You have most likely not noticed but I have been going through and cleaning up old posts. Cleaning up? Yes, as in reformating, retagging, taking out the fucking smartquotes from hell….
What does this mean to you, dear blog reader? Not much. Other than you may have to suffer through some “Retro” posts because I amuse so damn easy. I have been deleting some of the old posts. Mostly the posts like this one *g*. Or the ‘I am bored, what cha’ doing type posts.
Why? Because since I am doing this, ten to one I am about to break something. See there is this update for wordpress and there is this button that is just MOCKING ME. Saying hit me sybil, you know you wanna… touch touch touch the upgrade button. But if that happens and I end up having to do this again (for the 5th? 6th? time) I figured I would make it less posts to screw with later. Hopefully I will NOT press the button.
I know doing this will most likely break the plug in or something stupid. But I so waaaantttttt to press the button :(.
The pig is MIA. I fear he has been roasted. If you see him let me know for I worry (tis my mom in me). The geek would have to learn how to fix it before he could fix it. Gwen is over ran with work. So if I break that would be bad.
Hopefully when all is said and done everything will be searchable and the archive will be a think of beauty. Or I will break it and go to a completely different templete and confuse the fuck out of everyone.
yep situation normal…
A Few Q’s if you don’t mind…
I have been playing with the sidebar for a few days. As we are almost always running some kind of contest madness does it help to have links on the sidebar or does that not work either?
The covers in the sidebar are because they amuse me, I think they are pretty or the book is a being featured cuz a duckie liked it. If you have sent an email wanting to advertise – thank you. But at this time, as much as it annoys a few, we don’t sell space. We might in the future, it is one thing I am thinking of doing with that ‘google ads’ box that is just sitting there taking up space (since I have never signed up for google ads 🙂 ). So your emails have gone in a nifty folder and I do plan to answer them. And if that changes you will be the first to know.
What do you think of excerpts? Gwen tries, and tries, and tries to get an excerpt for every review because she sees them as so important to deciding to buy a book or not. Do you read them? Pass over them? Careless about them?
I think I have decided (finally) that this will be the new banner… what cha think? Like? Hate? Leave it as is? Suggestions?
I think there needs to be links to the open contests on the side bar – otherwise they get lost in the shuffle.
I don’t do excerpts. They just aren’t my thing. But I know I’m a freak, and I know a TON of readers who love them. I tend to pass right over them. But again, I’m a freak. I have accepted this.
And I like the banner you’ve picked.
I didn’t used to be an excerpt whore, but now that I’ve started reviewing, it annoys me when I can’t find any to link to. 😛 Or a good synopsis, for that matter. Particularly when that’s what an author’s site is supposed to, you know, provide.
Heh, sorry about that. That was way off-topic and ranty. Going back to teh homework now.
Me likey the current banner but I’m contrary that way. I also don’t bother with excerpts or back blurbs. I look for the grade of the review and then glance through checking for pet peeves (baby on doorstep etc).
CindyS
I like excerpts – if there is a good review and the book sounds intriguing, then I like to read and get a feel for the author’s voice before I dive in and make a purchase.
I like the new banner – like the old one too (!) but the new one jumps out at me a bit more!
I’d advertise with you guys. So if you decide to do that, please let me know.
I almost never read excerpts. Reviews are what matter more to me. I’m much more likely to try something if it gets a good review at a site/magazine I trust. I picked up one of Celeste Bradley’s historicals at RT because of a review I saw here.
Love the new tagline on the banner. 🙂
I actually miss the old format (sorry). I like scroll-down blogs. But seems you are getting a hang of things. So until the pig returns from the roast pink and uncooked again, keep finger off upgrade button. You don’t need upgrade, you just need to keep going. 🙂
Listen to Sherry. And Jennifer. And all the rest of them Sybil.
FINGER OFF THE BUTTON! Just look what happened to Slim Pickens when he rode that bomb down from the plane! He had fun. For about 5 seconds.
I like the new banner. It’s a wee bit less formal, which, when I think about it, is a wee lot like us.
Here’s my rationale behind making sure every review has a link to an excerpt. Imagine you’re in a book store when you come to the site. You scan a review (glance down a shelf), and say to yourself, “Hmm. That sounds interesting,” and go to take the book off the “shelf” to thumb thru a few pages to see if you like the author’s style.
