Do you post your reviews right away? I don't mean do you write the review soon after finishing a book- I know that's been covered before- but do you post the review as quickly as you can? Because here's the thing. I never really thought of this before but lately I've been scheduling farther and farther out, and I realized that by the time certain reviews actually appeared on my site, I wasn't as clear on the details. Which of course impacted my replies to comments, because... people were commenting or asking questions, and I was like, um, I read that a month or two ago and don't entirely remember?!?
So... clearly I need to post these reviews in a timely manner. Not to mention when I like a book I want to talk about it right now, not a month from now. So that has forced me to address my scheduling a bit. I still schedule ahead, but now I'm keeping my review options open. I normally post a book review on Thursdays, and occasionally on Mondays- the other days all have something else, whether it's a favorite meme or a feature like Tuesday Tagline. So it's not like I can pop three reviews out a week.
So this doesn't really have a solution, I guess, other than just keeping my review slots open as much as I can. I mean recently in my zeal to schedule everything I was reworking older reviews that I wanted to get a bit more attention, or that I had changed some of my feelings on, and slotting those in to fill gaps. Which necessitated new reviews being a month or so out. I guess I'll have to curb that a bit, so they're fresh in my mind when people are, you know, actually reading them. What do you think? Have you ever had this issue?
Ah, I was going to say, I do write them right away! But posting? Oh goodness, that's another story lol. The problem for me is, I read more books in a week than I post. But I don't want to post more times a week cuz it'll overwhelm me. So I have this massive backlog of reviews that need to be posted. I just counted, and I have 38 review posts in my backlog. And that includes mini review posts which technically have 3 reviews in them lol. And then sometimes I get an ARC, so that gets prioritized. Or I get excited about a recent read and prioritize that. And so now I have books that I read over a year ago that still haven't been posted. But then I also have older reviews I want to repost. I'm in the middle of reposting reviews for a certain series, and so I feel like I can't even post a review for new books in it until I finish reposting the older ones. So basically, if it's any consolation, I have this issues, like, 10x as bad as you do lol.
ReplyDeleteWoah 38??? Kristin, that's an incredible amount!! Well done!
DeleteWOAH!!!!!!!!! That's a LARGE number!!!
DeleteI have that problem too. My posting schedule is not keeping up with my reading. And I'm not even reading a ton compared to some bloggers! If I had more open slots during the week... but then I'd run into- how many reviews do I want to post in a week?? And wow 38- that IS a lot. See I don't have that, you're right. :)
DeleteI also don't have ARC's, so that actually helps or it would be worse! And I do occasionally move things around if I really loved something and want it up NOW, so yup. I hear you on reposting old stuff too, tha happened to me where I was in a lull and I scheduled some older stuff for Feb, and now I have recent reads I want to post and I'm out in MArch.
No, Verushka, don't praise me for this, by the time I post my review half the time I don't even remember or care about the book anymore, haha.
DeleteGreg, exactly! I *could* post more, but I feel like it'd just be too many reviews in one week.
I've recently started trying my best to write my reviews immediately, but when I post them is an issue. I save them for Wednesdays, and sometimes later in the week, but that can go weeks from when I ctually read them... which is a problem, because when I get them ready to post, I can't always refrain from rewriting stuff and sometimes so far out from reading a book, like you mentioned, that can be a problem!
ReplyDeleteI write my reviews immediately, it bugs me if I finisha book and don't write the review right off. Because I'm usually starting a new book and even if I took notes I don't want to wait TOO long, ya know? Posting though- yeah. Good point too about rewriting, if I wait TOO long I might have a different review ha ha, and I want to stick with my initial reactions.
DeleteIn short... No. I mean, I take notes while I'm reading so that I can remember stuff, but I'm pretty behind on writing reviews. Sometimes I like to wait a day or two before reviewing, just to let the dust settle, but ideally I'd like to have written all my reviews within a week of reading...
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I have a couple of books I finished even up to a year ago that I haven't actually written a review for yet. Oops.
