All posts filed under: Tess Has Opinions

WHY I WON’T BE HOSTING A GOODREADS GIVEAWAY

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This is perhaps a bold statement, seeing as I do not yet have a publisher and have no idea what their hypothetical plans would be RE: the marketing campaign of my novel. But if the decision ends up being mine to make, I will not be hosting a Goodreads Giveaway for any of my published novels. I have a love-hate relationship with Goodreads. I do continue to use it, both as a reader and an author, but I tend to grit my teeth while doing so. Ever since its acquisition by Amazon, the mogul’s influence has been pretty damn clear, and every so often there’s yet another bout of Goodreads news that makes my heart cry. Goodreads Giveaways do exactly what it says on the tin: it’s a promotional tool that allows Goodreads authors to host competitions with copies of their books as prizes. These are ever so popular, and always gain massive amounts of traction, and became an invaluable tool for the self-published author. As many are probably aware, these Giveaways used to be …

Should.

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You should get out more. You should get out and find a man, or a woman, but preferably someone of the opposite sex. Because you should get married by a certain age deemed appropriate by your parents, but inevitably before you are ready. You should also have children. Soon, because it’s better to be a young mum or dad than an old mum or dad. You should have more than one kid, but less than five because that’s just a ridiculous number. And, if female, when you have finished giving birth, you should breast feed and devote all your attention to your child and feed them organic foods and be mindful not spiteful but also think about returning to work or not returning to work (whatever is trendy in the neighbourhood you live in) and also find time to lose that baby weight, haha! Oh you haven’t given birth yet? Or found yourself a partner? Well you need to get out more. Spend eight hours at work, at least five days a week, possibly more …

To be human is to claim your weakness

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Have you ever been on the receiving end of the universally-hated interview question? You know the one: what would you say is your greatest weakness? We all react the same way: a bit of internalized dread and then we chance it. We’ll either embrace the cliché and turn a weakness into a strength (“I’m such a perfectionist, you have no idea”), we’ll lie and bring up a meaningless weakness (“I just cannot resist a piece of cheese!”) or we’ll summon our courage and share one of our greatest vulnerabilities to a complete stranger. It’s incredibly hard to do, but what we should remember is that, for any interviewing business worth its salt, the honest and most human admission of weakness should be the very thing that earns you the job.

Thoughts from a Millennial, post-referendum

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Yes, I voted Remain. Yes, I’m a bit upset. No, I don’t have the words to adequately express how I feel. It’s difficult to live in this world. I’ve always struggled with society, and I think we all have though most don’t care to admit it. They blame the creative tendancy to keep one’s feet off the ground, the millennial inability to understand how the fuck the world works because Gods forbid we’re not content with our hexagonal-peg existence in a round-hole society.

Leave Millennials Alone

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Millennials get a lot of hate, don’t they? I mean, I’m sure all “younger generations” have been moaned about by the “older generations” since time began, but we’ve got the internet now, and that hate and disrespect is more prominent than its ever been. I wanted to talk about this during Mental Health Awareness Week because this topic in all its complexities is, and always had been, one of the most angst-inducing issues I face on a daily basis.