Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where we discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts.
This week’s topic is about the pros and cons of book blogging. I will say that the pros far outweigh the cons, and I think that I used to get more caught up in the pressures of blogging when I started then I do now. I think that I have found what works for me and have learnt how to maintain a passion for blogging.
The Community
The bookish community is the by far the greatest thing about running a book blog. I am constantly blown away by the support that I have received from the community! I love being able to connect with others who think a lot like me as well as with those who challenge me in some way. I feel as though I have grown as a person so much over the last three years because of my interactions with fellow bloggers. I also join buddy reads and book clubs every month, which adds another level to the reading experience.
The Book Recommendations
My TBR is now four times as long as it was before I started blogging, which some could see as a negative, but I personally love. There are so many books that I adore that I never would have discovered on my own. It is fun to find fellow book bloggers, bookstagrammers, and booktubers who have similar tastes to me, but it is equally interesting to find readers who push me out of my comfort zone.
Personal Growth
Starting this book blog has changed a lot for me. It even set me on the path to my new found career. It was through my communications with book publishers that I heard about publishing programs offered at universities. I was inspired to apply and have since completed the program and am now a freelance copy editor, which is something I love doing. I also think that being part of the community has taught me to be a more compassionate and empathic person.
New Opportunities
I now have opportunities I never would have imagined if I hadn’t started this blog. It has afforded me job opportunities (who would have thought this blog who look so great on a resume!) and opportunities to connect with authors and publishers.
Time Consuming
When I started this blog, I had no idea how much time I would have to put into it. Writing a post can take anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour, but then it needs to be edited and graphics need to be added. I also read other blog posts and comment on them, which is so much fun for me, but takes time! The social media side of it is also time consuming and I learn something new every single day. I am still trying to figure out how to use Pinterest to promote my blog, so that research takes up a good amount of time as well. I would love any tips you may have in regards to Pinterest! I also spend a lot of time on my bookstagram, which I used to promote this blog. Taking picture, writing captions, and interacting with others is time consuming!
Pressure to Read Hyped Books
This is a trap that I fell into when I first starting blogging, but I think I am better at knowing what books I will enjoy and which ones I won’t. That said, FOMO is a real thing and there are times when I feel pressure to read a certain book just to be part of the conversation. A good example of this is any of Sarah J. Maas’s books. They are talked about all of the time and there are so many references that I miss because I haven’t read them, but I just know they won’t be for me. I even read her newest book for a buddy read and everyone in the group really seemed to like it while I struggled.
The Comparison Game
I know everyone says not to compare yourself to others, but we are human. It can be so difficult to focus on yourself and not compare yourself to others. Something that helps me with this is that I do not focus on my stats. I maybe look at them once or twice a month! I know that many people find stats helpful, but I have never figured out how to use them to my advantage, so I think it is better for me not to obsess over them and just focus on putting out posts that I am proud of and reflect who I am!
What do you think are the pros and cons of blogging?
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I adore the community we have here! It’s so supportive and so amazing and I love the connections I’ve made through my blog 😊
I am so bad at comparing myself with people and I really wanna get better at not doing that to myself
This was a great discussion post! Thank you for sharing 😊
The community is the best!
I think it is next to impossible not to fall into the comparison game! I’ve just gotten better at recognizing when it’s happening and stopping myself. It can be tough!
I have to AGREE! Just an amazing post and I m a new fan and happy I came across your blog today. Just had to re-blogg on my Cat Lyon’s Reading Den Blog for all my author and reader friends. xoxo
Catherine Lyon
That is so nice! Thank you for sharing and for being here.
Ugh I completely agree with everyone, HOWEVER, sometimes I feel like the community can be a bit of a lie. Recently, I feel more alone than ever whenever I blog ~ which is okay but not as wholesome as I expected it to be
I completely understand that feeling! It is interesting that a lot of the interactions that I have with fellow book bloggers happens on Instagram versus my blog. There are so many bloggers that it can be difficult to find your place, which is something I’m still trying to figure out!
Yassss, I have such a hard time not comparing myself to other bloggers! Everyone has such wonderful blogs and I think mine sucks in comparison. I have found so many amazing books from recommendations though! That is definitely a plus in my book. I would say it’s a con too because my TBR is freaking huge XD
-Amber
I cannot tell you how often I think about completely revamping my blog! There are so many beautiful blogs!
My TBR is out of control!
Thankfully the pros outweigh the cons. I agree with everything you mentioned, I’m getting better at reading from a a backlist and not comparing myself so much (several years of blogging certainly helps to build confidence on that front) but the time-consuming part is still a bit of a struggle sometimes. Maybe I should take breaks like others but I’m afraid I’d get used to it and then not get into the rhythm anymore..
