Come discuss with us! All honesty is honored and treasured.
Of course, Deadly Darlings has been my little rant-and-rave corner of the internet for over a year, and I’ve grown attached to it. There are a lot of things (I’d even go far as to call them rituals) that I’ve been keeping up on the blog since I started.
But is it time to make some changes?
So yes, this post is basically me just asking if you think these few things will make the blog a homier place for you guys, or if you might lose interest in reading some of our content because of these changes.
I’m going to list a few ideas that I have, and I hope you can tell me on a scale of 1-5 (1 being the lowest) on how much each appeals to you!
1. Should we remove our “YA only” fiction blog status?
I think that most of us (Marga in particular!) read books outside of YA–maybe NA, MG or adult. The blog has been a YA only blog for forever, so I was wondering if it’d be fine to suddenly change that?
2. How about categorizing our reads?
I plan to make a couple of buttons and such to add to our reviews. For example, we thought a particular book was hilarious, we’ll have a small “funny!” button somewhere on the review.
3. Waiting on Wednesday posts–yay or nay?
I used to do a WoW post every now and then, but I was thinking of making it a steady meme on the blog. Maybe all four of us an alternate picks each week?
These are the POSSIBLE changes I can see happening on Deadly Darlings, at least in the near future. Penny for your thoughts? (Help!) How do you feel about making changes on your OWN blogs?
About Aimee
Aimee loves being a little bookworm (okay–she doesn’t like being little). She also loves chocolates and sweets but is freaked out by the thought of possibly getting diabetes.
I Adork You 
I think it’d be cool for you guys to, y’know, “broaden your horizons” and all that for reviews. It’d be interesting to see some middle grade or something else!
I think the button idea would be your own choice. :)
Waiting on Wednesdays are pretty cool ’cause you get to see what books others are excited for- maybe get interested in it, too! I’d say definitely pursue that one.
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I surely agree with adding more genre on your blog since you have other blogmates who reads it. And also, it will be a good way to introduce them to your readers who usually just reads YA.
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I love the way you guys blog; I’d be happy no matter what changes you make, even if you don’t make any changes I’d still support Deadly Darlings :) I think broadening your horizons might be an interesting adventure for you guys! I like the idea of the little buttons as well – it’s cute :3
No matter what though, I’ll still be hanging around here and I’ll support you guys come what may! <3
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I made WoW a weekly feature on my blog mainly because I like to share books I’m looking forward to! And I never put a label on my blog when it comes to genre. I love all kinds of books so I’ll talk about all kinds of books on my blog too. :) Change can be a good thing sometimes! :D
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I personally think just do whatever you want. I think if you read outside of YA then definitely change from YA only and talk about whatever takes your fancy at the time. I also like the sound of the category buttons.
Personally I am not a fan of Waiting on Wednesday but I do like it when blogs have a steady meme they take part in (I do TTT) and changing it up every week sounds good.
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It’s your blog so you can do whatever that you like and comfortable with you. And whatever it is that you come up with, I’m pretty sure it will click with your subscribers (me included!).
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I think branching out to other genres is great because it gives you more freedom about blogging and your reading. I also think categorie buttons like that (example: funny) are a great idea. I’m not a big fan of waiting on Wednesday meme. I never read those posts. So, 5, 5, 1.
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I think it’s totally fine to add in MG and NA reviews – even adult reviews! There’s no rule that says you can’t :) Plus, even if you’re 75% YA still, it gives you more flexibility. The category buttons are totally up to you – sometimes it’s helpful to have a little image you can get a quick opinion from. I usually like the WoW posts, mostly because I’m horrid at knowing what’s being released and they help me find more books!
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Change is always good. And I love that your reads cover at least a multitude of genres or subgenres. I try to do a couple of memes a week just because it’s nice to break up your review posts, yanno? I don’t know, that’s just me.
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1. Should we remove our “YA only” fiction blog status? Well, my blog is a mostly YA blog, but I also have the occasional NA/A/MG book that I review there, so I guess the readers of your blog won’t really see it as a big difference. (5)
2. How about categorizing our reads? I like that idea, but I personally prefer words rather than pictures. But if that button/ label is on the sidebar acting like a label we can click, I think go. (4)
3. Waiting on Wednesday posts–yay or nay? Yes! I’m sure all your posts would be really interesting. (5)
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I feel like I’m always changing my blog! I used to feel weird about it, but in the end I’ve realized it’s my space and I am the one who spends the most time with it – reading books, writing posts, etc. So I’m trying my best to just go with the flow and post what I like. I’m also hoping it’ll keep me from another blogging slump, haha!
