Tools of The Trade Week Day 6: Battling Blogger Burnout

Blogger Burnout

To begin the wind down part of  Tools of The Trade week I'm going to talk about the dreaded blogger burnout with you guys!

Every blogger has at least heard of the phenomenon and many bloggers have experienced it, myself included. It's horrible. (For those of you who don't know what it is, blogger burnout is when bloggers are overwhelmed and extremely stressed causing fatigue, frustration, and apathy from all that blogging requires. This all can often cause them to stop blogging all together for a prolonged amount of time.)

For me burnouts begin when posting and writing reviews begins to feel like work that I don't want to do rather than something fun to do in my spare time. This usually occurs when I have a long list of posts and reviews I need to complete and don't know where to begin. So I'm going to list some ways to prevent it and some things that can cause it.

Cause: making a list.

I love lists. I make tons of lists on sticky notes and plaster them everywhere when I am attempting to be productive or am starting to get overwhelmed. This often backfires, because when I am so stressed that I start making lists it is usually because I have so many things I want to get done. When I have a lot of things to get done then my list is really long and it overwhelms me even more just looking at it! Here is the thing, when I make lists I have to finish that list the day I make it so when I have a massive list of detailed posts to write there is no way that I can do it all in one day and it is crazy to feel like I have to finish them all, but that's how I feel when I write them all out. It gets so overwhelming that I procrastinate until I avoid posting all together, and thus the burnout begins.

Prevention: make a list

I know crazy right! I just said that making lists can cause burnouts and now I'm telling you to make a list to avoid a burnout! What? Allow me to elucidate (yay big words, I love big words!), so if you read what I said above then you should have noticed that what overwhelms me about the lists is the self pressure and mindset of them as well as the sheer size. I actually find lists quite helpful for trying to get things done. Here is how to make lists helpful rather than harmful.

-Make lists shorter and more achievable by organizing them by date, priority, subject, or other method.
Example: Today's Posts 
               -Feature A
               -Review X?
-Remind yourself that you don't have to do everything on your list today. If you do choose to make one big list (I really don't recommend that method, but hey, it's your life), you may decide to scribble a note reminding yourself of this at the bottom or deadlines by each individual item on your list (prioritize).

Prevention: make a calendar.

This is a great and more visual alternative to making a list. For a really long time I thought all those bloggers that actually planned out posts were certifiably insane. (Sorry guys, I was wrong. I loved you guys anyways though.) It helps me because I can put posts where I want them and see what things I have to do by what date and it keeps me from feeling like I have to get them all in one day, but I can still see all that I want to do and have it recorded so that I don't feel like I'll forget about a post idea.

Cause: all work and no play. 

As I mentioned above, burnout frequently happens when blogging begins to feel more like work than something that I enjoy and becomes a hassle. I think to hard about what posts I need to be doing and all the reviews that I should do, but maybe I'm not that excited to do. If I'm not excited about the things I need to do and I have a lot of things I need to do but don't want to do, then I get into this "Eww, this is not fun and it feels like work and it's just such a pain!" funk/mood. That usually ends up with me choosing to not post because I have no desire to do seemingly unnecessary gross work.

Prevention: do something fun!

If it begins to feel like work and your not excited about any of your posts then take a step back and really look at the posts you are planning on and ask yourself if you really need to do them. If you actually have to do them, that's fine, but sometimes you'll find that you are only posting them because you feel obligated to when there is actually no reason that you should have to. If the latter is the case then toss those gross work-ish posts and brainstorm some fun ones that you can get really excited about. If you really do have to do the work posts, realize that there is no reason you can't sprinkle in some fun discussions or games, or something else you're excited about in between! (If you want. If additional posts stress you out even more then don't even go there, just leave it be, push through and change some other things and try other methods!)

Cause: the "have to" feeling.

