COYER 2022 is Coming….Sign Up Now!

So we tried something REALLY new with COYER for 2021 and, for the most part…. IT WORKED! So we’re doing it again, with a few tweaks and adjustments, get ready for another year of COYER Seasons and COYER Community.

The More Things Change…

But first, I have one very BIG IMPORTANT change to announce! COYER is getting two more co-hosts! So if you were part of COYER Community in 2021, you know that Stephanie @ Once Upon a Chapter and I were very active, behind the scenes helpers. But we’ve really become involved with all the stages of the planning and are now officially COYER co-hosts. (I can’t tell you how much fun it was to help plan the entire year of COYER!!)

What does this mean for you? Not a whole lot, except that now you’ll have more blogs you can visit to sign up (the linky will be the same in all 3 places) and you’ll see some more faces hosting COYER Community events.

The More They Stay the Same!

Just like COYER 2021, COYER 2022 will be 2 separate but connected challenges: COYER Seasons and COYER Community. You can participate in both or only one, whatever suits you.

Also like COYER 2021, what follows below is very long and detailed. Perhaps a bit much to take in at once, as it’s an entire year worth of plans for 2 challenges. It took two long phone calls to plan out, even though we’re modeling it after COYER 2021 – so trust us, we know, it’s a lot. Bookmark it and come back to it as the year progresses. We’ll be re-posting specific pieces as applicable throughout the year. We will do a Facebook Live Event, like we did last year, sometime in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned in the COYER Facebook Group for the event date/time specifics.

We’ll all be running COYER, but Michelle is taking primary ownership of COYER Seasons, while Berls, Stephanie, and Lillian are taking primary ownership of COYER Community.

COYER Seasons – Run by Michelle

COYER – Clean Out Your E-Reads – was initially about reading free (or nearly free) e-books and writing reviews for them. We’re going back to that as the basics, with some seasonal twists. We will have all four seasons (see below for the seasons and their respective rules). You can do all 4 seasons or 3, or 2, or just 1 (or none and just do COYER Community).

At the end of each season, reviews entered in the review linky will be eligible for a $5 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble. The last Thursday of each season (except December, where she’ll finish out the year), Michelle will randomly select and announce the winner for the season and share the sign up for the next season (including a reminder of the rules). This means that all reviews for the season must be in the linky by 12 noon EST on the last Wednesday of the month. Any reviews entered after 12 noon EST will go towards the next season. But keep following the current rules for the remainder of the month.

COYER Winter: January – March

So this is where some changes are starting to come in… our seasons are going to be slightly different months this year and slightly different rules. So pay attention 🙂

In traditional Winter fashion, COYER Winter is going to be STRICT rules:

1. Every book you read MUST be in an electronic format – meaning eBook or Audiobook. It’s okay to start a book before January 1st, you must be less than half way for it to count then review it during COYER.
2. The books must be FREE or NEARLY FREE! This includes review books, tour books, NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc. What’s nearly free? No more than $3 for eBooks and no more than $5 for Audiobooks (or the equivalent in your currency). Library books, borrowed books, or Kindle Unlimited, Amazon Prime books, and Audible Plus Catalog books do not qualify for COYER Winter.
3. Announce your participation! This can be a blog post (or if you don’t have a blog – Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, etc.) If you want to list books you would like to read, that’s great, but not necessary. The point is to let everyone know you’re committed to COYER Winter, maybe share some goals, and help spread the word. Not sure how to do your post? Check out this example from a previous COYER.
4. Link up! Link that post (not just your blog homepage) to the linky below.
5. Review & Link Reviews! Your review may be on your blog, Goodreads, etc. Link the review to the Review Linky (which will open up January 1). When you post your review to the linky use the following format: Your Name @ Blog (if applicable): Book Title (e.g., “Michelle @ Because Reading: Twilight”).
6. Follow & share reviews on Twitter. Use #COYER on your posts and look for tweets with the hashtag.
7. Visit Each Other, Chat & Have Fun

Michelle will post the Winter winner and sign up for Spring on March 24th. Be sure to have your reviews on the linky by 12 noon EST March 23rd for them to be included in the Winter drawing. Any reviews entered after 12 noon March 23rd will go to the Spring drawing. Keep following Winter rules through the end of March. Spring Rules will begin April 1.

