Faye’s Thoughts on… Book Blogging
Faye’s Thoughts on… Book Blogging
So I was supposed to have this post go live around the time of the awards but then LIFE HAPPENED and I just never got around to posting it. Now, though, I feel like this post still has a lot of relevance, especially after Lucy from Queen of Contemporary announced she was no longer writing reviews on her blog. (You can read that post here).
The reason for this is that today I want to discuss Book Blogging and all the views surrounding it.
It’s All About Reviews
Recently, I’ve seen a lot of bloggers feel that they are not proper book bloggers unless they post reviews. That when they don’t post reviews for a while, they feel like they’re failing and letting people down and it’s been upsetting me. Because I don’t think this is right or fair. If you talk about books on your blog, either through reviews, discussions, memes or anything else then you are writing a book blog and you are a book blogger. You are doing this as a hobby and thus are not required to do what everyone else is doing.
It’s got to be books
Another thing I’ve seen is that book bloggers feel that they can only blog about books on their blogs and writing posts about anything else would seem wrong in some way. Stop. Really, just stop. I’m not trying to push my opinions on people but your blog is your blog. If that means you only want to blog about books, that’s fine. Or if you want to add in posts about music, films, art, TV or personal posts – or literally anything else, that is totally okay! But please do not believe that all your followers will abandon you for suddenly changing your content. Blogging is supposed to be a fun hobby, don’t stress about it – or try not to anyway!
I Need the stats…
A lot of blogging lately seems to be about follower counts, comment numbers, and page views, and I think it is dragging people down and making them wonder why they bother. This is definitely something that has happened to me lately. So if this is true for you, what I will say is that you need to look at why you are blogging. Is it to gain followers? To be popular? Or is it to share your love of books with whoever is willing to listen? Once you know that, then you can decide if stats are something to fret over. Personally I’m here because I love doing this and couldn’t imagine not, and will probably continue even if I had no followers. Upon realizing that, I felt much better about blogging again.
But I’ll lose people if…
Lastly, if after all this you still don’t have the motivation or still just feel unsure, take a break. Step away from the blogosphere for a while and just have a breather. Don’t worry about your followers, if they’re truly dedicated to your posts, they’ll be there when you come back. The main priority is always you and your well-being.
Hopefully you’ve read to here and don’t think I’m some evil, mean, crazy lady. All I’m trying to say is that your blog is your own to do with as you like and to categorize however you wish.
Do you agree? Disagree? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
15 Comments
Bernadette Keeling
I’m just about to start up so this was a great post for me. Thanks!
Hollie
YES to this entire post. I couldn’t agree more with what you’ve said, Faye. There is no ruling that states a book blogger has to review books, and it’s sad to see people feeling so disheartened about blogging and thinking that there’s obligations that they have to fulfil. That’s the wonderful thing about blogging: you post what you want to, when you want to.
(I would write more but I have to stop or I’ll be late for work!!)
Rosy @ Review Diaries
Such a great post and very relevant. I know that a lot of bloggers (myself included) put so much pressure on themselves and then blogging stops being fun and turns into this awful soul sucking thing. Always good to take a step back and evaluate it all!
Michelle (Fluttering Butterflies)
YES! I couldn’t agree more with this whole post. Everything you said, I agree with you.
Alysa
Even though I’ve had all the same thoughts before, this was a great reminder for me. Thanks!
Sally
This is such a great post and you said everything that needed to be said, I agree with it all!
My blog doesn’t have many followers but that’s not stopping me from blogging because I love to blog. Whether it’s 1 or 100 readers who read my posts, it makes me happy that someone out there is actually taking the time to read it at all!
This post was perfect. Thank you for writing it! :-) x
Brigid Amos
Thank you Faye. Yes, I often beat myself up about being a negligent blogger and fret over how few are following. But the thing is, when I do put together a post, I really enjoy it, so what’s wrong with that?
Jesse Owen
Yes! 100% yes.
I think so many people forget that blogging is a hobby and start stressing about it. To me it makes sense to post what you want when you want (sometimes I post less than once a week, others 3 or 4), it’s your blog – it should reflect what interests you and above all it should be fun.
Oh and If I stressed about the numbers I would have quit long ago – I blog for me and if anyone wants to have a read they’re very welcome to but if not I’m not going to worry about it too much :)
Brilliant post :D
Mandy
So much yes to this.
Blogging was never about stats to me, but it’s easy to get caught up in that stuff, and forget about why we started out in the first place. Thanks for the reminder :)
Amanda @ Beautiful Bookish Butterflies
I completely agree with you Faye, people seem to be under the impression that there’s a way to do things, but just because it’s been done that way in the past doesn’t mean you need to. Post about your bird watching, or don’t review that book, do whatever, because you out that blog there, and people will come for you, no matter the content! Powerful post, great job!
Claire @ Cover to Cover
I agree with everything you said above. Bloggers shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable with blogging a certain way out of fear that someone else might not like it. Anyone should blog how they want to blog; it’s their blog. Whether it’s about books or not, everyone is subject to their own opinions, thoughts, likes and dislikes. Personally, I feel that as long as I’m enjoying blogging and writing posts and fangirling with other bookworms, it doesn’t have to matter how many followers or pageviews I have. Lovely post, Faye:)
Claire @ Cover to Cover
Ashley
Great points! We need to remember that there are no rules when it comes to book blogging. There aren’t certain things you have to do to “be in the circle” or whatever. It’s okay if you don’t always blog about books; it’s okay if you don’t want to review books at all.
There are no rules and we don’t all have to be the same or follow the same guidelines. It’s okay for us to be different. :)
Jade @ Life's Open Pages
Really good post with valid and true points.
One thing I initially struggled with for a while was blogging beyond books. I started as predominantly a book blog and have gradually included other areas of my life in to my blog – which makes me happier because I’m not restricted – but I did worry how my followers would feel about that. It’s gone down well, and the bulk of my blog is still books. Sometimes we think too much about the readers and not enough about yourself as a host.
:-)
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