I mentioned this when I talked about work posts, feeling or thinking that you have to review everything you read or every book you mention on Goodreads, your blog, Google+, or other media can end badly. Let's face it there reviews we just don't want to write. Whether it is because we don't feel like we have enough to say about a book, we felt too neutral about it, or while it may have been a very entertaining book, we can't think of how to analyze it in any amount of detail, there will always be reviews that we just don't want to do.

Prevention: realize that you DON'T have to review every book.

For a long time I felt like I had to review every single book, I touched and I would be so upset with myself if I missed a review or couldn't write a good one for a book. I've learned, and I've gotten over that. Sure there are some books that we need to review because we were given it in exchange for  a review, but there are lots more books that we got on our own time that we have no obligation to review if we don't want to or don't have time to. Just because you mention it doesn't mean that you have to review it.

Prevention: mini reviews.

You guys have read my Short and Sweet reviews and lots of other bloggers have their own similar version of the same thing. These mini, paragraph long reviews, are one way I deal with having a huge list of books that I want and need to review. They are fast and easy and I can check several reviews off my list at once by doing them this way, since it takes so much less time than a full review.

Prevention: fall in love again.

It's easy to get so caught up in blogging and life that we forget to do the little things that we really love and what got us blogging in the first place. Sometimes it all takes over and we don't get time to read or do whatever else. Schedule in time to read, take a break for a few days a week, or set aside some time just for reading or doing those little things. (You can (should try to) do this without completely stopping blogging!) Fall in love with your favorite activities all over again!

Prevention: ask for help! Reach out!

I absolutely cannot stress this one enough. The other things I listed are all pretty basic and are things many people already do. This one though is something I have trouble with remembering to do and that I think most people don't think about. For a lot of bloggers one of their favorite parts of blogging is the community, how close-knit, helpful, loving, welcoming, and accepting other bloggers are (followers too! I love you guys!). No one minds if you reach out to them and ask for help, or request a guest post or invite them to co-host, or do something else on your blog, or for you. Catherine @ Stray Imaginations has been a life saver for me this year. When I go on trips she is always happy to thrown the occasional post up on my blog so that my followers don't get bored, I can relax, and my blog continues to show up regularly in all my followers feeds. Whether you ask a fellow blogger to do a guest post, help you host and organize a feature or event, or basic maintenance  like how to format something, work a program, or use HTML, every blogger I've ever met has been happy to help with whatever I need if they can! It is amazing and it can really help take some stress off! I don't know a single blogger that would be upset or weirded-out that someone asked for their help (it is actually pretty exciting to most bloggers that you respected them enough to think that they could help you! It means a lot to them too!). Don't be scared to contact other bloggers for help (or just for fun)! It is a big part of keeping the blogging world spinning and spinning happily at that. I am always happy to help in anyway I can and you can always reach me on Goodreads, Facebook, or e-mail.

Briana is a high school student obsessed with reading and writing. She started this blog a few years ago and enjoys the fact that there is always more to learn. She is working on accepting her mistakes and the fact that she'll never know everything and is currently drafting a plan for world domination. If you have any suggestions on how she could accomplish this, or just want to chat about books and other things, go ahead and hit her up! She'd love nothing more than to talk with you...except maybe ruling the world. In the meantime you can email her or message her on Goodreads, Twitter, or Facebook!

Tools of The Trade Day 5: All About ARCs

What are ARCs? 
ARC stands for Advance Readers Copy. ARCs are copies of books that aren't yet released. Publishers typically use them as marketing tools.

What do you need to get ARCs?
Each publishing company has their own specific guidelines as to who they allow to get ARCs, but, in the blogging world, most publishers use the following as guidelines:
• The blog has been up and running for 6+ months
• The blog has a decent amount of followers and page views (500+ is preferred by most publishers, but remember that every publishing house has their own guidelines)
• Reviews are honest and informative
• There are comments on your posts

So, if you fulfill those requirements, how do you get ARCs? 
Netgalley and Edelweiss are two of the most common ways to get ARCs. You can browse through a catalog of books available on these sites, and request whichever interest you. If you're approved, you will be given a digital copy of the ARC to read and review.

