While book blogging is the best thing since cake was gifted to humanity, it can also be thoroughly stressful.
I’m 99% sure all bloggers have had 2 or 3 or 98 crises at some point. AND THIS IS OKAY! WE ALL GO THROUGH THIS. When you (A) care about something, and (B) have no idea what you’re doing but still want to do well, and (C) just like to panic recreationally — you’re bound to fret over blogging. You’re not alone.
But you want to know a secret? Shhh, now, come closer…let us whisper conspiratorial things:
There are some things you actually emphatically do not need to be worrying about!
I’ve been blogging for nearly 5 years and I have learnt a lot. For instance I learnt that (A) “gargantuanly” is not a word and you can’t just add “ly” to anything you want, (B) also “cakely” is not a word for afore mentioned reasons, (C) you can get very very very far by faking your blogging knowledge that you don’t have, and (D) if you stress about too much in regards to blogging, you’re going to want to quit.
Ergo, today’s post is to list some common unnecessary blogging worries and why you should glare at them! Let’s keep blogging fun, Bob. Let’s remember that there’s not ONE way to blog. Let’s remember that the dictionary doesn’t own us and WE CAN SAY CAKELY IF WE WANT.
“OH NO I’VE BEEN SO BUSY AND DIDN’T DO THAT BLOGGING THING THAT I SAID I WAS GOING TO DO THAT TIME AND I MUST APOLOGISE COPIOUSLY!”
I wrote a post a looooong time ago (nearly 3 YEARS?!?! WOAH) about why you shouldn’t be saying sorry all the time. YOU JUST DON’T NEED TO, MY FIENDS. You need to own your decisions! And if unforeseen circumstances come up to devour your soul?? GO WITH IT.
You don’t need to apologise for (A) taking a blogging break, (B) getting sick and missing posting, (C) being overwhelmed and needing to back off, (D) not putting up that review the day you said you would because your pet armadillo escaped and you had to go fetch it, (E) not doing a giveaway, or even (F) having a random typo.
Especially don’t apologise for things that are beyond your control!
And, here’s a small secret: half the time no one even notices. CHILL THERE, MATEY.
“I DIDN’T REVIEW THAT ARC ON RELEASE DAY AND THE PUBLISHERS ARE GOING TO BLACKLIST ME AND SEND THEIR GHOULS TO DEVOUR MY FIRSTBORN IN PUNISHMENT.”
Trust me, I knoooow how it feels to have that mortifying moment of “UM THIS ARC SHOULD’VE BEEN READ/REVIEWED 2 MONTHS AGO.” Who is guilty of this? I AM GUILTY OF THIS.
But you know what? Publishers aren’t going to murder you or your firstborn. FIRSTLY, you might not even have a firstborn so it’d be a waste of time to send the ghouls out and then just have to sit around awkwardly drinking tea with you while you break it to them that you are, in fact, childless. SECONLDY, some publishers don’t even keep ghouls. #surprise And THIRDLY, publishers understand.
If you request * an ARC, I do think it’s your duty to review it. You said “I’m going to review this thing” ergo you need to keep your word! But hey, so what if the review is a little late? At least people can go out and buy the book now!
* As for receiving books you DON’T request, I’m still a believer in trying to review them but YOU DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR IT, SO YOU DON’T “HAVE” TO DO ANYTHING. It’s like being given a piece of cake, but you just ate cake. You can totally say “no thanks”…or eat more cake. Your choice.
“IF I TAKE A HIATUS EVERYONE WILL FORGET I EXIST AND UNFOLLOW ME. AGHAGHHGH EGAHHHED.”
If you take a 6 month hiatus: well, yes, you may lose followers.
If you take a 1 month hiatus: no you’re not going to lose followers!
Bloggers actually NEED BREAKS. Sure a hiatus will mean your blog stats will go down and it may take wrangling to get going again afterwards. But you know what’s worth it? RECHARGING. When you come back to blogging after a hiatus you’ll be rested and refreshed. NO DOWNSIDES, BOB. Hiatusing will not kill your blog, I promise and when do I lie? Never. *
If you need a break, TAKE IT AND RUN AWAY TO HAWAII WITH IT AND HAVE NO REGRETS.
* Except for that one time when I said chocolate cake is the answer to all of life’s problems, because actually cheesecake is. Sometimes they’re interchangeable. But when in doubt: cheesecake it out.
“AM I RATING MY BOOKS RIGHT?? IS 3-STARS THE RIGHT RATING FOR THIS? WHAT DOES 3-STARS EVEN MEEEEEEEEAN?”
I’m like 99% sure all bloggers go through a Star Rating Crisis. Because rating is HARD! What 3-stars means to one person, it doesn’t mean to another! I’ve stressed about it. But now? HA. NO WAY DUDE. I AM CHILL. (I am not. I’m like an uptight pinecone of anxious intentions, but I can say I’m chill if I want. #ISayWhatIWant) It actually DOESN’T MATTER if you use half-star-ratings or no star ratings or go back and re-rate things or if you rating everything high.
Breaking news: NONE of your followers are panicking over your rating-system.
So why should you??
“I’M NOT FORMATTING MY POSTS LIKE THE OTHER BOOK BLOGGERS. OMG AM I A TRUE BOOK BLOGGER???”
I am notorious for doing things differently to everyone else because I AM AN OBLIVIOUS MUSHROOM. And a rebel. A rebellious oblivious adorable mushroom. *
There are no “rules” to book blogging. There is not “one way” to do it. Plus it actually makes you stand out when you do something differently!
For instance, some randomly different things I do are:
- I format my reviews backwards. (Blurb at the end, review at the beginning.)
- I don’t title my posts with “review” or “discussion”…I just let you figure out whatever it is when you get here mwahahhahh.
- I don’t join readathons or twitter chats. (No particular reason, I just haven’t yet.)
- Sometimes I go weeks without a book review.
- I only join in book tours once in a blue moon.
- I talk to authors about 2% of the time. (They are SCARY.)
- I yell at people that they’re fruit and this probably scares them and me sometimes.
AM I STILL ALLOWED TO BE A BOOK BLOGGER? Yes, yes I am.
You don’t need to format your reviews a certain way. Or have the perfect discussion to review ratio. You don’t even need to talk exclusively about books! NO RULES. And if there are rules, pfft to them.
* I want that on a teeshirt to be honest.
“IF I ANNOUNCE MY UNPOPULAR OPINION, WILL EVERYONE HATE ME? WHAT IF I OFFEND EVERYONE?”
So long as you’re POLITE — then you’re doing fine. And trust me, you’ll always offend someone. It’s inevitable.
I have offended people. I’ve had massive misunderstandings with people. I’ve lost “friends” over having a difference of opinion. I’ve had goodreads users leave horrible abusive comments. But you know what? SO WHAT DO THOSE PEOPLE EVEN MATTER?? People get offended all the time. Those people can be ditched. If you are nice, there will absolutely definitely be people out there who like you. #LEGIT OKAY?!?!
If you offend/mess-up with one person, you do not need to shut down your blog.
And when it comes to unpopular opinions?? Oh my sweet summer child — there is always someone else who’ll share the opinion with you. ALWAYS.
“I’M NEVER GOING TO GET THROGH ALL THE BOOKS ON MY TBR BEFORE IT FALLS AND SQUASHES ME FLATTER THAN A PIZZA CRUST.”
Your to-be-read pile can stretch to Jupiter and back — AND THAT’S OKAY. You’re not greedy. You’re not behind. You only have 2 eyeballs so just do what you can do, okay??! Plus it’s better to have much books instead of not enough! I actually wrote an entire post about not fretting over the size of your TBR.
Dude, collecting unread books is not the worse thing you could be doing.
YOU COULD BE COLLECTING PINECONES AFTER ALL. *
* Fun fact: I started collecting pinecones. Nobody understands me.
“BOOK BLOGGING IS SO EXPENSIVE. I CAN’T KEEP THIS UP. I AM GOING TO DISSOLVE INTO A PUDDING OF POORDOM.”
I never used to think book blogging was expensive but DUDE. Once you start buying books, paying for hosting, doing giveaways, and maybe buying graphics or templates????? IT ALL ADDS UP AND IT CAN BE SCARY.
Spoiler alert: you don’t have to spend much money if you don’t want to. You do what you can and what you’re comfortable with.
Things You Don’t Have To Spend Money On If You Don’t Want To Actually:
- BOOKS: You can get physical ARCs from publishers. Or sign up to Netgalley and Edelweiss. You can use the library. You can buy second-hand from thrift-stores (WHICH I KNOW IS BUYING BUT SHH at least it’s cheaper!) I know people say “don’t blog for the ARCs” and that’s true. But it’s also true that getting free books is a HUGE PERK of book blogging and can enable you to keep doing it!
- ARCS: I hear people say we should pass on ARCs to others or buy finished copies. Nope. You don’t have to do either of those. The only rules about ARCs are (1) read and review and possibly don’t quote them unless you state it’s from an ARC, and (2) don’t sell them. THAT’S IT. You can keep them! Paying postage to give stuff away can be killer.
- GIVEAWAYS: if you can’t afford to do giveaways — then don’t. It’s okay! I mean, it’s July and I have done exactly ZERO giveaways sponsored by me. I just can’t afford it! I try to get Etsy sellers to sponsor in return for promos or ask publishers.
- BLOG: You don’t have to buy hosting. Having just a .com name is freaking awesome, of course, but I don’t consider people with blogspot.com or wordpress.com “not dedicated” bloggers.
- GRAPHICS: There are tons of free places to download nice template designs! Just google! And you can get free stock photos from a ton of places and free graphics with attribution. You can sign up to creativemarket.com and you get 6 free downloads every Monday! (Just check out licenses and make sure you attribute if you need to!)
“I WANT TO CHANGE MY BLOG BUT…SHOULD I??? AM I ALLOWED TO CHANGE MY BRANDING? WHAT IF I END UP LOOKING LIKE A SILLY PUMPKIN??”
Lots of people freak out over change. Um…why are you looking at me? I’M GUILTLESS! (I am not.) But seriously, your blog can grow and evolve with you. That’s natural. You want to rebrand yourself? Go for it. You want a completely different blog design? Do it. You want to change your blog name? TAKE THE PLUNGE, BOB.
If I even look back at the posts I wrote 6 months ago I can see how I’ve changed! (For the better I hope because omg if you ever look into the deep dark depths of my archives I will die.)
If you want to change something about your blog: DON’T FRET. Just do it! You’ll be happier.
“WHAT IF MY POSTS DON’T MATTER BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS ALREADY SAID THIS STUFF BEFORE?”
WELL THERE, MY FRIEND. There is a really encouraging answer to this: no one has said the thing like YOU will say the thing. You might have the same opinion as me on dog-earing-books (aka please kindly BURN FOR YOUR SINS) but if you and I blog about it we are going to phrase it differently! We’re going to have slightly different concerns! WE’RE GOING TO BE DIFFERENT ABOUT IT. #truth
And also your followers are interested in YOU. They want to know your opinion on things….that’s why they follow your blog!
And don’t forget how fast the book blogging community turns over. Old bloggers leave. Newbies come. All. the. time. So maybe we’ve discussed the phenomenon of big books vs short books before. BUT THE NEWBIES MIGHT NOT HAVE HEARD IT.
Also, by the way: your posts and blog and your opinion do matter. Start telling yourself they matter and then tell other people. How do you think I am so fabulous? I TELL PEOPLE I’M FABULOUS AND THEY HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO BELIEVE ME. (Then I bribe them with cake because #winning.)
STEAL THE FABULOUSNESS. OWN THE FABULOUSNESS. LET NONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE.
So half the time, I’m blogging, the other half the time, I’m running around shrieking about how I still haven’t read that book from a few months ago and then the last half the time (where am I getting all these halves? Gah. Maths) I’m apologising for not having posted in like three months. I hate using the word empowering because people misuse it all the time (“oh my god, i just an ice-cream as a woman, how empowering!) but this post is truly empowering (no, seriously). (And also, can you, erm, explain more about that, ahem, free giveaway, Etsy/publisher thingy and how that works?)
OMG THANKYOU, PAUL, THIS IS VERY VERY NICE OF YOU. :’) And duuuuuuude, I spend most of my time reading books that don’t need to be read while the books that SHOULD’VE BEEN READ 39 YEARS AGO are staring angrily at me. I don’t even know where my priorities are anymore. Holidaying in Guatemala probably.
OK, can we please have a TV series where publishing ghouls come around and awkwardly drink tea with you? Because I would watch the hell out of that sh**!
Also, 100% agree – blog your own way!
I agree, because that would be awfully wonderful. AWKWARD GHOUL TEAPARTIES. SOMEONE MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
Oh my god holy hell imagine all the stupidly awesome comebacks we could make to the ghouls and they’ll just be scratching their heads and being like, “We were just, er, instructed by the publishers to maim you for not reviewing the second before the book comes out, MAKING WITTY COMEBACKS TO YOUR BURNS WAS NOT PART OF THE JOB DESCRIPTION OKAY”
I love this.
Cait, I am really touched by your posting :’) Thank you so much 😀 Once again, you are a great mind reader 😀
Omg I’m super glad, Hana!! *flails* Thankyou!
Glad you put up this post. There are so many things bloggers worry about. Even I go crazy if I cannot write something while sitting in front of a computer. Isn’t that the worst feeling. Hiatus does help you recharge.
And about GIveaways. I used to freak out at first because I didn’t do giveaways. Well, now I am more chill. Maybe I can’t like the others, But the friends I have made have remained. So yeah,!
