Spring Bloggiesta To Do List!

Spring Bloggiesta started today and runs until midnight Sunday! Participate when and how you want. This is your time to improve on those little things about your blog you’ve been thinking about for months, mark off those long to-do lists and possibly even discover a few great new blogs. Whether you have days, hours or just a few minutes we hope you’ll join us! Check out their website for the mini challenges and to link up.

With my work being short staffed I've really been struggling with consistent diverse blogging this month. Luckily Spring Bloggiesta is here in time for me to catch up/get ahead of myself blog wise.

To Do!

• Comments~ Make sure I'm as up to date with these as I think I am. I find one or two comments always slip under my radar!
• Posts~ I've actually got several post series ideas to get written up and scheduled! Realistic goal 4 posts scheduled by Sunday,
• Reviews~ I'm planning on doing the bulk of my review writing next week but I want to draft up at least 5 ready for myself.
• Challenges~ It's time for me to do a quarterly check in with all my challenge goals so I want to get that post done.
• Blog Design~ I really want a new unique design so I want to do research this Bloggiesta!

Simple goals but hopefully I can get them done. Make sure you check out my NetGalley mini challenge as well!

If you have any insights, tips or recommendations for blog design please let me know!
Good Luck!
Lettie
Xxx

Spring Bloggiesta NetGalley Mini Challenge!

Welcome to Bloggiesta! I hope you are all working away on your to-do list. I have been a bloggiesta participant for ages so I'm excited to host my very own mini challenge!

NetGalley is both a blessing and a curse to bloggers~ it's so easy to request titles but before you know it your Feedback to Approval Ratio is way down and your TBR is way up.... This challenge will help you get a handle on NetGalley this Bloggiesta.

Improve your Feedback Tips and Tricks!

• Didn't Finish the book. Make sure you still send feedback. I usually put a paragraph in the thoughts for publisher section thanking them for approving me etc..
• Not posting the review for awhile. Do the feedback and put the date for the review in the thoughts section.
• Go back through your approved books. I often find that I forgot to do feedback on some of my earlier approvals. This is actually how I got my ratio up when it came in!

Mini Challenge

This Bloggiesta I challenge you to improve your ratio either by going back over your approvals or writing up reviews!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Let me know your NetGalley tips and tricks!
Much Love and Luck!
Lettie
Xxx

Bloggiesta Finish Line!

I always enjoy Bloggiesta and this time was no exception! I have actually continued Bloggiesta into my own week long event so I can get a handle on my big To Do list!

 

Completed during Bloggiesta!

• Reviews~ I want to write up about 8 and schedule at least 5!
• Comments~ I have been so rubbish at commenting so I'm hoping to comment on as many blogs as possible! Done! Including commenting back and general commenting!
• Planning~ Make sure my Blog calendar is up to date and think about syncing it with my Google calendar. Done! I have an up to date Blog calendar and I decided not to sync with my Google calendar.
• Pages~ Update my pages!
• Posts~ I have a few post ideas sitting in drafts that I want to type up 2!
• Rating~ I'm planning on adding a new rating so I need a post about that and an updated rating system post!  Done! The post is scheduled for Tuesday!
• Social Media~ Make sure my twitter is linked back up with my blog feed! Possibly!- Just need to see how my new system works out... 

Still working on!

• Reviews~ I want to write up about 8 and schedule at least 5! Scheduled one and in the middle of writing up a few more!
• Pages~ Update my pages! Working on this one atm need to update almost all of them!
• Posts~ I have a few post ideas sitting in drafts that I want to type up 2! Success- scheduled 2 but I'm working on more!

I feel quite accomplished and motivated- Thanks Bloggiesta!
How did you do?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxxx
Xxx

Bloggiesta To Do List!

Hosted by Suey from It’s All About Books and Danielle from There’s a Book.
Bloggiesta started Friday and runs until midnight Sunday! Participate when and how you want. This is your time to improve on those little things about your blog you’ve been thinking about for months, mark off those long to-do lists and possibly even discover a few great new blogs. Whether you have days, hours or just a few minutes we hope you’ll join us!
Bloggiesta snuck up on me! It's well timed as I have at least 10 reviews to write up..... I'm hoping to get lots done this weekend

To Do!

