Yes, the New Year is fast-approaching, and if the world is really going to end on 12/12/12, which I highly doubt, I have about a year to make my little site perfect. I digress. Anyhoo, I’ve seen a lot of people posting their blog resolutions for 2011, and I decided to jump on board and do the same. Hey, we all have room for improvement, right? I just started making a few minor changes per people’s suggestions on my Reader’s Poll including adding a search bar, adding more details about the book, pages, publisher, etc, at the top of the post, but I definitely have more to do.
1. I want to make more interactive discussion posts with my readers to get people more involved. I have a few topics in mind, and I really want to continue making my blog a reflection of my thoughts and ideas. I think memes are great, and I’ll still participate, but I want to make i swim for oceans a little more…in depth, shall we say.
2. Provide a mentor/mentee program, of sorts. I’ve seen this done before, and I think it would have been amazingly helpful when I was first starting out as a wee little blogger. I think it would be awesome to randomly pair the newbie bloggers that sign up with more experienced bloggers so there are open lines of communication for advice and a better way for people to bounce ideas around.
3. I want to do 13 reviews per month. I currently do 12 per month because I read like a speed demon, but I’d like to amp it up a bit. Sometimes I’m lazy and only review a few of the books I actually read because it’s easier. In the same breath, I’d also like to make my reviews a bit more critical of the finer points. Yes, most books I read are pretty good, but I want to make sure I always touch on exactly what is good and what isn’t.
4. Comment on more blogs. I usually comment on a lot every day, and I do my very best to always return comments that are given on my site, but I’ll admit, I could do better. I also want to clean out the blogs I do follow because there are a lot of seriously inactive ones that clutter the ones that are active – that will help me see all of your blogs better!
5. Do more author interviews. This was a common theme in my Reader’s Poll – people wanted to see more author interviews. I’m doing my best to start contacting more authors for interviews and hoping for the best. I love hearing what authors have to say, so it should be fun.
6. Relax. I get very uptight and OCD about how my blog looks and flows. I want to be able to roll with the punches more. I think it will make the whole thing more enjoyable!
What about you? Do you have specific blog resolutions for the coming year? If you’d like to do a post, click here to link your post up with Melissa’s post from My World…In Words and Pages.
Hm, I wonder how many reviews I do per month...
ReplyDeleteAnyways, your goals are awesome. I bet you will accomplish all of them!
Great new year resolutions. I'm like you, I read fast. I'm trying to read twenty books per month but I can only make it to 18! Also I need to relax, so much stress and worries.
ReplyDeleteI love your goals. (:
ReplyDeleteMine are just not to straighten my hair for at least 3months and read 100 books. xD
Those are some great goals for the new year. Much more ambitious than myself. LOL But I don't read as fast either. ;)
ReplyDeleteI was reading and at each point I thought "Great. Love that." I love the idea of the mentor programme. You write so many reviews already but I can't say I'll be disappointed reading more :P
ReplyDeleteHi Melissa! I would love to be a speed reader! :) I have so many books I want to read and just don't because I read like the turtle. But well, I guess he is a steady reader right. ;D
ReplyDeleteThese are amazing resolutions! I love the mentoring program idea. Working closely with someone who has an inkling of an idea would have been great when I started blogging. :)
And more interacting posts. I have thought a a few but then think they are lame when I put them in my words. Maybe I should just do it and see what others think, I guess I might be my worst critic. :)
Thank you for linking up and best of luck with your resolutions! Happy New Year to you!
Fantastic goals, Melissa! I love your blog the way it is, but I'm sure those goals will make it even more awesome! Being a baby blogger myself, I am especially excited about the mentor program... I totally need one of those! lol Anyway, great post and good luck with your goals. I know you'll do wonderful!
ReplyDeleteGreat goals you got there, Melissa! I also need to amp the number of reviews I write per month. Right now I think I only do about 4 to 6, which is pretty lame considering. So, I really need to improve that!