It is all about you. Your blog is your baby
It IS all about us. Which is fabulous. :’) Our blog is like our own little corner of the internet, and I think we just have to rULE IT sometimes, you know?! And not worry about how everyone else is doing.😂 And tbh I freak out about giveaways a lot! I feel like I should be doing them BUT THEN I CAN’T AFFORD IT AND IT’S FRUSTRATING. So I’m just going to ignore that and chill about it.😂 (See this post is actually just me talking to myself omg.)
Jup, now I’m convinced. YOU ARE A PSYCHIC PINEAPPLE WITH A BOOK fOR A HEAD AREN’T YOU?
Omg I’ve head all of these at one point. Book blogging is so stressful tbh. And yes it’s expensive! I can’t afford to buy books all that much so I really do depend on eARC’s, the limited English YA stock of the library and the generousness of my friends & family. Once every blue moon I can buy a book.
And giveaways GAHD. I want to do one for my bday this month but I am broke and I’m too scared to ask Etsy & Society6 people for help with it. I feel like a beggar and I hate that. xD
I AM A PSYCHIC PINEAPPLE. A fabulous pineapple, though, don’t forget that wonderful adjective. :’)
And I’ve had all these fears too DON’T WORRY.😂 I’m basically writing a post to myself hahahha. Omg, I saw someone on twitter saying it was bloggers’ duties to go and buy books after they’d read the ARCs and I’m like “DUDE WHO HAS THE MONEY FOR THAT OMG”. The reason I like review-copies is so I get more opportunities to read BECAUSE I IS BROKE, MATE.
Oh my god! I have changed the way I write my reviews so much! When I started I used to write like a rotten potato and now I write like a nice Indian potato and that makes me happy.
And oh god I do the backward review thing too! I just feel like the readers should know what the story is about through ME before they read the actual blurb. I also stopped mentioning page numbers a long time ago because I realized that they intimidated people sometimes. And while I was afraid of making such changes, they made me happy and I think that’s all that matters.
Recently I posted my first hate review of a book and I was worried that I might get a lot of negative response but instead a got positive ones. Just shows that your followers do value your opinions.
So thank you so much! For making yet another positive and uplifting posts for insecure bloggers. *bows before the Queen of all bloggers*
I used to write reviews like a rotten potato too.😂 I’m pretty sure they were like 2 paragraphs long and so vague and now? I CAN’T SHUT UP OMG MY REVIEWS ARE SO LONG. Ahem. But it’s great to look back and see how far we’ve come right?! And honestly I never read blurbs so I figure if I put them at the end of the review we can all forget about them.😂
AND YES! Followers are actually generally super nice. <3 We probably shouldn't doubt them so much right?! ahahhaaha. Omg but nerves!
I'M REALLY GLAD YOU LIKED THE POST, RAVEN, THANKYOU!
Love this post! I do admit that I apologize a lot if I miss a post, mainly because it very rarely happens so to me it’s a HUGE difference! But at the same time, I think “no one is going to be that bothered Ashleigh, chill out” 😂 I completely get what you mean about dying if people go through your archives! I’ve not even had my blog for a year yet, but I’ve updated everything entirely 3 times now (the last was just a couple of days ago, I have new graphics and feeling fabulous), and the reviews I uploaded when I began make me cringe!! *shudders*
I’m one of the bloggers that doesn’t spend anything on my blog because I can’t afford it – unless the book buying counts, but I’d do that anyway, blog or not. I do like the idea of just having “.com”, but that can wait I suppose.
Lovely post! Really enjoyed reading it! <3
OMG THANKYOU, ASHLEIGH!! *flails happily* And yes, let’s just all mutually agree never to look back at any blogger’s archives right??!😂 SO TERRIFYING. *quietly burns everything* I even look back at posts from last year and wince, omg. But at least we’re improving. That’s somewhat encouraging. HAHAHA. Ahem.
When it comes to like either I spend money on hosting a giveaway or I spend that money on a book for me…unfortunately me always wins out.😂 I think it’s okay not to spend tons of money on one’s blog!! It’s NICE if we can, of course, but if we can’t, it’s not a big deal. :’)
I worry all the time. Like: am I doing this okay? Isn’t this wrong? I’m quite shy and am afraid to ask people something and whenever I ask someone something, I’m always worried. What if I ask something stupid? Now it seems like I’m one big bundle of worry. :’)
AND THE TBR. Holy cow. I have had such a big reading slump and it took me nearly three weeks to finish a book and I kept worrying, but I could not pick up the book. There’s just so much to worry about.
Ohhhhh ME TOO THOUGH. I mean, it probably isn’t very obvious, but I’m actually very shy too.😂 I’ve just gotten very used to the blogging world and feel comfortable. But asking for help…ahhh, hide me! I’m scared of doing something stupid too heheh.
THERE IS A LOT TO WORRY ABOUT. But it can take the fun out of blogging at times. We gotta just eat cake and own the fabulousness sometimes. *nods*
After six years (including two extended hiatuses) I’ve gone throgh pretty much every single worry that any one blogger can go through.
There’s a wide range of bloggers out there, but I want to address the start-up/newer bloggers out there that are a little younger. I started my blog at the age of 17. I blogged like it was my life for a few years because I could – I had school and I worked a PT job (15 hours a week) but I had a lot of free time and no responsibilities, so I blogged daily – then I hit 19 and I went to university and I couldn’t keep up – I have 10 hour study days, a PT job AND a social life and Ink Scratchers was not a priority any more.
When I came back to blogging I felt like everyone had moved on from me – my follower count went down from like 1300 to about 1000 – hell in the two years since then I think I’ve gained 200 followers back but I work full time in a stressful job doing awkward hours – it’s harder for me to commit the time to reading/blogging/reviewing/meming.
I used to worry that I’d lost it and thatnobody would accept my requests for RCs but the world is still turning. I still get a few new books a week via NetGalley and Edelweiss. I mean, it’s nowhere near the amount I used to get, or more established bloggers get but it’s enough to keep my TBR growing and prove I don’t have anythig to worry about. I meme when I can, I review at least 3 times a week and if I can keep that up then I’m happy.
With regards to giveaways. Kids giveaways are the worst way to get followers. They’re keep coming back to your blog as long as you’re offering freebies but as soon as you start to concentrate on other things they’ll go. Take part in weekly memes if you can it’;s the best way to network.
Blogging should be fun. You shouldn’t worry about scheduling every single book – you shouldn’t worry about how many followers or new books or how good you blog looks. You should only worry about wheher you are enjoying it and making sure you are putting enough time into producing decent reviews for the publishers and authors who are giving you opportunity to.
Ugh… that was a v. long comment – sorry Cait!!
I went rambles.
Don’t be sorry! 😂 IT’S A GREAT COMMENT! And I do agree with this too *nods* I think blogging needs to be fun, especially when we started it to be fun, right?! I think a lot of the pressures we put on ourselves are self-inflicted and kinda ridiculous and we need to just do what we can. (And yes thoroughly agree participating in memes is the best way to network and get followers!)
And I actually went through something similar with my blog! I used to post everyday and now I’m struggling to post 3 times a week. LIFE CHANGES. We just have to go with it sometimes, right?!
I don’t apologise for not posting…. ever, because I find that I usually only notice that people haven’t when they post saying they haven’t. But I am totally guilty of worrying about how to rate books, at least on Goodreads there are words that go with the stars. Luckily my TBR is all piled in a bookcase so it probably won’t fall over, here hoping anyway.
SAME. I get frustrated when people spend a TON of time apologising…it’s just tedious almost, right?! We own our blogs, so we just need to move on if we mess up.😂 Especially if it’s something that isn’t a big deal. And I NEVER notice people’s typos and I don’t understand why people freak out over them! THESE THINGS HAPPEN.
omg I just noticed the words on the Goodreads rating. And like 3 stars is “liked it”?!? hahahahah. For me that’s “meh”😂 Star ratings are SO HARD but at the end of the day it still doesn’t really matter haha. ahem.
I have the one about “Am I doing bookblogging right?” And “Does anyone reaaaad my blog?”
If it makes you feel better…I DO GET THOSE SOMETIMES MYSELF.😂 We just have to remind ourselves we’re fabulous, right?! *shares fabulous cake with you*
I REALLY REALLY BELIEVE IN THIS ESPECIALLY – (C) you can get very very very far by faking your blogging knowledge that you don’t have – BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT I AM DOING.
this list really made me feel better. and reminded me I have a couple of posts I have to schedule for next week because I signed up for a thing. lmao.
but THANKS CAIT. I feel better.
Ahhhh I’M GLAD YOU LIKED IT, ARA. 😀 *flails quietly* And honestly “faking till you make it” is actually like my #1 blogging habit.😂
One of my big worries is “Does anyone actually care about this stuff I’m posting?” Particularly when I think everyone will like the post and then I don’t get a lot of comments and such. And it’s not an always-worry, just a thing that pops up now and then.
Also, I do like to apologize if I miss a post without warning . . . but not in a “Oh my thrice-baked pumpernickel, I’m ssooooo sorrrry; allow me to throw myself at your feet and kiss your boots” kind of way. More in a “Oh, hey, sorry, I missed it ’cause of this. On with the next post!” kind of way.
And on the late-ARC-review thing: it’s possible that those late reviews are actually a good thing, since I know that sometimes if a book’s been out for a while, I can forget that I meant to read it by a few months later. But if a late review pops up, it’ll remind me and I can be like “Oh, hey, that’s right! I was going to read that! I wonder if the library has it yet?” and go request it.
I actually have that worry too!! I mean, I know this probably sounds ridiculous, but I still sort of think that one day I’ll post something everyone hates and I won’t get any comments. SO I THINK IT’S NATURAL TO BE ANXIOUS ABOUT THINGS. But as long as we know when to ignore it right?! (I was actually nervous about this post.😂)
And YES I agree about the later-ARC reviewing! And actually one of the publishers in Australia requires its bloggers not to post anything at all online until after the release date. :O Which I find a bit weird, but whatever. Takes the pressure of me ahahha.
Dear Cait, I”ve probably worried about most of these at one time or another. Now I won’t! You provided good reasons not to worry plus encouragement to just be yourself and do what you can. I think it’s a shame when people stop blogging when perhaps they simply need to turn down the pressure and write less frequently. Or about something new, in a new way. On the other hand, I have seen others make a change very gracefully (I’m thinking of Fleur in Her World becoming Beyond Eden’s Rock. I’m still reading and loving her work, by any name.) So, thanks, Cait. Now I’m going to read your post about towering TBR piles!
Aww, thankyou SO MUCH, Lucy!! This is such a nice comment. :’) And YES it’s very important to just be ourselves, honestly, and do things at our paces because otherwise blogging just gets overwhelming and stressful. We definitely don’t all need to be the same either. heh.
If only I read this a year ago. Wasted too many hours worrying then. Now…whatever! Lol. More like, it’s OK. I took a week off here and there, but you know what? Those who likes my blog are still back. 😉
By the way, you are HILARIOUS!
HHAHAH THANKYOU, ANNIE. <3
But don't worry, omg, I've wasted SO MUCH TIME fretting over things I really shouldn't.😂 It's hard not to worry about all the things! But it's better if we have fun with this and just be ourselves, right?!
One of the biggest fears when I started book blogging was that I was afraid of not being able to fit in. I mean, I don’t review books for publishers, because I want to read what I want whenever I want; I don’t read as many books as the other bloggers per month; I’m not a bookstagram star; I don’t read all the new releases like everybody seems doing, and so on. I’m still full of insecurities, but I recognize that doing things my own way brings me more joy 🙂
That is an EXCELLENT thing to realise, Alice!! AND I TOTALLY ADMIRE YOU!! *flails for you* I think there can be a bit of pressure to have to do “certain things” to fit the book blogging mould. But pfft. DEFINITELY NOT. We need to be ourselves and blog however makes us happy. :’)
I LOVE THIS POST, CAIT! Lately I’ve been having bloggy (cute word that, isn’t it?) worries like whether my reviews are too long, am I publishing interesting enough content and a few things you’ve mentioned in this post but you’ve made me realise they’re silly worries. THANKS, CAIT! <3
Bloggly is definitely a cute word. THE CUTEST. And honestly I have a lot of blogging worries myself…hehe, so I’m talking to myself with this post too! We just have to own the fabulousness, amirite?!
I love this post! Thank you for this :). I was struggling trying to find a new thing that hadn’t been done before and I’m still going to look for that thing, but I won’t stress about it as much now. I think.
You’re really funny, btw.
AHHH THANKYOU!! *flings confetti in the air*
And YES. I mean, looking for new things and spinning them with our own voice/style is still important…but honestly, there’s nothing new out there. It’s just how we present it right?! And just because a topic has been discussed doesn’t mean it’s exhausted anyway!😂 Thankgoodness or I’d have nothing to blog about either hahha.
I love this post and couldn’t agree more!! I have fretted over many of these issues! I have also been blogging for 5 years and have gone through many struggles, angered people and even got blacklisted and thrown on an author’s website as someone not to deal with! (This was in no way my fault and let me tell you…be careful whom you befriend online and how quickly you can get mixed up and involved in something that you know nothing about!) None of these things anyone remembers and it did nothing to my following or the fact that I can still request ARCs, if anything, it gave me an even bigger following!
I have just recently found your blog and am asking myself why I had not found it sooner? I really have enjoyed all your posts since following!!
Ooh HI FIVE for blogging year twins!! 😀 *shares cake with you* And omg you have been through some bad stuff. That’s really awful.😳 I’ve only had one really nasty run-in with another blogging and it was sad because it was a complete misunderstanding, *sighs* but yeah, egh. Also once a reviewer that had the same name as me was involved in a huge drama and people kept thing it was me.😂 But at least that didn’t really involve me.
ANYWAY I’M RAMBLING.
Aww, thankyou, Heather!! AND WELCOME TO MY BLOG! New friends are always much fun!!
