Blogoversary: 1 Year of Kayl’s Krazy Obsession

*This post was updated on December 14, 2015 to keep up with the new format.

Honestly, this is krazy. To think that just a year ago, I posted the first post of Kayl’s Krazy Obsession. It was a horrible post. I had no clue what I was doing, yet I still clicked that orange button.

The funny thing is, I read Blogging for Dummies before I created my blog. I have no idea why I picked it up, or even why I read it. But I did, and I can tell you that was the best decision I’ve ever made. Once I decided to create a blog, I was going to wait for the first of the month to post it since it was the end of January. I was so excited to start it, and I held out for about a week. Then, I couldn’t wait any longer. I just had to create a Blogger account create a blog. I didn’t even have a name picked out. I just went on there and typed in the first name that came to my head which was actually ripped off of someone. You see, Katy Swartz from the LUX series had a blog named “Katy’s Krazy Obsession.” I used her name, but replaced her name with mine. I didn’t even use my actual name. Kayl is a penname chosen by me because I wanted to be anonymous. It’s in my actual name, Makayla, it’s just no one I know in real life calls me Kayl. I’ve always been found of Kayl because it sounds unique, but I guess it’s good enough as my blogging name. I love it treat it as my true self. I feel as if I can write about whatever without feeling judging eyes on me. I can fangirl as much as I want. I can be as sassy as I want. And I don’t have to be shy old Makayla. Blogging has helped me embrace my self. I’m not afraid of being me. I want to be different. I don’t want to be normal. Ever. And I feel as if blogging helps that.

I’ve grown so much as a blogger and writer. My reviews have gotten better. I’m better at planning things and taking my time on certain things. Blogging has helped me with time management which had helped me with school and finals. It’s helped me become more professional.

I’m being completely serious. I communicate with publishers, authors, and bloggers via email. I have to know what I’m writing, so I don’t sound like a complete dumbass. I have to know what I’m doing. I have to manage my posts so two posts aren’t scheduled for the same day. I have to make sure I get all of the materials for a blog tour. I have to make sure I finish a book by a set deadline which I’m still not very good at. But I’m doing things no other teenage girl is doing, unless they’re a blogger but that’s beside the point. Most teenagers worry about school. I worry about school, blogging, and writing. I have to keep everything separated and make sure I get it done.

I’m not going to lie. It’s not easy. Whoever said blogging was easy needs to step in my shoes. I want to be a serious blogger.

Honestly, it’s a lot of hard work, but I love it. I can’t imagine not blogging because it’s something I love. I’ve grown accustomed to it, and I just find it fantabulous. It’s something I enjoy doing, and I love to see the results. I feel as if my voice matters amongst the 8 billion people out there. I’m putting my reviews, my opinions, out in the world and people are reading them.

It’s krazy. People from all over the world have been on my blog whether they stayed for longer than five seconds does not matter. They were still here. Somehow, whether it be social media or something else, they stumbled across my blog, my voice. They’ve seen my creation. It’s weird, and I can’t explain how I feel about it. That’s why this might not make very much sense. I’m really giddy and excited because I’m out there. I may not be huge in the world, but I feel as if I matter.

This week has been special. I’ve tried to make very post different from what I’ve done before. The master list will probably become a page at the top, and it’ll be updated about every month with my new reviews. Hopefully, you’ve learned a bit more about me and blogging. That was my goal.

Year in Review

This year has been full of many great things. Here’s a quick look at the stats of the first year of Kayl’s Krazy Obsession:

Highlights/Low Lights

There are many highlights and low lights of Kayl’s Krazy Obsession that are going to be worked on in the years to come.

Low Lights (My Bad)

-Gaps of Not Posting

So I didn’t exactly post in June, July, and December because I was on break and didn’t have Internet access. I literally stayed at home the whole time.

How to Solve: Better planning and scheduling

Goals: Get Internet and computer

-Not reading

I went through periods where I didn’t want to read. I felt forced to read for reviews, so I didn’t enjoy reading. Therefore, I didn’t read.

How to Solve: Take a break, check out interesting books

Also, I’d rather read on Wattpad than actual books so I need to read bound books that I can review instead of spending my time on Wattpad.

-Not Posting What I Signed Up For

This didn’t happen a lot but it still happened. Sometimes I bit off a bit more than I could chew, so some posts/reviews wouldn’t be up by the scheduled date. I still have to finish a book that was scheduled for review before January 6, 2015. Whoops.

Sometimes tour hosts would not send the materials. I’m still waiting on a guest post from an author that was supposed to go live in October. I’ve emailed countless times about it and changed the date a few times. It’s still not here.