WRT posting reviews - I don't find it matters too much when I actually post the review... But I have the same issues with a backlog of review posts on my blog. I'm going to resort to either a) not posting all the reviews b) doing some series reviews and possibly c) creating mini reviews!
Great topic!
I definitely need to write my review right away, it's like an OCD thing- write it! Write it! lol
DeleteI've also had books that have been way out and sometimes I just end up not reviewing them!
Mini reviews are nice and I see people doing them more- I should think aboutit.
Great point about answering comments. It's a little awkward when you can't remember anything about the book you just raved about. I try to post ARC reviews a week or so before release (or asap if I'm running behind) but everything else just gets scheduled.
ReplyDeleteI know, right? I'm so excited when I finish a book (assuming it was good) and want to discuss, but if my review doesn't go up for a month I've moved on and may not remember it quite as much.
DeleteI write detailed notes as I read so I can remember all the plot and character names etc. I tend to write the review within a month of reading it as I've caught up on the worst of the backlog. If someone asks a general question my notes usually cover it if my memory isn't doing so well.
ReplyDeleteI write notes occasionally, but I found that when I was writing the reviews I just kind of went stream of consciousness and wasn't even consulting my notes much. So I still take them for later remembrance or to keep key plot points in memory, but I don't take notes as much as before. Still you're right- notes can make or break remembering especially in the comments.
DeleteI try to publish as soon as I can. My main goal is simply to publish all the reviews for the books I have read in that specific month, so I can include them in my monthly wrap up :) Unfortunately that means that I am occasionally posting twice a day... but that's just the format that works best for me :)
ReplyDeleteSame here. The farther out they get the more it bugs me! Anything a month or more out and I'm afraid I've lost enthusiasm, or have just moved on, there might be several books in between then and posting time, and then I feel like I'm not as sharp on the book, you know? And that's a good benchmark actually, trying to keep them in the same month. I need to do that.
DeleteI try not to post twice a day, other than Tuesdays, but sometimes it helps ? when there's a backlog?
I confess that I write my review right away after finishing a book because well I forget easily but as for posting them? Well I post the review I have for publishers as soon as I can but as for the others? I posted today a book I read in 2016 lol. I have like more than 50 reviews to post (in total 120 posts but with a French/English mix) so no I don't really post right away.
ReplyDeleteSame. And ha ha I've done that- some reviews sit for a LONG time. lol and you do have a few! I think you have Kristen beat, she had 38 I think she said above...
DeleteGreat question. I have gotten much better at writing my reviews in a more timely fashion, but I too have the scheduling issue. I do have a back log that I hope to catch up with this year. Drives me nuts...
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
It does- drives me nuts too. I get ya. Scheduling is great but kind of sucks too...
DeleteThe only reason to schedule a review so far ahead for me, would be if I read it a month or two before the release date. I can't imagine any other reason, do you really have that big of a back log of reviews? I need content for my blog NOW, so that just wouldn't make sense to me.
ReplyDeleteWell I don't have a huge backlog because I don't do ARC's, so I don't have pressure there, plus I'm a mood reader so I read what I want, but the problem I do have is most of my other days are filled with other stuff, and I usually only review once a week. So I've got February filled out and I'm scheduling for March, and I just kinda hate being that far out. Afraid of forgetting stuff. :) I guess that's the downside of scheduling, or maybe having too many memes taking up other days? Mostly it works though, I just have to deal. :):)
DeleteI run into this issue, too. I schedule out pretty far ahead, and I usually only do reviews on Fridays, so the books I'm reading and reviewing this month won't actually show up on the blog until March. It can get a little hard when I'm really excited about a book and there's a wait, but I would rather have a lot of pre-planned and scheduled posts than to have to scramble to get something up.
ReplyDeleteYup, same here. I review on Thursdays, sometimes Mondays, and other days are full. I'm into MArch too. And I just kinda want to discuss and comment/ reply on them sooner, you know? I totally agree though, it's worth it to be scheduled out!
