come to you.
On the other hand, I also completely agree with you. No one will come if they don't know you're there. So you have to put your name out there! Commenting with thoughtful comments is a great way to do it. I'm with you, I try to check out the blogs of all the people who leave thoughtful comments.
Hopefully this event will help people do just that.
Content and Commenting are key. When I started I was basically talking to myself. LOL.
ReplyDeleteThis chick Annah has a really funny post about how to get followers. For mature audiences only though. http://www.whenredmeansgo.com/2010/07/how-to-get-followers-and-lose-them-too.html
And yeah, I've checked out a few other blogs. Some of em are actually phenom! can't wait to see more!
I'm conflicted about memes. On the one hand, I agree, too many memes on a blog distracts from content. On the other hand, it's just such a useful method of meeting new bloggers when you're starting out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, Looksie. She did say some true and some funny stuff, but so mean! I'd be terrified to comment there.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the fence about them too, Aylee. I try to pair each meme I do with a little more content, like a review. That way it's not just a bunch of filler. I don't know if that makes things look cluttered though. What do you think?
I agree, memes are a good way to meet people. I think it depends less on how many memes a person does and more on how much other content they also provide. If they do a bunch of memes, but they also provide a lot of good content, then the memes don't bother me. If they're just doing a ton of memes, though, that can get pretty old pretty fast.
No, I definitely don't think it makes things look cluttered. I think it's quite nice actually!
ReplyDeleteI just hate when I look on my dashboard and it's full of memes. I like IMM though. Some other memes aren't bad either but some peoples content is 3 or more memes a week and I have to look to find the reviews. I prefer temp events to memes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback! It's so interesting to read so many different viewpoints.
ReplyDelete