• Reviews~ I want to write up about 8 and schedule at least 5!
• Comments~ I have been so rubbish at commenting so I'm hoping to comment on as many blogs as possible!
• Planning~ Make sure my Blog calendar is up to date and think about syncing it with my Google calendar.
• Pages~ Update my pages!
• Posts~ I have a few post ideas sitting in drafts that I want to type up 2!
• Rating~ I'm planning on adding a new rating so I need a post about that and an updated rating system post!
• Social Media~ Make sure my twitter is linked back up with my blog feed!

Wish me luck!
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Mini Bloggiesta~ July 2013.

This weekend is the 2nd semi-annual MINI Bloggiesta!
Hosted by Suey from It’s All About Books and Danielle from There’s a Book.
Bloggiesta starts now and runs until midnight Sunday! Participate when and how you want. This is your time to improve on those little things about your blog you’ve been thinking about for months, mark off those long to-do lists and possibly even discover a few great new blogs. Whether you have days, hours or just a few minutes we hope you’ll join us!
 
It's Bloggiesta time again! I've got high hopes for this weekend!
 
Aims!

• Reviews~ My reviews have been backing up like crazy! I want to write up a few and draft all the others.
• Comments~ I have been so rubbish at commenting which annoys me because I think it's rude!
• Planning~ My planning has gone awry so I'm taking this chance to plan out August and September.
• Posts~ I have a few post ideas sitting in drafts that I want to type up.
• Email~ Gmail has changed for some reason and doesn't show me all my emails?! Need to look into that!
• Social Media~ Lastly I stopped my automatic twitter link so I need to make sure I schedule tweets when I schedule all the new posts I will have written :P

Goals!

• Reviews~ At least 5 and a few more drafted!
• Comments~ Back comment all of July and visit new blogs.
• Planning~ Plan August posts and review books and start doing the same for September.
• Posts~ Write up 2 of these ideas and work on the others.
• Email~ Figure out how it changed!
• Social Media~ Lastly Make sure all scheduled posts have a scheduled tweet

Phew! A lot of work to do! Fingers crossed a lot gets done!

What are your goals?
Good Luck!
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxxx

Bloggiesta Wrap Up

I always enjoy Bloggiesta and this weekend I feel I've got a lot of Back of Blog stuff done!
 
Mini Challenges!
Feed Reader Mini Challenge over at The Picky Girl! 
I loved the pros and cons layout as it made all the readers so easy to understand!
Blogger- I already use and love Blogger as it's so convenient! I hope it doesn't disappear to!
Feedly- I gave it a try! First issue was that I use Internet Explorer and you can't install or use it with IE which is unhelpful. I gave it a second chance and downloaded the app- I do like the layout but it's a bit confusing! I will keep the app for awhile to give it a fair chance but I'm not keen
Bloglovin'- I started using this last week but I definitely explored it more this weekend. I added more blogs, utilised the categories and claimed my blog! I love that it's just a site no installation, I like the design and that you can favourite posts! Definitely my favourite!
(go ahead and Follow my blog with Bloglovin.)
Thanks Jenn!
Get Involved Mini Challenge~ The Book Wheel Blog.
I loved how Allison detailed so many different ways to give back and get involved through books and reading!
Unfortunately they were USA based so I couldn't use them but Allison was kind enough to point me towards a UK site :)
I did managed to 'get involved' though!
I have lots of old books that I've grown out of or had duplicates or didn't need. I really wanted to give them to my local Children's Hospital but they no longer take donations as they have a supplier. However they pointed me in the direction of CLIC Sargent! I drove over there and donated at least 60 books!
I always donate old clothes etc so I loved knowing my books would be given to sick children and continue to be read!
Thanks Allison! 
 