Thanks for all the validation Cait 😀 There were a few things on this list that have been stressing me out a bit, so this post came out with perfect timing. And lately I’ve been thinking about changing my blog aesthetic, so maybe now I’ll just do it!
Yayyyyy, I’m glad it helped, Ali!! And YES, if you want a change, just go for it! 😀 Every time I revamp my blog I go for a different colour scheme and style altogether. haha. But we have to do what makes us happy right?! OUR BLOG. OUR RULES. *nods sagely* 😂
It is a relief that publishers don’t have ghouls. I’m afraid to even open my Netgalley account right now. Request too many, end up reading too few :/
I sometimes think someone has said what I wanna blog about but oh well…we use different words like you said. I can’t think of anything to add to this list right now 😀
Eeeep, netgalley is a BLACK HOLE.😂 It’s just too tempting omg! I basically am only allowed to go on there once I’ve read/reviewed one I’ve already got. That saying, I have like 3 to read which shouldn’t happen but WHATEVER.😂 (And let’s not talk about Edelweiss….)
And YES! We use different words and have slightly different thoughts on a topic. And hey, sure we’ve all discussed something, but our followers still want to know OUR viewpoint on it, right?!
This post is so fabulous. I have all of these worries (except for the ARC ones because I don’t read ARCs). I especially freak out about offending people because I say stupid things on a regular basis. And I freak out about the size of my TBR pile because having too many unread books makes me feel materialistic. Basically, I just freak out about everything all the time.
Freaking out is like a popular pastime of humanity, DO NOT WORRY. Actually I freak out about my TBR a lot.😂 I was freaking out last month because there’s like 50+ books about to fall on my head and murder me and I was just reading manga and ignoring it. AHHAH. Ahem. But like if the apocalypse comes we will be SORTED right?!? No boredom for us. :’)
Ooh love this post! I can be stress-free now, hmm?
ABSOLUTELY. Basically print this post out and eat it and you will be totally stress free. #legit
And this is just one of the many reasons why I LOVE your blog. It’s like you’re in my head. Thanks so much for this post. It really did make me feel better about the things I do on my blog and about the fact that life often gets in the way of blogging. If only I could just quit my job and read and blog all day 🙂
I am EVER SO GLAD ABOUT THIS. :’) And just know that I feel these worries all the time too! 😂 (Well, I’ve learnt to kick a lot of them out of my head…but they still sneak back from time to time.) So you’re DEFINITELY not alone!!
And omg I would love to just read and blog all day long…where can we find someone to pay us for this.
OMG I literally thought of that guidelines gif yesterday. It is always my go to whenever anyone even mentions the word “rules”. And, well, also in life tbh. I like your opinions on these things (mainly because they’re similar to my own, and obviously I am always right). The only thing I genuinely worry about is that I literally never post regularly and sometimes there will be weeks between posts, whereas other times I post three times a week. I tell myself it’s fine and I don’t WORRY worry about it, but sometimes I just wish I had more frickin’ hours in the day and I do know some people probably forget my blog even exists haha
Saaaaame. I quote that ALL THE TIME. If someone even squeaks the word “rules” at my house, I am like THERE LIKE A GHOST SAYING “HANG THE RULES, THEY’RE MORE LIKE GUIDELINES”. Which is not weird or creepy at all. Of course not.
I’m so glad that we’re always right, Vlora. :’) We must just make sure the entire world knows it and can agree with us and be right also.
I think posting regularly (or just posting at all ahhaha) is just something you have to figure out what you want out of it! Like if you want to grow your blog into a mammoth porcupine, then regular posting is probably needed there. If you’re happy where you are and just do what you can and have tons of fun with it, then you’re fiiiiine as is, right?! I post SO way less than I used to.😂 I post like 3 times a week…AS OPPOSED TO 7 TIMES A WEEK LIKE LAST YEAR OMG. I am learning to chill. I’m basically the cucumber. *chills calmly*
*claps* well said Cait! I totally agree with you on the apologising point – ownnnn that strut gurl! Although sometimes I apologise to my past self privately for really not keeping to my colour coded plans that I spent ages on…*sips tea* OH WELL. I mean, I was meant to write a bunch of posts before I went gallavanting to Europe but EFFORT – and I’m doing more important things like being slobbered on by dogs and discovering that dogs aren’t that bad but gee cats don’t asphyxiate you when they sit on you at least.
Ahem. Anyway. You’ve just brought to my attention that niggling thought at the back of my head whether to delve into the world of the just “.com” or not. Hm Hm Hm. I think for now I’m too lazy to sort that one out. And let’s not even bring up the issues of typos *headdesk* there are probably 10 in this comment alone that I missed #TheStruggles
YUS EXACTLY. *flips hair* We really don’t owe anyone anything with our blogs, so why even apologise?!? Well, sometimes I apologise when my monthly recap is like 3,000 words long😂😂 But it’s more like a “sorry not even sorry” thing because I’m a cruel fountain of information and I MUST SHARE. (Overshare?😂) Ahem. Anyway.
omg blogging is such an effort sometimes. I hope you don’t drown in slobber….omg. That is really gross to think about.
I do love my .com name, of course, heheh (LESS TO TYPE OUT and I feel like a professional even when I’m exactly not #ahem) but honestly I don’t think bloggers are “less” if they don’t go for one! Like do you spend money on hosting or on books? I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WHERE PRIORITIES LIE.
Oh Cait! This post is absolutely wonderful! And some of your advice works for any kind of blogging, not just book blogging! You’ve kind of convinced me to make some changes to my lifestyle/writing blog that I’ve been worrying about. I’m going to move from WordPress to Blogger because I prefer it! So much I can’t do without hosting, and I can’t use use the domain name I bought without hosting! So I’m swapping, and I’ll take all my posts with me, bit by bit.
But the whole point about reviewing ARCs/review copies to release date. More often than not, I simply don’t. It’s part of my review policy, publishers know it and don’t have a problem. I always review, but it can be months or possibly years, and they don’t mind because they’ll definitely get a review, and a late review will mean the book gets exposure again at a later date, and it gets a resurgence (maybe). So it’s all good, I no longer fret about it all.
But you made me happy about breaks and hiatuses! I had an unintentional hiatus recently. I was struggling with reading and had other things going on, so there was a month with no posts at all… because the books I managed to read I realised I couldn’t reiew one til later in the year, and the other I was reviewing on my other blog, and I felt bad. But now there are so m any posts! I’m reading much faster, I’ve been taking part in blog tours, and I’m coming up with ideas for posts, and I’ve had very few days without a post, which is odd for me. But I’m feeling better about it!
Fantastic post, Cait! You should dish out blog advice more often! You should have a little page/tab for blogging advice and link to it all. I will definitely be tweeting this once I’m home! 🙂
AHHH THANK YOU, JO!! And yes I do say “book blogging” 😂 But honestly this can go for anything! Book tubing, just general blogging…anything creative, honestly. 😉 I think we creatives just have to learn to chill a bit and just OWN our opinions and art work. *nods*
And I agree that later-review dates are often really good for books! It brings it back to people’s attention! I used to freak out over the unsolicited books I’d get, because half the time they all came out on the same day and WHAT IS A PERSON TO DO????? Basically just chill and review them when I can. Hehe.
I always get nervous about hiatusing when I need to write. But like, do I try to balance both and stress my brain out, or just take some time off and focus on other important things? THE ANSWER IS PRETTY OBVIOUS. Our blogs are precious to us but we can’t let them consume us right!! I’m so glad your hiatus made you come back feeling better. 🙂
Awww, THANKS, JO. <3 If you have any advice-topic suggestions I'm all ears.😂
Ohhh my word I am crying laughing. I so needed these reminders! Especially the towering TBR stack one!
I AM SO GLAD YOU LIKED THE POST!! And don’t let that TBR fall on your head.😂
THIS IS GOOD. I actually needed this right at this moment because my blog has been feeling weirdly juvenile to me for the past couple of weeks. I JUST NEED TO RELAX, BECAUSE IT’S FINE.
And, ooo, abusive Goodreads users. I actually had a clash with someone on Goodreads right when I first started; I rated a book one star and the person apparently knew the author and by giving the book one star I was ruining the person’s career? Totally stupid. I just kept deleting their comments and ignoring them until they went away.
Omg noooo AINE!! YOUR BLOG IS MAGNIFICENT. I love reading your blog. HONEST I’M NOT JUST SAYING THAT. Your blogging voice is superb and I also want to steal your brain because your book ideas = 😍😍
Agh, goodreads users can be SO ridiculous. It’s like they don’t even care that there are other people with feelings around?? I got absolutely abused on my review for Finding Audrey, which I gave 1-star because I thought it was a horrible and inaccurate portrayal of social anxiety and just…omg just really degrading?! AND I GOT ABSOLUTELY BURNED FOR IT. I stopped answering comments and basically if someone comments on that review I don’t look.😂 It doesn’t bother me that much anymore?!? People can say what they want. *flips hair* Our opinions are not wrong! *hi fives*
I am sorry but I will not be able to be specific in this comment. I HAVE FELT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE WORRIES myself. I think we all have if we’re honest. So? I LOVE YOU FOR SAYING IT ALL. People need to do their thing, not worry about saying stuff that’s already been said, or not doing giveaways or taking a break. JUST DO YOUR THING and own it as best you can. WE ALL ROCK. *applauds Cait*
AND YES CHEESECAKE TRUMPS chocolate cake. Every.Time. *eats an entire cheesecake* *passes cheesecakes to all*
I think we ALL have, tbh.😂😂 I MEAN I’M HONESTLY TALKING TO MYSELF A LOT IN THIS POST. I freak out about this stuff!! Although some of them I’ve retired because I’m an old blogger and I’ve learned to calm myself somewhat. :’) There are better things to freak out over than a typo, right?!
Cheesecake is probably the meaning of life. WAIT DID I SAY PROBABLY?? I meant definitely.
I try not to sweat the small stuff. Sometimes, these sorts of worries creep in, but I just remember that I’m doing this for the fun of it and I can take my blog where I like. Great post!
That is an excellent bloggish attitude! I ADMIRE YOU, LAUREN!
I panic so much about typos, to the point where I’ve actually edited posts from several months ago simply because I’ve spotted a typo. Important question – does an email go out to followers every time you update a post? If it does, I’m going to go and hide in a hole…
I don’t *think* it re-emails when you edit. At least I hope not too.😂 But then I’ve edited old posts and I’ve signed up for emails on my own blog and I don’t get them again? (YES I SIGNED UP FOR MY OWN BLOG. Hahahah. Just to, um, check up on it?) But pfft, my life is a typo. I no longer fret over them. 😉
I love you so much. <3
I just came back from an unplanned six month hiatus (life, it's a time suck, ya know?) and yeah, I lost some followers and readers, not that I had a lot. But I'm back and I'm staying. Heck, September will mark my 6th year of blogging. How'd that happen? There may be cake and chocolate and wine. Probably virtual, but hey, that way is calorie free!
I post late reviews of ARCS on a regular basis (my eyes are bigger than my reading schedule) and the publishers have yet to send ghouls or goblins after me. But if they come, I have tea and chocolate covered toe bones ready to serve. 😛
I totally agree that there isn't a right or wrong way to blog books. Be like Sinatra, and do it your way!
AWESOME postt!!!!!1
OMG CONGRATS ON 6 YEARS!! CONFETTI AND CAKE FOR YOU!! And like these things do happen, with long hiatuses. Life comes, right?! And pfft, I think you deserve actual real chocolate and cake and wine for 6 years blogging.😂
And don’t all the books ALWAYS come out at once, right?!? Like I only like to review once a week, twice maximum. And sometimes ALL THE BOOKS RELEASE ON THE SAME DAY OMG. So it’s not our fault!
THANK YOU BEA. <3
I remember my worried bloggy days. *shakes head* I was a strange creature who thought that she had to post every day even if there was nothing in the world to post about. Thank goodness I’m over that. *laughs nervously* Right?? Guys??
THAT WAS ME TOO.😂 TALK ABOUT EXHAUSTING. hahahha. I’m glad you’re over that. 😉
Thanks so much for this Cait!!! I am the biggest worrier and overthinker of everything so at least I can chill about the blogging aspect of my life. I am convinced you can read minds. My most frequent blogging concern is not having an idea of a post and then deadlines looming closer. Then I realise I technically don’t have a deadline “sigh* (it’s a bad habit). From your list, the one I probably worry too much about is “WHAT IF MY POSTS DON’T MATTER BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS ALREADY SAID THIS STUFF BEFORE?”. Also not reading “enough” books. This post was so entertaining and you’re awesome.
PS when I saw ghouls, first thought –> Supernatural
I’m just posting about what I WORRY ABOUT TOO.😂 So you’re definitely not alone freaking out about bloggish things. Meeee toooo. Although I’ve really got tough on myself and decided not to continually freak out about EVERYTHING all the time. It’s exhausting and it takes the fun out of blogging, right?!
YESSSSSS SUPERNATURAL AND OUR DEAR WINCHESTERS. <3
All of these are me all of the time and I am stressed out little ball of worry. While this post totally helps relieve some of that, I’m a worrier and I always will be. I love your humor and silliness! This was such a fun post to read! And thanks for the links to the graphics resources, 🙂
I totally understand!! I am actually a worrier too…I should’ve talked about that more in the post. hahah. FAIL TO ME.😂 But yes! I think worrying and caring about your blog is totally natural and fine…it just shouldn’t ruin our enjoyment of it, right?!?
This post ❤
Plus, where do you get such awesome GIFs which are perfect for what you’re talking about?