DeleteGood discussion and yes, the further out I post reviews, the harder it is to discuss them at times in comments. I've been getting in the habit of sometime posting two posts in a day so I can get a review in. I like doing other features on my blog and don't want the reviews to take a backseat - after all, its a BOOK blog :)
ReplyDeleteYesss! And I hear you- I want the reviews to stay important too. I do post twice on Tuesdays, and I know lots of bloggers don't worry about posting more frequently, so there may be times when I need to do that too to fit it all in.
DeleteI post my reviews on Goodreads as soon as I write them. The same reviews usually appear on the blog a few weeks after I write them. I don’t want to overwhelm people with reviews, so I only schedule two a week. I do sometimes forget details of a book before the review posts on the blog. That does make answering questions awkward.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
That's a great way to get the review out even if it's not on the blog yet. I should do that. and use Goodreads more in general lol. And yeah it does make replying to comments tough. I don't like to review more than once or twice a week either.
DeleteI'm encountering this issue right now! lol
ReplyDeleteI'm not a blog ahead kind of gal but I have started posting with a bit of a schedule (Monday Musing, TMST, The Friday Five) so that left Thursday's for reviews. I used to write and post a review about 2-3 days in advance but at one review per week that's let me get 3-4 weeks ahead with them but I hate it. I feel so disconnected from the book at that point.
Especially if it was a book I *was* excited about. By the time the review posts I've moved on. Add to that I have a terrible book memory.
I'm not sure how to fix it. I guess not adhere to the schedule all time or let myself get ahead for the inevitble times I have nothing to post.
Ha ha this is timely then! Thursday's are my review day too. And I have EXACTLY the same problem. I'm like a month ahead right now on scheduling the reviews and I know by the time it goes up I've read several books SINCE then, and it's not as fresh.
DeleteAnd yeah no great answer, I'm just winging it as best I an :)
I usually write my reviews as soon as I read them, and I will try to write a review and post it the next week.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good way, and for a long time I did that. then somehow I got in this mess. :) But I do like to get that reviw up as quickly as I can...
DeleteI’m usually pretty prompt with my reviews. But I find if I read a whole bunch of books at once then the reviews start getting scheduled further and further out and, yeah, I don’t usually remember the book so well by the time it’s published.
ReplyDeleteExactly. That's the problem. I like being scheduled ahead but I guess the downside is I'm going to be talking about certain books a month or so after I read 'em...
DeleteNope. SOme of the reviews this fall was of books read last spring
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not alone!
DeleteWell seeing as I just scheduled a review for July, that would be a no! I never checked the publication date before I read it :O
ReplyDeleteMy problem is usually that I leave writing the review for so long that I can't remember that much about the book by the time I get to it, which obviously isn't great! I only post a review every other week, so I only write reviews when it gets near time to post one, and I generally have a huge backlist of books that need reviewing that I read ages ago... I really need to look at my own reviewing system to be honest, because right now it's terrible! :(
ReplyDeleteI hope your new review system works out for you, although it sounds like you're way more organised than I am. I almost never have stuff scheduled ahead! :)
I'm more scheduled than I ever was, for my first few years of blogging I didn't schedule ahead nearly as much. And sometimes there isn't time :) But I hear you. I do the same thing, sometimes if I don't review right away then I have trouble remembering enough to write the review! lol
DeleteI guess I am “lucky” as I do not read so much and have plenty of days to choose. Maybe the best solution is a multiple reviews to one post? I do not always have a book about which I can write a lot, sometimes it is a group of 3 star books with not too much to think about.
ReplyDeleteI've thought of that, or doing mini- reviews. And that's true, some books are easier to talk about than others, or have more to discuss.
DeleteI've started running into this recently. Not so much for book reviews but for memes. I'll be blog hopping and looking at people's answers or lists and have no memory on what's on mine! I've started trying to reread my thoughts before answering though I'm not sure how that would help with book reviews!
ReplyDeleteI do that! Like what did I post again ha ha?
DeleteI do try to write my review right after I finish the book, since my reviews focus more on how I felt than details (I hate them and am paranoid of letting a spoiler loose). I do put a rating and a blurb on Goodreads, but I don't post a full review right away. I like to post close to release date for new books, and I really only post reviews on Monday and Friday.