Goals!
Review Format.- I want to change it up a little bit! I still like the like/dislike format but I want to alter it a little bit! 
I have decided to reformat my reviews very slightly, adding in a new section which will probably be showcased in April!
Reviews.- I want to write up 4 reviews, draft up my next mini reviews post and draft up Netgalley reviews.
I didn't write up any reviews but I did do a lot of background work. I drafted up all of my blog notes into draft posts with covers, blurbs and notes.
Mini-challenges.- Take part in at least two. Bloglovin.- I've 'claimed' my blog but I want to play around with it a little.
^See above!
Clean Up- Draft posts, email inbox, blogger subscriptions etc.
I reduced my draft posts from 31 to 21! I always have my memes drafted and a upcoming reviews formatted so I will always have draft posts but I cleaned out ones which I'd either changed, decided not to post or duplicated.
Posts- Brainstorm some new ideas, draft up some posts!
I have a few ideas involving films, discussions etc!

How was your Bloggiesta?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Monday Round Up

One of my favourite memes hosted by the lovely Shelia over at Book Journey!

Last week was crazy! I've managed to get myself the perfect temporary job- well paid, conveniently close by and in a brand new sector! Yay! I've got two weeks until I start though so I've got time to celebrate!

Read!

I have a bad habit of buying bargain eBooks and letting them sit unread on my tablet..... So I made an effort to read a few!

Reading!

Finally picked this one up! I'm really enjoying it :)

What's Next!

I will pick this one up this week!

Upcoming Posts!
Bloggiesta Wrap Up- Find out how successful I was later today!
Stacking The Shelves- March edition.
Two Reviews- Undecided I drafted up a couple for Bloggiesta.

How's your week been?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Bloggiesta- March 2013!

In short, Bloggiesta is a blogging marathon revolving around ticking off those items on your to-do list and improving your blog while in the good company of other awesome bloggers doing the same thing. Hosted by  Suey from It’s All About Books and Danielle from There’s A Book.

Bloggiesta time again! I've got a bigger to do list this time round but the tasks are mainly housekeeping!

Goals!

• Review Format.- I want to change it up a little bit! I still like the like/dislike format but I want to alter it a little bit!
• Reviews.- I want to write up 4 reviews, draft up my next mini reviews post and draft up Netgalley reviews.
• Mini-challenges.- Take part in at least two
• Bloglovin.- I've 'claimed' my blog but I want to play around with it a little.
• Clean Up- Draft posts, email inbox, blogger subscriptions etc.
• Posts- Brainstorm some new ideas, draft up some posts!

Fingers crossed I make a dent in these tasks!
What are your goals?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Mini-Bloggiesta Wrap Up!

 

This post is both goals and wrap up! I thought being offline would make me productive and I think it works!

Goals!

*Catch up with comments- I always reply to my comments but I'd fallen behind!
Success- All comments are replied to!
*Comment on other blogs- I want to take the time to comment and discover new blogs.
Success- I commented on a few blogs and followed some new ones!
*Get organised- I really mucked up my January schedule as you can see in my review
Success- I was going to print a blog planner but I knew it would end up being something I never got around to! Instead I made my little schedule with updated colours and made sure to include NetGalley books etc. I also scheduled a few different posts :)
*Draft up memes for Feb- Most of the memes I do follow a simple format, it would save time if I had them ready to go!
Success- All Monday posts drafted up! No Top Tens planned for Feb and Stacking The Shelves is drafted!
*Write at least 2 reviews- I need to catch myself back up with reviews!
Fail- I didn't fully write up any reviews due to extra work hours and a killer hangover... But I did drafted up quite a few with covers, blurbs, review notes and ratings!

Not too bad! I really enjoyed this mini Bloggiesta burst- I managed to get myself slightly back on track  and found a few new blogs!
I will definitely be signing up for the next one in March!

How did you do with Bloggiesta?
Reach all your goals?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Bloggiesta Wrap Up!

This is hosted by Suey from It’s All About Books and Danielle at There’s a Book. It ran  from September 28th to the 30th.

Bloggiesta was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed taking time out solely to work on my blog and tidy it up. I was quite productive too!

Goals!

• Create a blogging schedule for Oct.- See below!
• Learn more about blog design- One of my September goals hoping to find out more from mini challenges etc As mentioned in my September round up this goal needs more time and effort!
• Write up all review notes made on holiday. All review notes drafted up just need to be fully written out!
• Clean up Goodreads shelves. Not really attempted
• Clean up draft posts!- Now all I have is drafts of all my upcoming posts that need added pictures etc.
• Follow some new blogs! Done! I meant to keep track in order to link them but my Internet crashed!
• Write up 3 Top Ten Tuesday posts.- All written out just need to add pictures and format! Half success!
• Add ratings to all reviews posted before September!- Yay! A relatively quick task! I also cleaned up the review format on the first reviews I practised my current review style on!
• *Get more involved in blog tours etc. I signed up  to YA Bound Book Tours, Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours and SupaGurl Tours. I now have 5 tours scheduled for the rest of the year!

