Sign Up Post for Blog Ahead October 2019

Once again I'm signing up for the Blog Ahead Challenge hosted by Herding Cats and Burning Soup.  I always find this to be a huge help whenever I am participating in NaNoWriMo.  Which I do intend to do again this year, especially with the lack of writing I've done this whole past year.  I can't decide if this year I'm going to start a new story, or continue editing, actually finish editing my short story to get ready to maybe just self publish on Amazon.  Or do I want to finish one of my first stories from one of my first NaNoWriMos?  I don't know.  But my goal is to have November as close to being done other than actually posting the reviews themselves.  Part of this will be not taking on a bunch of tours that month if I can help it, since I won't get the actual materials to post until November, so I can't count them as blogging ahead.

I've been getting a lot better about blogging ahead these days anyway. For one thing, if it is an ARC review that I am not part of a blog tour, I've been just setting up the post and leaving my rating and review blank for now, just waiting to finish reading, and then saving the post for whenever I'm ready to set it to go live. But anyway, lets talk about what the point of this is.

The Goal

Build your total number of scheduled posts by 31!

On October 1st take your number of scheduled posts and add 31.

Whatever that number is...that's your goal for the month.

You'll end the day on Oct 31st with that many scheduled posts. Woots!

Example- If you start October with 5 scheduled posts 

you end Oct with 36 scheduled posts.

 

Who Can Join

Any blogger or author can join. 

Brand new, been around for years...

Blogger, Wordpress or other platform...

Any heat level, genre or theme, etc.

If you blog...you're welcome to join!

Types of Posts that Count?

Any posts that you finish in October and will publish November 1st or later...count! 

Meme, review, guest post, interview, discussion.

Cooking posts, pet posts, photo posts, etc. 

Posts do NOT have to be book related.

What Should You Do Next?

1] Add your blog to the linky list HERE. 

2] Create a blog post to keep track of your goals!

Don't forget to link back to the original post so others can join in!
This can be done any time from now until Nov 1

3]Spread the Word--invite your friends/fellow bloggers!

4] Grab the button!

So, I'll probably get a lot of future review posts ready to go like I have right now.  Hopefully this will help me to have my reading time for all the books I've got planned to read, not to mention all the writing I hope to get done!

Sign Up Post for Blog Ahead Challenge 2017

Once again I'm signing up for the Blog Ahead Challenge hosted by Herding Cats and Burning Soup.  I always find this to be a huge help whenever I am participating in NaNoWriMo.  Which I do intend to do again this year.  Although this year, I'm planning to edit and revise my NaNo story from a few years ago that is the only one I've ever finished. That way I can get it ready to either start trying to submit to publishers, or maybe just ready to self-publish if I decide to do that. But as I've never finished and then gone through the revising process, I feel like that is important to do. 

The Goal

Build your total number of scheduled posts by 31!

On October 1st take your number of scheduled posts and add 31.

Whatever that number is...that's your goal for the month.

You'll end the day on Oct 31st with that many scheduled posts. Woots!

Example- If you start October with 5 scheduled posts 

you end Oct with 36 scheduled posts.

 

Who Can Join

Any blogger or author can join. 

Brand new, been around for years...

Blogger, Wordpress or other platform...

Any heat level, genre or theme, etc.

If you blog...you're welcome to join!

Types of Posts that Count?

Any posts that you finish in October and will publish November 1st or later...count! 

Meme, review, guest post, interview, discussion.

Cooking posts, pet posts, photo posts, etc. 

Posts do NOT have to be book related.

What Should You Do Next?

1] Add your blog to the linky list HERE. 

2] Create a blog post to keep track of your goals!

Don't forget to link back to the original post so others can join in!
This can be done any time from now until Nov 1

3]Spread the Word--invite your friends/fellow bloggers!

4] Grab the button!

 

That's it!  This has always helped me, and has even got me in the habit of keeping things posted ahead on a weekly basis.  So now the goal will be to get next month planned, as much as I can, since a lot of my posts are now tours it seems, I will be doing a lot of other types.  Making sure I get all my reviews done ahead, but then saving for November.  Should help with my revising time!

