Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash/ https://unsplash.com/license
I started this blog around a year ago. In this time, I’ve learned a great deal about book blogging, some things about website development and maintenance, and an itty-bitty bit about SEO, a.k.a., search engine optimization. I’ve learned that the book blogging community is awesome and supportive, as is the writing community on Twitter. Netgalley, blog tours, publishers both large and small: I’ve learned a great deal about what to do.
I’ve also learned what not to do . . . usually by making mistakes!
So, now that it’s 2020, I’m sharing my work-related New Year’s resolutions. A few weeks late, but better now than never. This is a mix of blogging, reading, and writing goals.
2020 Resolution #1: Read and review less in 2020 than in 2019.
This sounds like a strange one, I know. But last year, I tried to read and review two novels a week. On average, it takes me three to four hours to read a decent-length mystery novel. It takes one to two hours to review it. With two novels a week, that meant I was reading for at least 6-8 hours and reviewing at least 2-4 hours. Add that up, and it’s more than the average work day.
I usually tried to review the book shortly before publication, which meant I was constantly reading and reviewing. Most of these books were through Netgalley or book tours; almost all were e-books. That’s a lot of screen time.
It crowded out my own personal writing time.
No writing time + too much screen time = a stressed out, miserable Meredith
In 2020, I have resolved to only review one book per week. That’s a lot more doable!
Aim: 4 reviews per month
2020 Resolution #2: Have more content-related posts.
Think spotlights on new books. Interviews with authors. Cover reveals.
These are a lot less time-intensive on my end. Every time I’ve done one of these, I get a happy-glowing-awesome feeling that I’m helping authors promote their books. Just as I was writing this post, I arranged for a guest post on an upcoming book tour.
Aim: 2-3 content posts per month
2020 Resolution #3: Write more book tag posts.
These are fun. I’ve seen a few cool book tags that I plan to use. Two are the I Should’ve Read that Book tag and the To Be a Good Human book tag.
Aim: 1-2 book tag posts per month
2020 Resolution #4: Read the entire Bible in one year.
As a Christian, I’ve done this before. (One memorable year in college, my Bible professor had us read the entire thing in one semester!) It’s been a while, though, and I need a refresher. It’s too easy for my daily Bible reading to camp out in certain sections of the Bible at the detriment of other parts. This is a goal that definitely needs a detailed plan! I found an online site that gives a five day per week reading plan. Thus far, it’s been manageable.
2020 Resolution #5: Read more books that aren’t from the 21st century.
Giving myself a break from the new releases is helpful. I want to remember Einstein’s words:
“Somebody who only reads newspapers and at best books of contemporary authors looks to me like an extremely near-sighted person who scorns eyeglasses. He is completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of his times, since he never gets to see or hear anything else.” – Albert Einstein (from 100 Best Quotes about Reading)
2020 Resolution #6: Not stress about the gender or race of every author I read.
I try to read a wide range of authors in the mystery genre. Last year I participated in the Year of the Asian 2019 reading challenge: one Asian author per month. I made it harder on myself than it needed to be by limiting myself to new releases and the mystery genre. Yes, it’s supposed to be a reading challenge. But it became a source of stress for me.
I might try a modification, such as reading only authors from a particular country/ethnic heritage for a month. Maybe one month could be devoted to Asia, another to Africa, and so on, and work my way through the various continents over the course of a few years.
2020 Resolution #7: Not stress over a specific reading challenge goal.
I set my Kindle library reading goal at 50 books for the year. So far, I’ve read four, and I’m working on a fifth. But there’s no sense in stressing about a specific number, especially if it takes away from the enjoyment of the reading experience. It all depends on the book selection.
Some books need to be savored; others can be devoured.
“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” – Mortimer J. Adler (from the 100 Best Quotes about Reading)
2020 Resolution # 8: Learn to say “no.”
No, I can’t help on every tour, no matter how difficult it is for the book tour organizer to fill all their slots.
No, I can’t say grant every author request for a review, no matter how much I like the author or how nicely the author asks.
No, I can’t request every book on Netgalley that piques my interest, no matter how gorgeous the cover is, how unusual the story, how scintillating the prose is.
I wish I could. But it boils down to this:
I have to say no to certain things to say yes to others.
Yes to honing my fiction writing craft.
Yes to listening to beta readers’ critiques.
Yes to revising until my work is ready for submission.
Yes to submitting my work to agents, even if it means hearing no . . . a lot.
Unless I learn to say “no,” I’ll never have the time to say “yes.”
Now it’s your turn!
Those are my 2020 reading resolutions. Now it’s your turn. Did you make New Year’s resolutions this year? If so, were any related to reading and writing? I’d love to hear about them!