COYER Spring: April – June

Spring is going to be the same as last year, meaning the rules will get a little looser, without completely melting away. Your rules for the Spring (beginning April 1) will be:

1. Format doesn’t matter anymore. You can still read your eBooks and audiobooks, but now you can also read physical books.
2. The books must be free or nearly free… This includes review books, tour books, NetGalley, Edelweiss, etc. What’s nearly free? No more than $3 for eBooks and no more than $5 for Audiobooks and physical books(or the equivalent in your currency). This time library books (including Amazon Prime books) and borrowed books count… but still no Kindle Unlimited/Audible Plus or books higher than $3.
3. Announce your participation! This can be a blog post (or if you don’t have a blog – Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, etc.) If you want to list books you would like to read, that’s great, but not necessary. The point is to let everyone know you’re committed to COYER Spring, maybe share some goals, and help spread the word. Not sure how to do your post? Check out this example from a previous COYER.
4. Link up! Link that post (not just your blog homepage) to the linky Michelle will share March 24th.
5. Review & Link Reviews! Your review may be on your blog, Goodreads, etc. Link the review to the Review Linky (the same linky as Winter, but Michelle will start pulling winners after Winter reviews). When you post your review to the linky use the following format: Your Name @ Blog (if applicable): Book Title (e.g., “Michelle @ Because Reading: Twilight”).
6. Follow & share reviews on Twitter. Use #COYER on your posts and look for tweets with the hashtag.
7. Visit Each Other, Chat & Have Fun.

Michelle will post the Spring winner and sign up for Summer on June 23rd. Be sure to have your reviews on the linky by 12 noon EST June 22nd for them to be included in the Spring drawing. Any reviews entered after 12 noon June 22nd will go to the Summer drawing. Keep following Spring rules through the end of June. Summer Rules will begin July 1.

COYER Summer: July – September

Like traditional COYER Summer it’s time to relax the rules all the way. Your rules for the Summer (beginning July 1) will be:

1. Format doesn’t matter anymore. You can still read your eBooks and Audiobooks, but now you can also read physical books.
2. Price doesn’t matter anymore. They can be free, they can be $50. They can be Kindle Unlimited, borrowed, etc.
3. Announce your participation! This can be a blog post (or if you don’t have a blog – Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, etc.) If you want to list books you would like to read, that’s great, but not necessary. The point is to let everyone know you’re committed to COYER Summer, maybe share some goals, and help spread the word. Not sure how to do your post? Check out this example from a previous COYER.
4. Link up! Link that post (not just your blog homepage) to the linky Michelle will share June 23rd.
5. Review & Link Reviews! Your review may be on your blog, Goodreads, etc. Link the review to the Review Linky (the same linky as Winter and Spring, but Michelle will start pulling winners after Spring reviews). When you post your review to the linky use the following format: Your Name @ Blog (if applicable): Book Title (e.g., “Michelle @ Because Reading: Twilight”).
6. Follow & share reviews on Twitter. We’re going to try and use twitter a lot more this year (like we used to). Use #COYER on your posts and look for tweets with the hashtag.
7. Visit Each Other, Chat & Have Fun!

Michelle will post the Summer winner and sign up for Fall on September 21st. Be sure to have your reviews on the linky by 12 noon EST September 22nd for them to be included in the Summer drawing. Any reviews entered after 12 noon September 22nd will go to the Fall drawing. Keep following Summer rules through the end of September. Fall Rules will begin October 1.

COYER Fall: October – December

We decided to make Fall be the season where we get to revisit some old COYER fun. Like last year, the rules will get a little tighter, without completely icing you out. Last year (2021) we gave you the scavenger hunt. This year, we bring you The List, The Strict, and The One with the Twist! COYER OG’s will remember this from Winter 2017-2018. We’ve adapted it for Fall… here are your rules (beginning October 1):