Challenges!

• Organisation and Scheduling- Success! I have a scheduling plan!
• Review Catch-Up- I went for the Love this challenge! I went for Let’s Split It level which works out as 4 reviews. I only manged three fully completed reviews though- oh well! 3 is better than none :)  

Schedule!

I used my the mini challenge as inspiration for my scheduling lay out. I have a month over view section in my Filofax with each post marked. I then have note cards for each month- one for reviews, one for memes and one for other posts. I don't have particular days to post on etc but I do have a fixed number of reviews and other posts for each month!
I like how responsible and organised I feel now! I know exactly what needs to be written and for when.
Here's a sneak peek at what I have scheduled for October!

Reviews to be posted.

• Thomas and January by Fisher Amelie.
• Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.
• The Lost Son By Tamra Torero and Preston Norton
• Easy by Tamara Webber.
• Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.
• Hangman in the Mirror by Kate Cayley .
• While Its Lasts by Abbi Glines. Moved to Nov.
• Slammed by Colleen Hoover. Moved to Nov.

I wish I could of got more involved socially with Bloggiesta via twitter but the times didn't work for me!
I will definitely be taking part again next year and I'm thinking of using it to make over my blog!

How did you do with your goals?
Much love!
Lettie
xxxx

Bloggiesta Progress!

This is hosted by Suey from It’s All About Books and Danielle at There’s a Book. It goes from September 28th to the 30th. Make sure to sign up here!

 

 

This is a start up/progress/plan post for Day 1 or more accurately two hours in! 

Progess!

I've cleaned up my draft posts from 25 to 16 so that I'm left with posts I genuinely intend to post soon!
This should be helpful for a few of the challenges I intend to take part in :)

 Challenges!

• Organisation and Scheduling- Creating a schedule for October is one of my goals so I'm so grateful for this challenge/post! I really want my blog to have a clearer schedule so people know what to expect and I can see what I need to work on. This will be my major project today
• Review Catch-Up- Love this challenge! I'm going for Let’s Split It level which works out as 4 reviews! Fingers crossed!

Goal Status!

• Create a blogging schedule for Oct.- See above!
• Learn more about blog design- One of my September goals hoping to find out more from mini challenges etc
• Write up all review notes made on holiday
• Clean up Goodreads shelves.
• Clean up draft posts!-See Above!
• Follow some new blogs!
• Write up 3 Top Ten Tuesday posts.- Picked out the themes and templated the posts. I've also picked out the top ten for each so the next step is pictures!
• Add ratings to all reviews posted before September!- Yay! A relatively quick task! I also cleaned up the review format on the first reviews I practised my current review style on!
• *Get more involved in blog tours etc.

I'm having so much fun already!
Let me know how you're doing!
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Bloggiesta! 28th September to 30th September

This is hosted by Suey from It’s All About Books and Danielle at There’s a Book. It goes from September 28th to the 30th. Make sure to sign up here!

Bloggiesta is your chance to:

• spiff up your blog
• try something new on your blog, fix something, add something or delete something
• catch up on reviews, Google Reader, email, or anything else that's out of control
• work and party together with other bloggers
• learn new things from blogging experts
• join several mini challenges and win prizes
• have fun for three days blogging and connecting with your blogging friends!

I saw this challenge/event and thought it sounded like a great way to improve my blog, learn more about blogging and socialise with other bloggers!

Goals!

• Learn more about blog design- One of my September goals hoping to find out more from mini challenges etc
• Add ratings to all reviews posted before September
• Write up 3 Top Ten Tuesday posts
• Create a blogging schedule for Oct.
• Socialise and take part in mini challenges
• Write up all review notes made on holiday
• Clean up Goodreads shelves.
• Clean up draft posts!
• Follow some new blogs!

Are you taking part?
Let me know your goals!
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx