Book blogging is often horrendously misunderstood.
Various clueless humans just think we sit around all day with tea and nice paperbacks and occasionally type a witty review which earns us a gazillion pageviews and free books from publishers. Very relaxed. Quiet. A small, calm hobby like crochet or flower pressing or bone collecting.
But actually — NEWSFLASH — book blogging is a very very INTENSELY CONSUMING LIFESTYLE which requires the strength of a raging fire and usually a fair bit of mysteriousness like that dark moon.
No more shall those various humans misunderstand the enormity that is the Book Blogging Realm! Because TODAY I’m listing all the things we book bloggers do. And just how much we do! So you can a) print this on shiny floral paper and mail it to all your relatives so they take your book blog very very seriously, and b) you can read this and be reminded just how awesome you are. Because you are pretty awesome, FYI, do not forget this. *
* Although as your Dragon Queen And Ruler Of All, I just want to point out that I am the most awesome. It’s just a fact, nothing to be alarmed about.
BOOK BLOGGERS SPEND COUNTLESS HOURS READING, WHICH IS ACTUALLY QUITE A LOT OF WORK ON THE BRAIN.
Do you know how much brain power it takes to read a book?!? You have to focus and analyse and interpret! And you have to STAY AWAKE. When I’m super tired and collapse into bed after a ginormously long day training dragons and maliciously ruling planets (as I do) sometimes I open a book and my eyes say “HAHA NO WE WANNA NAP”. It would be easier just to watch TV. Reading is definitely an effort.
Plus, as I’ve mentioned before, all this reading and brain work is actually quite dangerous for us. We run the risk of paper cuts and thinking for ourselves and DO YOU REALISE HOW DASTARDLY THAT IS?
BOOK BLOGGERS HAVE TO BE VERY CREATIVE WITH THEIR TIME AND MONEY AND SHELF SPACE BASICALLY.
Book bloggers actually don’t have anymore hours in the day than the average hedgehog. We want to read all these books. BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO DO 69139 OTHER THINGS. Hence we book bloggers end up reading in cars, trains, on the backs of wayward camels.
Not to mention how good we are SNIFFING OUT SALES! Books ain’t cheap, folks, and to upkeep our voracious appetites, we are basically bloodhounds bookhounds for good prices. How many books can I fit into this book voucher? Can I get free shipping here? Should I buy locally there? IS THIS BOOK HOMEGROWN AND ORGANIC??? Do we take a risk on that 2nd hand book? CAN I SELL MY SPLEEN TO AFFORD THESE HARDCOVERS????
#thrifty
Our creativity levels are to be admired.
THE ACTUAL “BOOK BLOG” IS ONLY THE BEGINNING, FIENDS, BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY HAVE A GAZILLION THINGS THAT SPIN OFF THAT.
Most of us start out by blogging and then we GROW LIKE GORGEOUS PINEAPPLE FRONDS to many other creative outlets.
For instance:
- bookstagram — which is photography of books on instagram
- website design
- selling bookish merchandise, like opening a Society6 or Etsy store and designing/creating masterpieces
- upkeeping a twitter or facebook or tumblr or ALL OF THEM
- guest posting on other websites
- designing fanart and promoting it
- writing books or composing music or JUST ABOUT ANY OTHER CREATIVE TALENT that can still compliment your blog and give you a topic to rattle on about
Some of us do just keep a blog. But many of us keep MANY OTHER THINGS because what’s life if you’re not overwhelmed amirite?!?
BOOK BLOGGERS HAVE TO CREATIVELY PRETEND WE KNOW WHAT WE’RE DOING 1000% OF THE TIME, WHEN WE REALLY KNOW WHAT WE’RE DOING 4% OF THE TIME.
We also get super good at pretending we’re just naturally good at these things. No I didn’t spend 4 days over that post, hahahah, it was EASY. And of cooooourse I didn’t spend all night thinking up a clever tweet. And I definitely know why that particular post was be popular. Totally.
BOOK BLOGGERS ACTUALLY SELL BOOKS SO BASICALLY WE’RE ENTHUSIASTIC FANGIRLING MARKETERS WITH NO TRAINING AND PROBABLY NO PAY BUT DEFINITE RESULTS.
People get paid to market and promote. We book bloggers do it BECAUSE WE HAVE FEELINGS. Do you know how many Maggie Stiefvater books I’ve sold?!? MANY. Someone hire me.
Plus everyone knows book blogger marketing is waaaaaaaaaay more effective than anyone else’s. Because we’re trustworthy. We’re not afraid to say when a book sucks, ergo when we rave — you know it’s legit.
And our methods? They’re awesome.
Here is a brief list of our alternative yet 100% foolproof marketing skills:
- scream at people to read the book
- post about it on social media so often various followers want to murder you
- buy copies of book and give them away
- talk about them in all posts
- answer random questions with title of the book. For instance “how are you today” can be easily answered with “THE RAVEN BOYS ARE THE BEST”.
BOOK BLOGGERS SPEND 94 HOURS TYPING AND RE-TYPING AND DELETING SOME MORE BECAUSE WE LIKE TO SOUND MILDLY INTELLIGENT.
There is a LOT of writing and re-writing involved in book blogging. And scouring our brains, the internet, and books for inspiration for posts and bopping out of bed at midnight to write things down. It’s actually exhausting to write analytical posts AND fun posts. The creativity! It demands much!
BOOK BLOGGERS MUST MANAGE AND CONTROL ARMIES AND PLANETS AND GOSH IT’S TIRING.
Please don’t be that person who thinks being a world overlord is easy. PFFFT. Do you realise how taxing it is to be kindly and maliciously devious all the time? It’s work. We have to upkeep our blog and keep conquering new planets so in the end there will only be one. (By the way: it’s me who’s going to achieve that.) And then you have to sort out the minions who complain about lack of cake or want to see your face not just your adorable boot profile picture and work work work. IT’S TOUGH BEING QUEEN.
BOOK BLOGGERS DON’T SLEEP
We totally don’t sleep. No need. Hahaha. When we trade our souls to the books we just give up sleep too. Don’t believe me? Look at this list of things we have to do in a day!
- read a book, or multiple books because PUBLISHERS WON’T STOP PUBLISHING BOOKS OMG AND HOW DO WE KEEP UP
- write a review
- write a discussion post which requires brain powers probably
- take photos and edit them for #bookstagram
- tweet something hilarious
- or at least tweet something intelligent
- okay fine; just tweet something
- answer comments and visit back blogs, which can take hours by the way
- procrastinate because that’s what all the good artists do
- do other small things like go to work or school or raise small children or buy food or clean the house or cook food or socialise — I mean, these are tiny things, of course, no big deal
SO CLEARY BLOGGERS DO NOT SLEEP. THIS IS JUST A FACT.
BOOK BLOGGERS PUT THEIR OPINIONS ON THE INTERNET WHICH IS ABOUT AS DANGEROUS AS WEARING A FRUITSALAD HEADDRESS AND GOING PADDLING IN A POND OF PIRANHAS.
The internet is a very curious beast because, despite it being 2016 not 1951, people still get SHOCKED and APPALLED when humans have different opinions. And oh my sweet little piranhas, just try having a negative opinion about a highly loved fandom. WATCH YOURSELF BE BURNED.
So not only do we articulate our well-thought out opinions, we survive and deal with the rabble that come after us with pitchforks.
BOOK BLOGGERS LEARN A LOT OF RANDOM BUT HIGHLY USEFUL THINGS DUE TO BLOGGING.
I’ve learnt SO MUCH STUFF from blogging. Like how to run an etsy store, how to do basic design, how to write professional (HAHAHAHHA SORT OF??) sounding emails to publicists, how to freelance, how to write articles, how do publicity and product repping, how the book industry works, how to engage an audience, how to brainwash hundreds of people into associating me with cake…LIKE THE LIST JUST GOES ON AND ON AND IT’S PRETTY IMPRESSIVE.
When you look at a book blogger, just know that they have UNTOLD VOLUMES OF OBSCURE KNOWLEDGE. From what HTML is (it stands for Happy To Make Lasagna I believe) to understanding how to sell books to knowing how cake is made because you researched it for a post that one time.
BOOK BLOGGERS KNOW STUFF. BE YE WARNED. DON’T MESS WITH THEM.
Ermagord Cait you seriously get more and more accurate every single week. HAH. I obviously didn’t spend 3 hours making those graphics. Obviously *runs away*
AND OH MY GOD. THE “BOOK BLOG” IS NEVER *JUST* ONE BOOK BLOG. I only have Twitter and Instagram and I’m already Insta-failing. They’re like little babies that demand attention at all times, whereas the blog is like the adolescent that is barely under control but gets moody if I ignore it for too long. HALP.
I KNOW I DO. IT’S MY FABULOUSNESS. *flips hair majestically* But yes yes! Book bloggers like do a gazillion other things PLUS write the book blog. And upkeeping all the little pets and babies. Social media accounts basically want attention 24/7 and cry when you leave them alone. IT’S A TOUGH LIFE WE LEAD, RIGHT?!?
YES. I just started out and everywhere I look there is a Tweet to respond to or another book calling me from the nightstand. I mean, I absolutely love it, but it’s definitely crazy!
I’ve learned… that Paper Fury is the best!
I don’t know much of book blogging – still kind of learning the ropes – and I already fail miserable at twitter, and I also manage some goodreads books – which is a good ego booster because members think I’m all kinds of awesome even when I have no clue what I’m doing most of the time.
Specially during team challenges time. Did you think that on a reading challenge people actually read rules and directions what we spend hours writing? Or questions ALREADY answered a bajillion times before? Think Again! Or maybe is the nah, is easier to ask effect.
Anyway. Bottom line is,:
WE LOVE IT.
WE ARE AWESOME:
WE MAKE IT SOUND EASY.
WE ARE ALL FABULASTIC PEOPLE
WE SHOULD GET BLONDIES/BROWNIES/CAKE OFFERINGS ALL THE TIME
goodreads books = goodreads groups. Brain needs coffee.
AWWW, SONIA. <3
I'm pretty sure like ALL OF US just pretend we know what we're doing mostly.😂 Ahem. So long as we pretend fabulously, we're doing fine, right?! *nods*
Omg reading challenges and book clubs sound exhausting tbh. And hahah, yes, people don't really read rules do they? Like ever. HUMANS. WHAT'S ONE TO DO WITH THEM.
We definitely all are fabulous bloggers. CAKE AND BROWNIES AND BLONDES FOR ALL IMMEDIATELY.
SHELF!!!! SPACE!!!!! The struggle is so real. I had to move a bunch of my books down to the basement the other day and it physically pained me. *dramatically flops down on fainting couch*
Ah, yes! I think the spin-off activities thing is especially true. Oftentimes people don’t realize how much effort you actually have to put into blogging – I can’t count the number of hours I’ve spent on design.
My girlfriend is Goat Overlord of the Universe and both of us can attest to her extremely long hours and tiring work schedule.
I’m literally typing this at 4:24 am my time clearly I do not sleep.
I’ve definitely learned how to develop relationships better with people! Blogging has really helped me get out from under my rock (it’s a nice rock tho) to become friends with more people irl and online.
Ellie | On the Other Side of Reality
UGH. I HEAR YA. *pats shoulder consolingly* My parental keeps suggesting I put books in my cupboard but I’m all “BUT THEN I CAN’T SEE THEIR BEAUTIFUL FACES” and I can’t do it. I can’t be parted from them. *hugs bookshelf*
But YES. I think people totally misunderstand how much time and effort goes into book blogging! IT’S A HUGE THING. 1000% worth it but we also need cake for our troubles omg.
Woah though, you definitely don’t sleep. I’m awake at 5am so I’m like the opposite of you.😂 But still, no sleep. AHHAH WE DON’T NEED IT.
*falls into a coma*
This is so accurate! Who needs sleep right? If I could finish all the things I want to do in a day I should probably quit school. :’)
It’s very time consuming, which is fun, because you’re doing things you love. But OMG sometimes I just forget to do other stuff, like commenting on people’s blogs, because I just don’t have the time?
Book blogging is so much fun, but takes a lot of time and that’s definitely something I’ve learned, since I need to plan things. :’D
SLEEP IS CLEARLY FOR THE WEAK AND WE DON’T NEED IT. *flips hair majestically*
*falls into a coffee pot*
And YES, agreed! It is so so very fun, but very time consuming. And I mean, that usually is fine because it’s FUN to spend a ton of time on a passion, right?! Although sometimes we need time turners because HOW DO WE FIT IT ALL IN. *shrieks*
Omigosh time turners! Do you sell those? I need a few. We can use a time turner whilst in the pocket time of a time turner, right? That would be sweet. And a bomb time ready to explode, but who cares… More time!! It’s like immortality without having to summon demons or trade your soul.
YES. NO DOWNSIDE. Although if we found that fountain of youth we could paddle in it occasionally? FOR OPTIONS.
All of these are true, of course, but number 5!!!! Someone told me that I should get paid for promoting their books so much ahahaha. xDD Honestly though. IDK how many people have picked up Simon VS (or other books, but mainly this one) because of me. Probably a lot. We are heroes. For real.
WE ARE HEROES. We need cake and capes. Both, definitely, because I definitely want to wear a cape and eat cake. #lifegoal 😂
I’ve just had medication so my brain is droopy and I have nothing to add, I agree with everything ever, and I think the fact that you used a gif from The Princess Bride just made this probably my favourite blog post ever. That is all.
*gives your brain cake* EVERY post of ever needs a Princess Bride gif amirite?!? :’)
I learned how to change html, but the only place I can use it is on my blog, ha ha, so I guess it doesn’t count as a job skill. Thanks for this post. I am still chuckling. 😆
*whispers* Same.😂 I mean, I tried to do some code-alterations on my tumblr AND ACTUALLY DIED. HAHHAHAHH. But I’ve seen other bloggers teach themselves so much coding they’ve gone on to start businesses!
I SO needed this to pull me from the depths of my cupcake filled cave of procrastination and organised chaos.
This post is BRILLIANT as always and *blows trumpet* I think you deserve an award for it because just following (#stalking) you has taught me SO much about blogging and cake, in general.
But yes, these things are all incredibly relatable because who needs sleep (?) and running all the social medias challenging at the best of times (I seriously need 42 cupcakes after a hard days work of tweeting) and sometimes blogging swallow me whole when I’m behind on comments and posts and ALL THE THINGS (I don’t know how you juggle it all!!!).
But thanks to you all the peoples of the world who aren’t bloggers now understabd that blogging is a lifestyle, not a hobby and although fun and filled with people you can force to be your friends it ain’t rainbows and puppies all the time.
*sigh*
I keep rereading this post and falling in love with each of your points more and more. *nods * *applauds* *faints in awe*
ALL THE CAKE FOR YOU, MY STALKER FRIEND. (Also hello!! I HAVE MISSED YOUR KATNESS!!)
We can sleep when we’re dead after all. *nods* And I’m pretty sure a tweet = cupcake. And hahahaha, juggle it all?! OMG. I DON’T. I just pretend and tell everyone I’m fabulous and they believe me and it’s wonderful. :’)
This is all so true! I think when you say to non bloggers that you have a book blog they just think it’s super easy, when really there is so much more to it than you think. They are just thinking of writing a few post (which in itself is harder than you would think), and not about all the photo taking and editing, social media and all the actual reading you have to do. Great post! 🙂
Exactly *nods* And newbie bloggers who think it’s just going to be typing up a quick post every few days. AHAHHAH ADORABLE.😂 I love blogging but omg it takes a lot of work. WHERE IS OUR CAKE.
Yes… Yes …. and YES to ALL of that. Especially 8. Seriously, who needs sleep? Nope not me, no sirreeeee, even if I have a full-time job that requires me to get up at ALL hours of the day. Who cares, when that book is just singing to be read?! Who cares, when there’s a post to be written? Who cares, when I’m sooooooooo into getting that next chapter of my WIP written?
Not me, nope, nu uh…… no. 😛
And 10, oh I love 10! 😀 Oh the many, many WONDERFUL things, I have learned since blogging :3 , people should definitely BE WARNED. We should come with our own warning sign :3
Sleep is entirely overrated. WE CAN SLEEP WHEN WE’RE DEAD.
And omg I highly agree we should come with warning signs. That is such an excellent idea. My warning sign would say “Fabulous Blogger Of Ever” and people would be awed and feared. #priorities
“From what HTML is (it stands for Happy To Make Lasagna I believe)”
I’m seriously loving at this comment and all the other reasons you just posted. I agree with you on all accounts..but you also forgot about BookTube. We do that too and it’s time consuming as well. It’s true, we don’t get enough credit for our book love. Seeing you write down all the things we do is kind of mind boggling!
YES! Omg I can’t believe I didn’t put book tube into that list. *facepalm* SO TRUE. *nods* And like I can only imagine the hours it takes to film and then edit and then upload. WE DO ALL THE THINGS. WE NEED MORE CREDIT AND CAKE.
I agree with you completely. People simply cannot appreciate how hard we work. As you said, and this applies to all blogger I think, we need to work with our brains and that’s not an easy thing. I don’t even try to tell people I have a blog because then they look at me like “What are you? Fourteen?” Ha-ha really funny. Let’s get back to that conversation when I’ll be superfamous author of numerous bestselling books. I think I’m going to bake cupcakes to celebrate our awesomeness.
It is a saaaad universe when people don’t understand HOW MUCH WORK GOES INTO AN EPIC BLOG. *collapses dramatically* It’s not just all cat gifs around here!! We are very articulate and we think a lot about our blogs!! And YES, our blogs are also platforms for when we get those book deals. *nods sagely* We’ll be bestselling OVER NIGHT, SIMONA.
Book bloggers are very focused people(unless they’ve been trapped youtube or Netflix or something) and can sit for hours doing nothing but writing that post. Sitting still and focusing is hard work! And our awesomeness is way to underrated. I’ll finish a post, and I’ll celebrate with tea and dancing to loud music and stuff(don’t judge, it’s a proven scientifically fact that dance parties are good for you) and my family is just like ‘What is wrong with her. It can’t be that hard sitting for 1234567890 hours writing a book review.’
I do think we deserve more cake! We should have all the cake. Maybe pizza too.
I’ve learned from book blogging that staring at a blank screen and doing nothing does not get that post you need to finish, done. Speaking of which…*stares terrified at the 8 post drafts sitting on my dash*
YES IT IS!! I think we deserve medals made of chocolate for our awesomeness probably. Or actual gold. Then we can sell them and buy more books. #priorities BUT YES OMG NON-BOOK-BLOGGERS JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND. Sometimes it really is that hard to write a post and we must make it right.
YES! YOU ARE OUR OVERLORD AND QUEEN *falls on her knees and spreads hands*
And I agree! People think we book bloggers have at easy like haha no.
Loved the Mulan reference! See that’s another thing. We involve ourselves in so many fandoms and crazy stuff that we gotta remember everything!! I mean, God forbid I forget the names of the people who wrote the textbooks in Harry Potter! *gasp*
*struts about regally* I’M GLAD YOU THINK SO.
Omgggg, YES, references everywhere. And half the time you don’t even realise nothing you say is original anymore BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS A REFERENCE. 😂
Reading other blogs and thinking: I wish I’d thought of that hahaha 😀 Brilliant post Cait. Please dont sell your spleen to buy hardcovers though. Not really sure what it does but it’s an organ so it doesnt sound like a good idea anyway. Plus it’s illegal And yeah, now I want to eat cake 😀
Pfffft, details. ONE MUST LIVE ON THE EDGE WHEN IT COMES TO THE BOOKWORM LIFE. NOTHING STANDS BETWEEN ME AND BOOKS.
*charges forward*
*collapses because of missing organs*
I got up at 5 AM this morning because I needed to do some stuff for the blog, and that’s the only time I had to do it. The no-sleep thing is totally true.
*dives into vat of coffee* Sleep is for the weak ANYWAY.
I can 100% confirm that I do all of these things. Especially going to bed seven hours after bedtime. What even is sleep.
But I’m studying public relations which is kind of like marketing and I think I’ll still end up being better at selling books to people. Because screaming is the best persuasive technique I know.
WHO EVEN NEEDS SLEEP. I’m sure we can function on books and tweets. #legit
I think screaming definitely works better. It’s more scary too. I mean half the time you just agree to shut the person up.