1. Pick your COYER Experience. Pick to participate in The List, The Strict, or The One with the Twist for the entirety of COYER Fall. Here’s how each one works:
   • The List: Make a list of books you want to read. Price, format, and where you get them from (legally) won’t matter, just like in the summer. Only the books you put on your sign-up list will count for COYER. You may put as many as you want on the list, but must read 50% of the list for them to count. So if I put 50 books, I have to read 25 of them. If I put 10, then I only have to read 5… but the most that can count are the original ten. So you have to gamble a little bit here 🙂
   • The Strict: Fairly obvious here… follow the strict rules of COYER Winter.
   • The One with the Twist: Pick your format and stick to it! You can choose print, eBook, or audiobook. It doesn’t matter the price or where you get the books from (legally). If they are in your chosen format, they count.
2. Announce your participation! This can be a blog post (or if you don’t have a blog – Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, etc.) If you want to list books you would like to read, that’s great, but not necessary. The point is to let everyone know you’re committed to COYER Fall, maybe share some goals, and help spread the word. Not sure how to do your post? Check out this example from a previous COYER.
3. Link up! Link that post (not just your blog homepage) to the linky Michelle will share September 22nd.
4. Review & Link Reviews! Your review may be on your blog, Goodreads, etc. Link the review to the Review Linky (the same linky as Winter, Spring, and Summer but Michelle will start pulling winners after Summer reviews). When you post your review to the linky use the following format: Your Name @ Blog (if applicable): Book Title (e.g., “Michelle @ Because Reading: Twilight”).
5. Follow & share reviews on Twitter. Use #COYER on your posts and look for tweets with the hashtag.
6. Visit Each Other, Chat & Have Fun!

Michelle will post the Fall winner on January 1st. Be sure to have your reviews on the linky by 12 noon EST December 31st for them to be included in the Fall drawing.

COYER Community – Run by Berls, Stephanie, and Lillian

We love the COYER Community and the way it has grown to be something unique and separate from the initial reading challenge. There are lots of elements to COYER Community. You can do as many or as few of the pieces as you would like (or none and just do COYER Seasons).

Like 2021, COYER Community will have 3 Semesters, 4 months each. Everything for the community will be points on a Rafflecopter (opening January 1st). At the end of each season, a winner will be randomly selected on the Rafflecopter for a $5 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble. The first day of each season a host will announce the winner for the previous season and share the Rafflecopter for the next season. This means that all entries for the season must be in the Rafflecopter by 11:59 PM EST on the last day of the month. Each season will have a new Rafflecopter which will be announced in the Facebook group and will also always be available at Because Challenges.

The Community Semesters

We will have 3, four month long, “semesters” in COYER Community:

1. January – April: Stephanie and Lillian will run this semester and post a Rafflecopter January 1st. They will announce a winner May 1st.
2. May – August: Berls and Lillian will run this semester, posting a new Rafflecopter May 1st. They will announce a winner September 1st.
3. September – December: Berls and Stephanie will run this semester, posting a new Rafflecopter September 1st. They will announce a winner January 1st.

*Bonus opportunity: In July we’ll have an Instagram Challenge and a winner of that $5 gift card will be announced August 1st. We will post the challenge prompts Sunday, June 26th in the Facebook group.

Sign up

To sign up for COYER Community, all you have to do is join the COYER Facebook Group. If you’re in the group, you’re eligible to participate. It’s also where all announcements and activities will be posted.

What’s on the Rafflecopter?

Every semester the same items will be on the Rafflecopter. Watch for posts from Berls, Michelle, Lillian, and Stephanie. Participate in as many of the following items as you’d like to rack up your points:

