I’ve listened to some of my friends when they first get Netflix or Hulu or find a new author. They binge on a series they’ve found that knocks their socks off. Sometimes, they watch or read the new show/author back to back until they’re caught up. I’m not so good at that. If I read an author’s books one after another, pretty soon I fizzle, no matter how good they are. And then it’s time for me to mix it up and read other voices, other genres for a while.
It’s made me think about timing. It’s a tricky thing, at least, for me. One of my friends had a favorite blog, but the writer put up something new every day, and she finally felt overwhelmed and quit reading it. We’re all busy. We have to fit things into the few small empty spaces we have in our days. When is too much…too much? I follow a blog every day, but the posts are so short, I read them when I first hit my computer to wake my brain up. They’re my alarm clock for writing. Then there are people who post so seldomly that I forget to look for them, to make time for them. Even when they do post, I’ve lost the flow and don’t always read them. For me, as a reader, I think a new post once a week works about the best.
Timing even matters for books by my favorite authors. If they write shorter books (50,000 to 70,000 words), I look forward to something by them a few times a year. If they write tomes like Elizabeth George or J.K. Rowling, once a year fills my need to hear their voice, read their words. But if I’m reading a series and it’s two or more years between book five and book six, the tension for the next book evaporates and even when it comes out, I might not rush to buy it.
I’m putting a second free book up on my webpage now, chapter by chapter, and I debated on how to load them–once a week? Once a day? I wasn’t sure, but the chapters are short, so I decided to go with once a day. They won’t take much time to read, and hopefully, they’ll build momentum. But I’m not sure. Maybe that’s too much. So far, according to my stats, readers are sticking with them. We’ll see as I go. Wish me luck.
Happy reading and writing to all of you!
Webpage: http://www.judithpostswritingmusings.com/
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Twitter: @judypost
Judi Lynn 
I think, as long as the content is relatively short, blog posts can happen as much as once per day, sometimes twice, but that’s pushing it. For me I have a micropoetry, or eulogy post once per day. I might add something to the mix here and there, but I keep them short or ill split them up. In terms of books, I think the length of time it takes to write and release a book, especially in a series, is crucial to keeping readers interested without overwhelming them. If I stumble upon a new author with several books already out, I’ll binge and keep an eye out for new books, but I won’t just reread over and over until that new release. 😊
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I read your poem, and I’m amazed you can think of something short with that kind of punch everyday. Congrats!
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I have an addictive personality. I admit it, and when I find something on Netflix, like Happy Valley or Grace and Frankie, I just figure the rest of the weekend is shot.
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But you love movies! This is one of your great obsessions since you were in theater. I get it. When you review a movie, it blows my mind. You notice EVERYTHING! i think that’s what you should do on your blog, because books and movies have so much in common–plot, pacing, telling details, etc.
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Good suggestion.
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I follow a lot of blogs, and sometimes it is hard keeping up. I prefer short posts over long, and I’m not a fan of videos which have a way of creeping into the blogoshpere. Some of my blogging friends post everyday, and I make a point to try to keep up with most of them. Weekends are hard for me, as I tend to disappear offline and then Monday results in a lot of catch up.
When it comes to reading, it depends on the author for me. When I first discovered Jennifer McMahon I read most everything I could find by her. The same with the writing team of PJ Parrish. On the flip side, I burnt out on a series of highly popular YA novels. I read 10 in a row, but had to plod through the last few and haven’t been able to read anything else by the author since.
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P.S….I saw your review of A Cold Tomorrow on Amazon. Thank you so much!
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