I’ve only started blogging in April, and a friend of mine was saying she wanted to do it, too. I explained to her it’s easy to START a blog, so long as she understood the amount of hours that she’d be spending on social media and maintaining her blog. It’s a whole second full-time job for me (and I’m sure for all of us who work)!! I love it, but it’s so much more than it seems!
IT IS LIKE A WHOLE JOB!!! I mean, people get paid to run websites and all that and we just do it because we love it.😂 I wouldn’t stop blogging for anything but OMG IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME/EFFORT/CAKE CONSUMPTION.
There is no such thing as simply keeping up with your blog, you also have to keep up with about 100 others. Also, if you say you have NEVER had a stack of books on the floor somewhere in your room, you are obviously lying. The struggle can be sooo real. And moving or reorganizing your bookshelves is basically a weekend job, there will be no socializing, time will be nothing more than an illusion, when you finally venture forth into the world again it’s as though you’ve been in there for years.
Omg so true. SO TRUE. *dies a little* 😂 Every time I “catch up” I like fall behind again 2 seconds later. And who needs a floor? Pfft. Not us.
Aaah these are so ture. WE are multi talented creatures. Book bloggers also try to, you know, have a life, whether that’s having a job or going to school or being a parent or whatever. Scheduling! thinking about time! this is unappreciated. I’ve learnt how to analyse books SO MUCH from bookblogging, I’ve learnt lots more aobut how publishing works, and about how to politely disagree. All important skills! great post 🙂
Oh yes, those clever ones of us who have lives too. *nods* I did mention life/school/work/children/pets/evil tendencies in #8. I think.😂 I CAN’T EVEN REMEMBER. HAHA. *dies* Book blogging has also consumed my brain.
Cait, you have done it again! Fabulously. I love.
YAYYYY I’m so glad you loved it! *gives you cake*
By now I should probably have a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger from the weight of all the books that I have lifted up to date. Books are heavy! And really hard to carry/transport if you buy a lot of them. It´s quite a workout!
Omg that IS SO VERY TRUE. Who needs a gym? Not us. We have bookbags and we rearrange our bookshelves.😂
*dies laughing*
OMG. This is gold. and asbolutely true all around!
I AM VERY GLAD YOU LIKED IT. *flings cake in the air* MY JOB HERE IS DONE. :’)
OHMIGASH YAS SISTER I FEEL U. And I agree with you! Most of the book bloggers I know are actually multi-talented and I’m proud to be part of a community where we just don’t read books, we also paint / create music / edit photos / promote otps! Such a lovely community (but also a tiring one I MEAN IT WILL CONSUME YOUR LIFE).
YESSSS. We bloggers are so entirely creative omg. There are just so many creative outlets that compliment blogging it’s impossible not to try one or two….OR ALL OF THEM AHHHH. *gives up sleep forever and devours books*
These are all so true especially #4! I laughed so hard! Hahah Spot on!
YAY I AM SO VERY GLAD, MARK. THANKYOU!
Who needs sleep? Or a life? Pfft. Book blogging takes time and effort and creativity and lots of tea. Anyone who does it is brilliant and anyone who does it, with spare time to sleep or dare I say it… go outside… is a queen. Of course you’re still the supreme overlord because we know our places *bows down*
Anna @ Enchanted by YA
Of course we don’t need sleep or a life. *nods* You have it completely right, Anna, you are a GENIUS BASICALLY. Occasionally we can take our laptops outside, but whyyyyy. Darkness my friend.
ALL THE YESSSSSS!!! Book blogging should be a full-time career. Like, why is this not a thing?? It is a lot of WORK. But most precious beans don’t realize how much energy one uses to conquer all the things. I don’t even tell most humans that I run a book blog & that my dream is to write blog posts and books, take pictures, do art, and be a professional fangirl for a living. (Apparently there isn’t a university degree in “flailing”… I know, I’ve checked.) It’s comforting to know another bookdragon understands my secret woes…
Brilliant post, dear! <3
I wish blogging was a career because THEN I’D BE SET BECAUSE THIS IS MY FAVOURITE THING OF EVER.😂 Well. My favourite thing apart from eating cake and killing characters that is.
PRINCESS BRIDE GIF!!!!!!!!!! HERE, HAVE SOME VIRTUAL CAKE! HAVE ALL THE VIRTUAL CAKE!
Students don’t sleep anyway! 😉 I had that one down at least a month before I started blogging.
When I first started, I thought I’d worry a lot more about what I posted than I actually do. I only actually have one post that I’ve ever worried about putting up (I put it off for about a month before it went up).
Blogging has become one of my main methods of procrastination. Have an essay to do? Write a blog post. Or two. Or three. And queue them. Yes to reading a gazillion books being harder than it looks – I resorted to reviewing a course book a couple of weeks back because I just hadn’t had enough time. 🙁 Commenting can be quite difficult. Sometimes, I can’t think of a decent way to reply to a comment and, sometimes, I’ll read an absolutely brilliant blog post and feel like I have nothing to add. 🙁
*gobbles virtual cake* And sleep is for the dead, we can all agree on that. *nods* I’m glad you don’t worry about your posts a lot though. THAT IS REALLY GOOD. LESS STRESS!😂 I only occasionally freak out…like maybe once every few weeks? If I post something slightly controversial hhahahh. *dies* Blogging is definitely excellent for procrastination. Or, better yet, you can procrastinate by blogging and then procrastinate blogging by tumblring and then procrastinate — yeah okay WE GET IT. PROCRASTINATION.
*bows* You are truly magnificent, oh overlord and Supreme Leader. XD
This post = TRUTH (actual math, right there).
I AM VERY GLAD YOU THINK SO. *twirls majestically*
I feel I’m always repeating myself when I say your posts are sooo accurate (and of course, lists are fabulous). When I decided I wanted to start a book blog it took a gazillion years to design it. YES a book blog is never just a blog or “hobby” – we also need to read and form partially coherent thoughts to be able to make new posts (brain drained). I’m already Twitter failing because whenever I think of something “witty” I either a) forget by the time I want to type it up because my brain is constantly exploding with other things to remember, bizarre thoughts complete with cake and sleep deprivation or, b) type it up *scrunches face* wow, did I really think that?!? *re-types*, nah forget about it.
I always admire your ability to reply with thought to ALL 3849 comments each post. #4, 6 and 8 basically sum my blogpost writing process *types a sentence* what is this gibberish?!? *deletes a paragraph* *spends rest of the day procrastinating* nah *yawn* sleep… not… needed… I could say more but you’re probably done with my rambly mess of thoughts (another problem with my blogposts).
AHHHH I APPRECIATE THIS SO MUCH THANK YOU. <3 And I definitely think we need to make sure the world knows just how much work and effort goes into this little "hobby". TWITTER IS HARD THOUGH OMG. I spend so much time trying to think up funny tweets hahhaah. *dies* 😂
Aw, thankyou! I am being super behind on comment replies right now but IT IS WORTH IT BECAUSE I LOVE CHATTING TO YOU ALL. <3
You get tired controlling your planets? Well, SOMEBODY IS GETTING A LITTLE WEAK OVER THERE….me and my very energized army might just have to overthrow you. Although since you ARE the Dragon Queen, I gotta go do a little planning and not blogging because that is what I, as a book blogger, REALLY do – spend 88.9% of my time procrastinating.
MY ARMY IS BIGGER THAN YOURS, ZOEY. I’M JUST SAYIN’. So even if I need to take a brief nap, I have a dozen dragon generals ready to eat people. #sensible
Ah, I do so appreciate this list, Cait. I am planning to start a book blog in the fall ( as well as keeping my current journal blog going ) and so knowing the wonderful mess I am going to be getting myself into is really very nice. XD
YOU WILL BE GLORIOUS AT IT, EM. Book blogging is so much fun, even if it is like a squid with a gazillion limbs of other things we can do.😂
Love this post (and your blog generally!! :)) I completely agree with what you say about putting your opinions on the internet and risking the wrath of people you do and don’t know!
Omg thankyou! *flails happily* And yes, having an opinion is actually quite dangerous at times, isn’t it?!😂
‘Do you know how many Maggie Stiefvater books I’ve sold?!? MANY’ I can confirm this since I (finally) got The Raven Boys! 😊 I’ll read it once I’ve finished Monsters of Men! Also your desk is goals
AHHHH AYYYYYY FOR MY MARKETING SKILLS. Maggie Stiefvater is probably going to hire me tbh. Very very soon. *nods*
“Happy To Make Lasagna.”
THAT KILLED ME.
Wait till I start talking about what CSS and SEO stands for.😂
I am so totally DYING over number 9–SO. MUCH. TRUTH! As always, Cait, this post is pure gold. Maybe we should find a recipe so you can forever after from here on out be associated with EDIBLE GOLD instead of cake. Or edible gold cake, because that would also be cool.
Seeeeeriously though, how do we book bloggers DO this every day?! Or even just once a week?! I don’t even know. No wonder we’re all often viewed as raving lunatics. XD
Edible gold would be awesome. ALTHOUGH I GOTTA ADMIT CAKE IS MORE FUN THOUGH. BUT EDIBLE GOLDEN CAKE???? OPTION???? And ahahha, we just don’t sleep and we probably have wizard powers. I’m like 99% sure about the wizard powers.
YAY MULAN REFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh my gosh, these are all so incredibly spot on, I’m dying. XD IT IS SO HARD TO BALANCE EVERYTHING AGH. Like, should I be doing math right now? Yes. Am I totally going to comment on millions of blogs instead? Obviously.
MULAN REFERENCES MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER. *nods* And ahhhh I’m glad you liked the post.😂
Good thing I didn’t read this BEFORE I became a blogger. Once of the things I learned was what the heck CSS is. I still need to learn how to tweet; I’ve been doing it, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m clueless.
I’m absolutely certain CSS stands for Certified Salty Strawberries, by the way. #helpful
And I’m clueless about a ton of stuff still too…BUT WE HAVE FUN, RIGHT?! 😂
So, SO RELATABLE.
I spend a ridiculous amount of time making all the photos and attaching helpful links so that everything is oh-so-easy for my lovely readers. I mean, that’s what I want to see on others people’s blogs, so I’ve got to give that back, right? It’s only fair!
There always more when it comes to book blogging. Free time? Read a book. Don’t want to read? Comment on other people’s blogs. Already done that? Make some graphics. No? Social media exists. I just decided today to actively use Bloglovin’ more – you know, just to add a bit more to the list haha!