I def get the pressure to read the hyped books. Nothing about any of Maas’ books appeals to me, but I did try to read ACOTAR just because I kept seeing it referenced so much. I had to give up like 3 chapters in. I’m not a Maas fan.
Exactly my experience! It can feel like you’re missing out when you don’t read hyped books!
In my case, I feel like the book recommendations are both a blessing or a curse 😂 I love having so many books I want to read, but my poor TBR is buckling under the weight of them all!!
Hahaha I relate to that!
I struggle the most with being consistent and actually writing and posting stuff. Thank god for the option to schedule posts!
It definitely can be difficult to stick to a schedule!
I loved this . . . a lot!
The pressure to read hyped books is a huge con. There’s also the pressure to enjoy the hyped book or else you’re criticized. I wish everyone respected the opinions of other readers. I’ve never been offended if someone didn’t enjoy my favorite book.
You’re so right. I actually find it interesting when someone doesn’t like a book I loved. It helps me to think more critically!
The pressure to read hyped up books is definitely real for me and is even more difficult for international book bloggers but like you said I might boost my reading and blog by reading those popular books but I try not pressure myself. Another thing though, it kind of pushes a different form of consumerism on you as a reader and blogger. Hyped up books definitely attribute to that. I know Kristin you’ve been one of the first bloggers to read my posts, like, and comment on them so it’s so true that this community is one of the best things to come out of it. Many thanks for giving me and my blog a chance when I first launched! ❤️
Aw you’re so sweet! Nothing I love more than reading other bloggers’ posts! I love finding new bloggers.
Consumerism has been a huge topic of discussion lately and it definitely has me thinking.
I have to say that the “pressure to read popular books” is definitely one that I struggle with. Usually what happens is that I read the book, and then ending up not being able to finish it because, either it is boring, or there is horrendous sexual content THAT NOBODY WARNS YOU ABOUT!!!!!! That last one is probably my biggest book-reading pet peeve. Anyway, thanks for this post! Your pros were especially true! xoxo
-Millay
Yes!! I also find it’s next to impossible for hyped books to live up to the hype!
Oh, yeah, that too!
I love talking “shop”! I identify with everything you said! Especially being surprised by how time consuming social media can be! I use Pinterest but I’m sure I’m not doing it right because I pin manually to several boards and don’t use a scheduler. Pinterest generates more views for me than either insta or FB. Insta is time consuming for very few click throughs. Twitter and Pinterest are better for me in generating views than insta. I do look at my stats because I enjoy competing with myself! The world wide blogging community is definitely one of the biggest pros! I love to read the newest release so I don’t think of it as pressure. But there are genres I don’t enjoy so I do feel the pressure when I don’t read them. Blogging brings me an incredible amount of joy! I’m thrilled to have connected with you Kristin and appreciate your support and virtual friendship! 🙌
That’s interesting about Pinterest. I get very little traffic from there but I’m so inconsistent with it. There are just so many social media platforms to keep up with! I have to say as much as I love Instagram and I get next to no blog views from it. It’s like they are two seperate things for me!
You’re awesome Carol. One of the most supportive bloggers I know. I appreciate you and everything you do!!
Thanks for your kind words!
Re Pinterest….have you joined any boards? Also, did you switch your account to business? Evidently that’s supposed to help. Honestly I spend less time on Pinterest than the others because I don’t pin every day. I pin every post I write to my own board and then to about 5 or 6 other boards. That only takes 5 min per post. Not bad! I’m ok with my results for minimal effort! And you’re right…very few views from Instagram.
I do have a business account but I’m bad about making pins for every post. I need to prioritize that!
Oh…and then I take that Pinterest graphic back into PhotoGrid app and add another background so I have it square again for Instagram! So for just a few minutes time I have an image for insta, blog, and Pinterest. I save a ton of time by not doing photo shoots!
That’s genius!
Oops! This was a follow up comment to another comment I made about How I create templates in Canva….but I don’t see it so it must be lost in cyber space! Oh well!
Oh…I should also say that it took several months of regular pinning to see an increase of views with Pinterest.
I just need to start being consistent with it. You’ve been so helpful!
🙌
Btw….are you using block editor?
I am! At least as best as I can.
Those are grear points ! I also discovered that blogging is a great asset when you plan on a bookish career ! Most recruiters talk about it when I go to interviews ! But it also can be quite stressful sometimes ! Still, I regret nothing and love this community so much ❤
Right? I was so surprised how interested my clients are in my blog. I agree with you, the moments of stress are worth the payoff!
I’ve only recently started blogging regularly, knowing that would take a lot of time to produce content that I was satisfied with. In the last couple weeks, I’ve begun to explore other blogs through WP social media and I agree, it’s connecting me to so many interesting people. Funny to report that one of your pros may become one of my cons. I’m discovering too many good books on sites like yours and have no idea when I’ll ever find time to read them. Glad to be here though.
