For What It's Worth


Friday, May 20, 2022

Tell Me Something Tuesday: How has your blog changed over time? (AKA: Where Karen gives a long-ass answer to a simple question)

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. 

It is co-hosted by (Linda from Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Roberta from Offbeat YA, Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About, Berl's from Because Reading is Better than Real Life  and me) 

Join in by answering this weeks question in the comments or on your own blog.

If you would like to join TMST and receive periodic emails of upcoming topics, please fill out this GOOGLE FORM. TMST is a laid back meme – join in or opt out depending on your interest in topics or schedule.



Question: How long have you been blogging? And has your blog changed over time?

Answer: I started blogging on December 15, 2009. It was my dog, Indy's, birthday lol I didn't tell a living soul about it - even Kevin for months - and it was just a way or me to catalogue what I watched/listened to/and read - although I barely read back then. I mostly made lists of favorite songs, books, movies before realizing book reviews were a thing and shifted to books only.

I truly thought no one would see it and it appears, looking back, that it took until about March of 2010 for me to get my first regulars commenters  None of who are blogging anymore :-(

Those were the golden days of blogging. Everyone was happy, it was drama free and totally supportive. You could easily gain 40 new (google) followers per weekend. 

I hosted giveaways, author guest posts, cover reveals - joined many memes like Waiting on Wednesday, Teaser Tuesday, Follow Friday, posted two reviews per week. I even co-hosted my own weekly TMST-like feature called Book Blogger Confessions and a month long blogger celebration with guest posts and giveaways by and for bloggers. I held several book auctions to raise money for charity. I blogged seven days a week and I LOVED it. 

Then the competition and drama started sneaking in. I blame this mostly on arc's and book conferences. Where we first were so excited for each other to get books or be able to go to BEA etc - the jealousy over who was and was not getting arc's creeped in. The competitiveness over follower #'s (again to be eligible for those coveted arc's) led to a lot of *How to blog* posts, plagiarism and more.

I had taken on a lot of arc's and reviews - trying to say yes to every author and publisher.

The whole thing was draining of my time and mental energy. I hated reading and blogging.

All to say that my blog has gone through, many, many changes. In style and content as I tried to decide where I fit in (or if I did at all) to the changing landscape. 

After almost calling it quits a few years ago, I decided I loved the interaction too much to give up but I was DONE with the self imposed pressure of reading and blogging or doing it a certain way. I gave up the arc chase, scheduling and just blog when I want (hence this Tuesday post going up on a Friday lol), read what I want and blog about whatever interest me. 

One week might be all books, the next streaming shows I've watched, the next my dogs or nothing at all for a few weeks. And I am blissfully ok with that.

My blog design changes totally on whim - usually when I'm feeling bored with blogging and it gets me excited to come back. I think that's the one thing that surprises me. I change it SO often that I'm surprised anyone knows that it's MY blog (although the most recent dog/cat design is a dead giveaway lol) and that it doesn't annoy people into leaving.

There have been a lot of bad turns but I think, other than the early days, this is my favorite time in blogging. Most of us have been through it all and are back to doing it for fun and our blogs reflect our personality - rather than trying to fit into a box. The followers are fewer but more genuine. 

So that's my two cents on that! 




25 comments:

  1. Oh, the days before ARCs and conventions... and drama. Those were the days. And I can't believe you were posting seven days a week back then. Doesn't that exhaust you to even think about now? I have never posted 7 days a week (they thought makes me lol) but even so I've taken on a *much* more relaxed attitude toward blogging over the last year or two. As in, zero pressure. No expectations, and I blog when I feel like it. Sometimes everything else takes precedence, sometimes not. Either way, I'm glad you're still around! :)

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    1. I did! 2 reviews, 3 memes, Saturday was usually a guest post or giveaway and Sunday a wrap-up and I loved it. Everything just flowed. For several years!
      The visiting and commenting got harder to do though, especially visiting link ups.
      But I'm totally where you are these days.

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  2. I remember Follow Friday and joining ALL the memes lol. I never did ARC's so I didn't have that but I remember all this stuff definitely. And I agree- I might be enjoying it more than ever even though I've been slacking lately and my reviews have reduced to a trickle. Although I do kind of miss having my mojo a LITTLE lol.

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  3. I am here for the fun. I don't care about numbers. I just love that my regulars (at least some of them) are still around. I just do whatever I want and enjoy having an outlet.

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    1. I had so much fun in the beginning so all the work didn't feel like work. Until it did and then it was hard to find my balance again

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  4. I'm glad I missed most of the drama. :) I've always had so many unread books on my shelf that I never felt the need for ARCs. I guess my bad book buying habit has saved me from peer pressure. :)

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    1. It did! I got sucked into saying yes to every author that emailed me. Back then I read all kinds of books, loved them all and was very fast at reading and posting so it wasn't pressure at all.

      Then it all got very weird and not fun and it took a few years find my way back to it being fun.

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  5. I think I commented but not all my comms are going through. Disregard this if my other one is pending... :)

    Trying to remember what I wrote, but yeah Follow Friday lol and all those. Picking up followers... all the giveaways, there were SO MANY blogs. Wow. Times have changed huh? I agree though- even though my posting is down the last couple months I think this might be my favorite time too. It's more relaxed now?

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    1. This new commenting system sucks. I'll look.

