Bout of Books 12... No Goal Linky?

Hello darling #boutofbooks-ers!

We're trying something different for this Bout of Books, so if you absolutely hate it, it may not stick around.

That said.

We, your estimable hosts, are pretty jazzed about this. "This" being Bout of Books 12 will not have a goals linky.

Why? That's a very good question, and I'm so glad you asked!

Every Bout of Books, we watch our readers become discouraged as they "fail" (because, as you know, we flail, not fail) goals they set for themselves. Because we man the @boutofbooks handle and spend more time than we care to track keeping an eye on the #boutofbooks hashtag, we're flooded with the negativity.

Removing the goal linky is our way of attempting to combat the negativity and "failing" updates. Bout of Books has always been about reading, meeting people, and having fun. As long as you achieve one of these, even if it's for a minute, we think you should consider your Bout of Books a success.

While we're not providing you a space to link your goals, we're not telling you to stop setting goals. We're also not telling you what goals to set. If you want to set goals, set them! You just can't link them here.

Additionally, questions regarding goals remain one of the top FAQ we have. By eliminating a goal linky, we're hoping to lessen the burden on us as hosts -- and get rid of the confusion between sign up and goals. There will only be the sign up. (And daily links, naturally.)

Because the truth is, we just want you to read. We don't care if you want to read 15 pages or 47 books. We don't care if you want to continue a book you started before the read-a-thon or if you can count audiobooks toward the read-a-thon. We don't care if you read from a read-a-thon book list you created or you go off your list.

We want you to read, in whatever format makes the most sense for you. We want you to read books you want to read. We want you to have fun and meet people and be happy that you get to be part of such an amazing community.

You don't need a goal linky for that, #boutofbooks-ers. You just need yourself and a love for reading.

ETA: No goal linky does not mean you can't set goals. If you'd like to set goals, do so, then share on Twitter using the hashtag #boutofbooks. Ask others to share their goals, too -- you might find you make stronger connections.

Bout of Books 12 Schedule

It's COMING!

Psst. Tell your friends:

Challenges/Giveaways

Monday 1/5
Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt -- Caught Read Handed
New Year's Resolutions -- The Book That...


Tuesday 1/6
Top 10 Recommendations -- Trees of Reverie


Wednesday 1/7
Character Coupling -- Writing My Own Fairy Tale


Thursday 1/8
The Synopsis Challenge -- LuLo Fangirl


Friday 1/9
Describe Your Book in Pictures -- The Book Monsters


Saturday 1/10
Literary Quote Challenge -- Gone with the Words
Rewrite the Story -- A Daydreamer's Thoughts


Sunday 1/11
My (dysfunctional) Book Family -- Auggie Talk
#insixwords Challenge -- Falling Down the Book Hole



Twitter Chats
(chats last approximately one hour)
TZC = Time Zone Conversion

Monday: 1pm CST (TZC)
Wednesday: 8pm CST (TZC)
Saturday: 10am CST (TZC)

Bout of Books 12 SIGN-UP!

Are you ready to SIGN UP?

THIS IS WHERE YOU SIGN UP.

Here's what you have to do:

1. Post on your site, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, YouTube or Facebook account and declare your intentions to join us. It's EASY. We ask you share info to help spread the word. Please link back to us so others can find us here.

If you're posting on your blog, grab the official blurb (below) and our button (in the sidebar) and create a post. (Need an example? Check out Kelly's Bout of Books 12 post!)

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Want to post on Twitter? We've written a tweet for you. [Sorry, sign up is closed!]

2. Add the direct link to your sign up post to the linky in this post. You have until Tuesday January 6th at 11:59pm CST to sign up. (If the linky is closed, you're too late.)

3. On January 5th, READ!

Official Sign Up

Remember: you must post a DIRECT LINK to your sign up post. 

If you're only participating on Twitter/YouTube, link up your "I'm participating in Bout of Books!" tweet/video, NOT your Twitter/YouTube profile.

No direct link = no Grand Prize

A direct link is...

http://yoururl.com/your-sign-up-post
http://twitter.com/YOURHANDLE/status/thenumberofyourstatus
etc.







Comments have been closed to reduce link placement confusion. If you need help, check our FAQ. If your question isn't answered, email us or tweet us @boutofbooks.

Call for Bout of Books 12 Experts

We need YOU.

Bout of Books has attracted more participants every time we've held it. And as it grows, we're limited as to how many people we can reach and interact with.

That's where Bout of Books experts come in.

What makes a person a Bout of Books expert, you ask?

• You've participated in AT LEAST four Bout of Books prior to Bout of Books 12
• You love Bout of Books and want to make sure everyone knows how awesome it is
• You're willing to commit some of your free time to helping us
• You love connecting with fellow book lovers and cheering them on

If you're chosen as an expert, you get to visit #boutofbooks-ers' blogs and comment on their posts--tell them how awesome they are and how well they're doing. WHO DOESN'T LOVE SPREADING LOVE?!?!?

We will be closing this form on December 28th. If you're interested in helping us, make sure you get on our list before then!

Want to help spread the Bout of Books love?

Call For Bout of Books 12 Challenge Hosts

Bout of Books 12 is January 5th through January 11th

Like us on Facebook

and follow us on Twitter

to join the social media fun.

We need YOUR help. This post is ONLY for people who want to host a challenge.

Challenges information

• Bloggers host challenges on their own blogs. (If you do not have a blog, you may host it here.)
• Challenges run for 24 hours and run from midnight CST to midnight CST.
• There will be a limit of two challenges per day.
• Challenge sign up will close December 14th at 11:59pm CST.

Things to keep in mind:

Preference will be given to challenges that are NOT genre specific. You will be turned down or asked to change your challenge so it's not genre specific. We want to include EVERYONE. For an idea on what we look at, visit Kelly's post on this topic: The Challenge of Challenges

Preference is given to international giveaways OR no giveaways. We're a worldwide read-a-thon.

You must have a challenge idea at the time of filling out the form to be considered. If you don't have an idea, check out what some past participants said about what they'd like to see.