Mini Blog Ahead #2

I always like participating in these challenges, because they are ones that I usually can complete and they always help me out in the long run, instead of adding more things for me to get done.  And with it being summer, and school being out for the next two months, this is the perfect time to try to get ahead, something I really want to do this summer.  What I'm hoping to do is get a bunch of reviews done from the backlog of books I've finished, but not had time to post reviews on. So that is what I'm going to use for my posts for this challenge. 

If you've never heard of this, here are the details from the host site Herding Cats and Burning Soup:

This challenge is all about getting ahead in your blogging by upping your number of scheduled posts by 15 during the challenge.

This is great prep for vacations, emergencies, and just helping get through blogging slumps or busy weeks. Having posts ready to go so you don't have to worry about them can be a huge relief!

 

Dates: June 15- June 30th

Goal: Schedule an additional 15 posts during the challenge.

On Day 1 of the challenge take your number of scheduled posts and add 15 to that. This is the number you need to have at the end of the challenge.

If this sounds like something you'd like to join into, create your own sign up post like this one, then click on the link before the description above and go link up!  Now, while the above listed goal is 15 posts, I'm hoping I can do more than that, and maybe get all books other than future review posts done and scheduled.   

Mini Blog Ahead #1 Sign-Up Post

Challenge Details:
Dates: March 1- March 15

Goal: Schedule an additional 15 posts during the challenge.

On Day 1 of the challenge look at your number of scheduled posts. Add 15 to that. That is the number of scheduled posts you should have finished at the end of the challenge.

Any type of post counts! It just has to be a completed post.

The only stipulation is it must go live AFTER the challenge ends in order to count.

I've participated in the month-long challenge in October for two years, it is very helpful when I do NaNoWriMo in November.  I feel like this is perfect timing for when I'm at Apollycon at the end of March.  So it is great to join in!  Plus, I haven't had more than one or two posts scheduled ahead this year, so it sounds good that way too.

If you want to join in, create your own sign-up post and go link up at The Herd Presents.

Sunday Post #69 and Stacking the Shelves September 11th, 2016

Before I go on with the normal post.  I want to take a minute to remember this day 15 years ago, and how much it will always be a sad but important time in my country's history.

#neverforget

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted  @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.   This week was a little less busy.  Although I still had something going almost every night, I still was able to spend time at home and get some reviews and other blogging done, as well as some reading.

Last week on the blog:

• Reviews:  Calendar Girl Vol. 2 by Audrey Carlan, Lead (Stage Dive #3) by Kylie Scott (audiobook), The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich, His Every Need (The Beauty and the Brit #1) by Terri L. Austin, Redeeming Trust by Michelle Sodaro,  and Moonlight on Nightingale Way (On Dublin Street #6) by Samantha Young
•  Cover Reveals:  Confessions of an Undercover Girlfriend by Kay Marie, and Match Fit by Amelie S. Duncan

And those are the only types of posts I did last week!  Crazy, huh?  Maybe that is why I had so much extra time.  Without doing something like Waiting on Wednesday, where part of the deal is to go comment on other blogs, it saved some extra time from doing that.  But I miss seeing what other books people might know about that I don't, so that isn't something I'll stop doing.  As you can see, I totally met my 2 reviews a week goal.  I had mentioned last week that I might try to do two reviews a day on review days, so that maybe I can get caught up on my reviews, and so that is kind of what I did this week.  You still have time to sign up for my 5th annual September is for Sequels Challenge until this Wednesday!  I completed my first book and review for that with Redeeming Trust by Michelle Sodaro.
I still got my 3 days of walking in, and I was doing really well, got 4 miles in on Monday, but then Wednesday night I only got 2 because I had to go visit my stepdad in the hospital after work that day because he'd had shoulder surgery.  Yesterday though I still got 3 miles.  I got the shirt I made to wear when I go to NOLA StoryCon in the mail as well.  It has to do with the book Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young.  And when I posted this picture in the fan group for her on Facebook, she even commented that she liked it!!  Now I can't wait to wear it when I meet her!