      You could easily visit 100's of blogs in all the feature link-ups. And yes, I think those of us who made it out the other side are very chill about it all lol

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  6. I liked reading your story on how you and your blog have changed. It was the same for me all about the numbers, posting everyday, and review writing. Now I blog for me. I do a lot of spotlights on books, participate in hops and then do some of the discussion post, but don't get them up on Tuesday all the time ^_^. I've finally deiced to just relax and enjoy!

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    1. I loved in so much for several years then I didn't lol

      I think things have made a turn for the better. Everyone is staying truer to themselves and their limits with way less pressure.

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  7. I'm too much of an introvert to have gone to any of the conventions. I didn't get a lot of ARC's until I joined NetGalley so I didn't have to deal with any of that dram. I've been around for a long time but started out just posting life updates. All of my followers back then were friends from a Horror website that I frequented. Me and a few friends from there started blogs for fun and I'm the only one still doing it now.

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  8. "You could easily gain 40 new (google) followers per weekend."
    🤯
    Though I guess giveaways helped LOL.

    Unlike you, I went into blogging with a plan, and I have mostly stuck to it for all these years (except that I review a much consistent number of adult books lately), plus I did start to schedule posts after a few years while you stopped LOL. But I guess I avoided burnout because I've never entertained the thought of reading everything and blogging every day. I do remember your Book Blogger Confessions series of course...that's how we met (or cemented our friendship after meeting over Jeri Smith-Ready's WVMP Radio Series). I remember emailing you and asking for info about participating, and your being really friendly from the start. I'm so glad you didn't throw the towel years ago, but eased into a different way of blogging, because I would be sad to see you go.

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    1. Just the hops could get you 50+ new followers every Friday. A giveaway would bring 100's. I wasn't even trying to to that. It just was what everyone did back then. The numbers didn't even matter at that stage. ARC's and publishers weren't a thing.

      It sounds mostly like I took on too much and burned out - which I did! - but the thing was, that I LOVED blogging that much in the beginning and it took years to get tot he burnout point for me.

      I scaled back some when I realized I wasn't enjoying the reading as much (but again - I loved almost everything I read early on & I read so fast that it didn't occur to me to pace myself) but it was more how the drama starting creeping in. We would post book hauls and then instead of being excited, people would slam you or get jealous of what book you were getting. Then people telling you how to blog and making passive/aggressive comments about people who didn't stick to the formula. Authors got weird about reviews.

      It made it depressing and a chore.

      I'm in my happy place now!

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    2. "Then people telling you how to blog and making passive/aggressive comments about people who didn't stick to the formula."
      👀🤢

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  9. We started blogging at almost the same time so our journeys share a lot of similarities. Like you, I miss the early commenters. Back then it was easy to attract an audience. And, of course, blogs change over time. For me, a blog is a success if it fulfills its author's goal (whatever that is) and stays alive. Good luck for another decade of interesting content!

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    1. I totally agree! It's still a fun hobby for me even though it's changed dramatically. All hobbies to change though - I think with blogs you put more of yourself out on display and feels more personal in a way. So it's harder when people don't comment, for example, or to give up after years of investing in it.

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  10. I love hearing how your blog has evolved. I'm glad you're still blogging and that you've found peace with it and are happier doing what you're doing. I'm also glad we found each other.

    I’ve been blogging since June 24, 2007. I blogged about random things, including books until February 2010. Then, I went mostly to book blogging. In 2013, after my mom passed away, I took a three-month hiatus. After that, I struggled for a really long time, which you probably noticed, lol. I went back and forth between blogging about books, personal stuff, weight loss, crafting, and mental health, until I finally nuked my blog about three years ago. I restarted blogging at the end of December and, so far, I'm really enjoying and like you said, it's the happiest I've ever been blogging. It’s definitely been a journey.

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    1. I think both you and I really went all over the place as far as content and breaks lol I remember you posting about different things then disappearing for a while, then coming back as something new. And I can completely relate.

      It makes me sad when people felt like they couldn't keep up with arc's, reviews, numbers and all that so decided to leave instead of just saying no to all that and find a pace that works for them. But we made so yay!!

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  11. This was a lon post :)
    Ack those drama free days. But I am glad it normalized again when i stopped caring

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    1. I like to go at least one yearly rant/ramble lol I feel like everyone is in a pretty good place and enjoying now The new dram is on Book Tok and all that. lol

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  12. If anyone is so annoyed by you changing some visual elements on your blog that they leave, I feel like that's a them problem. I've stuck with my blog design, but I do like to change things like my Twitter header or phone background every so often, cuz it just helps when life gets monotonous. Anyway, my early blogging days are sort of a haze, honestly lol. I don't even remember how long it took me to start joining memes or getting comments. But like you, I've been through phases and am just trying to find a balance that lets me enjoy it and have more genuine interaction.

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    1. Years ago it was *very important* to have a theme and make sure everything was seamless. headers, SM handles, business cards & I just totally fail lol I had Team Sheltie for everything before my blog became anything people read then they knew me as that so I just kept it but my email is fwiw. I changed my blog look so much that my business cards (for book conferences) never looked like my blog lol
      But yeah, I don't care lol I have to do whatever keeps ME engaged and wanting to continue or it doesn't really matter.

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  13. I forgot about Follow Fridays - those were a lot of work to hit everyone else. I also used to do giveaways and month-long celebrations... I'm proud of what I used to do, but I just don't have the energy or time to do that anymore. Just read and review mostly.

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  14. Another post I know I commented on. *shakes fist at Blogger*

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