In other news, I keep wondering when my summer is going to start. Granted, I’ve managed to keep I.Q. ticking over and whatnot, but it isn’t the same as being able to put a lot of time and effort into developing the site, and I miss the simple things…like tinkering with CSS codes and getting stressed that the layout won’t go just so. (Alright, so perhaps not so much of the latter, but I’m sure you get my meaning, dear reader). I decided to take some time-out today on doing a few menial tasks such as deleting all the spam comments we’ve been getting recently. -Sighs- At some point, people will learn that administrators have the final say when it comes to sites like this. All comments have to be approved by yours truly.

Oh, and our Facebook Group now has 100 members. I’m very tempted to hold a competition to get even more members. Of course, the ‘prize’ will most likely be book tokens (how cliche!) but at this stage, it’d probably be the most cost-effective way of getting new readers. That and Twitter, of course.

Dear summer, I’m ready when you are.

It seems as though all of my energy recently has been going into getting the few last grades I need for my degree, with little effort going into I.Q. past keeping it updated and suchlike. Granted, this is probably the right way of going about things, but I have to admit, dear reader, that I feel a little guilty.

It isn’t as though I have been entirely neglectful however, since I’ve been writing down ideas for the site as and when they pop into my head. Also, through some good fortune, I have also been networking with some individuals who seem keen enough to help with the actual development of the site in the future. (I know a guy, who knows a guy, so on and so forth). At least you can all rest safely in the knowledge that I’ll have very little excuse not to work on the website over the summer.

Something which has been running through my mind is financing. I certainly don’t regret the money I’ve spent on the site so far, but I feel as though it’s a shame that I don’t have more money to spend on development and advertising. After giving it a lot of careful consideration, I have decided to put ‘include Google adwords’ on my list of things to do over the summer. I figure that I.Q. could at least give it a trial run. If I think that it interferes too greatly with the site, or that I suddenly get offers of advertising from actual businesses instead (hint, hint), I will remove the adwords from the front page.

At this stage – where the site is successful but only just keeping its head above the water – the most difficult thing I’m facing is the thought that perhaps I should be content with joint-custody of the site. That is, that I may benefit from bringing in another pair of hands to help me with the project. I wholeheartedly admit that I don’t have much time for online advertisement and networking…but it’s something which needs to start being done.

I keep looking forward to summer. In the mean time, I want to thank everyone for their continued support…and especially thank my writers for helping me keep the site going. All that’s left for me to say is; tell your friends!

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The Carrie Diaries – Candace Bushnell

For those ‘Sex and the City’ fans out there who feel as though they’re unable to wait until the second film hits our cinema screens in May, this book will hopefully keep you going for a little while longer. The novel itself is set during Carrie Bradshaw’s years in High school, allowing the readers a glimpse of the character years before the TV series ever took place.

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Caught – Harlan Coben

The newest book from the New York Times #1 Bestseller writer is a one-off thriller that tells the story of a missing girl and the ambiguous motives of her community. Said to be fast-paced and filled with tension, this book about identifying and bringing sexual predators to justice may be a little too close to the bone for those readers without a strong disposition. Nevertheless, this thriller promises to deliver a white-knuckle ride for readers this spring.

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Tales of the Otherworld – Kelley Armstrong

Vampires, Werewolves, Sorcerers. If those three words caught your attention then be prepared to receive this anthology of seven stories, each of them concentrating on different characters that you may have met before if you’re an ‘Otherworld’ fan. If you’ve never sunk your teeth into this series, then no fear! Even readers who are new to the ‘Otherworld’ universe will find these tales easy to follow. Also, all profits made from the sale of this hardback are going to a Canadian Literacy Charity. You can’t really go wrong there!

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Jamie Does… – Jamie Oliver

No doubt brought out to coincide with the chef’s new TV series over here in the UK, this book is a ‘personal celebration’ of the food he’s found whilst touring six different countries. These include Marrakesh, Athens, Venice, Andalucia, Stockholm and the Midi Pyrenees region of France. Photographs sit alongside a number of exotic but practical recipes which Jamie has saved you travelling all over the place to procure. Definitely something for all you cooking enthusiasts to get your hands on before the summer kicks in and you’re relegated to the outside barbecue.

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The Thin Executioner – Darren Shan

Something a little different now from this well known author. Not only is this title a one-off instead of being part of a series, but it is also set on a different, fantasy world instead of good ol’ earth. Apart from those two variations however, Darren consoles his fanbase via his website, saying that this newest addition to his repertoire will have plenty of death, along with; “grave-robbing, slavery and religious bigotry”. Not something for the faint of heart, then!

