It’s Our Birthday, and We’ll Blog if We Want To

“It’s Our Birthday, and We’ll Blog if We Want To”

by Joe Walters

On April 29th, 2018, Independent Book Review was born. I birthed it. And I’ve been loving it ever since.

On this day last year, I sat upstairs in my apartment’s common room, hit the publish button, and gave Jaylynn Korrell the highest of fives. We had to stand on stools to do it.

A few minutes later, we slapped a flyer onto all of your social media feeds and asked for your shares and follows and promotional kindnesses, and you did it. You really, really did. We left that launch day feeling energized and optimistic and like we could really make IBR work.

Then, a year happened.

And it turns out—maybe we weren’t so wrong.

After the launch, I put out calls for submissions and read and reviewed and tweeted like a madman to make sure people saw us, and it kinda, sorta started happening. We were helping readers find awesome new books to read and helping authors spread the word about their own, and we were having a blast doing it.

I asked other writers to come on board last August, and they answered the call and then some. R. Read, Helen Barnes, and Liam Anthony have been here since the near-beginning, and I couldn’t be more thankful that they joined us in helping Independent Book Review grow.

With their help, we’ve been able to publish 59 posts in our first year. We even brought on more people to help get our first collaborative service off of the ground last month (Group Beta Reading), and we introduced ourselves for the first time, too (Meet the Team).

So now, you might know us. You might be checking in weekly for new posts, or you might just be popping in when a new book or blog post catches your eye. Regardless, you’re here, and I’m so glad that you are. Thanks for being awesome.

Here are our top ten most popular posts since April 29th, 2018 (in no particular order):

1. “10 Awesome Indie Presses You Should Know About” by Jaylynn Korrell
2. “Book Review: She Too” by Joe Walters
3. “5 Tips for Self-Editing for Fiction Writers” by Holly Tri
4. “10 Common Mistakes to Avoid when Marketing Your Novel” by Jack Messenger
5.  “Book Review: I, Dragonfly” by Helen Barnes
6. “5 Amazing Indie Bookstores in Seattle” by Jaylynn Korrell
7. “Book Review: Good Grief” by Joe Walters
8. “7 Amazing Bookstores in Philadelphia” by Jaylynn Korrell
9. “Interview with Sam Reese” by Jack Messenger
10. “Book Review: The Conviction of Cora Burns” by Jaylynn Korrell

Thank you for joining us for IBR’s first birthday! Feel free to celebrate. I know we will be.

Until next year,

Joe

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