I just find my gifs on google.😂 AND THANK YOU! <3
OH M GAWSH!!! Is that an Il Volo gif I just saw???!!!???!!! *flails*
And also, I’m not a book blogger per say, but I totally agree that bloggers shouldn’t have to apologize for everything. They are already contributing a lot to the blogging community and that in and of itself is a gift.
mkay, excuse me while I go and fangirl over Il Volo….
YES! WE DON’T NEED TO APOLOGISE BECAUSE WE’RE JUST DOING OUR BEST HERE!😂 And omg I have no idea if it’s an Il Volo gif.😂 I’m terrible and just use any gif sometimes.
AHHH, CAITY… Thank you for that. My friends always tell me that I apologize too much. I’ve been fretting about changing my blog design soon. And I want to go to “.com” instead of “blogspot.com”. But people are just flat-out SCARY sometimes. Thank you for giving me this pep talk. I needed it muchLY. XD <3
Omg, okay we need to talk about this Caity thing.😂 I AM VERY OPPOSED TO IT, JUST SO YOU KNOW. HAHAHAHA. Ahem. *composes self* My family gets the death glare if they try to add a “Y” to my magnanimousness.
YOU ARE MOST WELCOME THOUGH, MY FRIEND. And I’m half pep-talking to myself here too because fjdsalfd I fret over these things at SOME time or other! And I think .com names are epic and I’m so glad I have one, but I don’t think bloggers without them are LESS bloggers, you know?! (And I also get my .com name for free hahah because I have a relative who gives it to me in exchange for babysitting. 😂)
*chokes* ERMIGERSH, I AM SO SORRY, CAIT!!! PLEASE FORGIVE MY INSOLENCE. I shall never speak of that “Y” again… *hides in a hole forever*
HAHA! Yessssss… Same here. But to be perfectly honest, one of the biggest reasons I am thinking about changing to .com is because I am a lazy person. *whispers* I get annoyed with putting the looonnnggg .blogspot.com bit at the end of the address when I give it to people. Yesh, I know. I’m terrible. XD (Ooohh, that’s awesome! That’s a lovely trade! Haha!)
*GIVES YOU ALL THE CAKE*😂😂
And omg I do understand about the lazy factor hahahaa. That was me when I changed my blog name. I was basically “My #1 priority here is to have a short name so I don’t have to spend 98 years typing it out”. HAHAHA. Laziness ftw *hi fives*😂
SO TRUE!! ‘Nuff said! 🙂
WHY THANK YOU. *sprinkles cake crumbs in your hair*
This is so so accurate…
1. YES, the guilt. Oh, the guilt. I have it right now because I was getting back into the swing of things and now I just don’t feel like writing anything again.
2. Every single time. I have almost never reviewed a book before the release date (for unsolicited ARCs) because I am a huge mood reader, I have so many ARCs that are still unread. Yet every single time I post a review, months after release, I’m always a little bit nervous that the publisher will be like ‘What took you so long??’ and never contact me again. Despite nothing like that happening in 4 years of blogging.
3. Yeah, I worry that I’ll lose my blogger friends because of this sometimes, even though we’re in touch elsewhere…
4. If I hated a book and everyone loves it, I kind of worry I missed something?
As for the money, I think I spend more money on hosting than anything else. If I buy books, they’re second hand or on special offer, or I’ve gotten them for free. Also, Creative Market = <3
Omg I am the SAME with the ARCs though!! I always expect the publishers to go “Well that’s your fourth 2-star review in a review so NOPE YOU’RE GETTING SCRATCHED OFF THE LIST FOREVER MWHAHAH”. And yet, they do not. Because they are nice. And I’m a paranoid fish.😂 Ahem. And I always worry about the hating-the-book-everyone-loves-too…although sometimes it’s not so bad, because there are always a few other bookworms out there ready to rant too.😂
CREATIVE MARKET IS SO GLORIOUS OMG. I had to spring for paid graphics with commercial licenses to start up my Society6 store….and then now I use them on my blog so VERY MUCH WIN. ;D
(*comes out of the glitter cloud with hand raised*I read your blog archives. Not all of them, but there are some posts I remember that I particularly love and so I occasionally go and search for them. It’s like a treasure hunt. *nods* XD )
I like this list! Life is too short to spend the whole time worrying. And I’ve gotten unfortunately sporadic about posting. It’s bad when you realize all of a sudden that your last three posts are all apologies about not posting. So, unless I disappear for a really long time, I don’t give an explanation. And if I’m planning to take a break, I try to explain before the break. But life happens. If I accidentally don’t blog for a month… oops.
ZOMG KATIE, YOU’RE KILLING ME. *buries 20,000 leagues underground forever and howls* 😂 I’m so embarrassed of posts I wrote, like, 3 weeks ago LET ALONE 3 YEARS AGO OMG. Ahem.
And yes. Life is far too short to spend worrying…especially about something that is supposed to be FUN. and I’m like a chronic worrier of all the things, so it’s actually really NICE just to come to my little queendom blog and rule magnificently just how I want to. *nods* *tosses glitter of happiness everywhere*
It’s not just your blog, my queen. It’s also Liam’s blog and Lily Jenness’s blog and maybe other ones too? Even my own. I am a treasure hunter of good postingness.
…But if you’re going to die of embarrassment (or happiness? I’m not sure at this point.), can I rule your queendom? I can be Queen Kate. 😛
(This totally doesn’t count as assassination and usurpment. Nope. XD)
*throws glitter just because it’s so sparkly!*
EXCUSE YOU. Now I know we share a name, but that doesn’t mean you get to sneak in and steal my title. *adjusts slipping crown*
Awwww! What good is sharing a name if we can’t sneak into each others’ domains and swap places every now and then? What good is it if we can’t pull a cliched “We’re so alike! Let’s swap places and surprise everyone!”? *eyes slipping crown*
BECAUSE I JUST DON’T SHARE, KATIE. IT JUST DOESN’T HAPPEN. I am the baby of a large family, okay? We don’t get taught how to share.
Ah… just one teeny-weeny problem with that.
You are not the baby. Mime is.
But fine. If you don’t want to share, then I shall just carry out my plan of assassination and usurpment. Or just usurpment. As it is with all my friends who want to rule the world, I plan to usurp if they get to it before me.
What can I say? I gravitate toward power and want my own and am such a sickenly loyal Hufflepuff/Slytherin that I will totally support everyone until I see my chance to take over. *NOD*
Pfft, Mime and I both have “baby of the family” syndrome.
Assassination and usurpment?
THIS HAS ESCALATED FAST.
I suggest you lock your doors, fiend, because the dragons are coming. THE DRAGONS ARE COMING. MWHAHAHA. I’m like 100% Slytherin so, just sayin’. You don’t stand a chance. *pets dragons evilly*
*puts magic protection glitter all around the doors and windows*
I probably don’t stand a chance. I am very much Hufflepuff and even more Ravenclaw than Slytherin. But I have enough of the Slytherin to plot and plan.
*sets out dragon bait and secret nets*
Okay, so twice lately you’ve said ‘fiend’ in place of ‘friend’ and the first time I thought it was a typo, but now I seriously think you’re doing it on purpose XD
These tips//worries are FABULOUS. Well, they aren’t, but YOUR ANSWERS ARE. You are the best blogger of ever and honestly you’re the only book blogger I really follow. I WANT to follow other bloggers, when I go to new blogs, I’m like “they’re not like Cait” DO YOU SEE THE MONSTER YOU’VE CREATED. I don’t want more bloggers JUST like you, because no one can be you because you are you, but I really like reading bloggers who have their own quirky, fun voice, don’t take things too seriously, and just have fun. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND BLOGS LIKE THAT? Basically: the hardest of ever. So I just settle for following you and don’t really have high hopes for finding other blogs that I enjoy as much as yours.
DUDE, YOU CAUGHT ME. I 100% am not typo-ing.😂 I’m genuinely saying “FIEND” HHAHAHAHHAHA. Ahem.
Aww, thank you though! :’) And I’m like speaking from total experience here, hhah. But omg I’M SORRY FOR TURNING YOU INTO SUCH A MONSTER, LISA, FORGIVE MY BEASTLINESS. But do you read Emily’s blog?!? Loonyliterate.com? She is SO FUNNY and I think we have sort of similar styles. JUST SAYIN’.
OMO. YOU FIEND. (i couldn’t resist XD) I love it though. I WILL GLADLY BE YOUR FIEND.
I did follow Emily for a while and I sorta like her posts, but they tend to be on the short side and I prefer almost-long and long posts. I did like her style, but I felt like I wasn’t ‘getting into’ her posts because they were so short.
BUT YOU WRITE SHORT POSTS YOURSELF, LISA.😂😂
Hey Cait, can I like, marry your photos?
THE RATING CRISIS IS NEAR AND DEAR TO ME. I hate it. I have to give a rating to help me focus my thoughts and reviews on the book but I’m always thinking IS THIS RIGHT??? I gave this other book 3 stars too but I liked it more than this book but don’t think this book deserves less than that and then I question MY WHOLE LIFE because WHAT IF I’VE RATED EVERYTHING WRONG??
The thing I worry most about is just the kind of posts I write. I’m always worried that I’m not writing posts people are actually interested in reading, and it’s easy to say “Don’t worry about it!” but it’s not really that easy to do.
NO I AM MARRYING THEM, BUT YOU MAY COME TO THE WEDDING AND EAT CAKE WITH US.
But zomg I hear you with the rating crises still.😂 I mean, I’ve mostly gotten over it. BUt I STILL do fret at times! Like I’ll feel completely different about two books and yet they get the same rating?! WHO DOES THIS WORK. WHY DON’T WE HAVE MORE STARS. *cries*
And I absolutely agree it’s not easy to “stop worrying”. I’m a chronic worrier so I GET IT, I DO. I do think, with blogging, it’s about having confidence in our voice/style and that and come more with just time??? Like last year I spent 78% of my blogging time just freaking out. But now I’m a LOT more comfortable to post what I want, when I want, and just realise the world isn’t secretly thinking I’m a sucky blogger. And I keep asking my readers what kind of posts they want and also just checking the stats and stuff to see what’s the most popular. So I do try to cater to my audience too. 🙂
Ahhh thank you for this post! I’ll be sure to return to it next time I’m having a blogging breakdown.
Ellie | On the Other Side of Reality
SAME. I’ll remind myself of this when I’m having my semi-regular blogging crisis.😂
This is such a fantastic post, Cait! I can relate to having felt so many of these feelings at one point or another over the past 2.5 years I’ve been blogging, especially guilt over not posting enough or as frequently because of juggling a full time job. At the end of the day I’m happiest when I’m in the mindset that my blog is MY tiny space of the internet that I can run how I want without adding stress, because blogging should be my way of UN-stressing.
Yessss, just remembering that our blogs are our little queendoms is AMAZING AND I THINK WE SHOULD DO THAT MORE OFTEN. *nods* Blogging can be stressful and like a little stress is good now and then. But ultimately?! We should be having FUN! Especially if it’s a hobby! 😀
Oh my goodness cheesecake for the wiiinnn!!! That is my favorite type of cake! I actually get a special purple strawberry cheesecake made for me on my birthday every year and IT. IS. THE. BEST. And don’t worry Cait, my little sister collects pinecones too!!! You guys would get along great!!! XD
This is actually a very nice post to read because you make very good points, and you make it funny to read! All in all, it’s makes for a very uplifting post. I’m very glad for it, especially with all the stress I’ve put on myself. :\ ( I know, I know, I try to do 497394 things at once and it never works but I never learn so ya know. )
P.S. If I were a publisher I would love to have ghouls but as not-a-publisher I’m very glad that they don’t.
It is my favourite type of cake too, tbh. :’) CHEESECAKE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND. And zomg purple strawberry?! THAT’S AMAZING. My birthday always includes chocolate brownie cheesecake. It is the stuff of HEAVENS.
AND OMG KINDRED SPIRITS WITH YOUR SISTER!! *flails*
And I’m super glad you liked the post! I think blogging can be uber stressful, but sometimes…we just need to remember to enjoy it right?!? It’s OUR blog and we should do what we want. *nods*
LOVE. I seriously fret about the size of my TBR! Thank you for helping me chill out. And you are hilarious. I totally started book blogging for the free ARC’s, no shame. Little did I know how much I would enjoy all the other great things about it!
I’M GLAD YOU LIKED THE POST, HEIDI. 😀 And I don’t even think there’s shame for wanting ARCs! I used to be like mostly a writing blog, but switched to books more fully so I could get ARCs.😂 I’d still love blogging without the books! I just love the perks of it too. 😉
I worry a lot about my blog, especially about me being awkward and about driving people away… or about being boring 😀 It’s nice to read and realise that we don’t have to stress because the world won’t end if we slip up with posting blog post or something like that… and that publishers don’t have ghouls. I mean, who would like that kind of visitors? I don’t. I wouldn’t know what to offer them to eat and to drink? I’d embarrassed myself. 😀
Luckily, I don’t have time reading slovak ARCs on time, I don’t have time with writing the review on time, I have problems with publishing those reviews because I forget about them. Seriously, my own brain is betraying me!
OMG I didn’t know about that free downloads on creative market!!!! :O You just changed my life.
Doooon’t fear, because I HAVE THE SAME WORRIES!😂 For some bizarre reasons, I’m sure I’m going to post something and it’ll get like 2 comments someday and then I’ll cry.😂 IT HAS NOT HAPPENED. I’m just panicking over nothing.
And forgetting to do things = me all the time too. EEEEK. We need secretaries.😂
OMG YOU ARE WELCOME FOR THE GEM THAT IS CREATIVE MARKET. ENJOY.