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Theatre – David Mamet

As someone with a passion for the stage, this new release by the American playwright and author instantly caught my eye. Descriptions of this book make it seem as though it’s going to be a refreshing read, calling for the ‘death of the director’ in much the same way as a certain Mr. Barthes demanded of the author. A written challenge for those involved in the theatre to push themselves to their limit and do better, this book – released via Amazon on the 13th of April – will certainly be finding itself in my shopping basket.

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“Doctor Who”: The Forgotten Army – Brian Minchin

It’s only one episode into the new series and already actor Matt Smith has his face on the front of the newest book written about the adventures of everyone’s favourite time traveller. This one (yet again) taken place on earth in the 21st century. The enemy this time is a race of seven-centimetre-high aliens who are bent of enslaving the human race. Which is all very well and good, but I’m beginning to wonder as to whether the TARDIS has begun to get travel sick, what with all this meandering about on earth it’s been doing recently…

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Burned – P.C. Cast

Number seven in the ‘House of Night’ series, this young-adult’s novel carries on where number six left off. It seems that April is the month for fantasy, and this book is no exception with its three female protagonists each having some sort of link with the paranormal world. A much anticipated book, ‘Burned’ seems intent on pulling out all the stops in order to give its readers an action-packed adventure of darkness and romance.

First of all, I’ve figured out how to use the ‘schedule post’ button on the site, so there’s no real excuse for me to miss any updates any more. (I’m not yet sure as to whether this is a good thing or not…Good for the site…but probably bad for my sanity in the long-term!) It did, however, allow me to ensure that I.Q. was updated when I went off on holiday to Yorkshire last week. Yes, dear reader, I had a wonderful time, thank you for asking.

The next thing of note is a possible affiliation in the works with Leicester University Theatre. This society has recently had wonderful reviews after performing in the Leicester Comedy Festival, and received a rather good write-up in the local newspaper for their last play, ‘The Lady’s Not For Burning’. Why an affiliation with a Theatre Society? Well, part of what they do is to encourage people to flex their creative writing muscles and come up with scripts for ten-minute sketches which are then directed and performed every two weeks. There’s been a bit of talk about starting a blog, or a semi-frequent series of ‘script writers’ articles which would then also be posted here on I.Q.

I’ve had to start re-evaluating the direction I want to go in regarding I.Q. I mean, it’s all very well and good saying that my ultimate goal is to try and get people enthusiastic about literature again, but that’s a rather wide aim for a website which isn’t even a year old yet. So I’ve had to narrow it down a little, and pen has been put to paper (yes, that’s real pen and paper, not tapping away on a computer all the time!) in terms of some SMART goals for the future…

…which brings me around to the point of website development. Yes, dear readers, over the summer (I need a couple of months to plan and then save up some money) a few changes and enhancements are going to be put onto the I.Q. website. Hopefully such things will include (but not be limited to) – A forum, an overhaul of the Facebook page, A monthly newsletter, Merchandise and a better way of presenting the ‘Book Dictionary’ features.

All I can do at the moment however, is keep things ticking over. As much as I love University, it does sap the creative streak somewhat.

Regards;
~Sara

The lack of back-up reviews and suchlike doesn’t mean however, that I don’t have any ideas for the site. Certainly not! In fact, I’m lamenting the fact that I don’t have any additional funds to be able to hire a proper web-designer t bring the site up to my visions of it. I’m afraid you will all have to put up with this same old layout for a while longer. Still, they are ideas which will at least remain in the pipeline, regardless. I guess the main thing is regularly updated content…anything else is just bells and whistles.

The continued enthusiasm of both my readers and my writers is rather humbling when I have a moment to think about it. I certainly couldn’t have kept up the site without the kind comments and feedback I’ve received. Mind you, I’d keep the site open and updating even if I only had one regular reader, never mind the 1,000 or so who seem to keep coming back to check on things every month. When I think of everything we’ve managed to do during the past 6 months, I know that I certainly shouldn’t belittle the accomplishment of both myself and everyone else who has been involved.

Like I said, at this stage – for the next couple of weeks, at least – I’m afraid it’s just going to be regular updated with nothing particularly exciting happening. (The determination to actually get some author interviews is increasing exponentionally). Although I will be continuing to work on the ‘A-Z of Literature’ as best as I can.

Until next time!
~Sara Slack

A few new things have come to light since the last time I wrote an update for you, dear reader, one of which is the  possibility of Inspired-Quill sponsoring a series of writing workshops at the University of Leicester. I’ve also been told recently by one of the student support staff members about an entrepreneur grant which I’d be eligible to apply for next November, regardless of whether or not I actually manage to get onto the Masters program next year.

