Top Ten Tuesday #8

Hey everybody! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and Bookish. This week, I'll be listing the 
top ten things that makes my life as a blogger easier. 

10. Scheduling posts - everyone knows that life is busy, but blogs don't write themselves. Therefore, whenever I have a tour stop or a review that needs to be posted in the future, I schedule my posts. Most weekends, I try to get all of my reviews lined up for the entire week. Sometimes that works, and sometimes that doesn't. Usually my weekends are pretty busy since I work during the week. Anyway, scheduling posts makes my life a lot easier. It ensures that I don't miss my post dates, and that takes away a lot of the stress of blogging. 

9. My Kindle - If I had a physical ARC of every book that I've reviewed in addition to the ones I like enough to buy, then I would have no room left in my house. I love the fact that I can read a book on my Kindle, and if I enjoy it, then I can add it to my collection. It frees me up to try more types of books that I may not have tried otherwise and allows me to post a lot more reviews. 

8. Net Galley/Edelweiss - Along the same vein as the Kindle, these two sites make requesting ARCs much easier and less time consuming, which frees up time to read and write reviews. I prefer e-ARCs to physical ARCs since I always buy the books I like, anyway. It's the least I can do for a book well-written.

7. Blogger - I can write HTML. In fact, I used to be really good at it. I'm a bit rusty now, and if I had to format every single post I wrote, I'd probably never get a review written. I love the compose option on Blogger where I can just stick things where I want them and the HTML is written for me. 

6. Rafflecopter - When I host giveaways, it is important to me that picking a winner and managing the entries is quick and easy. That's where Rafflecopter comes in. The simplicity of it makes it my go-to for any giveaway I have. 

5. Photo editing software - I like to make my own buttons and banners. I'm not the best in the world at it, but it's fun for me and allows me to sharpen my skills (and believe me, they need it). I used to have Photoshop on my old computer, but I recently upgraded to a Mac, so I'm not sure what software I'll be using now. Any suggestions are welcome. 

4. Twitter and Facebook (and Networked Blogs) - Twitter and Facebook allow me to promote my posts even further, reach out to authors I love, and communicate with other bloggers. I have everything set up to update my Twitter and Fall Into Books FB page as soon as a new item posts, which frees up time. It also helps me spread the word about my blog. 

3. The library - a lot of times I don't want to be responsible for reviewing every book I try. If I'm hesitant to try a novel, unsure of the genre, or haven't heard anything about it, I don't want to be expected to review it. Therefore, the library is a fantastic way to try new books. I don't have to buy them if I don't like them, and I don't have to finish and review them if I don't like them. Also, I've discovered some amazing authors through checking out random books at the library (Kirsten Gier, Kelley Armstrong (this was a long time ago), and (most recently) Anne Bishop). 

2. Good Reads - this site is amazing. It allows us to share reviews, talk about books, and maintain lists of books we've read and want to read. I pull a lot of my content (synopses and cover photos) from Good Reads. Everything I need for a review is right there in one place. I don't know what I'd do without this site.

1. My readers/followers - You guys are one of the main reasons I do this (aside from wanting an outlet to discuss books in a largely illiterate world). I love reading your comments and your blogs and seeing what you all think. I love fostering discussions about literature instead of just spouting out my opinions like they're the gospel. Thank you for reading and for commenting. You make this worthwhile.