ReplyDeleteI go by feeling a lot also with books. Or reviews I should say. And I should rate on Goodreads, I mean I do but it's sporadic, but maybe if I posted my review there right away at least it would be out there sooner, even if on the blog it's scheduled out...
DeleteWell, I don't have this problem at all because I'm lucky to finish a post five minutes before I put it up, so... (I think I'd be happy to be in your situation!)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Ha ha I've done that more than a few times too!
DeleteIt appears many of us are the same. We promptly write our reviews but scheduled ahead when posting them. I too have come across questions about a review, and after reading many books since the one reviewed, it's a struggle to remember the story clearly.
ReplyDeleteYup. By the time the reviews are up and people are commenting, I've read several books since then, and it can be hard to remember!
DeleteI post 4 reviews most weeks. I have a problem with actually writing my reviews after finishing the book. I am forever writing them the night before they post. In some cases, I have books that I read as soon they made it to me but it was too early to post a review. I really need to do better.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting discussion. I have trouble commenting about books I've read months ago, too. Honestly, I have no review routine at all. That's why you don't see me posting reviews very often. I just want to read, read, read. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, totally. I mean I remember the broad strokes but if it's been a while since I read it, I've forgotten a bunch of details probably.
DeleteCLEARLY the answer to your probably is to not read the book until the very, very last minute. That way you write the review right away AND remember what the book was about when people ask you about it.
ReplyDeleteI've been better at this, but I tend to write my review a couple days after I finish the book. And I usually read the book one month to a couple weeks before it's released! (Or at least I try my best to)
Ha right? That might work )
DeleteSeriously though I think I do the same, I like to write the review ASAP- otherwise if it's hanging out there it bugs me! And not doing ARC's plays a role- since I'm usually reading the book after it comes out, and then scheduling a month out makes it even worse. :)
I used to be REALLY good at posting in a timely manner, but ever since 2016, I don't know. Something happened and all of a sudden my motivation got sucked straight out of me and into a black hole.
ReplyDeleteThese days I'm still trying to catch up with those ARCs from 2016, and I've accepted being late is okay. I try to write the review as soon as possible though, because I'm god awful at remembering what happens in a book.
~Sophia @ Bookwyrming Thoughts
Lately, I've been posting them pretty close to once I've finished them because they are review books. However, if it's a book I just read for fun and I want to review it, I might schedule it further out. It can be tough to remember certain details, I do agree, but I also want to have as much scheduled ahead as I can so I'm not always trying to catch up. LOL It's a hard to find a good balance sometimes!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
That makes sense, especially for review books. And you're right- it's a tough balance. But I agree with you- the benefits of being scheduled out definitely outweigh the problem of remembering every detail!!
DeleteI had this issue when I got way behind on posting book reviews. What I had to do was just decide to not post reviews for a bunch of books and kinda start fresh with more recent books I read. Now I try not to get too far behind on posting my reviews so I can remember more details to discuss with friends. Great post!!
ReplyDeleteYeah if you get too far behind sometimes it's better just to say screw it and start over. I've done it. And I need to definitely find a solution, as posting the reviews more than a month out is kind of irritating me. :) But I do at least write the review very quickly, I have to do that or it bugs me!
DeleteAwww very no. But you know, I can't even write them in a timely fashion, so what use am I? I am like, gaping over Kristen's 38 up there. I mean... HOW!? She can basically not blog for a year now and still have content! WAIT did someone just say they had 50 reviews?! What? These people need to teach classes or something.
ReplyDeleteNow, I will say- I post immediately after WRITING the review, so I guess that makes the book a bit fresher in my head? Like- 2 seconds ago I scheduled my Shadowsong review (after being like "crap, I shouldn't have read Shadowsong in December I guess") so I have looked through the book again and such. So that might be helpful in terms of the commenting situation?
Ha ha. And I know... 38 ??? Or 50? *sputters*
DeleteYeah I just need to find a way to get those reviews posted sooner. I like scheduling out but if it's TOO far out then I run into problems!
