My New Year Resolutions- personal, bloggy and bookish.

As I write this, it’s day 1 of 2014. I’ve had some black-eyed peas and some cinnamon rolls (I read somewhere that on first day of the year eat round foods for good luck- I forgot my doughnuts- so cinnamon rolls worked. And were quite yummy). I’ve been thinking about resolutions- making them or not, what I should strive for, what is essentially a step on the way to being the best “me” possible.

Here goes:

T’s Resolutions:

Book-ish Resolutions:

1. To read more.

2. To go to more book signings.

3. To organize my books (and keep them organized)

To read more of my book-ish resolutions, please visit here to read my resolutions that I posted as part of the Closed The Cover New Year, New Books Blog Hop.

Bloggy Resolutions:

1. To have business cards made.

2. To put serious thought into what I want for Traveling With T in the future- perhaps leaving the safety of WordPress behind and becoming self-hosted.

3. To schedule blog maintenance monthly (every 2-3 months, perhaps)- updating my sidebar, reviewing my policies, and organizing my Interview/Review archive.

4. To participate in more bloggy events (Bloggiesta, blog tours, cover reveals, and more.)

5. For Traveling With T to become more known in the bloggy/book-ish world. Perhaps win a blog award or be found by a new publicist connection.

6. To go to BEA, to go back to Louisiana Book Festival, and maybe SoFest of Books.

7. To start telling people about my blog in real life as only telling about my blog to my online connections.

8. To nurture the bloggy friendships I have and to meet new bloggy friends.

Personal:

1. To be open to new experiences- trying different concerts, going to more symphony events, and attending things that sound fun.

2. To take more time for me. Days at movies. Mani/pedi. Massages. To treat myself to “date” nights- dinner and movie, dinner and concert.

3. To start writing letters more- random “thinking of you” notes- no reasons.

4. To organize and back-up all the pictures that I take.

5. I’m not going to say the usual “eat healthier” because I’m already doing that- but I resolve to enjoy the occasional treats I have- without even a smidge of guilt.

6. To participate in a Walk for MS or Walk for Breast Cancer. Both causes are meaningful to me for personal reasons.

7. To evolve my taste in wine.

8. To meet more fun people in real life.

What are some of your resolutions?

New Year Resolutions Guest Post Schedule

A few weeks ago, I started thinking about resolutions. Thinking about what I wanted for 2014- and how I could achieve it. Then I began thinking of people that I knew- authors, bloggy friends, and just people that I admire and like in the book-ish world. I sent out a few emails- with an idea of these folks guest posting about their resolutions- no rules, no restrictions- just telling it like it is.

As the guest posts have arrived in my inbox, I have laughed. Loved. Reflected about the topic. Thought it was simply wonderful. And just feel honored to be able to share these guest posts- these glimpses into a life of a blogger. Into the life of an author. Into the life of a book-ish person.

Here is the schedule:

Ashley @ Closed The Cover- January 3rd

Helen @ My Novel Opinion- January 6th

Stephanie Evanovich, BIG GIRL PANTIES, January 7th

Jolina Petersheim, THE OUTCAST, January 9th

Lori Nelson Spielman, THE LIFE LIST, January 10th

Rebecca @ Love at First Book- January 13th

Sarah Morgan, SLEIGH BELLS IN THE SNOW, January 14th

Melinda McGuire, writer, January 15th

Wendi Wachtel @ H20 Bungalow- January 20th

Erin Bass, Deep South Magazine, January 22nd

Alison Law, Southern Spines & Alison Law Communications, January 23rd

Rhiannon @ Ivory Owl Reviews- January 29th

Kristin @ Always With A Book- January 30th

Be sure and keep an eye on Traveling With T- because there may be an extra guest post or 2 🙂

Are You A Commenter Or A Lurker?

Commenter or Lurker?

Here’s a confession: I’m terrible at commenting on blogs. TERRIBLE. I share like nobody’s business, I link up like a pro, I shout-out like I’m dancing around the house to a Katy Perry song (another confession: I’m usually chair dancing as I tend to my blog business!) But when it comes to the actual, physically going to your blog and commenting- yep, it just does not happen that much.

Why? Oh why? Oh gee golly, the times I have asked myself this. If I had a nickel for every time I asked- I could retire from my day job and live the bloggiest life ever- giveaways every day and nothing but reading while drinking the finest champagne. After much discussion and thought process- here are some of my reasons:

1. Blogger blogs are harder for me to comment on- especially because many are still using Captcha and geez- I mess up Captcha more times that I get it right. One day me and Captcha are going to wood shed and only 1 of us is coming back- get my drift! Now I know some of you are saying “Oh, but T, Blogger has Open ID and you being a WordPress girl- it’s no problem to comment when a blog has that.” Yes- I know that.. which leads me to point 2..

2. Sometimes I’m too lazy too log into my account to actually do the Open ID or to comment on my buddies WordPress blogs. Seriously, this fact probably should not be revealed- but it’s true.

3. And many times I forget. I tell myself to comment- and then I close the page and I’ve forgotten what blog I was looking at (when you read as many as I do- this happens more than you would think).

4. Lastly, if I share, like, tweet, G+ and any other social media- should I comment? Is there a fine line between being enthusiastic about your friends posts and creeping to a stalker-ish side?

But, seriously, know reasons 1,2 & 3 are my main reasons for not commenting as much as I want.

Why I Like to Lurk

When I just discover a blog- I may lurk for weeks before I even mention to anyone about this blog I like. Why? I like to get a feel for the blog- for the writing, the opinions- the thought process. Sometimes, I’m sad to report, I find a blog post and really like it. REALLY think it’s great. And then… that’s all. The magic is over. Maybe the blogger is not blogging anymore. Maybe they are having personal issues. Lurking gives me time to see the blog, see the other commenters and see if this is place that I’d like to hang out. Do you do this? Or do you dive in and comment?

Why I Should Comment More

EVERYONE likes comments. I love comments (unless they are the creepy sp*m- rhymes with ham- comments). Those I hate almost as equally as Captcha.

I should comment more because commenting is good. It shows friends that I care about their writing. Commenting leads to deeper discussions- than say “Liking” on Facebook or something like that (although you can have a great chat back and forth on Facebook/Twitter/G+.

If you are not a commenter- join me in my quest to be a better commenter!

PS: And If you think I hate Captcha, read The Book Wheel and The Relentless Reader take on it. Captcha has met it’s match with those 2.