1) Your blog is so adorable. “A rebellious oblivious adorable mushroom.” is my quote of the day. SO CUTE! 2) This post was really self assuring. I recently posted a blog post about the books I wanted to read this summer and I was so nervous. Thank you for posting this! – Sarah
THIS MAKES ME HAPPY SARAH. THANKYOU. FLAIL WITH ME AND LET US EAT CAKE.
ah yes, the star rating onw got me a few months back but i have manage to sort myself out mentally of what star means what FOR ME! My review post formatting is always changing depending on how much i have to say etc. the only things i have ‘properly’ formatted (in my opinion) are my review collections, series reviews and Show Me The Book posts all the rest are a bit changeable!
I had a star rating crisis a while back myself.😂 BUT I GOT OVER IT. Because omg it doesn’t really entirely matter hahaha. It’s just a rating!
YES, it is just another way of saying if a book was -in your opinion- was good or not so great. Which in reality if people really wanted to know more about what you thought of the book, then they would read your review of it!
Lovely post!
And thanks for being realistic about how much a hiatus might affect you. I’ve seen varying advice about this, in that most blog posts are super optimistic about it and tell you a hiatus won’t affect you at all, while most comments on posts or social media indicate that people feel they DID lose followers. But I think you’re right that the length of the hiatus matters. People will definitely still read your blog if you take a month off. Half a year? A whole year? That might be different. Not because people “hate” you or “forgot” you, but simply because blog turnover rate can be high. The people who followed you six months ago simply might not be blogging anymore. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a new audience once you come back to blogging. 🙂
Thank you, Briana!! *flails happily*
And I do realise I was probably generalising a bit too much from just my hiatus experiences.😂 Which I feel bad about now! I’ve had a few people tell me they lose followers if they even take a short hiatus. Which is really surprising to me…but HEY. If it happens, it happens. But I think it’s better to risk that and not blog when you don’t want to/have time/energy to do it, right? And the TIME does matter a lot. I think frequent like weekly hiatuses are good? Taking month+ is when things start to get iffy.
And YES to the blogging turnover rate too! And if your audience doesn’t spring back when you come back from a hiatus…just get thee networking, I say. Find new friends. 🙂
I am totally guilty of worrying about taking time off from blogging, mainly because my breaks are horrendously long and it’s pretty hard to bring an audience back after a few months. You just have to keep trying to bring them back, and get new people in at the same time 🙂
And I’m incredibly passionate about opinions for some reason. I always think that it doesn’t matter whether or not somebody loves the same thing as you because you can always find something else that you have in common! If we all liked the same things, there wouldn’t be much room for discussion, which would be pretty boring, in my opinion. And as for people being incredibly hostile for not liking the same thing as them, I always think to myself “if somebody loses their respect for you just because you like something that they don’t, then their respect was never worth having in the first place”.
It is hard! I totally agree *nods* But I think the more established your blog is, too, like the easier it gets? I find I have zero problems if I take a week off and come back….everyone is still here! Although I’ve been blogging for 5 years, so I suppose people know me.😂 BUT YEAH IT’S WORTH IT STILL EVEN IF THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN. Blogging when you’re exhausted is. no. fun.
And omg I agree about opinions *nods* I actually don’t get why some people get so offended/angry/cruel about it?!??! WHY THE DRAMA OMG. I can’t believe I’ve had people flip out at me over disagreeing about things. It’s just too bizarre. It’s JUST A BOOK.
I have experienced every single one of these worries on multiple occasions, even after… six years(ish) on various blogs. My main ones are time, not being able to contribute money to giveaways, and the guilt of the TBR. Over time I’ve started to worry less because there is literally nothing I can do to change those! Uni means I don’t have time to read ARCs with a fast turn around or make all the blog posts and participate in the community as much as I’d like. And as a poor uni student with minimal income it’s hard to afford many things, but eating is more important than hosting a giveaway.
OMG if publishers kept ghouls for late reviews I’d have died many times over. I’m so behind on ARCs it isn’t funny.
ME TOO, BEC, ME TOO. I think it’s just like part of the blogging journey to relax about it all though, right?!? I used to freak out about SO much blogging stuff and now I’m like “Eh. It’ll survive.” 😂 Although I still do fret about giveaways because I do like NONE and I wish I could! But if I have to choose between a book for me and a book for someone else…um…I’m selfish.😂
THIS POST SPEAKS TO ME. I’m one of those people that worries about every single little detail, so I can relate to just about everything in this post and I’m just glad that I’m not alone. XD
I had the star rating crisis about a year ago which made me move to the percentage rating system I have now. I’m not sure if that helped at all though since I still flail around for at least an hour before I can decide on an accurate rating.
As for the ghouls? I’m all for it! (As long as they aren’t the ones from Tokyo Ghoul that eat people, that may be a problem. XD)
DEFINITELY NOT ALONE!! I have definitely worried and obsessed over all of these myself.😂 Or…still am…hahahhahha OH DEAR. So maybe this post was half talking to myself too? 😉
AGH star-ratings are so so hard, I totally agree!! I am always hankering for half-stars and then I’m like “no Goodreads doesn’t have half stars so your blog can’t either” and IT’S A NIGHTMARE BASICALLY.😂
So I don’t think collecting pinecones is weird. I used to collect these pinecones that looked like roses! This was a great post. I hope that people take it to heart. You are super talented at communicating through writing.
OMG PINE CONE TWINS *hi fives* I use them as props in my bookstagram photos.😂
And omg thank you so much for your nice words about this post! THAT REALLY MEANS A LOT TO ME. <3
This is so true! Especially for the hiatus one! I’ve always taken hiatus because of school, and it feels like I’ve been so inactive. Feels bad, I know 🙁
Hiatus can feel bad, I knooooow the feeling. And honestly sometimes I avoid hiatuses because I feel like the world will COLLAPSE if I’m not blogging. But hiatuses are worth it. *nods* And we can always get back into it with less stress afterwards. 🙂
I have worried about ALL of these things, and I’m slowly getting over them. My biggest fail is NetGalley…and I’m trying to work on it. Just got up to 6%! Perhaps cake would help this process…
Meeee tooooo though, Charlie, so you’re not alone! I’m basically also talking to myself with this post.😂 I’ve gotten SO much more relaxed and calmer about blogging though! It’s such a relief!
True story, I have been working on a post about calming down when it comes to blogging. It’s more of like a “journey” post if you will, and uhh I can’t post it because my “journey” is nowhere near complete. Some day. But I know that you are right about ALL these things. Because it is true that you will hate it and want to quit and cry and throw things if you get too stressed- it was literally me a couple months ago. I will say that I think that hiatuses DO tend to result in the loss of some followers, just from personal experience. (Meaning that one time I took a week off and my views ever since have been slashed? That time.) But at the same time, we can’t burn ourselves out on the chance that some followers (or fruit, or minions or whatever you have over here 😂) will go away- because I guess that just means they just weren’t that into me 😉
My biggest problem is that I take EVERYTHING super personally. Don’t get an ARC? I must be the worst. Radio silence from a publisher that I have made several attempts to contact? Literally the most awful blog in the history of the internet. Slow comment day? Everyone hates me and I should just go cry in a corner. SO, I think that is why I am extra hard on myself about so many of these things. But I am working on it! I used to not be able to function until every review was submitted before the release, now I am a bit more relaxed. And I want to change my look very soon, and I do not care what anyone thinks basically! Frankly, the design is something I have to look at ALL the time so I should be happiest with it, right? 😉
Also, now I want cheesecake. You might be evil 😛
YES EXACTLY. And honestly I’m half talking to myself with this post too, because I do worry about these things.😂 Not as much as I used to! Omg I used to be such a freaking-outer when it comes to all my bloggish things tbh. Life is just too short for that nonsense. We need to just own our blogs and accept things. *nods*
Although sorry about saying that about the followers!! That’s how it is for me (actually I always get more followers when I go on hiatus😂) so I assumed that was the blanket truth. SO MY BAD. I shouldn’t have assumed!
Omg I understand about taking this personally too. *pats shoulder* *gives you extra cheesecake* I don’t do that anymore, but I used to! Especially with publishers when EVERYONE IN AUSTRALIA BASICALLY WOULD GET THE FREAKING BOOK….but not me. *weeps bitterly for self* I am SO much more relaxed about blogging. It’s nice. 😉
Oh gosh, book blogging can be full of worries and stress! But it shouldn’t! We’re doing this mostly for fun so you do you. Read and review when you can. I often have review books posted on the day or after it comes out. It just happens.
-lauren
SAME. Okay actually not same.😂I usually have my reviews posted a gazillion weeks after it should’ve been. BUT IN MY DEFENCE: I often get sent a whole bunch of books with the same release dates. *facepalm* Ahem. BUT YES! We should really not let the worries/stresses of book blogging ruin things for us! It’s supposed to be fun.
I think I just found the light… THIS IS THE PERFECT POST I NEEDED AGES AGO. This definitely lifted my spirits up, Cait!
(Well at least now I know I’m not the only one who doesn’t do much giveaways nor join Twitter chats… *cries in relief and hugs you*)
WE ARE TWINS IN MANY THINGS HERE THEN, CLEARLY, MARA. *hi fives* 😂 And I think it’s totally okay not to do aaaall the bookish bloggery things. We do what we can and have fun right?!?
Oh man. So many of these are relatable.
And the changing name thing? Yup. I do it all the time.
And I’m definitely the type of person who feels almost all these things…
Thanks for voicing the truth
YOU ARE WELCOME WREN. *shares cake with you* I’m talking to myself with this post too because I worry about these a lot.😂 We just have to remind ourselves it’s our blog to do with what we like and WE ARE FABULOUS. *throws glitter*
We ARE fabulous. -flips hair- We should know we’re fabulous. No matter what.
THIS IS THE ATTITUDE TO BLOG WITH, I ENTIRELY AGREE. HUZZAH.
Blog positively. Or as positively as you can!
Those are constant worries! I’m new at this and have found some amazing bloggers that are kind, then some that are just plain rude to the newbies. But we all are new at one point. And I’m very bummed to hear no ghouls. … What about a three headed dog?
Hopefully publishers have a three-headed dog. Or at least a few monsters of some sort hanging about or else WHAT IS THE POINT SHEESH??? Ahem. But I luckily haven’t come across many rude bloggers! Although definitely some. 🙁 And it IS sad, because we’ve all been new and that should make us all kindred spirits to newbie problems right?!?
I am a worrisome soul by nature, and it can be extremely aggravating. I’m always worrying about whether I’m not doing something right or lah de da. Basically I’m that person who’s on vacation and is worrying whether there house is burning down at that very moment.
SAME, CASSIDY, SAME. *shares worrisome cake with you* So actually this post is talking to me too. 😂
Oh my goodness, worrying whether I’m rating things “right” is like my most common book blogging worry. I don’t have any actual sort of system with my ratings, so I can’t even make one of those “this is what my ratings mean” chart things because my ratings never mean the same thing for any two books?? But I just try to trust that people will pay attention to my reviews rather than my ratings since that’s what I do for other reviews.
And yes, you totally do NOT have to spend a bunch of money to blog about books. I spend less now than I did before I started blogging since I’ve started getting eARCs and paying more attention to sales and using the library. It does make me kind of sad that I can’t afford to do giveaways, but maybe eventually I’ll be able to or to get some sponsored ones 🙂
Anyway, this is all such great advice!
Ratings are HARD I totally agree!!😂 And they mean different things for everyone. Like, omg, I just realised Goodreads has little words under the star ratings (when you hover over them) and they reckon 3-stars means liked it, whereas for me it means didn’t like it! AHHHH. Life is hard.😂
AND YES. I don’t like the whole push for us bookworms/bloggers to have to spend money! I actually see people getting glared at for not spending money and using mainly ARCs and things. And…like why not?!? They’re out there for promotion and we’re willing to promote, so it makes perfect sense to me to have a big diet of eARCs or whatnot if you can and you like it! The library is still, always, my BFF too.😂
Yes! GR is always like, “We’re recommending you *this book* because you liked *this other book*,” and I’m just like, “No! I *didn’t* like that book! That’s why I gave it 3 stars!” Then again, sometimes I do give 3 stars to books that I at least somewhat enjoy but that just have some flaws, so, you know, there’s an example of my ratings being all over the place lol. But yeah, I definitely don’t follow GR’s rating scale. It would probably be helpful, but I already started rating books before I started using GR and saw their scale, so it was just kind of too late to change. And then, to make matters worse, Amazon and Netgalley both have their own scales too, and it’s like none of them match up!
I have so much love for this post! I’ve been blogging, on again/off again for years but only recently focused it solely on (mostly) books and reading. I second-guess and worry all the time! I keep trying to remind myself that I do this first for my own love of books, writing, and reading. Second to share my love of ALLLLLLL the books and bookish things. If people don’t like it then they can move along…I’m making myself happy. Though of course, having readers to squeal over my newest favorite character with is always a plus. 🙂
That’s a really good view of blogging!! Haters can just go off and grump somewhere else right?! WE GOTTA BLOG TO MAKE US HAPPY. Particularly if it’s a hobby for us! And omg finding someone to mutually fangirl with is LIFE. LOVE THAT.😂
In the beginning I also had the feeling I had to say sorry for not posting, but I quickly found out that it is ridiculous. We all have lives and you don’t own a post to anyone. My reviews are late all the time at the moment, but if you think about it, that’s not a bad thing. The moment a book is published, EVERYONE posts their review and then sometimes the hype dies down. At that time I post my review and I suddenly make people aware again that this title is still out there. I have the same with reading reviews; sometimes it pops up again and I’m like OH YEAH, that one!
Rating a book is the HARDEST thing. I have a few opinions I’m scared about to share, so I keep them to myself.
The last thing is a 10000% me, especially right now. I’m in such a slump. Ugh.