1. Buddy Reading. When you read a book with a COYER buddy, you can link the review to the Rafflecopter and earn a point. It also meets the COYER seasonal rules, go ahead and link the review to that linky as well. Just be sure to mention your buddy and their rating in your review. Tune in on Buddy Reading Wednesday for help finding a buddy!
2. DEAR Participation. DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) with us 4 times in a month to earn a point. This year we’re trying something different with DEAR. Instead of different days and times each month, every Saturday we’ll DEAR Read 4 times:
   • 5 am EST / 4 am CST / 2 am PST
   • 11 am EST / 10 am CST / 8 am PST
   • 4 pm EST / 3 pm CST / 1 pm PST
   • 9 pm EST / 8 pm CST / 6 pm PST
3. Read-a-thons. Each book you read for each read-a-thon will count as a point on the Rafflecopter. As always, Michelle will post a sign-up and closing post in the Facebook group. For those that like to plan, here’s when you’ll get the list of each semester’s read-a-thons:
   • Sunday December 19th look for a Facebook post with a list of read-a-thons for January – April
   • Sunday April 10th look for a Facebook post with a list of read-a-thons for May – August
   • Sunday August 14th look for a Facebook post with a list of read-a-thons for September – December
4. Book Club. Here things are changing a bit too. We’re changing the frequency to every other month (See full schedule below) and will continue to vote for books to be read. Book club will only be 1 hour, the final Sunday of the month at 4pm EST/ 3pm CST / 1pm PST. We will continue our chat through FB Messenger. If you RSVP yes for the event, we will send you a FB Messenger chat after the FB Rooms discussion, to continue the conversation. This way, if you are unable to attend, you can still chat about the book. There will be a FB Messenger chat for each book (1 YA and 1 Adult). Here’s the schedule of related activities (genres to be announced in the event):
   • February Book Club with Stephanie: Suggestions for book club will open up this week and voting will begin December 15th. The winning books will be announced January 1.
   • April Book Club with Lillian: Suggestions for book club will open up February 1 and voting will begin February 15th. The winning books will be announced March 1st.
   • June Book Club with Lillian: Suggestions for book club will open up April 1 and voting will begin April 15th. The winning books will be announced May 1st.
   • August Book Club with Berls: Suggestions for book club will open up June 1 and voting will begin June 15th. The winning books will be announced July 1st.
   • October Book Club with Berls: Suggestions for book club will open up August 1 and voting will begin August 15th. The winning books will be announced September 1st.
   • December Book Club with Stephanie: Suggestions for book club will open up October 1st and voting will begin October 15th. The winning books will be announced November 1st.
5. Read Along Chats. Anne @ Books of My Heart is hosting a Read Along of the Night Huntress World by Jeanienne Frost in 2022 (Details to be announced on her blog this week!). The Sunday following each book’s review, we will have a 1 hour chat about the book at 3pm EST. If you come to that chat, you’ll get a point. Like with book club, we will also open up a FB Messenger chat for the book following the FB Rooms chat. In addition, we will have posts in the events to sign up for buddy reading (pairs or groups) to help everyone stay on track for the books. Here’s the chat schedule (mark your calendars):
   • Jan 16: Halfway to the Grave
   • Feb 13: One Foot in the Grave
   • Mar 13: At Grave’s End
   • Apr 3: Destined for an Early Grave
   • May 1: First Drop of Crimson
   • May 22: Eternal Kiss of Darkness
   • Jun 12: This Side of the Grave
   • Jul 10: One Grave at a Time
   • Aug 7: Once Burned
   • Sep 11: Twice Tempted
   • Oct 9: Up from the Grave
   • Nov 6: Bound by Flames
   • Dec 4: Into the Fire
6. Be a Pen-Pal. This is changing slightly as well. This week we’ll post a sign up in Facebook to get paired with a pen-pal to write letters (yes, the snail mail variety). If you sign up on the Facebook Post by December 15th, you’re committing to sending at least 3 letters between January 1 and June 30th. You’ll have another opportunity to sign up June 1st – June 15th, to send 3 letters to a new pen-pal between July 1st and December 31st. We will notify you of your match via FB Messenger before the end of the month. You can exchange addresses and be ready to write letters by January 1. We won’t be monitoring address exchanges or letter mailing – that’s up to each pen pal. But you get a point for the first 3 letters you send, and an additional point for each letter after that.
7. Post 5 review links to the COYER Seasons Linky. Each community semester, if you post 5 review links to the COYER Seasons linky, you’ll get a point for supporting the community by reviewing books. You can complete this 1 time per semester.
8. Visit and comment on 10 reviews from the COYER Seasons Linky. Each community semester, if you comment on 10 reviews from the COYER Seasons linky, you’ll get a point for supporting the community by visiting reviews. You can complete this daily.
9. Top 10 group contributors. Every month, Berls will announce the top 10 contributors in the Facebook group (aggregated by Facebook based on number of comments in a 28 day period). If you’re in the top 10 for that month, you’ll get a point for that month. So commenting on posts and replying to other community members pays off.

For all these items, you only get the point if you log in it in Rafflecopter, so be sure to log it by the end of each semester!

It’s time to sign up for COYER Seasons: Winter

If you’re going to be joining in for COYER Seasons Winter, follow the instructions above and link up your sign up post below! Remember, if you have questions you can pose them in the comments below, in the Facebook Group, or on our Facebook Live Event (date/time TBA).

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