I know this is really nerdy too, but I also finally got my very first pair of Toms shoes.  I've always thought they were cute, but with not ever finding them available in stores that I could try them on, I've skipped over ordering shoes online.  But then, after my love and obsessions with the After series, it was one of my rewards for meeting exercise goals, and I finally purchased them, and they came in the mail this week.  

I also found out that I was chosen to be a volunteer at Apollycon 2017 in Orlando!  I wanted to go, but didn't know if I could afford to pay, plus most of the tickets that I would have wanted have sold out I think.  But now, I am going to get to meet Anna Todd, plus my new favorite, Kylie Scott!  I've got two sorority sisters who both offered that I could stay with them while I was there, so really I'll just have to find a good price on a plane ticket!  

Coming up this week on the blog:

• Book Blitz:  Avenging Fate by Jennifer Derrick
• Waiting on Wednesday
• Cover Reveal:  Rookie Mistake by Alice Ward
• Book Tour:  Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics - my post will be featuring true ghost stories and EVPs!
• Free e-book reviews 
• Possible reviews:  The Portal to Kerberos (Elementals #4) by Michelle Madow, Endless Knight (The Arcana Chronicles #2) by Kresley  Cole, All Lined Up (Rusk University #1) by Cora Carmack (audiobook), Charged (Saints of Denver #2) by Jay Crownover, and Inclusions (Flawless #1) by Emily Duvall
• Maybe Cover Characteristics - clothes only

Again, trying to get ahead on reviews.  Two of the reviews listed above will count towards my Sequels challenge.  I also just read and adored a free/cheap ebook called Smut by Karina Halle, and LOVED it!  I had planned to wait till at least the end of this week to do a free/cheap ebook mini-review post, but since I loved that one so much, I wanted to go ahead and do a smaller post with only 6 ebooks mentioned, so I wouldn't feel so bad writing a little bit larger sized "mini-review" for that one.  I really want to get back to doing the Cover Characteristics post, as it is a lot of fun!  I also have a lot going on this week, working two week nights at the bookstore for one thing. Then on Saturday, I'll have my stepdad and other family members' birthday celebration dinner, followed by driving to the south side of town, about 45 minutes away, for a former co-worker's wedding.  I must make sure to get my walking in though!

And, I'm going to sign up once again to do the Blog Ahead Challenge sponsored by herding cats and burning soup, to get ready for NaNoWriMo again this year.  While I thought I knew for sure what story I was going to work on this year, reading Smut made me start thinking about trying something else.  But anyway, the goal for this challenge is to get 30 more posts scheduled ahead of time, for November on, than what you start the month of October with.  So it may not be every day in November scheduled, but it will be a lot of it, as well as moving on into December.   I'm counting this post as my sign up post for the challenge!  You can sign up at the link above if you want to join in.

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.  Once again, my ebook haul was huge this week.  But my physical book haul was much smaller for a change.

Physical books:

The book on top I got at the Dollar Tree.  The bottom two books I got at one of my school district librarian meetings for free!  Sweet I've read and loved, and Dead of Winter is going to be one of my next reads as I fall in love with the Arcana series.

I got this as a book for trade through a group on Facebook. So excited to read it!

E-galleys:

Got this one from being part of a tour with the Irish Banana blog.  I had another one from Edelweiss, but I can't find the sheet of paper I wrote it on, so I'll have to share it later.

Free or cheap ebooks:
Okay, here we go.

Once again, way too many.  The last four down at the bottom were all from Barnes and Noble for my Nook. The others were all Amazon Kindle.  One of them, Smut, I started reading and finished this week.  There are one or two of the above that I did pay for after winning a $5 gift card.

Okay, that is the long list of what I added to both my physical and virtual shelves this week. What new books did you get this week!