Armchair BEA: Day 3 Topics

Armchair BEA

Check out all the info about Armchair BEA.

There are two new topics to choose from today: Character Chatter & Blogging Q&A...


CHARACTER CHATTER

The biggest traits that I look for in characters are that they're consistent, realistic, relate-able/likeable/I connect with them, strong (even if strong doesn't always mean physically strong or a-type personalities), and that they develop and mature over events or time.

How do I pick favorites? This is going to be the short list because I have lots of favorites and could take hours to discuss them all. So here it is:

Favorite Heroine: This was really tough! I have quite a few. I'm going to go with Cinder though from The Lunar Chronicles. I just have loved seeing how she has grown into her role and how intelligent, creative, caring, fierce, and sweet she is. I know she'll do some more developing in the final book. Can't wait!

Favorite Hero: This one is so hard!!! So many choices... I'm going to go with Prince Po from Graceling. He is just amazing! He's really honed his skills, but what makes him a hero isn't really his fierceness or ability to fight and defend. It's really that he's the perfect counter to Katsa and I love how he takes her, all of her, as she is and is just there for her. He basically saves her.

Favorite Side Character: Sturmhond from Siege and Storm by Leigh Burdugo. He seriously rocked that book! He's witty, seriously intelligent, cunning, charming, handsome, funny, regal, has suave... I could go on and on. 

BLOGGING Q&A

Hmm. There are lots of things I am not an expert on. At all. I'm still learning and changing what I do - some of that due to how much time I can spend on updating and making changes. I'm going to share just a few tips for maybe those that haven't started blogging yet...

1. Don't pick a long blog name and keep it simple. It's all around easier in the long run when you leave links places, use your name, and tell people your blog name. Catchy is always good too. And pick a name you'll be good with FOREVER. Facebook is almost impossible to change and losing followers because you have to do a new page is the pits.

2. Keep your Twitter handle short. Twitter only allows so many characters. I can't tell you how many times I've had to be very creative in tweets for promotions because the handles that needed to be used were so long and I could fit hardly anything else besides them and the link.

3. Start off requesting and managing eARCs right. Everyone has different ways of doing this, but once those ARCs start rolling in it can be easy to get very behind. Only request what you'll actually read. A good goal is to plan on only reading one or two a week at most and so when you request an ARC, write it on your calendar a week or two before release. That way if you get approved you already have it on your calendar and you won't overbook yourself. (I should take my own advice - just trying to save you guys my problems. Lol!) Speaking about calendars...

4. Keep a calendar and make sure you update it regularly, as in right when you sign up for anything. You don't know how often I'm asked when someone is posting for a tour because they didn't write down the dates they gave (I'm talking about when I've already sent out the schedule too). I've also had bloggers be unavailable for a date they left on a form or that they're on the schedule for because they never wrote it down. It's a good way to build bridges and be professional. Asking to change a date is always okay and never hurts.

5. Don't attack other people's reviews. You can definitely disagree. We all do or like some books better or less than others. Just be friendly and nice about it.

6. Don't write posts when you're angry, especially when it might target someone specific. It's just not worth it to say things that are posted to the world that you can't take back. Plus I'm a believer that if you have an issue with someone, boxing it out online in an unprofessional way isn't really the right way to go about it. You can always work it out through emails if it's that big of an issue. Most of us are pretty reasonable. Having said that, there are times when you do need to express a negative opinion, but still, you should wait until you're calm and can discuss it without attacking someone.

7. Preview your posts. I'm drawn as a reader and follower (I was a follower before I blogged) to well edited and organized posts. I know it doesn't affect content, but I like it when I can tell the author/blogger took time to make sure their post didn't have lots of mistakes or big spaces or such. That's just me though.

8. Back up your blog. A million times over on a regular basis.

9. Have fun. Be willing to reassess and take breaks so you don't get burned out.

So how about you?

13 comments

  1. crazy scrapper5/29/15, 2:56 AM

    Thanks for those great ideas, I love reading and reading reviews. I prefer shorter reviews then longer reviews and I prefer a clean web page or blog as to one that has way to much on it.

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  2. One of the the trickiest things for me is choosing books to review. It can feel overwhelming. I'm very careful just to agree to books I have time to read.

    http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2015/05/armchair-bea.html

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  3. Paperback Princess5/29/15, 5:04 AM

    Great tips, I'm going to start doing that with the writing it down on calendar. I normally don't write the tours until I've been confirmed because I don't want to book it in if I don't get a spot in the tour, cos I could have put something else in it.

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  4. I've really got to back up my blog again. I think I've only done it once :/ . I'm just asking for trouble!

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  5. Fantastic list! And I am amazed you could even pick favorite characters in any category! I avoided that topic today :D

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  6. When it comes to your points, I have to agree with a lot of them. I started off with requesting all wrong because I requested far too many. I have trouble recovering from that and still am, but I am working on it! As well as that though, I loved Cinder from the Lunar Chronicles <3 It's hard to have a favourite character but it would have to be Wolf I think.

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  7. I prefer shorter too, but have written longer ones. I'm always rethinking how I want to structure my reviews too and have been debating doing a short and long. There are so many ways to blog!

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  8. That is probably my biggest challenge as well and I've been terrible at requesting too many. It stems from when I first started blogging and requested everything. That's one reason why I noted that here. Great for you, Deb, that you are careful. :) It's my goal to be there next year - be caught up and keep caught up.

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  9. I've done that too, but as I've grown my schedule has gotten a lot busier and so I can't do that. Plus, I think it's good to know if I said I'd do something so I don't have any surprises.

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  10. Sometimes I'm better at it than others, but I know it's very important.

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  11. I just picked ones that stood out to me first. I could have thought all day about it, you know? :)

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  12. I am in the same boat as you, Olivia. I have way too many eARCs and my goal is to have a much better handle on them by next year. And I do love Wolf. He's a fantastic character as are all those characters!

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  13. What great tips, Tressa. Thank you so much for sharing these! You have some great blogging advice to share. I love number 5. I stress that a lot too. Don't mind an "agree to disagree" argument (that's what makes things interesting - everyone's differing opinions) or kindly said disagreeing comment but there is no reason to be mean. I often think bloggers like that kind of take pleasure in being mean just because they can.

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I love comments! I try to read and reply to them all. Feel free to agree or disagree and generally share your thoughts with me.