Welcome to Bookish Blatherings, my new feature in which I will be rambling about bookish or bloggish things and hopefully you will join in on the discussion.
So, it's come to my attention that the time it takes me to write a blog post has significantly decreased since my early blogger days. In the beginning, I pretty much spent 3 hours to write a book review, which was the majority of my posts when I first started blogging. When I think back on it, I can't believe I spent 3 effing hours to write a review. No bueno! That's too much time out of my life each day. And if you were wondering, I write my posts each night before they go up. I know, I know, you are suppose to have backup posts and have like a month's worth of them prewritten, but that just never worked for me. I write a post ahead of time only if I know I have something planned that night, but that's about it.
Anyway, back to my point. I have obviously refined my post writing skills as time has gone by. It now takes me, at most, one to one and a half hours to write a book review. A lot of that time is dedicated to gathering all the books info, pictures, links, and so on to add to the post (about 20 minutes). It takes about 25-45 minutes to actually write the review and collect the quotes I want to use. Then about 10-15 minutes to edit/proofread. I got this bitch down to a science! lol.
All my other posts take about an hour. I don't think anything I put together takes under 45 minutes though. And I even have a specific daily writing time. I am on the computer, every night, at 10pm writing my post for the night/day (I usually publish at 12am exactly). I don't often trust the scheduled publish option unless I have no option. Then again, I am an insomniac, so I am always up at these times so it works for me.
So, yeah, that's it. I just had this urge to talk about some behind the scenes blogger stuff. I still love blogging every day, though I have my lazy/I don't wanna post today days like everyone else. I think one reason why I still love blogging is that I made it so that it doesn't take too much time away from work, schooling, and reading. When I was doing three hours a day, that was too much. I got burned out real fast. But one hour to one and a half hours is doable. So, now, my question is...
How long does it take you to write a blog post?
Do you write your posts the day of or ahead of time?
I think that the longer you're blogging, the less time it takes to write a blog post. It used to be hours for me too, but now I'm done within half an hour. And I do write my posts sometimes days ahead of time. I'm very organized on that part. I have a calendar and everything. :P
ReplyDeleteI have a calendar but there are always days open for what ever I decide to post that day.
Delete3 Hours? Wow,
ReplyDeleteI also polish most of mine off in 30 minutes. Mind you, my posts are not as comprehensive as yours, so that's bound to make mine quicker. As I'm buried in writing my next bookjust now, I'm trying to keep blogging time down while still producing stuff that people want to read, and to that end I'm hosting quite a few posts for tours, and these often come fully formatted and take just a few minutes to put up and check.
I also try to get scheduled posts put together the night before to ensure I don't run out of time, but when I write my own I do them whenever I have a spare moment and put them up as soon as they're done. I know that's not ideal, but it's what I can manage around my work (non-writing) and that's that.
Yeah, 30 mins is just not possible for me, but that seems to be what most people take. I think I just take more time to write posts. I don't rush them.
DeleteIt is hard to keep up blogging while writing a book. I am writing a book but it's more on the side.
3 hours... wow!! I think what helps is that I make notes about my reviews as I read the book - that way when it is time to write the review I have pointers and little things I might have forgotten. I do agree it takes time to structure the post with quotes and pics etc. I love the schedule post thing though!! I don't know how I managed without it at first. I am much less stressed when I can schedule my posts for the week. I will be honest I didn't realise how much time blogging took when I first started either! I wish I had a more dedicated writing time like you. Great post Jennifer!!
ReplyDeleteChanzie @ Mean Who You Are.
I don't even know how I take that hour or so away from my day, everyday, It seems impossible. I tried taking notes but I always got too much into the book and forgot.
DeleteIts hard to say how long it takes me because I do schedule ahead. I have WOW and StS premade posts (StS I just fill in each Friday). I have my month schedule and I premake the post template in advance so I know what book to read when. I just save them and don't actually "publish" in blogger terms until I actually write the review. I find it works better for me, and I do the grunt work when I have a chunk of time and I feel like doing something that doesn't take full attention.
ReplyDeleteIt takes me about 10-15 to write my actual reviews, which I do right after reading because of my memory issues, I have to do it while fresh on my mind. But then again, I usually write part of my review when about 1/3 to 1/2 done so that I can get some of my thoughts out right then.
I have post template too. Cuts down the time. I can't write my reviews right away though. I need a couple days for it to stew.
DeleteWow I can't imagine spending three hours on a post!
ReplyDeleteI write my reviews in about 10-15 minutes. Sometimes my other posts (discussions, blogging tips) take a bit longer. I think the only time I've spent an hour or more on a post is when I've written a big tutorial (like migrating from Blogger to WordPress).
I also schedule posts pretty far out. Like right now I'm scheduled for two weeks straight.
I know, I know, you are just all kinds of awesome with your fast writing ninja skills. :D
DeleteI have no idea how long it takes me to write a post. I just write until it's done, let it sit for awhile, then check it for grammar. And I always do it in advance. I even have a few in reserve in case something happens. I'm kind of afraid to time it now, LOL.
ReplyDeleteLOL, I don't usually time it but I am just so aware of my clock, it's sad.
DeleteI have post scheduled out about two to three weeks ahead. Reviews generally take me about 30 to 45 minutes. Sometimes trying to get out what I want to say isn't all that easy, more so when it is a book that I had a few issues with. It doesn't take as long if it is a book that I love, I just ramble type. lol...