TRUE. And I think how much work we put in is often how much benefits we get out, SO IT’S ALL TOTALLY WORTH IT IN THE END AND IS GLORIOUS. And hahaha, remember the days of just sitting around and relaxing without 39839 million blogging things that need to be done? ME NEITHER.😂
I learn things constantly about book blogging! I would say possibly every day! I still go and read how to start a blog posts because there are things I have missed or forgotten to do…(Yeah I know I still don’t have a review policy..maybe someday!) I love your blog, it motivates me. I mainly just lurk but now I am leaving comments, woo, I have moved up in the world. 🙂
Yes! Me too! Every year I blog I learn new things and it’S GLORIOUS. *nods* Awww, thankyou though! THAT IS SUPER ENCOURAGING TO HEAR. <3 And I appreciate this comment a lot. CAKE FOR YOU.
#4 lol yeah I know what I’m doing all you non- book blogging peasants (they must not know I make this blog thing up as I go). 🙂 Too funny. And I love the idea of answering simple greetings with book related wisdom (Raven Boys are the best). I need to try that. This is fun- great list. Oh and I thought I’d share this from Ming the Merciless.
YAY FOR MUTUAL RAVEN BOY APPRECIATION. *flails* And omg thanks for that!
A brilliant post! I have just written my first novel and have only just begun learning about blogging as I have started one of my own. I also think the amount of time and effort that goes in to writing book reviews is stunning. I have read a few that have gone against the majority opinion and I think it shows that person has integrity and is confident ( as you say) in their knowledge.
Omg congrats on your first novel!! *flails and gives you cake of gloriousness* THAT IS AMAZING GO YOU! And yes blogging has so many arms…it’s like a giant squid. But a fun squid. I hope you enjoy it! ;D
Sleep is for the weak anyway. Whenever I tell my friends I’m a book blogger, they look at me like they need to go run off and take a huge shit. And then there are those who think they can just go off and do it, like it’s no big deal at all. They say, “I’m gonna go start one today. Can’t be that hard can it?” That pisses me the hell off.
Thanks for this post Cait. I’m always so unsure about how blogging will benefit me in the future but all I need to do now is show this to my boss, and I’m sure he’ll get a promotion. I’m the kind of blogger who’s scared about telling her family members and friends that she is one. This post is just giving me that rockin’ confidence I need, so thank you 😀 <3
Lots of love and take care,
Alex
It’s true! *nods* My sister always says “sleep is for the dead” which is also a nice one. But omg it’s definitely annoying when people are like “oh that’s easy I’ll do that” and you’re like “NO IT IS SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT LET ME LIST THE 9000 THINGS BLOGGING INVOLVES”. *gives you cake* Anyway I’m glad you liked the post!! And I think blogging is a great platform for a lot of things! I’m sure future bosses would be impressed. I want to use mine as an author platform one day. :’)
Oh I absolutely LOVE THIS POST. My exams are all finished (yay! no more tiny school things to worry about) and so I’ve come back full throttle. I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO BOOK BLOGGING AGAIN. I can’t wait to see what I can do with the new website.
Come to think of it book bloggers are really quite savvy human beings. We know how to talk well, how to do some insane levels of PR, and we’ve got the internet on our side too (or at least to some extent).
AHHH THANK YOU, FABULOUS BEAN! *flails happily* And also happy holidays!! AND YAY FOR MORE BLOGGING TIME. And we are super savvy. Like we know how to cater to an audience and have fun and be coherent (sometimes😂) WHICH IS REALLY QUITE AMAZING TBH.
I’m not a book blogger myself (mainly because my thoughts are an incoherent mess that nobody would be able to read) but I ADORE reading book blogs. Like, half the blogs I follow are book blogs. I am also a rabid fan of goodreads (but shhhh don’t tell my parents because I may or may not have not had their approval to get it #rebel) and I use leafmarks sometimes. Yeah. And I think EVERYONE needs more cake – especially the chocolate fudge type with warm melted chocolate over the top. I’m drooling now.
Yayyyyy for a fellow bookworm! *bookish hi five* Goodreads is also wonderful and actually super addictive.😂 I’m on there like 839483 a day and IT IS THE BEST WEBSITE OF EVER BASICALLY. And I agree: we all need more cake. The world would be better with more cake.
Love. This.
I always enjoy your post, and this one is one of my favorites.
Omggg THANKYOU!! *flails happily*
Don’t forget that some of us, like me, also have a full time job, husband, kids, pets, a life (what’s that?) etc…. Book blogging is actually my “hobby” as some people have labeled it. I feel like it’s a second job. No I don’t get paid, yes it takes up a lot of my time. But…I love it! Wouldn’t change a thing 😀
I did list that too.😂 In #8! hehe. So yes. It is like a second job sometimes, omg, and I definitely wouldn’t give it up NOT FOR ANYTHING but I also wouldn’t say no to being paid.😂
AWESOME POST! As per usual, you know. 😉 I especially agree with the first two points…
Although, actually, I do sleep? Which ACTUALLY clearly explains why my TBR is unconquerable. o.o I MUST KICK THIS SLEEPING HABIT SO I CAN READ THE THINGS I NEED TO READ.
Oh, and YES, we’re the best marketers out there! The amount of copies of Illusionarium and Howl’s Moving Castle I’ve probably sold is phenomenal, I think… (And those were just random books I read and loved and didn’t get for review or anything — weird, right??)
OMG YES. I think the only reason I even know (and want to read) Illusionarium is because of your frequent flailing!!😂 AND YES WE DON’T NEED SLEEP. WE JUST NEED CAKE WHILE WE ARE FUELLED BY THE PAIN OF OUR BOOKISH FEELS.
Ah, yes, #4. I’ve done the whole Oh, the author of (insert name of wildly popular book here) wrote this, too? I totally knew that. (insert awkward laugh). And running all the various social media accounts is exhausting. Like, I’ve got Tumblr and Goodreads and Twitter and Pinterest and gaaah it gets kind of overwhelming somethings.
I’m not really sure if it’s worth adding to the list because I might be the only one who does it but the whole taking pictures in public thing. IT’S TOTALLY HARD AND SUPER AWKWARD. Like, I want to start doing bookstore tours on my blog but it’s somewhat difficult because I don’t want to be that person taking photos and bugging everyone else but I still want/need those photos and IT’S AWKWARD. HELP.
Yesss, it IS exhausting.😂 I honestly regret having so many social media accounts but they’re kind of doing well SO LIKE I DON’T WANT TO DITCH THEM BUT OMG #OVERWHELMED *hires a dozen secretaries*
Omg YES. I don’t actually take pictures in public yet…but I consider it. And then I chicken out. ACTUALLY NO WAIT. I did photograph my library and that was awkward enough.😂
*snickers at Mulan reference* and omg “How to Make Lasagne” – I’m literally going to use that as an explanation next time someone asks. I love this list!! It’s so true, you think blogging will be fun and easy but in reality it’s an iceberg and your the Titanic TIMBEEEEERRR. Sleeping has definitely gone out the window, for sure.
My mum looked at me the other week (like a specific look, she didn’t just suddenly go OH I have children!) and went, “gee you look tired.” To which I went, “uhgushsusjfh”, and she goes “maybe you should take a break from blogging until exams are done?” I did my best popular-girl-got-insulted face, flicked my hair, shook my head and defiantly opened my laptop to write a review. PFFFT. No one shall tell me sleep is more important that the blogosphere! *swishes sword*
Yes definitely use my HTML explanation because I know all the things and no one can doubt me at all for sure. *nods* AND YES WE ARE LIKE AN ICEBERG! OR THE TITANIC! Wait….
Sleep is definitely not important. Neither is exams or, you know, self-care. NOTHING IS IMPORTANT, JUST THE BOOKS. #sensible
Oh my goodness! I love this!! You’ve made me feel a million times better after some delightful smurf told me that I just sit reading all day and how it would ‘give me something to do’. I guess my 2 year old looks after herself then?! 😂😂. Oh and apparently it’s not work yet we promote books and authors….ignorant people 😂. You have humour like mine, can I be your new friend? 😂
OMG. SERIOUSLY?!?! That is just so annoying. *shakes fist at person who said that to you* Plus, um, 2 year olds are like the most exhausting creatures on the earth.😂 I babysit three kids under 5 and omggggg…DEAD. And blogging on top of that? I actually admire you the most here!! HI FIVE MY NEW FRIEND.
Haha!!! High five to you too!! Well just to get more brownie points from you, I’m also chronically ill with 6 illnesses too on top of all that 😉 xx
Omg you are amazing! I admire you even more!
Awww thanks lovely!!
Haha! When I first saw you said “typing book review and reading books” I was like : “isn’t that what bloggers do?” But then…I totally agree with your list!!! I do all kind of strange things when blogging and reading…not to mention how to find enough time reading!!! (Well…apparently, it means 24 hours of my day.)
And being a bookblogger is definitely busy!!!! Sooo BUSY!!!! I need time for bookstagram, Pinterest, Facebook fan page and so much more!!!!! Ahhhhhhh!!! It’s not as simple as used to think anymore!!!
Yessss, finding time to do all this, omg. It’s just blogging is rarely SIMPLY reading and reviewing. That’s just like the first step.😂 WE ARE BUSY FIENDS AND WE DO IT MAJESTICALLY.
Love the list Cait. SOOOOO TRUE!! Sometimes I feel I am a bloodhound. because I am always sniffing out sales. And then I get super excited and message my friends about it, even the non reader ones ( And I am sure they find that VERY irritating). And the rest of my life I spend on Bookstagram. And I will start with reading other blogs and end up googling what is fish sauce or how to know if your pasta is not over cooked.
Relevant question : When do I read???
I’m pretty extra sure we bookworms are actually like bookhounds. IT WORKS. IT’S A NEW NAME FOR US. And bookstagram is a grand way to spend one’s life. I entirely approve. :’) But YES OMG THE “WHEN DO WE READ” QUESTION IS ACTUALLY A PROBLEM SOMETIMES.😂
2, 3, 6, 8, 10 >> especially relevant. As for me, I am new-be book blogger, but man, do I love this community! It’s the best! You’ve already said everything there was to be said, just to add my own two cents, I think I have learned to read better since I started blogging about books. I have also started to read more reviews by others and have started to actually enjoy reading reviews purely for entertainment. And that bookstagram community is literally the best!