I like to write and post them within a week of finishing the book. Like you said, I want to be able to have discussions about them while they are fresh on my mind. This works well for me because I don't have a lot of time to just sit and read. I'm usually able to post 2-3 book reviews a week with some comics thrown in. If you read a lot of books, it's hard to write and review them without overwhelming your week. You end up having to schedule them for a future time.
ReplyDeleteNice topic!
Do You Dog-ear?
Thanks!! And ideally yes I would be posting within about a week or so. the farther it gets out the more I seem to have a problem! And yes once you have a few scheduled, and the newest ones are out a ways, it can be tough. 2-3 a week is great though, if I did that I wouldn't really have the problem!
DeleteI think I go through phases with this, Greg. Sometimes I am posting reviews as soon as I finish the book and it's because I've gotten behind. But I typically have a backlog of reviews - I think I have about 15 right now - that need to be posted. Eh, I'll get there eventually. And keep my fingers crossed I can remember details. Haha!
ReplyDeleteI used to review years ago, and initially I read the book and posted the review right away while it was fresh in my mind. Reviewing for 3 sites and reading for fun soon got the best of me, and those books kept rolling in, and the reviews got turned in later and later.(lol) Eventually, after 3 years I gave it all up to do other things. Great topic! Hugs...RO
ReplyDeleteMost of the time I schedule 2 months ahead. Right now I have 56 posts scheduled. I do leave a few posts open each month for things that I want to post right away but for the most part my reviews are posted a couple of months after I've read the book.
ReplyDeleteHoly smokes, 56?! That's amazing.
DeleteFinally someone said that aloud. My problem with scheduling is similar to this as well. I want to talk about them NOW and not 4 weeks hence. My blog schedule would let me post only 4 reviews in a month but I read more than that (at least I try to). I also like discussion posts so I can't write more than what I do already as well.
ReplyDeleteDamn why are there only 4 Mondays in a month?
Gayathri @ Elgee Writes
I have been trying to have posts scheduled out for a while so not get overwhelmed so yeah I have reviews scheduled a month in advance. I totally get not remembering everything or changing feelings. It is what it is for me though because I rather be scheduled than doing it the day before. Plus I read more than I post. Totally get the issue though.
ReplyDeleteI try to post my newest reviews right away so I don't run into the problem you mentioned but even then I'll forget details, lol. I fell behind when I took a little blogging break late last year and I have quite a few reviews still in the queue that get older and older.
ReplyDeleteI don't post immediatey but usually fairly soon after reading. With review books I tend not to read them until they're almost due for release. I am a little behind at the moment though which I really don't enjoy.
ReplyDeleteLynn :D
A review right away could be a hasty one. I like to take sometime.
ReplyDeleteceltic woman tickets
celtic woman event tickets
I post my short reviews on Goodreads right away, but I am shite at getting blog reviews up. As everyone knows! I don't have any problem remembering, though, unless it is longer than five years, or so. 😛
ReplyDeleteI'm running into the same thing! I finally buckled down with a good schedule this year, but I find that I can't really remember the books by the time the review actually gets posted. So my comments are along the lines of "Thanks for visiting!" DOH! Feel like such a dork :)
ReplyDeleteI used to be able to write them right away, which are the best reviews because all tge feels are fresh but unfortunately not lately ugh
ReplyDeleteI usually try to write some sort of review right away (whether it's the actual review on my laptop, or just notes on a piece of paper), but when I post them usually depends.
ReplyDeleteI'm usually running behind schedule, so a lot of my reviews go up the day I write them, or the day after. But if I am on schedule I'll schedule them a week or two out. Never very far though.
Great post! :)
This is half the reason I often do my reviews only a week or two in advance so I can remember the books. I always try and write the review when I finish on Goodreads but I don't prepare a post on my blog until it's closer to the day it goes up.
ReplyDeleteI used to post my reviews right away, but now I try to post my reviews on Thursdays, so I'm scheduling them farther out. I haven't had any problems with remembering details to questions yet. Mostly because I haven't gotten any questions to remember those details to. But, I probably would have an issue with some books.