If you want a physical copy of an ARC, typically you email the publishers with your request. Make sure to state your name, your shipping address, the ARC you're requesting, your blog statistics, and why you're interested in that particular book.

For your convince, I've compiled a list of some of the more popular publishers with the email you should contact them at for ARC requests.

• HarperCollins
• Macmillan -> Contact information is listed - by imprint - here.
• Simon & Shuster
• Scholastic 
• Bloomsbury 

If your book is published by a publisher not on this list, you can find the person you need to email your request to by going to that publisher's website, finding the "Contact Us" page, and looking for the "publicity contact."

What happens now? 
After you've sent a request to a publisher via email or requested a digital title via Netgalley / Edelweiss, one of three things will happen:
1). You'll get a reply saying your copy is on it's way. (Or, if you requested it digitally, you'll be approved.)
2). You'll get a reply saying you can't get a copy because there aren't any left / you don't have enough followers / etc. (Or, if you requested it digitally, you'll be declined).
3). You don't get any response at all.

If you get declined, don't give up! Work on making your blog better and keep trying. ARCs - both digital and physical - are not free to make, so publishers have to be relatively limited with who they allow to get them :)

Zoe is a talented young blogger who blogs on both The Infinite to-read Shelf and Deadly Darlings Death-Defying Reviews. She is passionate about reading and loves YA books and reading thought provoking books. Her favorite part about blogging is meeting other bloggers and people that share her love for reading so feel free to leave a link to your blog below!

Tools of The Trade Day 4: 9 Things You Need to Know About Interacting with Authors

9 Things You Need to Know When Interacting With Authors

Before I was a blogger, I was an awkward fangirl. I would kind of freak out when I met my favorite authors. One time, I even cried. Yeah, that’s me. I was a freshman in college and I ended up crying at Francine Rivers’ book signing (not like sobbing, but I got choked up and teary-eyed) just because her books meant so much to me.
Telling an author how much their books have impacted you is NOT a bad thing, far from it. They need to know how much their work has affected their readers, but you also need to make sure that you don’t make them feel weird or awkward as well, because no one likes being that guy.
So I’m going to give you a few reminders when you meet authors. I know, I know, you’re probably saying, “Who does this chick think she is? An expert on meeting authors?” Well, not really. I’m just a girl who interacts with a lot of authors. Most of the times it’s through social media like Twitter, Goodreads, and email, but I do have some experience with author signings and meeting authors personally.
Over the last six months, Addison and I have become really good friends with two authors: Julie Murphy, author of Side Effects May Vary. She lives in North Texas and attends Irving Public Library events all the time, so we became friends through those events and doing various promotional posts for her book. She’s a super person! Addison and I both adore her spunk and witty personality and overall hilarity. We also became friends with Martina Boone, author of Compulsion (which will be released in October). I became friends with her after reading her ARC. I told Martina that I absolutely loved the story, and through that, I became part of her Street Team and other promotional groups. Obviously, as a blogger it is what we can do for the authors, but through that, you become friends with these people. Yes, they create the most astounding worlds and heart racing characters, but they are still people, and they love getting to know fellow book-lovers.

So here are my reminders to people who interact with authors:

1. Shake their hand. 
Instead of overflowing with fangirl words and begging for your book to be signed, shake their hand. That goes a lot further than a signed book in my opinion. Also, authors aren’t used to shaking hands with every one of their readers because they are busy writing signatures, but when you make a point to actual shake their hand, that takes the author out of the normal monotony of a signing.

2. Don’t completely go all fangirl crazy. 
I can’t imagine how many John Green fans have gone up to him and just started sobbing uncontrollably. Yes, sometimes that’s just the way your body reacts, but if you can’t express to him in words what you think about his books, write it down in a letter and give it to him at the signing so he can read it later. That will last much longer than his memory of a sobbing teenager. That doesn’t only go for John Green but any other author that might make you react in such a way.