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Honestly, I think most of us who read YA read a bit of everything else. I don’t mind reviews that are outside of the YA stat because I don’t really notice. If I recognise the title and am interest then I’ll click it, you know? Hopefully you make the right decision for you, my dear!
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I really like making changes on my own blog personally, so I hope you enjoy making whatever changes you feel are necessary. :) I love the idea about categorising your reads, I’ve been thinking of doing something similar for a while now. And removing the “YA only” tag line is absolutely fine even if it’s been there forever. I actually don’t know anyone who reads YA and YA only. As for the WoW meme, I personally don’t read any of those posts – I just don’t find them all that interesting. But, if that’s something you want to do, it’s not going to stop me from visiting your blog. :)
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1. 5! I also focus on YA, but pretty much any book I read is reviewed on my blog, and I’ve seen that most readers won’t care. In my opinion it looks like the more known the book, the higher the traffic.
2. 3! Again I’m not sure whether readers will notice the categorizations! I think most people care more about genre or if it’s good or bad rather than if it was funny? I’m not sure!
3. 4! I usually never read WoWs, which is sad because they are actually really informative! So yeah! I think I might even do a couple once in a while!
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To be honest — I LOVE reading people’s WoW posts. It’s always so nice to see what people are looking forward to reading, and well, it always adds to my ever-growing TBR list. ;) As for the categories, I think it would be fine to expand; you don’t want to limit yourselves to just one category when you read a bit of everything, you know? :)
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I think these changes are good! Ever since I started my blog, I’ve been constantly mixing things up to make my content more exciting and more ‘me’. So yeah, change is always good. :)
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I think it’s great if you explore more different books than YA! I think a lot of people read more than just YA and I’m always on the look out for new recommendations :D I’m not a huge fan of Waiting on Wednesday posts in the first place (I never know what to say in the comments) but alternate picks sounds like a good idea!
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I really like WoW posts. It helps you discover new and awesome books coming out!! :) I like the idea of the buttons, Bewitched Bookworms does it too, I love it !! I think a lot of blogs do the YA, NA, MG since they’re all entwined and around the same age range. Great ideas!! Take the leap, embrace the change! I’ve run out of clichés… Good luck, Aimee <33
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1. 5 This to me is the best change.
2. 4
3. 1 Just not necessary unless you want a easy post for the middle of the weeks.
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YES to all of these! It’ll be exciting to read your reviews of NA, adult or MG books. And categorization is also a good idea! :)
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Honestly? I wasn’t really a fan of the WoW post, looking back. I did it then, but I never really enjoyed doing it. haha I prefer ranting to read a book on twitter haha. Its your choice to review NA MG or adult. Even if you change a YA blog status, I won’t be bothered. I’m actually excited to see you Aimee to read more NA hahaha. I know I will enjoy reading all of you gals’ reviews. Whether you change some things here @ Deadly Darlings, know that we guys are here to support you! Just do what you think is right and what YOU think is fun. :D
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It is definitely your blog and you can do whatever you want with it!
I don’t think you will lose any readers from any of these changes because they all sound awesome! It will be great seeing what other reads and recommendations here, and those buttons sound completely cute and awesome!
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The thing about blogging is that you guys should feel free to od whatever you guys want. Be it, writing WoW posts or reviewing books that aren’t strictly YA. I think it would be cool for you guys to broaden your blog and start doing different things and seeing what works. Just be happy with what your blogging about. That’s really all there is.
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It’s always good to make some changes once in a while – to break routine.
You should definitely give up on exclusively YA status, you’re growing up so it’s normal that your taste changes. WOW is my absolute favorite meme.
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I think it’s whatever works for you. I stick to YA because it makes my job seem less overwhelming. But I love it when bloggers incorporate whatever they are interested in…
Thanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics
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Ooh yes, don’t do just YA! That’s all I read and blog about, but it’d be great to have bloggers I trust recommending me books from other genres :) I’m thinking of starting a WOW post too, but I don’t know how many books I’d actually have. There are 4 of you though, so you’ll have 4 times as many books to look forward to! :)
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