I totally understand how easily it is to become bogged down my a giant TBR!
Love all your pros and can definitely understand the cons! I think I started to slide into a different category of blogger at some point (I do talk a LOT about TV shows) and saw my book blogger friends grow exponentially, while I just trickled along. I am totally cool with it and happy for them, but not making that comparison is hard. Also, I am perpetually late to books, so I am always late to the hype haha it’s almost on brand for me to mostly talk about backlisted books.
I love all your posts about TV! I think it’s amazing that you tend to focus on backlist. They need more attention!
Makes me so happy to hear, because I will definitely keep posting TV stuff haha
I totally agree with your pros and cons! I love the community and the recommendations, but it does take quite a lot of mytime!
(www.evelynreads.com)
I haven’t been blogging for long (2 months) and whereas it is time consuming, I think it’s well worth it as it gives me another way to “vent.” The only con I’ve encountered so far is the fact that I’m now drowning in my TBR pile…
That’s definitely an effect on book blogging!!
I agree with all your points and I’m glad to see more pros than cons. Blogging has really changed my life and I love all new things I learn and new books I discover. Great post!
I feel the exact same way. It one of the best things I’ve ever done!
Love this post! Especially what you said about personal growth! I do think the biggest downside (at least for me) is how time consuming it is.
I think it’s my biggest con as well!
Hi!
I’m completely new on the scene, I’ve just started my blog, my Instagram account, my Facebook page…I love reading, writing about books and I also write my own stories, so I thought…why not?
I agree with what you said in your article: blogging and being part of the Bookstagram community IS more time-consuming than I thought it would be. On the other hand, this community is just amazing! People are so lovely and supportive, it’s incredible. I can’t wait to interact more with everyone!
Welcome!! I’m three years in and still haven’t found the best way to divide my time, but I have fun doing it! The community is so so lovely!
It really is! Thank you so much!
Great angle! I totally agree with the feeling of FOMO when I’ve been suggested super popular books multiple times. I also used to think I loved book blogging because I would always feel a need to get out my thoughts after reading a book, but over time I’ve realized that immersing myself in the fandom community is just as effective in sharing my thoughts about a book!
Good one. Thanks for blogging this.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Ahh, can’t agree more
So true
As much as I love this community and love writing blogs and reading those of others, I can’t help but spend too much time on it, stress about views and followers and compare myself with others 😫
Exactly! This is supposed to be fun. I try my best not to let it add stress to my life.
This was very helpful for me to read. As some others mentioned, I’m in a very new phase of blogging seriously. I’ve realized there’s so much more to it, and I’m a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff needing my attention, especially the social media side of it. But I’ve loved getting to explore community blogs because that helps me by seeing solid designs, though as a newbie it does make me realize just how far behind I am, but I hope to improve as I learn more and get more comfortable with the platform.
I’m so glad this post helped you! Three years in and I still don’t have a handle on the social media side of things. I have learned and grown a lot though. The journey is worth it!
I love the book community and I think the pros outweigh the cons
I 100% agree!
I cannot agree with you more!! You have written it so beautifully and correctly 😄😄🤗🤗
Aw thank you!!
This resonates with me.
I am so glad!
Reblogged this on Cat Lyon's Reading & Writing Den and commented:
Cat happened to stumble upon this amazing Book Blog community and give a big “Kudos” for this post that everyone should read! Both readers and authors… Cat
hi! i am a new blogger and im currently exploring the reader. i came across this post and i absolutely love it! regarding pinterest, you could search for tips on youtube! there are loads of people sharing good tips there for instance youtuber Anastasia Blogger. not sure if the link is clickable but ill try to share it anyway. have a nice day xx
That’s really helpful. Thank you! Definitely going to watch that video. So glad you enjoy my post.
I completely agree with your views. I myself started a book blog with 2 of my fellow friends after blogging on Instagram for about 2 years . Its new, challenging and we have a lot to figure out .
I’m over three years in and still constantly learning! It’s part of what I love about blogging. Allows me to be creative in a different way!
I’m a new blogger who blogs about stories.
Awesome. Welcome!
Thanks 😀
My TBR is now out of control so maybe that’s actually a con not a pro 🤣
Hahah #readerproblems
what you said about SJM’s books is so true!!!! i’ve read them and i do like them but i really don’t understand all their hype! there are definitely things in all of her series that either make me uncomfortable or could’ve been a lot better than they actually are. on the whole though, i really relate to reading hyped books- you want to be involved but your voice just gets drowned out since everyone is writing about the same thing.
We will love to collaborate with you people for our upcoming podcast series on spotify.