3. Congratulate them. 
If they are an award winning author, congratulate them on their hard work. Because yes, it was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that went into the writing of their book, and those who are talented enough to win awards like the Michael Printz, William C. Morris, Newberry, etc., should be congratulated for a job well done.

4. Recommend a book you think they would like. 
They read too! Obviously say that you enjoyed their book, but make sure to tell them another book you enjoyed after reading theirs.

5. Whatever you do, do not threaten them. 
We know the stories of people who faux threaten authors about hunting them down if they decide to kill a certain character. At almost every panel I’ve attended, at least one of them has a story like that. It makes them feel uncomfortable, so for Christ’s sake, don’t threaten them.

The following reminders are for bloggers:

6. DON’T shove your blog down their throats. 
I’ve seen a few people do this, and it makes me cringe. The authors are always gracious, but you can see the small grimace on their face when this happens. We are there to help them, not help ourselves. Obviously, it should be an equal partnership, but make sure you are professional. Whenever I meet an author, I give them my card, but I wait until after they’ve signed my book and we’ve chatted a bit. I normally tell them that I would be willing to promote their book if they find they need extra promotional events, and that’s it! I don’t say anything else (unless I received an ARC from the publisher). But don’t make them want to throw your card away after meeting you.

7. When emailing authors, be professional. 
Tell them who you are and a short description of your blog or at the event you met them at, then tell them what you can do for them. If you want an interview with an author, ask and add the questions as an attachment so that they can do it quickly and not have to email you back a dozen times. It’s not impertinent, it’s preemptive. However, give them a way out, such as saying that you understand they are very busy because they may not have time to actually answer questions. Be kind, be gracious, and be professional. This also goes for requesting ARCs from publishers (though that would create an even longer list of dos and don’ts).

8. When authors give you promotional items, give them out! 
If you get an ARC of a book, don’t hoard it, allow people to borrow it freely. It was given to you freely, and you should freely allow others to take part in the joy of the ARC (unless they are eARCs -that’s something completely different). If they give you bookmarks or bookplates, give them out in your giveaway boxes, or maybe give a few to the local library if you really have a bunch. Any publicity is good publicity.

9. Overall, be kind, be courteous, and be generous.
No one likes a self-entitled person.

Don’t overthink this list, because no one wants to be a stick-in-the-mud, but these are valid points that you should think about before attending events. Be true to yourself when you meet authors. They are just people after all who just happen to write stories that you love. Treat them like you would a normal person and everything will turn out all right.

My name is Amanda. I run a blog called Of Spectacles and Books along with my co-blogger Addison. Both of us are in grad school getting our Masters in Creative Writing, but between crazy classes and studying and living out our adventures, we devour YA books. We sip them in the mornings along with a big cup of coffee and other times we gobble them up in the kitchen right next to our salads. But mostly we just love reading and discussing books with other book-lovers.

Tools of The Trade Week Day 3: The Art of Starting a Review (Part Two

The Art of Starting a Review (Part Two)

First sentences are always the hardest. Whether you are saying hello to a stranger or writing a novel, finding the right words to get everything rolling is the most difficult part of the entire project. Writing a book review is no different.

This is why, a few months ago, I wrote a post entitled "The Art of Starting a Review," sharing a few ideas for review starters that I tend to use. When Briana contacted me about taking part in a blog tips-and-tricks feature, I decided to make another post offering more ideas. If you are battling your brain to develop a fantastic first sentence, here are some ideas that could help.

