Pitch Party

Every now and then I struggle to come up with blog posts and that's when it's time for a pitch party. I take a look at the next couple months, what is the season, what am I up to personally, what I am reading, what do I WANT to be reading? I make a BIG list of blog titles with a rough idea of what I am planning.

Now, I know that I am conjuring possibly the wrong image for what actually happens. As much as I would like to wear a tiny party hat and put on some pop music and invite all my friends, picture instead me curled up on my bed with about 4 different notebooks and scraps of paper that I try to organise into ideas. There isn't even wine at this party, but there are books, and that's MY kind of party.

I know I will write a review blog every month, so that's locked in. I know the new year will be full of resolutions and December is wish list posts and Christmas themes. Summer is the holidays, Autumn, and spring all remind me of different books and make me think of different things to write about.

Having these pitch parties for my self are a great way of stimulating my excitement for my blogging and getting ideas down on the page. And if I don't get around to writing the blogs in the right timeline then I have a stock of ideas left over from last year to work off of.

It would be great to have ideas from other people, but this is just for me and I am on my own on this blogging adventure. I do this purely in my free time, and I only write for my friends and family who occasionally drop by to indulge me. (Hey, guys!)

Getting views on my blog is hard work, many people won't drop by to read unless I share a link on social media, which means I have to dedicate time to promotion. I am trying to build blogs that might spark views on their own without promotion, which is why my pitch parties are essential. How can I make this attractive to readers? Is this a blog I would want to read? How can I tag this to be viewed as much as possible?

If anyone has any ideas of blogs for me to write in 2017 please feel free to pitch to me! Until then, I will keep having quarterly pitch parties on my own and try to come up with new ideas...

Secret Life of a Book Blogger Tag

Remember the 5th of November. Well bonfire night does call for something a little different. I'm going to do the Secret Life of a Book Blogger tag! I'm also still recovering from my trip to Hong Kong, so thought I'd do some thing different and when I saw So Little Time For Books tag anyone who wants to do it, I thought I would.

1. How long have you been a blogger?
In this incarnation, it's been about 18 months. I started in May 2014, I had a blog before that which is defunct now that had some of my creative writing on it.

2. At what point do you think you'll stop blogging?
I'm really not sure, as I said I have a dead blog already, maybe one day this one will fizzle out as well. But actually what I hope will happen is that as I go through my life, my blog will change, because this is as much an opinion blog as it is a book blog. It covers so many aspects of my life so as that becomes more colourful and exciting, so will my writing!

3. What is the best thing about blogging?
I love when someone picks up a book on my recommendation and lets me know. Actually, since this blog is mostly for my own entertainment, it makes me happy if anyone reads it, even just friends and family. It's not about a huge audience for me, it's about cathartic writing and debriefing my reading with SOMEONE even if it's with the void.

4. What is the worst thing?
Trying to come up with ideas that are new or even vaguely new. Another thing that's tough is just sitting down and writing them. You've had the idea, and now you have to implement it?! Sharing the blog so that someone will read it. I don't think I have any followers that would check in on a Thursday to check my new post, which one day I might have...but generally no one will read it if I don't share my own work on Twitter and Facebook.

5. How long does it take you to create/find pictures to use?
Almost no time at all. I almost only use book covers which link through to Amazon or I use my own pictures.

6. Who is your book crush?
James Fraser from Outlander. Even when he's an older man in the later books, still inspiring, still amazing.

7. What author would you like to have on your blog?
I'd love to interview Diana Gabledon Or Elizabeth Gilbert. I find both of them such interesting people and I feel like the interview would descend into the most fascinating discussion. Actually, I just want to meet them...

8. What do you wear when you write your blog posts?
Recently I've had to plunge right into writing my blog as soon as I'm home from work while I cook dinner. I might have changed into my slippers, but mostly just my work clothes.

9. How long does it take you to prepare?
Anything from an hour to weeks. From the idea, building a draft, sketching out the structure and what books I'm going to feature, it could take a while. especially since some drafts would fit better around holidays, I will take my time whittling away at that one and mean while dash of a quick post for this week.