ReplyDeleteI also second your idea on having a mentor/mentee program. I have no doubt that you'd be an excellent mentor.
Good luck for the year of 2011. I am so glad that I have known you through this blog =) Serious. Am. Glad.
Your goals are pretty hardcore in my opinion, but all the power to you! And 13 book reviews a month? I thought I read fast, evidently I was wrong... ;)
ReplyDeleteWow I want to be like you! 12 reviews :O
ReplyDeleteGreat goals & I look forward to reading your blog in 2011. Happy New Year :)
All your goals are more or less mine too. However I doubt I will ever be able to write 13 reviews! lol
ReplyDeleteIf you do have mentor programme , I would love to help out! As a newbie , I remember feeling so scared !
Best of luck with your goals!
These are great goals to have Melissa and I wish you the best of luck trying to achieve them all. I have every faith that you will because you're awesome like that. I know exactly how you feel about being OCD when it comes to your blog because I'm the same way with mine.
ReplyDeleteI have the same goals, seriously.
Wow, I wish I could read that much in a month! 13 is a great goal. Having more interactive discussions is a great goal too. I look forward to seeing what you do in the future!
ReplyDeleteI like the mentor idea, when I started out it was so scary, and I did nothing for weeks. But met some good bloggers that showed me around :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I am blown away by your 12 reviews each month as it is! And I hear you on the interactive discussion posts - I always find those interesting and thought-provoking, and I'm hoping to get some more going on my blog as well :D
ReplyDeleteI think my only real big goal this year os to read more... I hope I'll manage to do it =)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your goals! They are great ;)
Those are some really great goals! :) I would love to be able to carry some of those out as well. I think the mentor/mentee program would be great! I would love to participate in it if it's up!
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Once In A Full Moon comes out in stores today!! Get your copy! :D
This was an awesome post: I admire that you chose to make these goals let alone share them with your readers. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteYou have some great goals. Most of mine look a lot like yours: more reviews, more author interviews, etc. :P I unfortunately don't have a set number of books I'll review a month. If I had a set number, I think I'd get stressed if I didn't hit that number. :s
ReplyDeleteAnywhoo, good luck with your goals, m'dear. ♥
I think you have some really good goals Melissa. It would be awesome if you could start a mentoring program, and reviewing 12 books a month is already amazing. I'm a speedy reader too but watching TV on my laptop and the commute from school takes up a lot of my time so sadly, I don't read as much as I should. Good luck with your goals!
ReplyDeleteI like your ideas for improving, especially the mentor/mentee program (I can clearly see myself as a grateful mentee) and posting more serious thought-provoking stuff (I've tried to do the same)and creating-inspiring more interaction. Publishing more interviews sounds also fine. Isn't the goal of posting 13 reviews a month too ambitious, though? Don't get me wrong - I am sure you can do it no problem but how does it compare with your last goal -to roll with the punches more?
ReplyDeleteIt just boggles the mind that you feel you need to comment more on blogs. It seems like whenever I read a post by anyone I'm following, you've already commented on it!
ReplyDeleteGreat goals Melissa. I'd say my goals would be pretty similar. I especially love the ideas of the interaction post and the mention program.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if I can help. :D
It is going to be a great year for reading and books and blogging!
I think you forgot to decide about a swap option with the Mad Scientist! LOL!
ReplyDeleteGreat Ideas... In depth. I've been washing around ideas on a Mad Scientist on Blog Science monthly or bi monthly post and I think your in depth and mentor thoughts are right up the same alley.
I'm by no means experiences but I created a mass and regular following beyond my initial expectations.