YES IT IS THE BEST! *flails for the kindness of the community* And yes I’d agree with learning to read better! I feel like I analyse more as I read and think about the book more so I have something to say for my reviews? So blogging definitely promotes thinking. *nods* BOOKSTAGRAM IS EVERYTHING OMG.
Great post! I wrote a post a couple weeks ago about all the things book bloggers do, and I honestly think it surprises people. You really have to devote hours a day to your blog if you’re serious about it or trying to juggle all the extra social media, photography, stores, etc. as you mention.
On the bright side, I have never been rudely accosted by someone who didn’t share my opinion about a book or whatever. Hopefully it will stay that way!
Ohhh did you!!? I’ll have to go read yours! (I didn’t see it, sorry.🙈🙊) And YES we do devote so many hours and so much passion and effort into our blog. It’s worth it..BUT IT’S ALSO EXHAUSTING.😂 And wow, omg I do hope your luck holds!! hehe
HAHAHAHAHA YES YES YES X1000!!! Being a book blogger is a tremendously involved business. And then there’s doing all the stuff which goes with your blog, like dealing with comments and having all your other accounts (although I don’t really do this #cheating ) . (Although in #3 I think you meant complement as in ‘match’ rather than compliment as in ‘say something flattering’ ?) . I find that I take far more photos than non-bloggers would think (because maybe it seems like blogging is just about writing the things? But this is wrong) Also I have learned a lot about how to write for a specific audience (the type who get book references). I also learned a lot about how blogging is really not just an alone thing, but a community thing, I guess? *book blogger hi-five*
Ahhhahaha CORRECTING MY HEINOUS TYPOS THERE, SHAR.😂 (Thankyou. hehe.) Ahem. But yes! We bloggers are flexible with our writing and genius in all things. Like, move over cake (although we will still take it) we actually deserve MEDALS. *hi five*
This is important to remind people of. Non-book bloggers don’t appreciate the amount of work which goes into blogging. I know I didn’t before I started blogging. It’s exhausting, it’s like having another job and I already have one why have I voluntarily taken on another which I don’t even get paid before. Instead, I get the benefit of a few early releases, some free books occasionally and a whole lot of work in exchange for these books. And that’s just the reviews, that’s not everything else blogging entails. We bloggers are actually really hard workers that give off this air of making it look easy. It’s an amazing skill.
YES IT IS KIND OF CRAZY ALL THE STUFF WE DO. And non-paid.😂 I mean, I wouldn’t give up book blogging for anything and the fact that it’s my passion keeps me going, buuuut, it’d be nice to be paid, right?!? (I don’t really think ARCs count as “Free” books either, because like we spend 3+ hours reading them and then another hour at least getting the post ready…that’s 4+ hours of our time for a $20 book!) But anyway. AT LEAST IT’S FUN. *awards us both cake*
Yes to all, especially point number three! There’s a whole lot more than just blogging when it comes to being a blogger. I’d like to think we work harder than those who have 9-5 grind, because of all those efforts while also pretending we understand everything!
I tried to do coding on my blog and there were many times where I was on the brink of tears and almost threw away my laptop and had my brain explode. Why can’t they make it easier for us non-IT people?!
YES! Plus it’s all unpaid and just on passion…so we are the only ones keeping ourselves motivated *nods* Which can actually be exhausting quite regularly! *whispers* But omg coding killed me too.😂 I just…I have no idea.
*signs* *turns to walk away* *turns again*
Hi there 🙂
I think to non-book bloggers there is another thing not being really obvious: Most of us do have daytime work, college and/or school. So we spend a freaking amount of 40-70 hours on normal people stuff and THEN we go reading. Not the books we’re supposed to read for – mentioned above – but actually even MORE books that we have to. Not that we wouldn’t like these books we actually pick ourselves, but still, even though blogging is consuming 24 hours a day, we work or study another 8-16 hours a day. We’re Time Lords. Or just mad time technology scientists. Or just brilliant.
Greetings
Taaya from Let ’em eat books (german blog, so sorry 😀 )
I did include the fact that a lot of bloggers have work/school too! 🙂 Which definitely makes us magical wizard beans or something who are fuelled by books and coffee and never sleep.😂
HTML = HAPPY TO MAKE LASAGNA. I WAS NOT AWARE. clearly, I will be filing this information away for future reference!
Also, alas, for I am not a book blogger… just a normal blogger who loves books. But I do so enjoy reading book blogs – SPEAKING OF WHICH. Thanks to a post you did last week (or possibly the week before, my brain is mush currently and I can’t remember) I checked “the smell of other people’s houses” out of the library! I have yet to begin reading, but it is on my desk as we speak!
YOU ARE WELCOME. I’m always happy to share my endlessly fabulous knowledge. #helpful
AHHHHHH tell me what you think of the Smelly Houses book when you get to it?!? BECAUSE I NEED TO FLAIL WITH SOMEONE.😂
I LOVE YOU CAIT. This is one of my favourite posts of yours, which is saying something because you write so many excellent posts. Of course I would love it because this is a love letter to all of us and it makes me feels all warm and fuzzy. I want to run over there and invade your personal space and give you a huge hug for this.
You are completely right, book bloggers deserve kudos and respect. We totally earn it with how hard we work. I am in awe that so many of us are able to juggle posting and a gazillion other creative outlets and social media all at once. We prove there is magic in this world, honestly 😉
Thank you so much for this post <3 Totally made my night!
YOU ARE THE NICEST AENTEE. LET ME JUST GIVE YOU CAKE NOW AND SMUSH IT IN YOUR HAIR BECAUSE I’M WONDERFUL AND FUN LIKE THAT. And omgggg, we book bloggers need encouragement because we DO work very hard. <3
hahaha such accurate post, i can’t. the ‘pretending to know what we’re doing but not actually having a clue’ is the truest thing i’ve ever read, most of the time i’m doing what i think is right but internally knowing that it’s probably not haha. great post!
YES IT IS SO TRUE FOR ALL OF US.😂 But at least it’s comforting knowing we’re all just pretending to know what we’re doing, right?!😂
I agree with all these points. I’m only a new book blogger myself but I’ve found myself jumping in to the world. I’m just about to start bookstagraming and have began tweeting more and am always coming up with thousands of hashtags in my head (I should probably write a list) and have discovered just how weird and active my brain its. Also I was one of the people who has bought a Maggie Stiefvater book because I remember you raving about her. #Booklove.
JDKLSADLK THIS MAKES ME HAPPY!!!! *shrieks* Maggie Stiefvater is only THE BEST.😂 I mean, I never say that so I thought I needed to kindly whisper it… 😉
I feel you. It’s so exhausting when subjects demand more cake.
Being fabulous is just all round exhausting. I mean, do we feed the peasants? Watch them starve? So many options…
Great post! Not a book blogger but do a book post once a month and can identify with some of these.
Ahhh I’m glad you enjoyed it, Sandra! THANKYOU. 😀
This is possibly the best thing I have ever read, I LOVE IT 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 literally made me lol out loud throughout
AHHHH I AM SO ENDLESSLY GLAD, THANK YOU, KATIE. *twirls happily*
Omigoodness, best post ever! I am definitely going to print it out and throw it at people who claim I don’t do anything, or that I spend too much time on the computer. This will show them.
XD
I’ve had the brilliant idea that we need to print this on STICKERS so we can slap them on people’s faces. BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE FUN.
You are so fabulous for this post, Cait! (Though you probably already know that *bows down to the queen*) Basically, this post gave me all kinds of feels. I’m not particularly a book blogger per say, just a combination of geeky things I love. But I didn’t realize just how much I thought about my blogging as frivolous (as I get the feeling a lot of relatives actually do). I do a lot of in terms of blogging in general and it was nice to be reminded how much all of us work at this tiny inconsequential place called the Internet. Thanks so much for this!
*flails happily* YOU ARE REALLY QUITE WONDERFUL, KATY, THOUGH I’M SURE YOU KNOW THAT TOO. But this list can definitely work in a lot of areas for all kinds of blogging, right?!😂 But YES we work so hard! And I think, even if it’s just a “Hobby”, we deserve recognition for our amazingness and dedication. :’)
Hello Cait! I would love it if you could write a guest post for my blog or collaborate with me on a blog post. Thank you so much for reading this message and I am now *sending cake and making a cup of tea*
I hope you can work with me as I really LOVE your blog xxx
Laila
http://www.lailabee.blogspot.co.uk
I don’t really have time to do guest posts, sorry, Laila! But I appreciate you asking. 🙂
YES!!! A lot of people have wanted to start book blogs after I’ve told them I have one and I’m like it’s so much fun, but a lot of work. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.
I agree with this whole list! It’s reading, writing reviews, writing posts, commenting on blogs, taking photos, editing photos, designing graphics, trying to be witty and intelligent (I have yet to master this but ONE DAY) and so many other factors too! I love doing it though despite the amount of time it takes! :’)
EXACTLY!! And I think bloggers might last a bit longer if they realised how much work goes in to the start, right?! I heard that most blogs quit after 2 years. SAD FACE. Blogging is the best and so rewarding…but a lot of work hehe.
Thank you for the great post! I am a relatively new blogger (3ish months) and at first, I thought it would be just like posting my reviews on Goodreads, but twice. HAHA was I so wrong – I’m barely getting the hang of it and already my time is being sucked down the endless black hole of blogging-related tasks 🙂
And I definitely need to work more on #4… I definitely have very little idea about what I’m doing, while simultaneously feeling like everyone else has their stuff/blog together but me! Hm, I wonder if we all feel that way a little bit 🙂
I totally know how you feel!! BUT WELCOME TO THE BLOGGING WORLD!! I think it’s important not to overwhelm ourselves, but ahhaha, omg so hard with all the fun options out there, right?!
But *whispers* don’t worry…none of us really know what we’re doing.😂
I LOVE this! When I first started out blogging it was like an online diary then I began ‘Book Blogging’ as I am still predominately a book blog however like you mention it takes so much time to actually get through a book and digest it properly. GREAT POST 🙂 You had me laughing literally OUT LOUD!! xx
Same!! I was doing a sort of diary/travel blog and like only my family read it.😂 And now look what I’ve turned into…a BOOK MONSTER AND NOT EVEN SAD. Heheh. I’m glad you liked the post, thanks, Fay!
