Tell Me Something Tuesday is hosted by Rainy Day Ramblings and discusses a wide range of topics from books to blogging.
Question: What mistakes have you learned to stop repeating when it comes to reading and blogging?
Answer: I LOVE this question and I’m really curious to see what other say!
Here's what I've learned over the years...
~ PACE YOURSELF!!!
I do not need to post 7 days per week or stay on top of every book in order to be relevant. There’s no way you can last for 10 years (how long I’ve been blogging) and stay at that level of productivity. Or at least, not while sacrificing other things – like a life.
~ I stopped worrying about what everyone else is reading.
Blogging will introduce you to genres and authors you’ve never heard of & that’s wonderful! I think it’s important to test your comfort zone once in awhile. But it’s also fine to let all the trends pass you by without any guilt. If YA, romance, sci-fi….whatever…is not your jam then it’s not your jam. I do try new things but I’ve also stopped worrying about what I’m missing when everyone else is going crazy over a book in the blogosphere.
If you don't get out of that loop you will waste time reading books you hate and not be able to read at all!
~ Only take on what I have time for.
I rarely do any guest posts/tours or anything like that anymore. I also cut WAY back on arc’s and have never been happier with my reading.
I got too bogged down in trying to help everyone out. nothing wrong with that! But again, I was getting caught up in things I wouldn't necassairly have read otherwise and it was a huge time suck with very little payoff and time to do what I really love - READ.
~ I gotta be me! (& you do you)
I read blogging advice posts, I take what’s relevant and toss the rest. I can only be me.
There was a really big push to make us all blog a certain way a few years ago and has, thankfully, seemed to run it’s course. But man, those were stressful times and we lost a lot of good bloggers who felt they couldn't fit the perfect blogger mold.
If you want to make money, get arc’s or hit certain traffic stats – then yes, you have to blog differently than someone blogging just for fun. Both are valid – and both can be done without losing your own unique voice and still have a solid following.
Blog one day a week (or month), blog 7 days a week or twice a day – it’s all good!
~ I take breaks when needed
This was SO hard to do at first. You feel like you're going to lose all your followers or become irrelevant after all your years of hard work. Not gonna lie - your stats suffer (I don't look at mine anymore) but I have found that I sometimes need that break to come back refreshed. And if the options are only quit because of burnout or take a short break and come back with fewer followers - I choose the break because I would miss this creative outlet and my friends too much.
And guess what? Almsot everyone understands and comes back! Everyone is pretty busy in their own life and don't even notice you were gone. lol We all get the need for a break!
~ HAVE FUN HAVE FUN HAVE FUN
When I start getting stressed about having posts up or reading a certain # of books – I step back and remind myself why I’m doing this. It’s a hobby for me. Hobbies should be fun!
What mistakes have you learned to stop when it comes to reading and blogging?
These are things I constantly have to say to myself and things I remind myself of when it comes to blogging. I still feel bad when I take breaks but I know how important a chance to recharge is, especially when you know you simply don't have the time! I do get some book ency reading reviews and looking at books people talk about online but I am slowly learning I can only read what I can read and the hype is not always right.
ReplyDeleteI took a 6 month break once (to decide if I wanted to quit altogether) and it was one of the hardest things I've done. I was actually twitchy and going through withdrawals for several weeks. It's hard! You feel guilty and like you failed. It's such a weird hobby in that it makes you feel bad about yourself! lol
DeleteI've learned to let it go though and I feel fine about my breaks.
I think we book bloggers are the only ones who feel guilty if we don't blog (actually, you said that in one of your posts, and it made me think). Whether because we're not helping our favourite authors, or not giving a new one a chance, or simply because we're afraid to "lose all (y)our followers or become irrelevant after all (y)our years of hard work", like you said. Heck, I hardly ever read books within a year since their pub date (you know why), and I can hardly lose a significant number of followers if I only have a handful in the first place...but I feel like I have to have enough posts to cover my hiatuses. The other things you mentioned, though, I don't care about AT ALL - and never have. I've always read what I liked, posted at the pace I felt I could sustain, done things my way. I've always been too stubborn and weird to go with the flow LOL. It sounds like it saved me a lot of grief...
ReplyDeleteYou most certainly did!!
DeleteI used to read so differently when I started. Mostly biogrophies and travel themed stories. But only 12 PER YEAR lol I'm glad that's expanded but it also brought a lot of reads that I hated just because I was trying to stay in some relevant blogger loop.
I did gain followers because of it (& lost them when I stopped reading it - mostly hyped YA) but I'm happier. I just don't see the point of jumping through hoops anymore if you burn out an have to quit in the end.
I really feel like the mood has changed though in recent years and no one cares (but us about our own blog) about the pace or style of blogging. Whoever is left standing just wants to chat about books.
And you are always so clever :D
ReplyDeleteBut then it took me until now to pace myself, lol.
In the beginning I worried what everyone else read and I remember reading 5 reviews of the same book every day
But you read fast and will DNF.