EXACTLY! We don’t owe people when it comes to blogging! I mean, saying the odd “sorry” is fine, of course.😂 But just not continually, I don’t believe anyway! And YES I don’t think “late” reviews are even that bad. Plus like the original hype has died down, so our reviews are renewing it all, right!?? #WIN
Cait, you really get it! Five years of blogging, all the worries, summed up in one beautiful, concise post! I know I’m guilty of worrying about publishers blacklisting me, and so many more of the worries up there!
YAY I’M GLAD YOU LIKED THE POST! *shares cake with you* And honestly I still worry about these things myself, so I am reminding myself to chill out too.😂
THIS POST IS STRESSING ME OUT. Ha. No but seriously, I agree with all of these, and I used to be a lot more worried about them – especially reviewing books on time (even the unsolicited ones???). I just don’t have time to worry about those things, and I’ve become so much better at taking breaks when I need them. 🙂 🙂 🙂
OMG SORRY EMILY.😂 *pats your shoulder* And honestly I’m basically talking to myself with this post because I used to freak out over this stuff ALL THE FREAKING TIME OMG. Now I’m a lot better too. Breaks don’t murder one’s blog. And I don’t have to review every single unsolicited book on time. *flips hair* We are free to be majestical and rule our blogs as we please.
Great post. I agree with you completely. I would add that you can review library books too. I do it a lot. I bet almost half of the books I review are library books. Probably almost half are from publishers and then I buy a few.
Absolutely!! You can review WHATEVER YOU WANT! Library books, bought books, super old books… :’) I know some of us get stuck in ruts of just reviewing what’s new, but we’re free to do whatever we want. 😉
Just want to leave a comment to say YES to all of these. I haven’t been book blogging for a while, but I’ve been thinking about making YouTube videos recently and I think this post applies to YouTubing quite well. Seeing the comment section of some videos bombarded by all kinds of trolls, it’s hard to put your work and opinions out there and not be afraid. Making your own stuff can also be scary because there’s already so much out there. So thanks for the reassurance, it’s exactly what I need! 😉
THANK YOU, MELODY! *flails happily* And I do think this kind of applies to any sort of creative platform, right?! Like instagram or booktube or tumblr too. *nods* And omg youtube trolls can be terrifying. :O I think you just gotta realise people are out there to hat eon stuff for no reason and WE SHOULD SMITE THEM WITH A HAMMER. (Okay, maybe not.😂) But no one is going to create content like YOU CAN, so that’s super encouraging, right?! :’)
I honestly needed this- especially with the thing about review copies. I’m literally drowning trying to get everything up on time, and I really just want to read my own, choice books! I think part of my problem is I hate saying no, or ignoring emails that come to me about review copies, and before I know it, I’m accepting everything! Great post, though! 😀
Ahhh I get that! But you gotta learn to say no sometimes, Julia! OR ELSE IT DOES GET TOO OVERWHELMING.😂 Last year I like BANNED myself from requesting books hahahh…and this year I’ve totally lost my resolve and am requesting/accepting all the books, ahem. But I’m sort of trying to pace myself. 😂 It’s definitely okay to say no sometimes!
My book blogging worries:
*OMG I just launched my blog and I AM ALREADY SUFFERING FROM A BLOGGING SLUMP ONLY AFTER MY VERY FIST POST. PEOPLE WILL HATE ME!!!!!!!!!!” or at least think that I’m (and in extension, my blog is) unreliable!!
I soooooo want to do a giveaway. Not only that I have no money, but I also have absolutely no good reason to host a giveaway. I mean, I have zero facebook followers, zero bloglovin’ followers, barely any on twitter, and not even a hundred Instagram follower count… why the heck am I dying to host a giveaway in the first place?
My head is as empty as an empty cardboard box. And I suck at coming up with appropriate epithets. so… *OMG I HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE A BLOGGER ANYMORE… or reason to be one…*
and my head is so empty that I cannot even think of my other book-blogging worries… pathetic much?
Eeep, it’s okay, Maliha! I DO GET THAT.😂 I mean, can you believe I was actually nervous about this post?! I’m sitting here saying “OWN YOUR BLOG! BE HAPPY WITH IT!” and I was actually super nervous to post it hahaha. #irony Ahem. So I think we can let ourselves fret, but not let it consume us, right? It’s rarely as bad as we think it’s going to be.
And I HEAR YA with the giveaways. 🙁 Wait wait am I not following you on bloglovin’?!? I SWORE I WAS OMG. *dashes off to fix this*
And you’re not pathetic!! You are a marvellous blogger! 🙂 I’m guessing you just need to network a bit and find more readers BECAUSE YOU DEFINITELY DESERVE THEM!
Dude…. thank you so much! For the follow and the motivation. We may have issues as bloggers but this community rocks all kinda of socks! You have now inspired me to sit down and a dually write a blog post! Uhm… soon that is…. …
But does not worrying about your TBR pile still apply when you have 1,000+ books owned and unread??? *hides*
Just don’t…stand too close to it in case it falls on your head and squashes you flat.😂
Oh my goodness, this was very encouraging to read! Thank you for this – I have definitely had one of these moments more than once through this year. I have just started blogging, and it was more an undertaking than I realized. I’m still pushing through though because at the end of the day I love it, and I’m glad that I’m not the only having these freakout moments! So thank you, and looking forward to your other posts!
YAY!! I’m glad you love blogging!! And I really am super glad this was an encouraging post for you. :’) Blogging is super hard and time consuming (and creativity consuming!) but it’s so worth it. 😀
When in doubt: cheesecake it out. I’d buy a while wardrobe of apparel with that printed on it.
Our blogging is really an extension of who we are as people so I think even the more confident bloggers probably have a lot of anxiety and self doubt from time to time too. We’re mostly females who seem to be YA bloggers and it seems in our nature to worry. I think it does get easier the longer you’ve been blogging though, or maybe it comes more with age. It’s probably got a lot to do with feeling judged as well which is sad if that’s the case. It really comes down to not only realising that there’s no right or wrong way to blog and being able to believe it. Great post smushster <3
I need to put that on a shirt AMIRITE?!?😂 SOCIETY6 HERE I COME.
And YES! I do think blogging is an extension of us….although I also think we can choose how to present, you know? Just like, me for instance, who is a huge liar.😂 I’m a very nervous and anxious soul IRL, but on the internet I’m very comfortable. My blog is my little kingdom. Although it did take a while for me to calm down about blogging and just do what I can and not spend the whole time stressing. I’M SPEAKING TO MYSELF WITH THIS POST TOO BASICALLY.😂
This post made my day. I, almost, get out of blogger slump but I’m still too much tired.
And that’s a relief to hear that publisher will not send ghouls. I’m from Italy, and I’m hoping that also italian publishers will understand. One of them send me a copy of a book but I still have to read it since May <_<
I’m definitley hoping the Italian publishers do not send ghouls either. But, I mean, we could also research what kind of tea and cakes ghouls like in case they DO COME KNOCKING and then we can just charm them away from eating our souls. :’)
(I have an ARC I should’ve read back in October last year. 😂 But to be fair I didn’t ask for it and I really don’t like the genre ahhahaa. Now I’m too embarrassed to read it! AGH THE AGONY.)
Book blogging is a perilous business, so much worry!!! Well I used to feel like that but then I realised that it is my blog and I can run it how I like!
Great post and some fab advice in it!
SAME! I used to fret over my blog SO SO MUCH but honestly…why?! It’s supposed to be fun and it’s mine and I think it’s better to treat our blogs as our little kingdoms than worry about what everyone else things all the time.😂
Oh my gosh, so much of this had me laughing so hard it was annoying my family. 🙂
So much of this is so true…thanks so much for the humor. 🙂
AHHHHH THAT MAKES ME SMILE, I’M SO HAPPY DALEY. 😀
I love this post! I agree with you so much on all these things. Thanks for sharing and all of us blogger’s do need to calm down and stop apologizing for breaks and what not. Yes, I’m speaking to myself here as well. 😂😂
YES. We do just need to calm down and just OWN IT. 😂 And I’m speaking to meeeee as well hahah.
Yes!! Own it!!
I love this post Cait! And I completely agree with everything you’ve said here. Publishers aren’t going to hate you if you review an ARC a week after publication. And you’re not going to get judged if you post a review where you’re the black sheep or if you forget to post something on a certain day. Thanks for sharing and, as always, great post! <3
Publishers are really quite reasonable honestly…I don’t know why we’re all so terrified of them.😂 But I mean, we want to do WELL and that’s totally cool!! We should try hard to get these right…but also not die if we mess up. ;D
LOVE THIS! And yes, whether a topic has been covered, or book review, each of us have our own spin 🙂 Some more entertaining than others – like your calling everyone fruit 😉
Exactly! And plus our followers still want t know our opinions on the age old topics right?!? IT’S ALL GOOD.😂
I love this and it is so refreshing. I apologize way too much (to my friends, family, blog, etc.). I will sometimes even apologize when a road is bumpy EVEN THOUGH I DIDN’T PAVE IT. I need to be reminded that it’s OKAY to take a break. Thanks Cait!
Aww, thank you Aubrey!! *flails happily* And I totally used to apologise too much too. IT’S NOT WORTH IT. I’m a recovering people-pleaser.😂
This post was sooo helpful, because while I pretend to be an evil all knowing dark lord with awesome music tastes, I’m actually a very stressed out obsessive tea drinker who is drowning underneath all the blog posts and writing.
I’m always worrying I’m doing ‘book blogging’ wrong. But I guess I don’t have anything to worry about after all!
And yes, I am VERY relived publishers don’t have ghouls.
Ahhh I HEAR YA. I get that way myself honestly.😂 So this post is actually also talking to me. heheh. BUT YES! We really don’t need to worry about doing this wrong, because who says what’s the “right” way anyway?!? WE CAN DO WHAT WE WANT. WE ARE QUEENS OF OUR INTERNET SPACE.
I can’t read this = over half the screen is taken up with an unskippable “subscribe” nag (then headers, menus, browser interface etc). Literally, the post is reduced to 2-3 lines readable at a time.
Oh that’s sad.😕 I have no idea why that’d be. Are you on a mobile device? My blog should be mobile friendly but maybe it’s broken. Otherwise it might be your computer? It’s just strange because I don’t even have a “subscribe” pop-up or anything.
I loved this post. I spent too much time the other day worrying about whether I should post/recommend a book because I (bad idea!!) had stumbled upon some other reviews first that were somewhat negative on it. Well finally I decided that I LIKED the book and it’s my blog, so I should own what I like. …I just started book blogging about a month ago and I am enjoying it so far but you have touched on some of the other struggles I have faced so far.
Yayyy, I’m glad you liked the post, Leslie! *flails* And YES definitely own your blog and your opinions…there’s honestly no reason why we book bloggers can’t all be different, right?! And I totally admit to getting nervous at times myself, but it makes blogging WAY MORE FUN to just own it and not worry about what everyone else thinks all the time.😂
This is so relatable and helpful for new and experienced book bloggers! Seriouely *applause*
I’ve had some of these thoughts before, however fleetingly. I started worrying about my ratings because I literally started rating books 2 months ago…I’m hard on myself for not being very good at analyzing books, too. And for a brief moment, I wondered how unpopular opinions might go…horribly? But then I realized that it shouldn’t matter. Everyone has their own tastes and can express it!
Your reassurances are very reassuring! (I’d call that a success.)
Just gotta be you and do your best!
AHHH THANKYOU. *bows* 😂
And rating is super hard! I TOTALLY AGREE THAT IT IS! I just think it probably really doesn’t matter what we choose to rate books. hehh. And unpopular opinions can be crazy scary…but honestly, if people are getting so offended over an opinion on a fictional character, then they are the ones with problems.😂 We’re all different! THAT’S WHAT LIFE IS ABOUT.
That last gif with the kid dancing. XD FABULOUS! I love it!
But, Cait, pinecone collecting is awesome! So maybe I live in an area where there are zero pinecones. Whenever we go places and I see the perfect pinecone I’m like, “PINCONES! MY FAVORITE!” and I have to take it home. The only down side is when they get bugs in them, and then there are bugs in your room and possibly in your books (um, noooo, bad bugs!). So at the moment, I only have one, pinecone.
So let me say something that is actually relevant to the topic. . . Star ratings are kind of weird. It’s like the books are in kindergarten and we’re awarding them stickers? Like whyyy?! This doesn’t make sense. And everyone interprets their star rating differently. So I’ll only use it on Goodreads, and even then I only use it if I already know, “Oh, yeah. That is a solid five stars., etc.” But if I don’t already know, I just forget the rating and give the review.
ISN’T IT JUST THE BEST GIF EVER?!?!😂 I want to use it in alllllll the blog posts now.
Omg, such a relief that you too are a pinecone enthusiast. They’re just so pretty and naturey and they don’t, like, shed or anything. AND THEY MAKE SUCH GOOD BOOKSTAGRAM PROPS. There is no downside. :’) Except for when they’re spiky and impale your hand or when your dog things they are for him to chew. -_-
And omg star-ratings are just HARD and CONFUSING and I think we should all not stress over them because they’re just going to be so different all the time.😂
I’ve had a lot of these worries. XD I’m rebranding myself a bit, but I think it’s for the better. I’ve also had an insanely large fear about offending people, especially when I do discussion posts that call out stuff in media. Also I’ve totally collected pine cones. Do you know how many different shapes they come in?! A lot! There’s ones as big as your hand (well my hand because I have quite large hands) and then teeny tiny cute ones.
YAY HELLO FELLOW PINECONE ENTHUSIAST!! *flails*😂 I’m glad I’m not alone, because omg they’re so cute and useful, right?! And kind of prickly. Are they prickly in America? I kind of stab myself on mine frequently, but a pinecone enthusiast must do what they must do. *nods sagely*
Haha. XD Some are prickly some aren’t. Spruce and hemlock pinecones are spike free!