1. Put it in someone else's words. If you're having trouble thinking of a catchy opener, why not borrow from someone else? You can quote an important line from the book and then explain its significance (in a non-spoilery way, of course). Or you can repeat a popular idea or saying that the story centers on and analyze the story's success in dealing with the topic. Example reviews from me: 52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody, Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown

2. What you see's not what you get. If a book turns out to be dramatically different than its cover or synopsis would indicate, I often start out my review by pointing out the misleading element and discussing the way it skewed my expectations. It is often easier to talk about what a book is NOT rather than what it is, and describing your preconceptions provides the perfect segue into your thoughts on the book itself. Example review from me: Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

3. All tied up. What did you love more than anything else about the book you are reviewing? Write an opening paragraph about that element, followed by paragraphs about how your favorite thing affected other aspects of the story. Ask yourself, "How does X affect Y?" and find a way to tie each point back to that first paragraph. Example review from me: Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

Good luck with your next book review. I am sure it will be fantastic.

Emily is a teenager who, feeling that her fellow high school students could not adequately understand her passion for books, turned to book blogging as a way to discuss literature with other YA readers. She fills her spare time by being a choir kid and an amateur journalist, organizing everything in sight, running on the treadmill, talking like a Londoner, eating weird health foods that no one else likes, wearing shirts made of lace, and spending time with family and friends. Emily tries to avoid encounters with bugs, but she loves to meet humans (this means you) and would therefore be ecstatic if you visited her book blog or talked to her on Twitter.

Tools of The Trade Day 2: How to Make a Header (for Blogger)

How to Make a Header (for Blogger)

I LOVE making headers for my blog (and blog buttons but that’s another post for another day ;)). It’s just a really fun way of using creativity and artistic-ness and bringing what I imagine for my blog to something that actually exists. Or sometimes it ends up looking like I used the crayon tool on Paint and didn't spend two hours on it.  At this point, no. No, it isn't fun. But the rest of the time it is. *grins*

I know a lot of people are at a loss as to how they can make a header that looks good for their blog. So I’m going to teach you a few steps and tips, and pretty soon you’ll be making your own gorgeous headers. Easy peazy lemon squeazy!

First of all, let me just say that for those of you who don’t really want to put that much time and effort into creating a design for your blog, there are two websites you need to know about:

~Hot Bliggity Blog (Free backgrounds in three sizes: standard, widened, and full-width.)

~Shabby Blogs (Free EVERYTHING. I’m serious. Backgrounds, headers, buttons, etc.)

And if you still want to dive into the scary world of header creation… welcome to the dark side. Mwahaha. Just kidding, but really, kudos to you and let’s get started. For the purpose of this tutorial, I’m going to use Ninja Reader as the blog name. If a book blog already has that name, sorry. It wasn't intentional. Because let’s face it, if I knew there was a blog called Ninja Reader, I’d be all over it. ;)

Step 1: Find your header size.

This is really important. While it doesn't matter how tall your header is (in theory), it has to be a certain width/length.

You find it by going to your Blogger homepage, clicking on your blog name, and going to LAYOUT.

Once you’re on the Layout page ( you've probably been there a lot already) you need to click Edit in the Header section which I have marked in red with extreme precision.

A smaller window will pop up that looks like this:

Underlined in red, is the width of the header area—920 pixels. In order to find this, you’ll have to remove your current header. Don’t worry though, once you've checked for the width of the header you can click CANCEL and everything is exactly the same as it was before you made the change.

Note: You probably notice the green rectangle around “Instead of titled and description.” This option needs to be selected when you’re using a header you've created for your blog.

Step 2: Brainstorm.

Now that we know that the header space is 920 pixels wide, we can leave headache-inducing parts of the header making process for a little while and have fun. Brainstorm! What kind of look do you want your blog to have? There is an amazing rainbow of possibilities—professional, artsy, cute, vintage, etc.

You need to decide what you want for your blog. In the case of my imaginary blog, Ninja Reader, I’m going to go with a slightly abstract look while also tying into the Asian aspects that the word “ninja” brings to mind. I also decide that I’m going make the background clear (I’ll explain that later) and just make the header pop with awesome font and color accents.

