imyril @ There's Always Room For One More Redux

Now we are three (do we get three times as many books?)

A pair of burgundy boots rest on a bookshelf of fantasy novels

Three years ago, I decided it was time to put a bit more structure around my reviewing – and stole the promise that ‘There’s always room for one more…‘ as the name of my new blog. When it comes to books (and reviews. And cake) there really, truly always is. Three years later, I remain very happy with my little corner of the bookblogosphere. I’m celebrating with a new look and a look back at what I’ve learnt…

The first thing I learnt is that I work best to a schedule – I’m not very good without deadlines to meet. The second thing I learnt is that I’m not prepared for something that I do for pleasure to become a source of (di)stress. Finding a balance has been interesting: I give myself goals (and deadlines), and then I give myself permission to ignore them.

Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl says 'The code is more what you'd call guidelines than actual rules...'
Yes, I’m a pirate

Much to the surprise of nobody who knows me well, I track all this with a spreadsheet (because of course I do. I ❤ a good spreadsheet). It lets me see my plan easily, and I use status colour to show me how worried I should be. Any post that’s written and scheduled is a comforting green; posts that are planned but not a worry are pale yellow; and then there’s amber and red for ‘oh god I should have done this by now’ and ‘HELP HOW DO I EVEN WORD’. Red is usually a cue to move something back down the schedule (rule number 2: don’t get stressed).

The third thing I learnt is fairly obvious: the more you post, the more traffic you get. And I can’t help but like the idea of people actually reading my posts, so traffic is good. But the fourth thing I learnt is that I’m not here for the hits. I’m here for me (ooh, selfish). So even though I can see that my non-review posts are the most popular, you can expect me to mostly write reviews.

That said – and I know I’ve said this before – I would like to include other types of post more often. Just as I regularly take part in Top Ten Tuesday, I’m considering joining Friday Face-off or Can’t Wait Wednesday as I really enjoy these on other blogs and they’re a lovely way to celebrate past and future releases.

I’d also like to write more articles discussions thinky posts and get a regular (if not frequent) cycle of guest posts and interviews set up. However, as I’ve been in a bit of a writing slump for the past few months, so I shan’t be making any commitments until I know what 2019 will look like…

…well, other than the commitments I’ve already made. I’m happy to confirm that Wyrd and Wonder will be back in May 2019, and I’ll once again be contributing to the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards.

Jeannette Ng at Nine Worlds Geekfest 2018 holding a small rock that says Best Fantasy Novel 2018
Jeannette Ng winning Best Fantasy Novel 2018 for Under the Pendulum Sun

People seem to find my posts through Twitter and WordPress, so at this point I just want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who follows me. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey so far. Here’s to the next year!

A cake that looks like a wall inside a library with shelves, books, book ladder and a desk full of books and reading lamps
Kathy Knaus’s ever-awesome library cake