DeleteOr those book blasts! 100's of the same posts of the same cover in one day lol I did those too but then I realized that it just pissed people off and they would stop reading those posts after the first few.
The one thing I was happy I quickly embraced, was reading for myself. I was trying to read all the hyped books, but they weren't really the best fit for me. Yeah, I read mostly books no one has heard of, but I am happy with the books I read.
ReplyDeleteI wish I learned this earlier. I wasn't even trying to keep up with everyone else so much as trying to help every author. It's just not sustainable and it's impossible to like every book.
DeleteThe Pace Yourself thing is exactly what I'm having problems with! Trouble is, I like everything I put on my blog so I'm struggling to see where to cut back! I do need to to spend less time online and more time to read and chill but I haven't quite worked out the 'how' yet!
ReplyDeleteLate last year I decided not to review everything on my blog (I almost always put at least 2-3 sentences on GR's) and just read for me & that helped.
DeleteBut it's a hard thing to do. You feel the need to post about everything or at least document all your reading.
I don't know - I just decided I needed to let go of that or quit. And I didn't want to quit lol
YES. YES. And YES.
ReplyDeleteI post when I can, I read what I want, and I do less social media to help me mentally. :)
Yes, to the SM media thing too! I spend the weekends away from it all!
DeleteI agree with all of this. It has to be fun, otherwise, what's the point? Even if you're doing it for money or whatever - if you don't like it most of the time, it's probably not the career for you. I've definitely changed how I blog as I've gone along, and I don't post as much as I used to. But it works for me. I'm still trying to find ways to cut back - or at least blog ahead more - so I'm not constantly doing something for the blog.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
There's a bit more obligation to it if it's for money, I think, but even then - if you don't like it it's a chore and a burden. And I think it shows in your posts.
DeleteI know for a about a year I was just bitching and ranting about books lol and everyone left. Some ranting is fun but full time hating all books is not lol
Yes! I feel like these are all the lessons I have learned over the past 8-9 years blogging. I was recently shocked looking back at how many days a week I used to post and the reviews I felt pressured to do. So much better now. Great post! :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
I blogged 7 days a week for YEARS. I reviewed at least 3 of those days. I don't even know how I it for that long.
DeleteHaving fun is the most important thing to me. I like sharing more than just book reviews and that works for me but everyone has to do what works for them.
ReplyDeleteExactly!! I thinkt hat's the most important thing. Do whatever makes you happy about blogging!
DeleteHave fun is so important. Most of us don't make money from this, we do it for the creative outlet/ fun/ friends/ whatever and it's important to keep that in perspective! So true. And not taking on too much definitely helps me, I know. I don't really take many review requests and sometimes I feel bad, like shouldn't I be? But I also realize I have to read what I like or my enthusiasm would plummet. So I just do what I do haha!
ReplyDeleteI still accept a few review books but only if I'm truly interested in them and have lots of time between books but I really wish I did that sooner. it's taken me years to get back a place that I'm having fun again.
DeleteThese are all SO spot on. And every so often, I need a reminder to say NO to stuff I don't have time for. I say this as I committed to 452 different blog events and tours and reviews. Good times! I used to be much harder on myself, tried to post ALL the days, etc, but you are so right- it just makes you burn out, and burn out FAST. And the stats thing IS true- I absolutely lost views when I toned it down. But I also wasn't staying up til 5am and ready to pull my hair out trying to get everything done, so. I figure, the people who matter and who genuinely are your blogging buds will stick around. Everyone else, meh.
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts echo mine. I so remember trying to blog that way they wanted us, having the traffic and the stats and all that to get the coveted ARCS, it was so stressful and so hard, and now I don’t care. I will eventually get the big books read likely from the library, so why hassle myself. I am so glad that we have learned to blog for ourselves and diversify, it makes the blogosphere so much more fun!
ReplyDeleteI need to stop stressing when I take a break. I feel like when I take a break I am failing and I know that is not what I meant to think but I am still thinking it!! DD: I am very good at just reading whatever I want to read and not caring about the rest of the world. And more recently, better at only taking on what I can manage. Time is limited!!
ReplyDeleteAll of this is is excellent advice and I agree with all of it. I don't even think I have anything to add to it.
ReplyDeleteI think the best thing is "you do you and I'll do me". :)
I love your common sense approach. Maybe because it's so similar to mine. I refuse to stress over blogging. Just not going to happen. I post when I can. End of story. I shoot for 3-4 times a week. It that happens - great. If it ends up being only once or twice - that's great, too. :)
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I started my blog by accident trying to make a GFC+ account to get a Rafflecopter entry, so my blog has always been laidback. About three or four months in I decided that promoting indie and self-pub books was going to be my thing. The blogger who used to co-host Tell Me Tuesday with me told me my blog was never going to go anywhere because I was blogging about books no one cared about. However, she no longer blogs and I have ten times the post views she ever had. Ha ha! I think if stats mean anything to me it's because I am proving I don't have to blog about hyped books, and it's like thumbing my nose at those "perfect" bloggers. 😁
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