Absolutely yes! We deserve more CAKES with billions of chocolate chips sprinkled on the top! (I’m hungry now….)
Hats off to you Cait (although I’m sure I don’t have any!) and this post is freaking brilliant and true! Non-bookish people or non-bloggers truly underestimate us! Nonetheless LOVED THIS POST!
I’m always hungry when I blog, dangit. I need to rethink all this food talk.😂 AHH I’M GLAD YOU ENJOYED THE POST! THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY.
Brilliant post! You’re right in that there’s so much more that goes into blogging that it seems at face value.
But that can go two ways, because all of those element combined is what overwhelmed me and provoked me to put my blog on hiatus. I felt like I had to do it all and that took the fun out of it. But when I am blogging, it’s SO rewarding.
That is true! And I think we have to learn not to do just everything.😂 Like I tried to list EVERYTHING we could do in this post but really we should only pick enough things that don’t totally drown us. 😛 (I have missed reading your blog! But I totally understand hiatuses when one is overwhelmed *nods* *shares cake with you*)
HTML: Happy to Make Lasagna.
…
Yep, that sounds about right!
My knowledge is ENDLESS when it comes to technology, naturally. :’)
Love your book blogging guide! I’ve written 25 blogs so far – once a week since New Year’s 2016 – probably two were about books, notably calligraphy books. Mostly I write about book arts, handmade books, and calligraphy. But I can so totally relate to how time-consuming it is and cake is the order of the day! Thanks!
Cake is definitely needed BY ALL! *shares cake with you* 😂
I feel like I should stamp my comments with: “ACCURATE ACCURATE ACCURATE” whenever I pass through here from now on. Because Cait. REALLY. Someone should mail this post to those who don’t appreciate us (the ever-rare 0% 😉 ) As always, Cait. You are never wrong. 😉
THIS MAKES ME REALLY VERY HAPPY. *shrieks gleefully* But YES we shall send this to all the non-appreciative mortals of the world and they will send us back cake for our efforts. The plan is failsafe. :’)
You should sell these reasons on pamphlets and whenever someone asks me why I didn’t do something or why I’m busy I’ll just hand this to them. You would become rich enough just from the sales of these pamphlets to just buy the world out instead of taking it over. I mean battles are fun to watch and sometimes to even take part in, but training an army takes almost as much time and energy as book blogging does. AND THAT IS A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY.
YES. Or stickers. Cute shiny stickers. So when people ask silly questions like “you have so much free time with that little hobby blog of yours eh? must be so relaxing” then we can SLAP A STICKER ON THEIR FACE. It’d be fun! Also rewarding!
And this is also an excellent money saver *nods* And I mean, obviously I’ll have all the money of ever when I take over the world, but the prelude to domination requires paying my dragons in cake and cake doesn’t grow on trees.
It’s very true – we are all quite busy behind the scenes and book blogging is not as easy-peasy as people might think. I mean, maybe if you do it just every now and then but a lot of us are DIE HARD bloggers and it’s a lot of work. I have learned many things while blogging though, so it’s great.
-Lauren
YES! Especially those of us who are utterly obsessed and are constantly blogging or thinking about blogging.😂 IT’S BASICALLY A LIFESTYLE.
And spend hours chatting to writers on social media! And, if you’re lucky, becoming a beta reader for an author ! I went to my first book launch a while ago and I was asked what I did. “I’m a reader – and I’m very good at it!” was my reply. I was the encouraged to start a blog by the authors – which was very flattering!
YES TO ALL OF THESE TOO!! And omg I love that reply…I think that could be on a tee-shirt because I would wear that.😂
Um, also… how do you even have time to respond to comments and check out other people’s blogs?! Seriously, ARE YOU MAGIC?
Where do you BUY the time? Seriously, where do you purchase it from Amazon?
I’m not even receiving ARCs yet I’m feeling the pressure of reviewing (okay SLIGHT exaggeration but seriously). Also, that post probably took you all day. All those fonts and those gifs. You’re like the least laziest person I know. (Okay, to be honest, I don’t even know you). Well I KINDA do. But not really.
I AM MAGIC. *twirls magically* (Although this is kind of ironic because I’m answering this 398493 days late 😂 hahahha #dead) I definitely order my extra time management skills from the internet. This is true because the internet never lies. And YES I did take a long time putting this together BUT SO WORTH IT I LOVE BLOGGING JUST SO MUCH.😂
This! This is a highly comprehensive list! The negative opinions bit has always bugged me. It’s so hard to have an unpopular opinion. I see the pile-ups on Facebook ALL THE TIME, as if only one opinion is the right opinion.
And it also bugs me when readers apologize to me when they buy my books on sale. Lol. I put the books on sale FOR A REASON. Please continue to buy them even at a sharp discount. I WANT the books in your hands, not sitting on the virtual shelves (I just started a summer sale on my series, and I’m pushing it on everyone. Lol.)
It always surprises me too when someone who can’t understand the internet and how it works wants to blog. You really actually DO need to know some skills to be an effective blogger!
I’m still endlessly confused that people don’t get that we can have different opinions.😂 I mean, HONESTLY, do people wish we all thought the same???? The world would be super disturbing if that was the case. GAH.
And yes, one does need to know how the internet works a little. I mean, there’s a lot you can learn on the go (I definitely did! I didn’t even know what a blog really was when I started😂 My sister was all just “YOU MUST BLOG” so I did and learned on the way) but what really bugs me is when people just ask really complex “how do I blog” questions, when they could google and get tutorials that way! Research for yourself, peoples, omg.
Haha 99% of my book blogging is pretending like I know what the heck I’m doing because trust me, I don’t!! Many more people than I thought have expressed sentiments similar to “oh Rachel, you totally understand all this blogging stuff, you blogging master!” and I laugh on the inside because I DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING. Fake it until you make it, right? haha just kidding. xD
Bloggers definitely are free and unprofessional (at times) marketers. I love getting people to buy my favorite books (for me!) kidding again. But in all seriousness, I love selling readers on books. We actually do not sleep at all. I also spend at least 400 hours a day formatting posts or making google folders for blog events.
Lovely post as always, Cait!
Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books
Zomg it totally is pretending we know what we’re doing.😂 Whenever I get asked for blogging advice I’m just “I DON’T KNOW, DUDE, I’M JUST HOPING HARD HERE.” hehe But we do a good job at faking our knowledge of all the things. *hi fives*
And we don’t even need sleep when we can function on BOOKS.
I’ve read through this several times, and all I can say is, YOU ROCK. THANK YOU.
I really have nothing else to add hahahah
*GIVES YOU COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF CAKE* THIS PLEASES ME GREATLY.
EVERYTHING MUST BE RELATED TO BOOK BLOGGING. OR YOU END UP LIKE ME- THE FOUR SCHEDULE POSTS YOU SET UP AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH JUST PLAYING OUT WHILE YOU BINGE WATCH 4 SHOWS ON NETFLIX AT ONCE AND HAVE TWENTY BOOKS FROM THE LIBRARY THAT ACTUALLY HAVE TO GO BACK BURNING A HOLE IN YOUR BACK.
WHOOPS PLEASE REPLY TO THIS ONE AS I FORGOT TO CHECK THE EMAIL BOX ON THE FIRST ONE.
THIS IS A VERY RELATABLE LIFE CIRCUMSTANCE, AMY. I HIGHLY AGREE. Especially with all the books from the library that should’ve gone back but you want to read them dangit but you also need to watch TV and you also need to just lie face down on the floor and scream occasionally. LIFE IS WHAT IT IS. *flaps about trying to do everything and accomplishing nothing*
Hahaha YES. I MEAN IT’S NETFLIX. IT NEVER STOPS COMING AND JUST.
I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU DO IT, CAIT. I BARELY RUN ONE SOCIAL MEDIA, LET ALONE TWO AND A BLOG AND ALL THAT READING AND ROIEJCXMERO;IJDFKMLERKJ/L (I just pressed the keyboard with a bunch of fingers at once. AKA slapping. UGH.)
So yeah, we don’t sleep. In fact, maybe we all have some kind of biological defect that makes us even ABLE to be book bloggers. Because I have heard that humans need sleep, but we are breaking barriers, my friend.
And no, it’s not just “write about books” a couple times a week or something. Pshhh. It’s all of those things. Extra points if you become obsessed with some fandoms along the way and start to try to work THEM into your schedule too. I may or may not have created a new Tumblr for my The 100 obsession, and I may or may not be making GIFs and video edits for it. And the irony is, they are BY FAR my least viewed posts, but I cannot help it. Must be the disease.
True story though (and one I actually may make a post about at some point because now I am curious about bloggers as a whole- don’t worry, I shall give credit to this beauteous post, and its lovely creator, you) I don’t rewrite… anything. Hell, I don’t even proofread. What you get is what you get. If I catch a glaring error, I will edit it out, of course, but otherwise, nah. Because we’re doing seven million other things, and when I re-read posts I tend to obsess OR glaze over… so I literally type and press “post”- sometimes all in one sitting, because why stop once it starts?
And yes. WAY more cake. And maybe money. (Actually, skip the cake, go straight for the money.)
We are definitely breaking barriers. I’m sure not all of us are human anyway. I MEAN, I’M CLEARLY IMMORTAL QUEEN OF ALL, SO THERE’S THAT. *flips hair*
And zomg yes to the fandoms. Or getting obsessed with designing things too and I didn’t mention booktubing which IS SHAME ON ME but I can only imagine how much more time/energy/creativity that’d take too. I’ve read a few of your 100 posts because they’re SO ENTERTAINING OMG.😂 But I can’t really comment because I haven’t seen the show yet. I know, I know, it’s on my to-do list okay?! In all my spare time….😂😂 #dead
DUDE THE FACT THAT YOU DON’T PROOF READ BUT ARE SO DOWNRIGHT PERFECTLY HILARIOUS AND ELOQUENT IS MAKING ME JEALOUS.
Cait, this is an amazing, fantastic, awesome and epic post! Thank you for putting this together. How true these are. Especially all those additional tasks that are a spin off of a “book blog.” sigh* All of that additional “work” can become overwhelming, but considering how much I love this work and of course, the amazing community, it’s all worth. 🙂
OMG THANK YOU RISSI. *blushes* THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME. <33
Good one, Cait!