Mad Scientist
Wow! Nice goals, but I fear your last goal may fall short if you do everything! Remember to have fun (outside of blogging) too! :)
ReplyDeleteI am with you on four and six :)
ReplyDeleteThose are great resolutions. But, seriously, you think you need to comment more? You're a fantastic commenter! Everywhere I go I see your comments :)
ReplyDeleteA mentor/mentee program sounds great! I don't know if I have any big goals other than continuing to grow my blog. I'd like to find a few things that will help me create a niche. I'm hoping some of my features will gain popularity as I gain more followers.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on a number of your goals. I'm really interested in being a Mentee! I have tons of questions to ask :) let me know when you are open for business!
ReplyDeleteBarb at Sugarbeat's Books
oooh, awesome goals!!!
ReplyDeleteFantastic goals!! I'm hoping to write mine down this week and they are probably going to be really similar to yours :)
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I like the idea of being a mentor too. I'll be interested to see how you get on.
ReplyDeleteGreat goals! I would like to make more comments on blogs and have some interaction discussions. Hopefully we will both be able to achieve our goals :)
ReplyDeleteWow 13 reviews a month, that is very impressive. I have trouble getting two a week out. I also think you would make a wonderful mentor. I also agree that commenting on blogs is a great goal. I love doing this myself and need to do more.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you will reach your goals and I will be looking forward to all your reviews.
Great goals. A lot of them are similar to my own. I want to comment more on blogs because I don't do it nearly as often as I should, but it's hard with school and life sometimes. I also would love to interview more authors and I'm already at work with this one.
ReplyDeleteYou can do it, dude. I love the last one. I need to do that too. RELAX!
ReplyDeleteSounds like great goals!
ReplyDeletedemitrialunetta.blogspot.com
Great goals! I really like the mentor idea, there are lots of great people who need help getting started and we have all been there :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful resolutions Melissa! Commenting more needs to be one of my goals too. I think you do a great job with replying to comments and I see them on a lot of blogs but like you say, things can always be inproved. 12 reviews a month is impressive and it's nice to give yourself an extra stretch. I find it hard to write one review a week a I'm quite a slow reader and finding less time recently because of schoolwork.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck :)
These are all admirable resolutions, although the one about author interviews surprises me. I had no idea blog readers liked them so much. I've barely done any myself and this has given me food for thought.
ReplyDeleteOh, and 'relax' is a great idea, and definitely worth remembering.
I love all of your goals for 2011, especially the mentor program idea. I think there are so many newbies out there that are floundering their way through the blog world, so doing something like this would definitely be awesome. Like you, I definitely want to do more discussion posts and author features too... and don't even get me started on reviews. Great ideas Melissa!
ReplyDeleteGreat goals Melissa, and I wish you luck on all your resolutions :)
ReplyDeleteI need to take a page from the "relax" resolution...I tend to obsess a bit, and in doing so, can lose sight of the fact that this is supposed to be fun :)
Hope you have a wonderful New Year's weekend!
These are some nice goals! I'm also going to up my review posts, though I was thinking more like 8... (I read fast, but you sound like you read a lot faster than me!)
ReplyDeleteI want to venture into the author interview realm in 2011, as well. I have two set up for early 2011, so we'll see how that goes...
Have a good new year!
Love your goals! I'm hoping to do more of the discussion posts next year too, and I love your mentor program idea!
ReplyDeleteNot gonna lie, your review goal makes me feel super lazy, haha. :p
Happy new year!!
Ooo, good goals! I've always been obsessive about blogging to, but when I got pregnant it slowed me down and I magically stopped caring about all the things that used to drive me nuts. I hope I stay this way after the baby's born...
ReplyDeleteI love the OCD comment. It's nice to know someone else is swimming in that pool with me. Obsession just may be my death one day, LOL, but oh well. It may also lead to perfection, ya never know.
ReplyDeleteJen
In the Closet With a Bibliophile
Great goals! I also need to follow your relax goal...I freak out about my blog and whether the photos look good...if a post is layed out right, etc. It shouldn't be THAT big a deal.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to learn more about your plans for a mentor/mentee program because one of my goals this year is to mentor a new blogger!
These are great goals! I love the idea of the mentor/mentee program.
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