Probably a disappointment that the publishers don’t have ghouls bc if they DID they could go haunt GRRM and tell him to SPEED THE FRICK UP, you know? (My sweet summer child … I enjoyed that.)
STAR IDENTITY CRISIS RIGHT HERE. What do the stars even meaaaaan? I frigging love Goodreads challenge bc I am a nerdy lil nerd who likes neatly to keep all the books she’s read (and bookishly hang out with bookish pals!) but the stars STRESS ME. I think I understand them more now, though. (I used gaily to rate everything 4 or 5. Now I am old and wise …)
My two problems:
#1 NO ONE CARES ABOUT MY WRITING EVERYONE HATES ME. I know not all my followers are writers and I hate the feeling of “bragging” about writing … you know, I hate to talk about writing as if we’re this Exclusive Writer Club, #onlywritersunderstand, etc etc …. but then I’m like, dude. If your followers don’t want to read your blog … THEY WON’T READ YOUR BLOG. That’s the good thing about blogging, you’re not actually forcing your opinions down people’s throats, because hey, they can unclick! Even unfollow! (Which isn’t nice for me when they do, obvi, but I’d rather have a few bloggy friends then many faceless/silent bloggy followers.)
#2: Y U SPEND SO MUCH TIME TAKING PICS OF BOOKS / DOING TAGS / THIS IS LAME. You ever get that?? Sometimes I write reviews comparing Gatsby and We Were Liars or discussing insta-love in Les Mis and I feel literary/intelligent/like I’ve actually said something important. But sometimes I take pics of books I’ve recently bought and fangirl over them and then I worry those posts aren’t that worthwhile? But then I’m like, mate, YOU like reading other people’s book hauls! Why shouldn’t they like reading yours??!!
You know??
Anyway, that was a bit o a rant! (Speaking of not forcing your opinions down people’s throats … heh. Sorry.) THANKS FOR THIS POST I LOVED IT. But, PS, chocolate cake is totes better than cheesecake. Just sayin’.
Omg, that is VERY TRUE ACTUALLY. Setting ghouls on GRRM is an excellent idea and I think maybe doing that would GIVE US A FEW RESULTS.
Also YOU UNDERSTOOD MY SUMMER CHILD REFERENCE.😂 *hi fives* You’re the only one who noticed that, I think! hehehe.
Star rating identity crises are like totally part of being a blogger I think. And then you know you’re an OLD BLOGGER when you get over it and don’t even care anymore.😂
And I totally agree with your thoughts on hey-just-don’t-follow-my-blog-if-you-don’t-like-it. OMG…would you believe I actually said that to someone?!? *hides* 😂 I had this person who just always posted horribly negative and mean comments and eventually I was like “Dude, no one is forcing you to read my blog, so just don’t maybe?” I didn’t mean to be rude, but it probably did sound rude. BUT STILL. LIKE C’MON. No need to ruin people’s days!! Ahem. And *pats shoulder* if it makes you feel better I actually am paralysed about talking about my writing. IT’S THE ARTISTS CURSE OMG.
I think I spend like HOURS taking photos of books and then half the amount of time actually blogging.😂 WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER.
ALSO HAVE YOU TRIED CHOCOLATE BROWNIE CHEESECAKE THOUGH?????? I THINK IT MIGHT CHANGE YOUR MIND.
I understand collecting pinecones! Those ones in the photos are quite nice. Symmetrical and stuff, you know?
Omg, I shall come stand over here with you. :’) They’re so nice for photos too. My dog also thinks they’re a snack for him, but we’ll agree to disagree on that topic.
I’m definitely a newbie to the whole book blogging world, and this made me feel a lot better about all the stuff I’ve been stressing over recently. I started my blog because I love books and I wanted to meet other people who are also card-carrying members of the cult. I think I’d already begun to lose sight of that, because I’ve been pushing off even looking at the blog for several days now, but this post definitely revitalized my original excitement!
Ahhhh, I’m so glad it was helpful to you, Jordan! *FLAILS* And omg “card-carrying members of the cult”. 😂 Such an accurate way to sum up bookworm life. hahahha HAH. Ahem. BUT YES! I think it’s important to remember why we started blogging and not to die over all the stressful stuff. Like some stress is good. All stress is not fun.
Such a great post! And yes I worry about most of these. I am late more than 2 months for a lot of review books. And yes I do plan to read and review them eventually, but I still feel bad when it’s months or years later, being a moodreader can be really annoying at times.
And yes ratings can be so tricky. I feel like my 3 stars are pretty positive, but still there are people who see a 3 star and think i didn’t like the book. Should I change my system? Ratings are so subjective they hardly say anything and I feel like you can only understand the rating when you know the person. Or maybe I should stop rating books altogether and just only post my review on my blog.
I am pretty anti change when it comes to my own blog, although I constantly worry about my design and whether it’s good and people like or whether it gives the wrong feel and on the other hand I also am reluctant to change it. So if I change things on my blog or site they are minor things. Like add or remove a heading in my Sunday post or add or remove some small element somewhere.
And yes so much the point about money, yes blogging costs money, but if you don’t want to spend anything on it you cans till can. having your own domain name is awesome, but I still consider those on blogspot.com and wordpress.com real bloggers as well. It’s the content and the person behind the blogs that matters.
Sharing an unpopular opinion is always difficult, but on the other hand it’s also great to know there are people who share my opinion and also dislike book A or haven’t read book B. Or don’t care that I didn’t love book C as much as some others.
I think we all worry and this post is such a good reminder that often the things we worry about aren’t such a big deal at all It’s important to keep blogging fun instead of worrying too much. Will do my best to follow this advice 🙂
AH THANK YOU, LOLA! THAT IS SO KIND OF YOU TO SAY. *flails*
Ratings are super hard. GAH. I think it’s like part of the book blogger life to have a crisis about them at some point.😂 I’ve just stopped worrying and hope that people read my reviews to get my full thoughts. heh. Because the actual meaning behind the ratings can be SO DIFFERENT from blog to blog!
And definitely agreed about the money aspect. *nods* I feel like a lot of bloggers assume they aren’t dedicated enough if they don’t have the .com name? But it’s not true! I still considering .wordpress/blogspot people to be wonderful bloggers. Of course I love my .com name.😂 But I have a deal with my web-designing relative for hosting or else I probably wouldn’t have it either hahahah. I LIKE TO SPEND ALL THE MONEY ON BOOKS. #noregrets
Dog earing books? I remember when my mother first suggested that idea to me. Then I started to use bookmarks and turned away from my sins! Ugh, I hate it when people dog ear books. What the heck, man?
Oh oh I agree. Dog-earing books is just nasty. WHY WOULD ANYONE DO THAT? *shudders and weeps for all books that have suffered like so* The best option, obviously, is to not use a bookmark at all and just read infinitely. *nods*
OHMYGOSH even though I’m not a bookblogger anymore I can TOTALLY relate to so many of these, especially the ‘I don’t format my posts like everyone else’ – I used to look at other creative blogs that had way more views/comments than me and think I was doing something wrong and should imitate them if i want to get a bigger audience, I’ve finally become more concerned with making what I love than making what I THINK readers will love, and I’m all the happier for it!
Also, I wanted to add this little random note at the end cause why not *shrugs* – I respect so so much that you reply to everyone and engage with your audience SO freaking much even though it must get overwhelming sometimes, ’tis the coolest – EVER, love you cheesecake <3
Yayyyy I’m glad you liked/related to this post. Tbh, I think this is like an ANY blogger kind of post, nearly. (Except for the TBR crushing one’s brains out…that’s probably more book bloggerish.) But omg WE ARTISTS. We have to fight so much self doubt! SOMEONE REWARD US WITH CAKE.
Awww, Safah. THANK YOU. <3 I fully admit it does get overwhelming at times and I feel like I'm failing if I don't answer within a few days.😂 BUT IT'S SO WORTH IT. I have made such goodly wonderful friends. <3 *shares all the cheesecake with you*
This is all SO true. I’ve finally gotten to the point in my blogging life where I don’t stress super often, but I’m not gonna lie, sometimes the crazy thoughts still creep into my head. The good thing is that now I KNOW they’re crazy, so I can remind myself of that along the way. 🙂
SAME!! I feel like I’ve kicked a lot of the stresses…but not all of them hahhaha.😂 They always come back! It’s the artist’s curse!
“I’M NEVER GOING TO GET THROGH ALL THE BOOKS ON MY TBR BEFORE IT FALLS AND SQUASHES ME FLATTER THAN A PIZZA CRUST.”
THIS IS SO REAL. My life has become shuffling around my books and trying to read them before they crush me in my sleep.
I sometimes worry about hiatuses, especially because my readership drops SO MUCH, and I feel so bad because I love blogging and I don’t want to neglect my blog and my readers!! I constantly struggle with ratings. After 5 years of reading YA, I STILL struggle with ratings xD Great post!! <3
Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books
I’m with ya, Rachel. I AM THERE. *runs away screaming from TBR* I feel like every time I read one book 93839 take it’s place.😂 And I try to be sorry but also BOOKS I LOVE THEM SO MUCH I WANT THEM ALL. *collapses sobbing*
And ratings are hard right?! omg. But I’ve learnt that it’s not going to kill me if I rate a book 3 stars and maybe it should’ve been 4…or 2…WHO CAN KNOW. WHY IS IT SO HARD.😂
I’m still crying from actually STARTING a blog. I have no idea why I did this and I constantly question it, but really I’m writing more than usual and it doesn’t even seem like a THING. I’m just glad there aren’t many people witnessing my flailing right now, and that by the time there ARE people there it won’t be so…flaily.
Hey but flaily is good! I AM FLAILY.😂 And we all had to start somewhere, right?!? Omg never look in my archives. They need to be burnt, honestly, they are so bad. hahaah. BUT IT’S A JOURNEY. *nods sagely* And the more you blog the more comfortable you get, I think. :’)
*quietly deletes browser history containing Cait’s archives*
I super didn’t do that. Nope. (they’re not that bad shh)
I feel like I just flail on a muppet level all the time. Maybe after a while I can make it look like I’m not? Or make it seem more normal that I am basically a muppet? Also, it’s super hard to not do spoilers because OMG THINGS HAPPEN IN BOOKS AND I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THEM but I can’t because, you know, I want people to actually read the books too. It’s so HARD staying on that line.
HAHAHHAHAA…omg. #dead
😂
MUPPET LEVEL FLAILING IS FUN. BE YOURSELF. YOURSELF IS AWESOME. You could do spoiler sections too? I sometimes do that if I neeeeeed discuss spoilers.😂
Oh God, I needed this. WHY DO WE WORRY SO MUCH?!? And okay, so I went to visit my family back in the States for a couple of weeks and my niece pretty much forbid me from getting on the computer or my phone (no problems there). I had scheduled blog posts, but I worried SO MUCH because I didn’t read other blogs and I didn’t reply to comments and I didn’t do about a million things I usually do with my blog. I am slowly trying to catch up and I am feeling the need to apologize profusely for my lack of presence. Insane, right? Great post!
AGH I DO GET THAT. Honestly unexpected “holidays” away from blogging is the worst actually.😂 I need to like fully prepare and plan and just calm myself that I won’t be updating/checking things everyday. BUT IT IS HARD, I FULLY ADMIT TO THAT. And I do get that need to “catch up” but it’s also acceptable just to start from where you are. 😉 Don’t burn yourself out!!
DUDE, IT’S BASICALLY A MIRACLE I MADE IT THROUGH THIS POST WITHOUT A LEGIT PANIC ATTACK. Ooooh, how familiar all of these are. I had to go through the list first, panic thoroughly (because obviously I’ve done most of those recently and CUE WORRY AND TEETH-GNASHING) and then go back and read why I SHOULDN’T be mean to my teeth right now.
That worked, surprisingly. YOU MUST TALK ME OFF LEDGES IN THE FUTURE ALL THE TIME. Not that I’m on ledges much. But, y’know, if I choose to daredevil.
I MEAN, OPINIONS ARE A DIME A DOZEN AND EVERYONE HAS ONE AND THEY ALL MATTER, BUT THEY’RE STILL SUCH AN ENORMOUSLY STRESSFUL THING TO HAVE. I’m sometimes stressed out about stating an opinion in COMMENTS, let alone a blog post. (Also, disliking a popular author with A RAGING FANDOM might actually get you stoned, I feel like.) And there’s always someone’s heart to break. I have a negative review of a DEBUT sitting in my Drafts and I can’t bring myself to post it despite Natalie’s encouragement. WHAT IF THE AUTHOR SEES IT AND GIVES UP ON WRITING FOREVER?
Book blogging. Stressful business. But, hey, I’m officially no longer concerned about formatting, and I intend to stop apologizing at the beginning of every post, for the lateness/non-uniformness, etc. HAVE SOME CAKE, OH WISE ONE! YOU HAVE CURED ME!
OMG I’M SORRY FOR THE NEAR-PANIC-ATTACK, LEXIE. You’re the second person to say that, actually, so now I feel bad.😂 Ahem. But trust me! I’VE BEEN HERE WITH ALL OF THEM! I still suffer from some of them. It’s about remember our blog is OURS and it’s FUN, right?! And like we can worry and fret a little. That’s just life. 😉 But I’m glad you are not on a ledge anymore. I WILL BE VERY CONCERNED IF YOU ARE ON A BLOGGING LEDGE. *lures you back with warm crumpets*
Egh, raging fandoms are so awful. 🙁 I’ve been attacked on goodreads for it before, but honestly? I mean, who cares.😂 Especially when it’s a random. I more get upset when my blogging “friends” get stroppy over a difference of opinion. LIFE IS SUBJECTIVE, EVERYONE, CHILL YE.