Both inspiring and terrifying! I didn’t know this much responsibility comes with wanting to talk about books!
We should just all unite, play with unicorns, bake cakes and start candy parties!
These are all excellent ideas, Spuds. I LIKE IT. *eats cake with unicorns and tosses candy in the air*
We soooo deserve cake, Cait! Thank you so much for articulating all that we book bloggers do. I can now print this for my hubs to read so I can say “See, I’m quite busy at all times and doing much more than just sitting around, eating bon-bons (or cake) and reading.” Book blogging is a grand hobby. I love it. But it is sooo time-consuming. And I’m old and require sleep! 😉
EXACTLY! I need to get my whole family to read this so they don’t think I’m doing nothing on the internet.😂 hahah IT’S A LOT OF HARD WORK! But so so worth it. :’)
What a great post in support of us book bloggers – keep on blogging!
Sleep is SOo Yesterday – Yawn!
Who can sleep when the very next most brilliant book you’ve ever read might just be the next book you pick up?
EXACTLY. You know how it is, Rosie *nods emphatically* We don’t need sleep. We need books.
This is a WONDERFULLY FANTASTIC POST! Gah! The peoples of the small world don’t understand the GENIUS it takes. It is a magical balancing act that only superhumans may achieve. I agree so much with this! *nods slowly and gradually gets faster*
YES YES our genius needs to be noticed and applauded basically. Also giving us cake is a definite yes. *nods*
Cait I love this post so much! When I started book blogging years ago, who knew that it would evolve into this time consuming, all involving thing with my life filled with books? I love it so much though. Wouldn’t give it up for the world!
SAME! 100% SAME! Plus I actually wonder how non-book-bloggers function without always thinking about blogs and posts and books and comments.😂 It IS very consuming but so worth it. :’)
THIS. IS. GOLD. I love it!! I can’t count the amount of times I’ve been asked “when will you get paid for book blogging?” “what do you actually do?” “Oh, you just write about books? That should be easy right??” WRONG. Book blogging is demanding, but I wouldn’t have it any other way 🙂
I basically spend 94 hours typing and re-typing but I guess I’m used to it now (what with writing and all haha). I actually don’t know how we manage to get all this done. IT’S NOT HUMAN!
IT IS DEMANDING! And, I won’t lie, it’d be nice to be paid ahahahh😂 But I also wouldn’t give it up for ANYTHING because it’s so fun and rewarding and fajdkalsd I LOVE BOOK BLOGGING.
Sounds awfully like being a writer to me.
Maybe because book blogging is writing?😂
This is a fantastic post. I found your blog via a link on someone else’s blog and I’m following you now because… Well because I love your writing voice.
Kudos and keep it up.
http://Runwright.net
Awww, THANKYOU!! THIS MAKES MY DAY AHHHH. *flails happily*
This is absolutely hilarious and very much true! People really don’t know how hard it is to juggle all that we do across different social platforms. Great breakdown and I’ll be sure to mail this to people who question or look down at what I do. haha
Exactly! *nods* And we must let them know exactly how much work we put into this.😂 I MEAN, NO REGRETS, BOOK BLOGGING IS THE FUNNEST. But we do work really hard!
AHH A GIANT YES TO ALL OF THIS, and you are the QUEEN of making up awesome blog posts. I had NO idea book blogging would CONSUME my life like that, and I’m forever thinking about new stuff to do, things to write, clever tweets and EVERYTHING. And hm I have NO idea how you keep up between twitter, instagram and your blog I feel like you DO everything and I’m already way too SWAMPED with my blog and twitter only. YOU ARE AMAZING FOR THAT. And screaming about books all day is TIRING. But I wouldn’t change it for the world, because it’s pretty amazing, and there’s NOTHING like the feeling of making someone READ a book, and that someone thanking you afterwards. (by the way, THANK YOU, you are right, The Raven Boys were ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS EVER AND THOSE BOYS AHRETGHG. I have lots of feelings.)
AHHH THANK YOU MARIE.😂 Tbh, I get very swamped too because I basically take on too much. ahahhaha. OH DEAR. But it’s all so fun. I just need 39839 more hours in my day. And less sleep. *eats coffee basically* Ahem. And yesssss, book blogging is 1000% worth it. :’)
How do you always manage to perfectly capture the essence of everything and all the weird things the universe provides? You definitely have the pretending down if you don’t actually know it.
THIS (meaning the post with THIS) is exactly what the life of a book blogger looks like and I find it so frustrating when my non-blogging friends simply cannot comprehend the work and effort that is put into blogging! It is like having a second job … without getting paid … but with the most glorious community and ALL THE BOOKS! So, there’s always that of course.
IT’S BECAUSE I’M ENDLESSLY FABULOUS, KAT. *flips hair*
And yessss, we must teach the non-bloggers the extent of things we do for our blogs. bECASUE WE DO A LOT.😂 And I love it and don’t regret it at all but hehe I wouldn’t say no to being paid for it either.😂
i just stumbled across your blog and i LOVE it, and this post perfectly describes me too LOL. although i am new at book blogging, i can totally relate to all these!! thank you for sharing them with us 🙂
AHHH THANK YOU, MICHELLE! And also hello and welcome
to the madness!😂Fun Read – thanks for filling in the empty part of day I spend lost on the net.
I love books – oh oh – I lie – I’m obsessed with books – funny – ha ha ha ??? – because we read a lot – people insist we have a book in us – just bursting to get out – yeah right – what another book – just about what I write about – to be read by others – I think not…
Though book blogging might be fun… what’s a BLOG – sounds dangerous..think I’ll go back to shark farming..or dentistry – ouch.
Long live book bloggers… what’s a BLOG ???
Terry T :-))
NZ
Glad you enjoyed the post! 🙂
Book blogging is bloody exhausting. It’s not just the reading, which is the most relaxing and rewarding aspect, but then you agonise over a review, perhaps interview an author, Tweet it, Facebook it, spend more time than necessary Instagramming it. But then we also talk to other readers, bloggers, often run groups, bookclubs, Don’t forget about the self promotion. It never ends. But you my dear, you run rings around most of us. Even only sleeping a few hours per night, I still can’t do half of what you do. I think you spend your time a lot more productively than I do. I get distracted by everything.
It also brings about the debate on whether or not book bloggers should be paid for their time as well, but I think that’s a discussion for another day.
I’m exhausted already.
Great post smushy. Even I didn’t realise we did so much.
YES EXACTLY. Like the reading is like 30% of book blogging sometimes.😂 (I mean, that’s a total accurate statistic that I just pulled out of the air there #legit) And yes I do like running rings. *runs regally* I’M JUST KIDDING. I DON’T TRULY! 😂 I just have no life and i’m trying my dog to type. #alsolegit
And that IS a very interesting debate, to be sure….I’m on the “we should totally be paid” side because think how much more books that I don’t have time to read that I would own, right?! GLORIOUS.
Wha ha ha !!!!! I agree – HTML must have something to do with food and how to make it. Great post (*bow down and don’t look you in the eyes. Also won’t speak if not spoken to*).
*flails regally* OF COURSE HTML = FOOD. I mean, what else would it equal right?! My logic is so sound. *nods*
Oh my goodness thank you. Thank you so much for understanding! There’s like so much stuff that we do that even though my friends support my book blogging they don’t understand! And it can be really exhausting and tiring and hard to keep up with so yeah… it’s always nice to know that some people out there get it! Gotta love the overwhelmed life hahaha 😀
Yessss, we must get all the non-book-bloggers to appreciate how much we do! It’s not just reading a book and writing a quick review.😂 OVERWHELMING sometimes BUT WORTH IT FOR SURE.
Happy To Make Lasagna is the best thing I’ve read all day!!!
IT’S THE TRUTH. I always speak truth around here. #legit
YOU’VE SOLD ME SO MANY STIEFVATER BOOKS. (Aka all of them. I bought the only unowned one, Sinner, this month. Can’t wait to read. WOOHOO MAGGIE TIME.)
WOOOO GO ME AND MY SKILLS. I’m pretty sure I’m about to be hired as Maggie Stiefvater’s chief book seller.
Sitting here laughing and nodding – yup! Yes! Totally that one…
aHHH YAYY! I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Things Book Bloggers do that other people don’t know about:
1. Die -every time we finish the last book in our new favorite series that we had in our possession and then
2. Come Back To Life -as soon as we get our hands on the sequel.
Hades hates all book bloggers in general, because he can never stay at one place. “Will you just die already? Oh, know the sequel just came out. I’ll have to wait again until they’ve read it, dangit!” Yeah, we’re kinda sneaky like that. Hehehe 🙂
3. We can just simply fly into Mordor, ’cause who’s gonna detect our virtual presence there. Take that Boromir! I bet you didn’t think of that when you were excluding us from the fellowship of the ring, right?
(Do I sound just a bit crazy or completely demented by now?)
This is all entirely true. ENTIRELY. We bookworms are magical creatures basically and our skills know no bounds.
LOVE this post!! Yes, we book bloggers do MANY things – and some of them are even productive. All of them are awesome.
Exactly! But shhhh, let’s pretend all the things we do are productive.😂
I love this post! My parents think it’s weird that I spend so much time blogging. It’s even weirder that they don’t understand that to have a blog you should and probably want to follow other people and read their blogs too. They understand the work or the appeal or even just the camaraderie that book bloggers share. I mean nobody will understand and listen to heartbroken book dragons like a book blogger will. Bookish people need us.
Also, love all the gifs!
YES! EXACTLY! I always get asked why I spend so much time blogging and usually I’m like “And I still didn’t even get everything done”. omg.😂 SO MUCH TO DO. And it’s really fun!?? But very time consuming.
So basically, book blogging is like running your own company. 🙂 You’re the CEO, CMO, VP of HR, public relations, and manufacturing all in one neat package,
Hehe,
Absolutely! Also the queen of all your internet space. #winning
“Happy To Make Lasagna” oh my word Cait XD
OH I KNOW EVERYTHING BASICALLY.
YOU DO KNOW EVERYTHING. IT’S GREAT.
Cait,
Thanks for the entertaining post. Blogging is such a great profession. Too often, however, it’s assumed to be an easy job. Professional blogging takes a lot of time and energy. Non-bloggers don’t realize how much thought goes into every single post.
Your post definitely brought some amusement to us bloggers.