ReplyDeleteFunny enough, sometimes it's the books I love that are the hardest to write a review about. It's like I have so much to say but I don't know how to say it perfectly.
DeleteI used to spend a crazy amount of time writing reviews too, and sometimes I still do. My average is probably 1 to 1.5 hours at the moment when all is said & done, and I try to give myself a time limit. LOL Thanks for posting this, it made me feel a little better about my own process. It's always good to compare notes with other bloggers!
ReplyDeleteIt seems we are on the same wavelength here. We both tend to write longer reviews compared to other bloggers, so it's going to take us longer. Happy I am not the only one.
DeleteI think it depends on the post - if it's for a blog tour and there's lots of other information to include besides a review, it can take longer. But probably about an hour. I *try* so hard to get posts done ahead of time - some weeks are better than others. ;) Great post, Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteYeah, blog tour reviews take the full 1.5 hours for me.
DeleteEvery time I try to write posts ahead of time something happens and it doesn't work out.
It still takes me about an hour, but I have a perfectionist streak that causes me to spend way to much time looking at my word choices for something that most people are only going to skim. But, can't change who I am, so I keep doing it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I am a perfectionist too. It's going to take us longer every time.
DeleteI think my posts take less than an hour. I just get bored staring at the same thing and I want to move on to the next. I also do posts in stages. I might set up a review post with the book info and everything else except the review and rating when I first start reading. Then I just have to write the review, rate it, preview/proof and schedule. But I don't take the time to include a lot of quotes or anything (I save those for our meme if any apply) so that might be part of why it takes less time.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I feel like there is so many elements in my reviews, it can get exhausting.
DeleteIt takes me too long. I get distracted or bored, so I very rarely write one during one sitting. Sometimes I have 3-4 reviews open at the same time, going back-and-forth just so I stay interested. So I'm not really sure how long it takes me.
ReplyDeleteOMG, that's definitely different. I like that though. It's cool you are unique.
DeleteI do both. I enjoy scheduling ahead of time because I can use the time on my blog that week to comment more which I'd like to get around doing more often. I also post the night before at times. Most of my Sidekick Showcases are done that Friday night and I work on them from when I get home from work til 12:00 am usually. Those are my longest posts. The pics take forever for me to draw. If I need less time on them, I usually just skip the pic. Otherwise your time frame is how mine is as well for reviews and blog tour posts. I feel like I've gotten them down pretty well too. Goodreads and Amazon saved in bookmarks and everything ready to go LOL. Love the post! Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.
ReplyDeletehehe, I knew we would be the same in this. But I can't imagine how long it takes you to make those drawings.
DeleteThree hours, you could read another book in that time. I don't think I'll ever be a regular poster on my blog but this is probably the reason why, because I take too long to edit my work. Heck, I take too long writing and editing a comment for another blog. :)
ReplyDeletehaha, I know what you mean. Edit sucks!
DeleteYou will be introduced to my OCD-ness of doom, which I'm infamous for, lol. I started out on Blogger, then moved to Wordpress.org, but my post writing habits have staid more or less the same.
ReplyDeleteI always write my posts for the next week during the weekend, the one I work on the most is the Book-o-Sphere Flutters just because I write it as I go gallivanting around blogs during the week, lol. So I add cool links as I go, apart from some that I'm making regular features (your Freebies one, Rabid Reads's New Releases, for instance). So that's the one post I work on for a long time and sometimes end up adding stuff in the night before it goes live.
Everything else is written up and scheduled like one week in advance, sometimes I go even further with the scheduling. That way I have more time to hop around other blogs during the week, lol.
How long it takes me to write regular posts depends on the content, but it's usually about 15 - 30 minutes, the reviews being more at the end of that spectrum. I've got this HTML post template system, so all my posts have the same structure, and I have only to add in the cover image link, Goodreads link, etc details instead of writing the whole section. I've found it helps a lot with how much time it takes me to write the posts. And since I tend to like Flutters aka shorter reviews rather than the long-winded reviews I tend to do when I go all-out, lol, there's not a whole lot of time spent on writing them.
I also save my templates so it takes a little less time setting up the post. I love that you have everything down to a science. I wish I were more like that.
Deletetakes me about an hour to write mine. and eh psha.. I do not have any prewritten posts nope, that would take forever.. nope
ReplyDeleteLOL, hey, you have to do what works for you.
DeleteWell I am anal my review post are done for May. That's five review posts a week and I have a few random ones done for June. All other posts get done one to two weeks out sometimes longer. With the UBB plugin review take me about 30mins start to finish.
ReplyDeleteI am so getting UBB when I transfer over. I am having Ashley do my blog up this summer. Excited!
DeleteI looked through these comments just to see if someone suggested the UBB plugin! That will cut out your 20 minutes hunting down all that stuff! Think of how much further you can get in writing your book if you have those 20 minutes every day. =) That's exciting that Ashley's going to redo your blog! She does amazing work!
DeleteI know, I know, that is one of the reasons and I going to wordpress. I was waiting until I got done with my schooling for web design, so I could do it myself. But I don't want to wait. Plus, Ash will probably do a better job anyway.
DeleteSpotlights I schedule but book reviews I do it day by day. Currently I'm on a bit of a burn out mode and it's not from reading rather from creating the actual post. Like you, writing up the actual review has become easier, it's the data gathering and setting up the post that annoys me at this point.
ReplyDeleteYeah, data gathering is so annoying. Happy to find someone who reviews day by day like me.
Delete