If you’re on a reader’s site, like TGTBTU, how are you going to do that? You’ll end up navigating away from the page, possibly spending valuable time searching for what can be an elusive excerpt, probably navigating away from TGTBTU, perhaps not coming back to us as you get distracted by something shiny (::looks at Sybil and Bev::).
We want to make it easy for you to make the decision to read the book – put all you could want to know in one place. We figure the easier it is, the more likely you’ll be like Nike and just do it.
But I’m nicer than teh Sybil. :p
I can be nice too!
Hey whole weekend and no no no touchie button… yet *eg*
Sybil, pretty nice duckie you, DO NOT TOUCH THAT BUTTON!!!!
*ahem*
Me, I don’t care for excerpts–any spoilage, no matter how mild, gives me hives, I’m weird that way *waving to Wendy*–and I’ve found the hard way that back cover blurbs lie 99 times out of 100, so I don’t look at them either.
I like reviews, particularly after I’ve checked those for books I’ve read, and found out where the reviewer and I agree, and where we don’t–that way I can see where I may like a book s/he liked or not, etc.
Links to contests: *ahem* 😀 Yes, please keep.
New banner: oooooooooooo pretty! Me likey muchly.
I’m late here as usual. I really like the new banner…someone said it jumps out more. I agree.
I don’t care about contest links. I like providing excerpts (those who don’t read’em are gonna skip ’em anyway and those folk who like ’em won’t)
and don’t touch the update button…but, otoh, there have times when I should have hit it, but didn’t then I lost important things like the ability for readers to send me email thru my site. ARRGH…I know I missed one from Spielberg looking to option one of my books, I just know it.
sigh…
I like your current banter better (sorry)
Step away from the button!!
I LOVE the excerpts (my husband will not when he finds out HOW much I’ve been spending at the bookstore and on Amazon). Oh, and I like the new banner, it’s bolder looking.
The open contests is helpful so I hope you keep it. I do read excerpts when I’m thinking of buying a book and I like your new banner.
would it help to put the banner on top and than ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
do a poll or something
of course you are suck with what I like anyway but tis fun *g*
I like the new banner.
As for excerpts:
If it’s a new to me author, I read the excerpt, because I want to know how the writing style is. Otherwise, eh. But I know some readers who won’t touch a book without one, so they’re good to have. And like Bonnie Edwards said, those who like them will read and those who don’t will skip. No big.
Gwen when you get a second put this banner up please I wanna see what it looks like ‘on’. Errr do you not know how to do that either?
And “Ads by Google” anyone have suggestions what to put where that box is? Another review? fill the box with links to a few excerpts and have it flip (ohhh anyone know a plug in that would do that?) or uh…. something?
Sorry… still messing around with the sidebar thing that isn’t really a sidebar *g*
Syb – I could probably figure it out. Hopefully I won’t break something when I do it.
errrrrrrrrrr
maybe wait til we know the geek has done a back up? OR if you know how back us up first? OH! I think there is a nifty button back there somewhere that sez… backup… I go look for it…
and I can you know press it!
and then Woot! it isn’t like you can do anything wor…hmmm never mind I no finish that statement just yeah duck and cover people!
Yeah – I found the source file, but can’t figure out how to change it. I’m leaving it for the geek. This is beyond my pseudo-hacking abilities.
http://goodbadandunread.com/wp-content/themes/revolution_magazine-20/images/logo.gif
TOO MANY COMMENTS! LOL – Hm, I have to say… for a cleaner more professional look, I like the old banner more. I thought “oh bubble font!” [and then clown :X for the second one – though it was a good exclamation]. – but I do like the colors to the new one more.
As to contests – I think a link is helpful, though it gets a bit crazed for me – so I preempt getting lost by checking the site obsessively.
For the excerpts… I’m not all *RAWR* about posting them on this site, but that’s b/c I love [and can handle] google searches. Otherwise, I loveneedmusthave excerpts. I’m not going to buy a book until I can read a review. Yup – I feel strongly about them. I want to know what I’m getting into, and I feel that 99.8% of authors know how to tease you, but not give the story away. So, yes. Staunch and avid excerpt fan.
I like the new banner; it’s somewhat cuter. The font makes me think of those signs you can buy in craft malls or nicer gas stations.
I enjoy having links to excerpts. If the review makes the book sound like my kind of thing, I can take the prose out for a whirl. ^_^
The contests links on the side are very helpful. Very.