How to Solve: Schedule for less

Goals: Better communication

-Social Media

I hardly ever get on the social media pages for Kayl’s Krazy Obsession. Whenever I’m on Twitter, I’m on my fan account. I don’t get on Facebook. At all. And I don’t get on Bloglovin’. I think I’ve been on there twice since I’ve had my account.

How to Solve: Manage my time better, schedule posts

Goals: Spend at least twenty minutes a week on each social media pages

Highlights (Now We’re Talking/Most of These End Badly)

-When Jennifer L. Armentrout emailed me back

It might not even have been her, it could’ve been a publicist, but someone at her email address responded. She answered my question! It was a really exciting day for me. Until I accidentally deleted the email. I still have no idea where it is, and I feel like punching myself for that. UPDATE: I FOUND IT!! LOL I searched Gmail.

-Mike Mullin, Author of Ashfall, Followed Me on Twitter

I tweeted about reading his book Ashfall with a picture, and he RT’s me. Then, he tweeted me. If I can find it, I’ll post it. And then, he followed me! It’s always cool when an author I like follows me on Twitter. I said I’d review his book, but I never actually did...

-When I Got 100, 500, 1000, 2500, and 4000 Visitors on the Visitor Count at the Top

Each of these were exciting for me to reach. I still remember when I had 15 views on that counter. Most of them were probably me. But now I only account for about 10 of those each month. I don’t do it on purpose, it just counts when I have stuff I need to do on my blog :)

As of February 15, 2014, I had 161 total visitors

As of March 23, 2014, I had 344 total visitors

As of April 25, 2014, I had a total of 614 total visitors

As of August 16, 2014, I had a total of 1,200 total visitors

-When I Won a Contest Hosted by a Fellow Blogger

I won an annotated copy of a book that was signed and came with a note and bookmark. That was very exciting because it was my first time winning something from a giveaway. I even kept the packaging it came in.

-When I Won a Giveaway Hosted by Parajunkee for a Free Web Design

This was exciting because I just RT’d a tweet as I was leaving the library. I wasn’t going to, but I went back and did it. AND I WON! That was really cool. I mentioned this in my Most Useful Tools to Me, A Blogger post. It was normally about $30 and I got it for free. It’s my design that I’m currently using. Also, I got to pick out whichever one I wanted, so that was even more cool.

-That One Time That I Actually Went on My Social Media Accounts like Facebook

I used to get on social media all of the time, but now I hardly have the time to post something on my blog let alone go through Facebook. I need to become a better manager of time.

-My Rants

I find my rants hilarious. I hardly ever post them, but when I do, I get worked up. I think there’s only a few rants on here.

-Seeing the Movies That Were Turned into Books

I mostly went within a week of the release. I was surprised at how closely connected to the books most of these movies were. I don’t think I hated any of them.

-Getting ARCs

I loved getting ARCs. I didn’t any bound copies though, that’s my goal for this year. I mostly got .pdfs or .mobi files.

-1st Giveaway

It was not held by me, but I was still apart of it. It was kind of cool, so I might be doing some giveaways in the near future.

Thanks to You

I would like to give thanks to every single one of my readers. You guys are amazing, and I’m flabbergasted that you click on my blog, yet alone read it. I’m saying thanks to you because you take time to stop by. I’m talking to everyone even those fantastic little ghost readers that do not comment or anything. I still love you :)

Kayl’s Krazy Obsession may not be very popular, but we are grateful for all that we have. I would like to thank each and every person that has clicked on my blog, followed me on social media, and made Kayl’s Krazy Obsession what it is today. It would be nothing without you guys.

I just want you to know that I read every comment on here and reply to them personally. If you want to ever chat about anything, please don’t be afraid to comment or email. I’m 5’1” I’m not a scary person. I’m always here for you. I may take a bit longer to reply because I don’t have Internet or a phone that I can keep updated with but I will respond. It might be two weeks later, but I will reply.

I love it when I log onto Blogger and I see how my view count has shot up. I also love logging on and seeing a new comment or email from a reader. It really makes my day.

Beginning of a New Year

I just want to thank everyone for such an amazing year, and I can’t wait to spend many more Blogaversarys with you guys. Hopefully, overtime my grammar will improve :) and we’ll grow as a family. I really love you guys.

This is just amazing! 1 year of Kayl’s Krazy Obsession! On social media, use the hashtag #1YearofKaylsKrazyObsession and I’ll RT you! We can try to get this trending lol

Also if you want to write a guest post, request a review for any book, or state an opinion on book related stuff, contact me. I’m always up for new ideas and constructive criticism.

Thanks again to you *digital cupcake for you for an amazing year*