Top Ten Tuesday #10: Things That Make Your Life As A Book Blogger Easier

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish to highlight a top ten list related to book blogging, and to get to know fellow book bloggers.

Wow, has it ever been a long time since I did one of these! This week, I’m discussing the tools/resources/people that make blogging easier for me. In descending order…

10. Rafflecopter

They just make it so easy to promote and giveaway books! The “reuse your last giveaway” feature is phenomenal, and I love that it tracks and can export the entries so that I can look at stats later.

9. Netgalley and Edelweiss

Where I get most of my Advanced Reader’s Copies these days – I do request physical copies from publishers VERY occasionally, but this is easier, and it saves paper and shelf space. Also, I love the “Send to Kindle” feature that makes the transfer instantaneous.

8. Twitter

I love Twitter for easy promotion of posts, but more than that, I love it for the connection to the book blogging/reading community. It’s because of Twitter that I first “met” several Toronto/Ontario book bloggers, and I love how awesome it is for discussion of books!

7. Pixlr

At some point I will probably get Photoshop, but for now, this little web program is a godsend for my simple graphic design needs – cropping, adding text to a photo, etc.

6. Goodreads

When Goodreads went down a couple months ago, so many book bloggers were in a panic. Where would we get our descriptions, our expected publication dates, our book covers? I was shocked by how quickly I’d come to rely on GR for EVERYTHING.

5. Tea Time with Epic Reads

If you haven’t seen HarperTeen/Epic Reads Tea Time, you’re in for a treat. Tea Time is a webcast of two awesome ladies, Margot and Aubry, who talk about everything book (and sometimes movie and pop-culture) related, and we all tweet along to discuss and win books! Not only is Tea Time awesome in itself, but it’s great for me as a blogger because a) it highlights/introduces me to new books b) I get to “meet” new bloggers and readers c) the excitement over books is SO inspiring.

Why yes, we do love the Jessica Darling series. Marcus Flutie FTW!

4. My cats

There is definitely a correlation between the amount that I read and the amount of snuggle time with my cats. Having a cat purring beside you while you’re racing through a forest with Katniss or tearing up over Hazel and Gus just makes the reading experience SO MUCH BETTER. I’m pretty sure this also applies with dogs.

Too many awesome bloggers to mention!

3. Bloggers and the blogging community

I’ve already talked about how important it is for me to connect to other book lovers, but I need to emphasize that without the encouragement, camaraderie and respect of the book blogging community, I really wouldn’t be doing this. They make everything feel a bit easier when I’m not feeling inspired.

2. My husband

Not only does he occasionally help out by reading and reviewing books, but he’s also the biggest and best cheerleader for my blog. He reads every post even though he doesn’t really read YA, and he always tells me if he really likes something or not.

1. My readers/reader comments

Without a doubt, you guys are the thing that makes being a book blogger easier. I might not have the biggest readership, but every comment, new follower, or new reader that I get is SUCH a treasure to me. I’m always shocked that I get any readers or comments at all, and I’m even more amazed when people take the time to really tell me what they think of a book or a post. Every one of your comments reminds me that I’m writing for SOMEONE, and it keeps me motivated to keep going. So thank you!

What things make your life as a reader or blogger easier? Let me know in the comments!