1. Read 50 Books
50 books is a realistic goal for us. We’d love to read more, but with other obligations, it’s an attainable Goodreads goal. To get a sneak peek of what we’ll be reading, check out our most anticipated books of the year. There are lots of great books coming out in 2021 that we cannot wait to read!
2. Expand Book Club
Our first book *virtual* club meeting with Bard’s Alley will be on January 17th and we’ll be discussing The Cousins by Karen McManus. We would love to have more YA fans join our discussion and continue to expand it over the year. Stay tuned for when we announce February’s pick.
3. Get Approved for More NetGalley ARCs
We currently have a 100% feedback ratio on NetGalley and are one review away from our next badge. However, we didn’t get approved for some in 2020. We hope to increase our approval ratio and continue to read ARCs for our most anticipated books. Also, NetGalley helps us discover debut authors.
4. Participate in More Blog Tours
We did six blog tours in 2020 and had a blast. Getting contacted by publishers helped us discover some great books we might not have read otherwise. We hope to continue to cultivate relationships with publishers and learn about some great books.
5. Increase our Social Media Following
In 2020 we increased our following on Twitter, Instagram and Goodreads. We also created a Facebook page. Our goal is to continue to build up our following on all four websites. Our Instagram has especially grown in the last few months and we focused on taking great pictures and interacting more with fellow Bookstagram bloggers.
Pinterest has slagged a bit since the many app changes over the fall. We went from 200k monthly viewers to 1k. A lot of other bloggers have complained about the problem and unfortunately, we get less views from it now. Hopefully we can make up for it with the other socials.
6. Increase Our Blog Views
2020 did so much better than 2019 after we learned a little bit about SEO. In fact, most of our views come from Google search now. However, we can do better to increase our blog views. We plan to interact with more blogs and edit our older posts to make them more SEO friendly. We’ve been on an upward trend the last few months can’t wait to continue to grow.
7. Go Self-Hosted
This is something we’ve been contemplating for a while. We think 2021 will be the year to self-host and monetize the blog. We also hope to take advantage of Google Analytics and the SEO assistance that comes with being self-hosted. If you have any advice on switching over, let us know in the comments.
8. Interact with More Book Bloggers
One of our favorite parts of blogging is interacting with fellow book lovers. We can’t wait to continue to find amazing posts and reviews. After all, fellow bloggers help build up our TBR. The best part is finding people with similar taste.
9. Find New Indie Authors
Pretty much all the indie authors that we’ve read we’ve found on Twitter or Instagram. A few have contacted us through the blog. We’re always on the lookout for amazing YA indie authors, especially underrated ones. Hopefully our review helps them get more readers!
10. Interview More YA Authors
We’ve done a few interviews, but it’s something we need to actively pursue. There are many amazing authors we follow and plan to ask for an interview. Know a YA author who would like an interview? Let us know.
We also would love to go to in person book events, but at least for the first half of 2021, that won’t be possible. 2021 Nova Teen Book Festival was already cancelled. We can’t wait until we can safely see our favorite authors in person again!
I'm All Booked Up - a young adult book blog 
You’ve set yourselves some really achievable goals here! I’d love to read 50 books in a year, that would be such an achievement! I hope all goes well when you decide to go self hosted!
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Thank you! We have a lot of exciting books on our TBR for 2021.
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I’ve set my goal to read 24 books this year, as I struggled with my Goodreads goal last year! Can’t wait to read your reviews. Congratulations on increasing your followers on Twitter, Instagram and Goodreads in 2020, I am sure you will continue to grow. I hope you achieve all your 2021 goals! Thank you for sharing. 😊
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Thank you so much! We hope you read some amazing books in 2021. Thanks for reading our blog!!
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I really want to read more in 2021, but as I read on a commute and who knows where we’ll be back in the office, I’m only aiming for 1 a month! haha xx
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We used to read during the commutes too. Right now reading at night is a great way to destress.
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wow, 50 books blows my mind!! I have gone for 1 a month and already chose the books – maybe next year I will find that I can read more.
Hayley || hayleyxmartin
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We definitely read a lot. There are just so many amazing books out. We hope you enjoy the ones you plan to read this year.
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First, a goal of 50 books is great. Do y’all usually try to reach the goal separately or add your reads together? Second, that’s amazing that y’all are at a 100% ratio on NetGalley! That’s what dreams are made of. haha. I’m currently at 70% and really hoping to get it up to 80% soon
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We usually read the same books! We’re actually waiting to get approved for more books on NetGalley. We haven’t received one since the security issues the website had last month.
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I can’t wait to see how your blog evolves over the next year. I hope to read and review more YA books this year, and I love hearing that you’re looking to read more books by indie authors since their books make up the majority of what I read these days, and they could use all of the publicity they can get. Thanks for sharing your goals!
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Thank you! All the indie books we read in 2020 were 4 or 5 stars so we’re really excited to find some more authors! We can’t wait to see which YA books you read this year.
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Having your goals established is a great start for the year! Cheers to a great blogging year!
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Thank you! We’re excited to achieve our goals.
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a lot of my goals are similar to yours! My plan is to learn more about SEO as I’m a new blogger, for now i’m just writing my heart away to establish a loyal following! Happy New years x
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Good luck! Getting started can be hard. Our advice is to learn about SEO for your specific niche. We learned SEO specifically for book bloggers. Happy New Year!
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Omg I’m an aspiring YA author (now querying) and if you accept amateurs, I’d love to be considered! Great goals for this year! Definitely huge on the interacting and widening your audience!
http://www.lifebeginsattwenty.com
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Sure, check out our interview with Ben Macdonald, who us also in the querying process. If you’re interested, fill out the form on our contact us page! Good luck with your YA novel.
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Good luck with your goals!
I am hoping to read more romance this year, I read a lot last year and it was excellent.
Cora | https://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
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Thank you! What were your favorite romance books of 2020?
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I don’t know if I can pick! I really enjoyed the Mills & Boon Dynasties collections, and I loved every historical one I read
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What a really good range of goals here — I wish you well with them in 2021!
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Thank you!
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Good luck with your goals for 2021, it’s great that you have them planned out so clearly! It’s so amazing that you’re at 100% on NetGalley – I’ve been hovering around 80% for months because I can’t seem to stop requesting more titles 😅
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We are tempted! But we try not to request any until we’ve finished one.
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Your goals sound fab and completely achievable – I’m hoping that now, a month into the year, you’re starting to see some progress with them! I’m so impressed with your 100% NetGalley score, that takes some serious dedication. I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of 2021 brings for your blog!
Beth x Adventure & Anxiety
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