There are also a number of different local writers (published) whom I have my eye on to do interviews with in the near-ish future, but I’m going to have to let the next couple of weeks go by before I begin contacting anyone. I more or less have enough material to keep me going until then, thanks to the renewed efforts of my writing team when I had to call for help a couple of weeks ago.

I was looking back a couple of days ago to the old set of reviews I wrote, and comparing them to my newer pieces. The change – I feel – is absolutely phenomenal. I can hardly believe how much I’ve managed to progress in the short few months I’ve been working on the site. Then again, I’ve always admitted that I.Q. has been a large learning curve for me in more ways than simply learning about website administration.

So, what’s on the cards for the near future? Well, writing workshops, author interviews (finally!), more advertising and the small possibility of beginning to work with one or two literary charities. I’ve also been sending out emails offering cheap advertising to independent bookshops recently, but as yet I’ve not had a replying email. Not that I expected one too much – publicity hasn’t been great on my part recently – but that certainly won’t stop me from carrying on.

Well then, until next time!

~ Sara Slack

My WordPress Dashboard told me this morning, that Inspired-Quill has officially surpassed the ’1,000 visitors over the last 30 days’ mark! To have so many people viewing the site and reading the articles is truly gratifying, and I just wanted to say a large THANK YOU to all of I.Q.’s regular readers for being so kind as to keep coming back!

Who knows, maybe in another 6 months, there’ll be 2,000 visitors to thank!

Well first of all, Inspired-Quill hopes to survive. In order to do this, a number of things have to be done when the first half of January is over with. (Thankfully, having to bow down to a University timetables will only last for another five months or so – itself a scary thought). A greater emphasis will have to be put on creating new opportunities for publicity for the website, as well as ensuring that we have enough writers to be able to continue with such regular updates. But as with everything, gaining contacts takes time and resources…but at the risk of sounding a little egotistical, I believe we’ve done rather well thus far.

Inspired-Quill also hopes to expand the amount of people actively involved with the website. This of course encompasses the writing team, but it also includes positions for publicity, graphics design and even website design. At this stage, such advancement is probably a pipe-dream. After all, I.Q. doesn’t make any money to cover its costs, let alone pay the team a proper wage. Still, it’d be nice to think that someone who perhaps wanted some experience in these fields will eventually get in touch and offer to work with us.

The issue of money is also (unfortunately) going to play a part in my goals for the site next year. Through offering very modestly priced advertising, I’m hoping that this website will (by the end of the year) begin to generate enough revenue to pay for its own upkeep. I’ve said since the start that I’m not interested in profit. That certainly wasn’t the reason why I started the site, and I can wholeheartedly say that I continue this project because literature is something that’s very dear to me.

It’s amusing, dear reader, but I feel as though I’m making some sort of New Year resolutions for an inanimate object. But still. I think we can stick with those three for this year, and otherwise just sit back and watch where this roller-coaster leads us to. Hopefully we’ll surpass our goals, but I’m very aware of how fragile a brand new website project can be.

All I can really say is that I sincerely hope that you, dear readers, will join us on the ride through 2010.

Happy New Year!

It just goes to show that not even Christmas can stop I.Q from updating. granted, it’s not a review or a rant…erm…interesting article…but I thought I’d keep in with the spirit of things.

See you guys again on Monday for the regular update!

~ Sara Slack, owner of Inspired-Quill

Now that’s done, onto some more positive Inspired-Quill news!

This website is now an official sponsor of the University of Leicester English Society. Considering that the department is currently ranked 4th in the UK for English, I’m sure you can imagine, dear reader, just why I’m so thrilled about this. After a meeting at the University, I’ve also managed to gain a couple of new writers for the website…which certainly takes the strain from me a little, although I will continue to look for a few more contributors before I deem that there’s enough people to keep the site going continuously.

I’ve added a Google Analytics stat counter to the WordPress Dashboard as well, and it continues to tell me that the website has over 500 visitors a month. Considering the arguable lack of publicity anywhere outside of University, I’d say that this was a stunning achievement. I.Q. really does seem to be going from strength to strength these days…despite my lack of updates last week.

Thankfully, University has finished for Christmas, and whilst that isn’t to say that I can sit back and relax (perish the thought!) I will actually have more time to work on Inspired-Quill. Over the next few weeks, I hope to tweak the layout of the site, and fill those two square boxes on the front page with advertising icons. I was also going to integrate a forum, but if I’m going to be quite honest, I think that can wait for a while yet.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank both my readers and my team of writers for making this project so rewarding and enjoyable. All I have left to say is keep an eye out for our bookmarks, and tell your friends about us!

~ Sara Slack