Obviously, you’re not going to get it exactly the way you want it on your first try. Maybe you won’t like the colors, maybe you’ll decide that you don’t want professional; you want artsy. It’s a given that you might have to make tweaks. Therefore, even though I put the brainstorming step here, brainstorming is going to happen all throughout the whole process.

Step 3: Start creating your masterpiece.

Now I know what I want, so…uh….what do I do now?
First, I go to a very handy website called PicMonkey.com because I need to make a blank to use as my canvas.
There will be four icons up front and center. Click on the Design one.

This brings up a page that’s possibly going to make you freak out. Don’t freak out. You've got this. *grins*

You’ll automatically be in the first section that kind of looks like a gray square (circles above in red) as soon as the page loads. Then click on Resize which is also circled in red. I like red.

As you can see from my awesome artwork, the number on the left is the width in pixels and the number on the right is the height in pixels. The option “Keep proportions” will also automatically be selected. We don’t want that since that makes our header square. So unselect that.

Remember the width we found near the beginning? Put 920 in the left square and, because I don’t want my header to be too tall or too skinny, I put 300 in the right square. I've chosen for my header to be 300 pixels tall but you can adjust this measurement to whatever you want. Don’t forget to hit Apply!

Now that you have your canvas the right size, we need to change the background to transparent like we talked about before.

As you can see, it will be in the same section as the Resize option. Instead, though, you’ll click on Canvas Color. 

Click the Transparent option and leave everything else alone.

The checkered grey and white background means that my header space is now transparent. It’s really important to remember that the same is true for images found through Google or any other search engine. If they have this background or a similar one like this:

Then only the image will show when used (not a white background). If possible, these are the images you want to find to use on your header. They will fit seamlessly into your header whether the background is transparent or orange or black or any other color.
Now that we’re ready for application of awesomeness to our header, we need to first choose a font for our blog title. You can find the fonts by clicking on this:

There are an amazing variety of fonts for you to choose from and most of them are completely free. For our example blog, I choose the font Nightbird.

Then I’m off to find images to incorporate into the design. When you do this, you’re going to have to save the image to your computer in order to load it onto PicMonkey.

To load the picture, you have to click on the butterfly option from the menu of icons. When you’ve done that, click on the ‘Your Own’ button.

Find the image (you can only choose one at a time). Once you’ve selected it, it will appear on your header. You can adjust size, color, and rotate it.

Note: A problem that might come up is that your image is over your blog title and you want it to be behind it. If so, all you have to do is right click on the image and choose the Send to back option. Now you’re all set. 

Have fun with it! This is my favorite part of the whole process. Tweak this all you want.

On my personal blog I don’t have a tagline, but for this blog I decide, “Hmm, I think a tagline would look cool.” Of course, following the whole coolness of ninjas. ;)

I choose to make up my own instead of using a quote or something like that and come up with “Read, Review, Ninja Kick.” (It stinks I know. But it’s kick butt.)
This is what my header looks like now…

Push save. After you do that, this page will come up.

PicMonkey will automatically have the file named ‘Untitled’. In the part circled in red, you can change the name to whatever you want. Make sure you’ll be able to remember it easily though. Otherwise, you’ll NEVER be able to find it if you’re like me and have a gazillion downloaded files.

Now you have two options. Either you can choose Save to my computer which will place the file in your Pictures folder (most likely) or you can choose the Download it link (in blue) at the bottom left-hand corner. It’s completely up to you and personal preference.

YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY CREATED YOUR OWN HEADER. *cheers* I knew you could do it.
Just for fun, and because I want to see the result of my work (hehe), I’m going to try it out on a nameless blog I keep to test out designs.

And there it is.

What do you think? Are there any other questions you have that I didn’t cover?

Skylar Finn is the pen name of a recent high school graduate (who never gets tired of saying she's graduated). Her real name is top secret because she's secretly a spy. That does spy stuff. Secretly. When she's not spying, she blogs about books, life, and chocolate at Life of a Random. Skylar loves talking with bookworms about everything so don't be shy. She's probably weirder than you anyways.