*whispers* Plus I think if an author gives up writing after reading one negative review, they are the ones that need help. 🙁
CAKE FOR ALL OF US. For surviving another mammoth long post of mine.😂
Thanks, O Mighty Cait, for this post! Our house does not have internet, we haven’t had it for weeks, we won’t get it for AT LEAST another week (darn you moving!!), and have been pretty stressed about not posting. But you HAVE DONE IT AGAIN!!
Oh, the ghouls are such a disappointment! Ugh, those publishers.
OMG HELLO, ALYSSA!!! I feel like I haven’t talked to you for ages!! Good luck with the moving and sorting things out and I hooooope you get your WiFi sorted soon because honestly…INTERNET IS LIFE. *nods*
But yes, I mean, seriously publishers??? Why don’t you keep ghouls? #disappointed
“FIRSTLY, you might not even have a firstborn so it’d be a waste of time to send the ghouls out and then just have to sit around awkwardly drinking tea with you while you break it to them that you are, in fact, childless.”
FIRSTLY, this is the best sentence I have read in a very good while and wow, I love this sentence. Good writing, Cait, because you made me laugh.
SECONDLY, yes to this list. I think not apologizing is something that more people could learn to deal with. I actually used to worry that I wasn’t apologizing ENOUGH, because other people made a point of apologizing about things. And I’ve always been like “shrugs* it’s my blog, so deal with it.
And I also think people worrying about their blog design is also real, but not something to worry about. For me, as long as it’s neat and legible, I don’t super care. I actually care when you can tell that they over-worry about their blog design—there is one blogger I follow and practically every time she posts a new blog post she also changes the name of the blog and also the design. It’s really confusing and as much as I know she’s probably worrying about making it look awesome, it really isn’t that big of a deal.
So yeah. I agree. We don’t need to worry about all of this nearly as much as we do.
I’M SO VERY GLAD HEATHER.😂 Honestly if I get someone to laugh then MY JOB HERE IS DONE AND I AM VERY PLEASED WITH MYSELF. *twirls magnificently*
Some people are chronic-apologisers. And I admit to being one in the past too!! I’m kind of a people-pleaser in recovery, which means I say no to everything now and it’s good fun. Much less stressful. 😂 And I mean, lots of these ARE legit worries that are totally okay to flail panickedly over because we do care. Ergo we worry. But we have to manage it late?!? So it doesn’t destroy the blogging for us. *nods*
And omg, yes, like for name/design changes…do it once, maybe.😂 Twice maximum! hahha. Else it is super confusing.
I love this post and your blog. Found you on Bloglovin’.
Going to follow.
Thanks.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My Blog
OH HELLO!! *waves wildly* Welcome to the glorious madness that is my blog!💕😊
Thank you.
Glad I found you.
hahaha Seriously, I laugh but you hit the nail on the head with this post. So accurate and so true. We ALL think this even though we’ve got that voice in the back of our minds telling us we’re being ridiculous.
I only just saw this (I was away being fabulous and roaming around the country and looking at Nepal, duh) but mainly just YES. Also YES and YES. Did I mention YES? Cait, this is a super super good post and I totally 100% approve. I do freak out about blog things sometimes and all that, but I like to think I’m a fairly calm blogger. In fact, I barely spend any money on my blog. I spend a lot of TIME and occasionally buy books, I suppose, but I don’t feel pressured to really. I use a camera that I share, etc. (side note: yesterday they were selling books by weight for about 5 dollars a kg. This was very cool, and books were bought (they were lacking in the YA genre but hey, whatevs). So anyway thank you for being so awesome and making people not worry 😀 😀
Are YOU a Mind Reader as well as a blogger? Because I stress about these things ALL the time. I just realised how nervous I was before I read this post about blogging even though no-one would think. I really enjoyed this post so I’m gonna stick around if you don’t mind. Do you design the pictures/banners that say ‘WORRY’ on them or that arrow under ‘CHAT WITH ME’? Because they’re really pretty. I was just thinking about changing my blog theme but was a bit hesitant but with a new attitude, I’m ready, aha! AMAZING blog!!!
Mwaahah, yes I am definitely a mind reader. I KNOW ALL THE THINGS. 😂 And it’s kind of comforting to know most of we bloggers suffer with these things, right?! YOU ARE NOT ALONE. *shares comforting cake*
And yes I make the banners! I just buy licensed graphics and fonts and use them.😂 I don’t, like, do the art or anything because I am about as artistic as a squashed grape.
Cake and cheesecake really are the answer to everything. And when in doubt, just have chocolate cheesecake. (I’m such a problem solver.) But these are great things and things I will always need to be reminded of from time to time, so bless you for writing this post. *gives you coffee beans* I really wish I had known some of these things when I was a newbie blogger. I was so worried about offending people that half the time I didn’t say 90% of the stuff I wanted to say, and I have only recently in this second year of blogging decided that I am going to say what I want when I want and let the chips fall where they may (but then also cower and drink coffee, so there’s that).
Also, I was a really timid blogger when I started and just naturally assumed that if I wanted to redesign my blog beyond a certain point I would have to pay someone to do it for me. And then I just randomly decided one day to learn the HTML and CSS that I needed to know for the blog and just do it all myself, so it’s nice to know that I haven’t had to fork over any cash for my blog design (yet), and I hope to get way better at HTML so I can eventually do more and never pay anyone because coding is really fun. And I feel bad because I just came into it assuming it wouldn’t be fun and that it would be awful, and it was really only by happenstance that I decided to take the plunge.
Anyway, rambling. 😛 But yes, all of these things. *throws confetti*
You are a marvellous problem solver and your skills are TO BE ADMIRED. *eats all the coffee beans* *gets even more hyper than already is generally* AND OMG I WISH I’D KNOWN THESE WHEN I STARTED TOO. But noooo I had to learn the hard panicky way.😭😂 Saying what one wants and just blogging freely is honestly the best way to do it. <3 Maybe it's still stressful at times (nervous!!) but it's ultimately freeing and THAT'S WORTH IT.
How did I miss this post?! And that FABULOUS gif kid is, well… fabulous! I wish I had a quarter for every time someone has told me my reviews aren’t formatted correctly. 😂I could afford more giveaways! And that time I was told my blog suffered from, “… too much personality leakage.” 😆 I will have to link this up on my Sunday Post. It is very cakely. 😁
Are you serious!?? OMG. Someone actually told you to format your reviews a certain way? THAT IS BIZARRE. I can’t even with some people. I know I fretted over it when I started reviewing, but I wasn’t actually *told* anything. Pfft. Blog the way you want, I always say! Your blog has so much personality!
This post was super helpful and calmed me down. I can do this!
Oh I worry about so many of these things, firstly, am I a real blogger if I’m hosted on a wordpress dot com? Sigh. So much worrying. I adore you for this post.
I totally get that fear! And I believe of course you’re a “real” blogger! You’re a real blogger if you BLOG and that’s the end of it, I think *nods*
I’m so glad you liked the post. 🙂
So…….I’m guilty of every single one of those thoughts at one time or another. I’m trying to push them away and blog for me but also post my audience wants. So far, I’ve notice a lot of improvement and I’m happy with my blog now.
But…..the only one up there that I haven’t gotten over it my TBR. I mean 300 owned and unread books is scary. If my Wall of Shame fell, I’d be squashed. And probably have tiny little paper cuts, but that’s another story.
Also….I’m easily bribed with cake. Or rather, frosting. Just give me a container of it, and I’ll run around screaming you’re fabulous too. XD
It is a trick finding the balance right?!? Feeding one’s audience AND not stressing out.😂 But yes, I think just panicking less will make blogging a much calmer experience. It definitely does for me anyway. hehe.
Cake makes the world keep spinning. < --- FACT.
This made me feel so much better becuase i’ve only just started. I did like 2 reviews and I have not even posted pictures of the actual books because i read PDFs and i’m kinda broke. Actually i didnt even book blogging was a thing until after i did book reviews in my blog. It was a shock.
You don’t HAVE to blog with bookish pictures if you don’t want to! 😂 Just so you know. But yayyyy that you’ve discovered the book blogging community! It took me 2 years of blogging to discover there’s actually a ginormous community of us. AND I LOVE IT.
Cait I love this post so much! I have definitely freaked out a lot over these things, review copies and not posting on a particular day, being “behind” on things and also having a difference in opinion (where I have also lost friends). It’s all small fry because you’re right, at the end of the day no one really notices! Yay!
Ugh to losing friends over differences of opinion. I have too this year…kind of an ugly debacle honestly. GAH. I just wish people would realise disagreeing over books IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. It’s kind of hyperbolic how rabid people can get, right?! Hm. ANYWAY. I think it’s okay to worry, but as long as it doesn’t consume us, right?!😂
I think this is a great post for someone who’s newer to the blogging platform. I did it to try and join a new community and it’s been fun. My worry for the past few months have been stats. I know blogs that have great stats and are newer and I can’t help but compare myself (I know, I know I need to stop). Otherwise, I just kind of go about things fine just a small part of me is like, “but the statsss”.
I totally get that about comparing stats!! I’VE DONE THAT. Okay, that’s not even past tense.😂 I do that. I had really woeful stats/comment numbers when I first started getting into book blogging…and I’d look at bloggers who were like 6 months old and had THOUSANDS of followers and just wither and die a little. But yes, it’s really not good to compare. It takes the fun out of everything! Everyone’s journey is different and we never know what’s going on behind the scenes. *nods*
Oh. My. God. Yes. All of these! Especially the stress over publication dates. And the stress over negative reviews. Oh, and the stress over whether my rating system makes any sense to anyone but me. Oh, and…
I’m a new visitor and this is just what I needed!
Deb
Book blogging can be quite stressful!! I FULLY AGREE WITH THAT.😂 I think it’s important that we remember to keep it fun at times, though, right??! Or else it gets soooo overwhelming.
OMG THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!! *flails*
Aw, so much of this list has gone through my head. Sighs. It’s nice reading that others are going through it too
Well you’re nOT ALONE IN FEELING LIKE THIS!!! I’m pretty sure all we bookbloggers suffer from these doubts at some point right?!? The trick is to remember you are awesome and so is your blog. 😉
Hi, Cait! I’ve been stumbling across your blog a lot recently, and someone else I was reading linked to this post. So here I am!
This really is such an applicable post. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in fear and insecurity (all writers get this way about pretty much all writing-related things). I’ve definitely dealt with the fear of taking a hiatus and the expense associated with giveaways. I’ve been dealing with the comparison syndrome, wondering why my blog is small when others’ are big, thinking I need to do more big, flashy things, etc. This post was an encouragement, though. Each blog is unique, and each one has a specific something to say. Thanks, Cait.
The one thing I was thinking as I read was the importance of reviews. We don’t have to be perfect at reviewing to share about our favorite books. And it helps authors out so much more than we know! It doesn’t have to be anything fancy; just a quick blurb on Amazon is a benefit.
HELLO RACHELLE!!! *waves wildly* WELCOME. 😀 And I’m honestly really glad you commented because it’s so nice to chat with people, eeep! And I’m so super glad the post was encouraging, because I really wanted it to be! I’m pretty sure all we bloggers get freaked out over this stuff occasionally, right?! But at the end of the day: everyone is different and that’s actually good.😂 Blog at your own pace!! AND ENJOY IT. And don’t worry: I have to keep reminding myself of these facts to. 😉
*grins* I love to chat, too! Uniqueness is a gift; I believe in embracing it. 🙂
YASSSSSSSS. OKAY SO I KNOW I’M KIND OF STALKING YOU RIGHT NOW BUT IT’S NOT INTENTIONAL… I JUST HAD A BUNCH OF POSTS IN MY BROWSER AND A BUNCH WERE YOURS. SO YEAH.
In ANY case…. THIS IS SO PERFECT I NEEDED THIS. And the absolute truest thing… PEOPLE HAVE STARTED THINKING I’M A BIG BLOGGER AND I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING BUT I’M HONESTLY SO OBLIVIOUS AND I HAVE NO IDEA SO I JUST FAKE IT ALL AND BOOM IT WORKS.
Wow, this was such an encouraging post, Cait! Thank you!!!
Aww, thankyou!! *flails happily because you liked it* 😊😊😊
My sister was looking at my blog and she said “you need to be more critical with your ratings” and I was like “um what if I only ever read good books…?” Which is true, because I am a great judge of books, even if it does involve judging a book by its cover. OH MY GOSH NO!!! Yep, I said it, you deal with it. The lowest rating I’ve given is 3 stars because the books come to me, I do not go to them. I attract all the good books. I have special powers.
And when I said I found the Hunger Games boring even though I hadn’t read the books and only seen the first film (please don’t hurt me…) people scolded my opinion and said the films don’t give the books justice but… the books didn’t come to me, ya know?
Simi
THAT IS AWESOME. CAN I HAVE SOME OF YOUR POWERS?!?😂 And pffft, you don’t have to rate books low to be a critical book reviewer! I think it’s awesome that you only read 3+ star kinds of books. The world should probably bow to your powers right about now.
And that’s fair about The Hunger Games! I mean, it’s my favourite😂 but I totally get that it wouldn’t appeal to everyone. Plus it’s sooo hyped now, so that’s kind of a lot for it to live up to. 🙈🙊
YES OF COURSE, I’VE SENT SOME IN THE POST. And yes they should, but I am a humble lil fish.
I’m not really one for popular books (except Harry Potter, but that doesn’t count because everyone with a brain has read Harry Potter) but I’ve said that, although the Hunger Games doesn’t really appeal to me right now, I’ll probably end up reading it within the next few years anyway… And who knows? I could end up getting my family to dress up like the people from the Capitol, set myself on fire and make it a musical.