10. How do you feel about the book blogger community?
I think it's great. I don't know much about it...I knew I want to blog, but because I love what I read and didn't want to forget things. My reading record is a tiny list at the side of the page and it's favourite part of my page. Anyway, I don't know many other book bloggers, I don't visit blogs for reviews on books, I'm more interested in reader's lives, so I like tags like this etc that goes beyond the books.

11. What do you think one should do to get a successful blog?
I have no idea as I don't have one. My favourite blog isn't a book blog its about AMWF couples and culture and it is diverse every week and very well written. I check in with it all the time. So I think that's the answer, not posting a review every single week would be my advice, but that's because that's the kind of content I like. For successful blogging, check out some of the lovely writers I've tagged below.

I tag...
Books, Biscuits and Tea; Bookables; The Queen of Teen Fiction and Fangs, Claws and Wings

Thank you so So Little Time For Books for tagging EVERYONE and giving me a chance to do a blog tag!

One Lovely Blog

http://somerville66.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/one-lovely-blog.html

I recently got tagged in a One Lovely Blog award by Somerville66 (Liz Lloyd.) you can click on her name to see her post on One Lovely Blogs! Thanks Liz! xxx

Here are the rules for the One Lovely Blog Award:
Thank the person that nominated you and link back to that blog.  
Share seven things about yourself – see below. 
Nominate 15 bloggers you admire – also listed below. 
Contact your bloggers to let them know you've tagged them for the ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD If I've nominated your blog, please don't feel under any obligation to join in.  I am just pleased to recommend your blog here.

Here are seven things about ME:

I grew up in Istanbul, Turkey. Until I was 11 when I came to the UK to take my exams. My mum still lives in Turkey with my step-dad while my dad, my sister and I all live here. I speak very bad, broken Turkish, and I forget it while I'm in England but I try to learn it when I'm home for holidays.

I am a publishing Intern in London and have been working in publishing gaining experience for 12 months! 

I had a pretty eclectic schooling let's go backwards: I went to Hurstpierpoint college, a boarding school in sussex, for four years, one year at Oundle school in Peterborough, 2 years at Reigate St Mary's Prep school, a year at MIA - an American academy in Istanbul which one day was mysteriously closed by the police for having no permits and IICS an international school in Istanbul. CRAZY.

I love to dance. I can tango, but my favorite is modern jive, or Ceroc dancing, which is loads of fun. I like it because they play pop music with a beat and so it is always really good fun. I also love to go to the Rivoli ballroom, they have a Jive night there once a month with live music and dancing.

I love to cook, I follow recipes most of the time but I can judge things to my own taste as well. I really like to feed other people and see them say how lovely it is. I'm my worst critic and am always trying to get better. I'd have to thank my other half for being one reason why my cooking has improved over the last few years. He always needs feeding when he comes over, so I have become more experimental and more daring and had a lot more reason to practice. He is also on a paelo diet so I have to really get creative to make something delicious we both like.

One of my favourite and most cathartic things to do is to reorganise my bookshelves. I always feel a huge sense of accomplishment when they are newly ordered and have had the dust shaken off them. I don't have a lot of space so I also have trinkets and nicknaks filling the shelf too. Maybe I'll do that today...

I can't get enough of period dramas. Any thing from Lark Rise to Candleford to the Illusionist. I was raised on a TV diet of Pride and Prejudice and Tess of the Durbervilles. Now that I am older I love to read those stories too but when it comes to movies, I cannot resist a spot of old time fashion.

Here are my recommendations! Go look at them. Immediately.

Chic It Yourself
Up The Hill And Round The Bend
A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Catherine Bennett
Dark Readers
Damn Interesting
Bookables
Books, Biscuits, and tea
little paper pages
The Hungry Reader
So Many books So Little Time
the thrifty garden/home
eat like a girl
Writers and Artists Blog