ReplyDeleteI go back and forth. For the past year or so I have been so relieved to have reviews scheduled for posting ahead of time and not to be posting them as soon as I write them. It does make me feel weird posting a review of a book I read a month or two ago, but, the alternative is always feeling rushed and pressured to produce content on the spot--which just isn't practical for my lifestyle right now. Scheduling ahead is a must for me. I can see the pros and cons of both sides though.
ReplyDeleteI try to post my reviews in the next 1-2 weeks after finishing the book. It's just sometimes a bit weird because depending on how much I read, I could have a month with 2 reviews a week or I could have a month with zero reviews... so for scheduling it's a bit weird but it's how I like it best :)
ReplyDeleteSince I read a lot of ARCs, I can't always post soon after I read the book. I mean, sometimes the earliest the publisher wants reviews posted is a month before the release date. Or if I'm doing a tour, I have to post on a specific date, which may be weeks or months after I read the book.
ReplyDeleteOTOH, there are times when I will post right away because I have nothing scheduled and I need something to post! But I don't do that with ARCs that have posting guidelines, unless I'm within those parameters when I read the book.
I never really thought about the time lag posing problems when I respond to comments. I suppose it can. Usually, just rereading my review is enough to remind me of the book and my response to it. Sometimes I have to check the book, if the commenter asks a specific question and I can't remember the answer.
Right now, I would give a lot to have a cushion of reviews like you and some of the other commenters here have described. I used to have a two- or three-week cushion, but right now I'm pretty disorganized.
Yes... this is a problem that is beginning to rear its head with me as I stacked up a backlog of reviews when I was ill last autumn and still haven't caught up. But I am reluctant to double up my posts as I have a heavy writing schedule this year and so I'm not reading as much. So I think I will have to live with it - it is uncomfortable, though...
ReplyDeleteI've stopped having the problem with my backlog being scheduled way out and forgetting details, but I have the opposite problem now of feeling like I'm constantly behind on writing reviews. If I posted immediately, too, every subscriber would probably leave in disgust -- when I do read a lot, I read a lot, and it'd be 2-3 reviews in a day, heh. Interesting thoughts, though!
ReplyDeleteI don't have your problem because I don't write many official reviews (I slip mine into my weekly wrap-ups many times) because I also don't rely on arcs, only once in a while.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your dilemma of not having enough days in the week to post more reviews: how about 2 days for reviews, one for a full-length review and another day for like 2 or 3 mini-reviews. People like to read those too :)
My goal this year was to write a review as soon as I finished the book, so far it's not working out to great. I'm okay with that because I blog for fun and don't have any review commitments. If the book was recently released I try to post it during that week or the following. I also don't consider myself a reviewer, more of a responder, I just post my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI usually do actually! Sometimes when I read an ARC I schedule the review closer to the release date if that's still far off but even then I always post my reviews on Goodreads immediately.
ReplyDeleteHow in hell's name are you that organised?! I'm usually scrambling to finish a post the night before! If I'm lucky, I schedule like two days in advance, but that's it! Lord, I have no time-keeping skills to speak of. Lol.
ReplyDeleteWhile I read the book I alway take notes along the way. If I am reading a book for a blog tour, I wait until my scheduled post date. Otherwise I post immediately after I finish reading the book.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting topic. I think it depends on the book (Or usually movie in my case). Sometimes, I want to jump right in with enthusiasm. Of course, years later I might look back and wonder..why did I do that? I've been told I am too enthusiastic at book clubs. Nothing worse than going to a book club to find out I was the only one who read the book.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, lately, I have gotten out of my comfort zone when it comes to books. Yet I feel I would love Tom Edgerton's Walking Across Egypt just as much now as I did the first time I read it. I appreciate his earlier work best as I do Anne Tyler. I can't say if it's their fault. I feel the editors condense much these days and there are a lot of shallow reads we are forced into in some genres. Still Stewart O'Nan always surprises. I do enjoy his characters from so many walks of life. And Walter Mosley is always amazing too.