Thanks again,
Dennis
Yes exactly! Blogging is definitely not something you can spend like 10 minutes over and expect to do well. WE pour soooo many hours into our passion. AND IT’S WORTH IT. But time consuming.😂 I’m glad you enjoyed the post!
You just reminded me of everything I have to do tonight for my blog when I get home from work! It’s really quite crazy how much stuff we actually do! I spend so much time back commenting on other peoples blogs, which don’t get me wrong I love doing, but it takes up so much time!
I’ve often said it would be useful to be a vampire as they don’t sleep and just think of all the things we could get done when everyone else is sleeping!
And you are totally right, a book blog is not just a book blog, there are so many extra things that come with it and trying to keep up with/manage them all is crazy hard sometimes.
That being said, I love blogging and as much as I moan that I have no time to do anything, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
IT IS CRAZY! It’s crazy impressive all the things we do.😂 I love it and wouldn’t stop for anything. <333 Buuuut it is a huge effort and I think we bloggers deserve WAY more cake *nods*
Definitely deserve more cake! 🙂
Fantastic post as always 🙂 And so much of it is trueeeee. Except for not sleeping, I get all the sleep ever. I wish I didn’t need it, but without 8 hours I become a very upsetting person to be around. But any more than that and I’m still upsetting to be around. Strange how that works.
But you’ve alerted me to all the different things book bloggers, and even bloggers in general do. When you’re in it, it’s hard to realize how much stuff you have on the go. It’s automatic for me now to make a post and schedule it, then do social media stuff, update my store, do some writing, etc. etc. But like 10 months ago when I started my blog just doing a single post with no social media was overwhelming.
Hahah, ahhhhh, sleep is a strange thing.😂 I’m like a mild insomniac but shhh don’t tell the internet but I do actually sleep. I’M JUST PRETENDING I DON’T BECAUSE #FABULOUS. Also lies but ahem.
And yes! It’s like automatic for us to do all these things (well, most of them…I’m sure a lot of us don’t do it ALL hhaha we’d be dead omg) but yeah it takes so much work and there are so many elements! CAKE FOR US FOR OUR EFFORTS.
Oh my god, I think I died of laughter :’D
I was half nodding, half laughing during this entire post.
You wrote such an amazing, *hilarious* and awesome post!
Oh yes. readers and bookbloggers are seriously not appriciated. It may look like we just sit there, with our laptop and our book, just having fun. Of course it’s fun, but they have no idea what an insane workout our brain have to do every day. It’s exhuasting. And probably the caouse for reading slumps.
That being said, I love reading boosk! And I love blogging! No matter the harships, It’s so worth it (:
My blog: http://magiverse.blogspot.co.il/
I love this post so, so much. It’s so true, and I definitely think that people don’t entirely realise just how much work book bloggers do. And we don’t even get paid for it – unless we’re counting books as currency (yes) 😀
It can be really hard work, and sometimes it’s the last thing I want to do after a long day. But the thought of NOT doing it is a horrible, horrible one.
Cait!! THESE ARE ALL SO ACCURATE!!! What is shelf space and how does one get some of that? Also, WHAT IS SLEEP???? And who needs to socialize? fictional characters are so much more interesting than real humans sometimes. Food is important.
On a more serious note, I feel like book blogging has also helped me in my work, even though my work has nothing to do with the book industry. But it’s something that has helped me, like you said, sound a little bit more professional. Or just pretend I sound that way.
And I totally associate you with cake, because you’re THAT GOOD AT BRAINWASHING!!!
NUMBER #3!!!!!!! Ughhh it is NOT just a Book Blog…EVER! You have that and 6 other things to manage and post and keep up on and omg its so excruciatingly exhausting! I love it obviously…should do more of it FOR SURE…but it is WORK on top of a fun amazing bookish “hobby” right?! If I get 4 things posted across the board a week I’m happy…phewwww!
OUR LEVELS OF AWESOME ARE WILDLY UNAPPRECIATED, HONESTLY! WOE BE ON THE NEXT MORTAL WHO SCOFFS AT THE MENTION OF A BOOK BLOG! I mean, really, actually sitting down and blogging is, like, 30% of it. I feel #3 and #8 on such a deep, personal level. I MEAN, YOU COULD SPEND ALL 24 HOURS IN A DAY DOING BOOK-BLOGGISH ACTIVITIES AND *STILL* MISS LIKE 10 MORE HOURS TO GET IT ALL DONE! And that’s WITHOUT sleep.
Oooh, if I had a nickel for every time I read on the back of a wayward camel and answered a mundane questions with REX CORVUS, PARATE REGIS CORVI WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND SHAME ON YOU GO QUESTION YOUR LIFE CHOICES IMMEDIATELY.
But, really, we are primarily heroes worthy of EVERY epic, fantastic saga of magnificent scopes due to #9. THAT’S BRAVERY!
*laminates list and frames a copy for my bedroom*
“IS THIS BOOK HOMEGROWN AND ORGANIC???”
You made me laugh so much because I could relate so much. This post is so true. People think it’s easy, reading a book, reviewing it. FULL STOP. No way, we’ve got to update our Goodreads, TBR lists and blog. We’ve got to keep up to date with fellow bloggers. We’ve got to spend hours getting good shots of our book. We’ve got to recall our favourite quotes, the list goes on! EVERYONE needs to read this post so they are educated about the struggle of book blogging!
WELL I AM SUPER GLAD I MADE YOU LAUGH.😂 My job here is done. *flails*
And omg the sheer amount of brain power that goes into blogging and reviewing AHHHAHHAHHHHAH. People need to appreciate our efforts more that’s for sure. CAKE FOR WE BOOK BLOGGERS!
Hahahaha! I do TOTALLY associate you with cake 😛 Great post! When I first started blogging I had NO IDEA how much more stuff I was going to end up needing to know/do. People, this hobby is about way more than just reading books!
SAME THO. I just thought blogging was typing a few words and hitting publish.😂 And I mean, it totally can be?!? But all this other stuff is super fun too!
Hahahahaha!!! Yes! Yes to ALL OF IT! Also can someone please invent a world in which book bloggers sit calmly drinking tea and reading nice paperbacks and occasionally writing witty reviews that get a gazillion views? Please???
Also, YES, reading is majorly mentally taxing and YES to trying to afford books!!!
But then we’d have nothing to HOWL ABOUT AND WHAT WOULD WE DO WITH ALL THAT SPARE TIME??!😂😂 Ahem. But ahh, the struggles we go through. Yet it’s all gloriously worth it. <3
You are the most awesome, and you can take over my planet anytime! 😉
OMG I really need to be a book blogger!!! I’m trying to get started…
Mellissa
Yes you totally do!! I hope you try it sometime.😜
working on building one now. Hopefully it will be up in a few days.. 🙂
OH. . .yeah. . .I like the way you do what you do! Inspiration! Mil gracias!!!
Okay. this is a really funny and accurate post. Im glad im not alone!!!!!
I love your list. It is so on the money! I would love to link it to my blog.
Aww, thank you!! I’m glad you liked the post!!
Yes to ALL of this! Love this!
Oh thank you!! I’m glad you liked the post!!
Can I just say that this post is FABULOUS!!! Funny and helps me understand exactly what I’m signing up for if i begin blogging. Thank you and love this post.
OMG CAN I JUST SAY THANK YOU. YOU’VE OFFICIALLY MADE MY DAY. 💕
Awww you are so welcome glad that i did!!!!
I laughed out loud at “what HTML is (it stands for Happy To Make Lasagna I believe)” and then had to explain it to everyone in the room. haha 😀 Loved this post!
I’m SO glad you enjoyed it. THANK YOU.
I laughed too many times at this–and I don’t even blog.
LOL I can’t help bursting out laughing at every single point you made here. It is down right TIME-CONSUMING like helllll. And I’m like always in the state of reading a book for the sake of enjoying it and then at a moment thinking “oh crap, I forgot to take note. Now I have to re-read a bit for the book review later”. I’m building my book blog this month too and tons, tons of things to do. I used to build a website for my past business about Education. But this is an entire different community haha. Lots on fun anyway.
P/s: Posts on my website currently have no content yet. Just titles haha
I started like a month and a half ago with my bookstagram (@bookmarkchannel) and I thought it was something easy but it’s definitely not. I have to look for a good place to take the picture to my book, then move it to my phone, edit it and publish it. Then I have to monitor the activity of that picture (comments and likes), answer the comments, and call that. But well, I like to suffer so i’ll start with my blog (the one I wrote on the website space) but I have not even been able to complete my first book review, It’s so hard to find a moment to do all things I have to do, things you already mentioned on your article. But thanks to your article now I have some ideas I want to to.
This is so unbelievably true, and hilarious at the same time. I don’t think I’ve ever related to something so much.
Ahh thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post!😊
Book blogging is, like you said, extremely time consuming. You don’t get to just read the book, but you have to focus on it, maybe take notes, and remember enough to write coherently about it later. While I enjoy reading books, I don’t think I have the energy to become a book blogger. I do enjoy reading books blogs though. You guys are the best!
Fair enough for not wanting to be a book blogger! I think it’s totally worth it, but definitely not just a “easy” hobby like some people think. 😂
This is great! Totally nails the whole bookblog thing. I swear I spend more time on my blog than I ever did at work–where I got paid. Do it for the love, I guess…
Hi,
I have a Bookstagram account under the username of @weenie_book. I have recently started on that and I am aspiring to write blogs on books. These could be reviews, interesting things about a particular book, lessons learnt, etc. Can you help me on how to get started on blogs and how to further improve my Bookstagram account.
Do visit my Bookstagram account and let me know about the quality of my feeds.
Thank You.
Great list, agree with them all. I mostly end up forgetting about Instagram as it is hard work – people don’t seem to realise how hard it can be to get the background, added items, lighting, angle just right for one picture.
I also have lots and lots of requests to review a day, I wish I could take them all on but I would never have a life outside of blogging if I did.
Hi friendship,
So, I’m a passionate little dragon about books and I’ve recently become obsessed with the idea of starting a blog. Problem is, I have no clue where to start. What do I even write about..
You obviously seem like the queen, so I would love some solid tips for getting started!
Thank you!
Emilie
Hi just read your post and OMG it is so on point! I only have the blog right now and I’m already overwhelmed..! Read books and write blogs at the same time and make them post ready.. That’s another job! Taking care of views and visitors is a whole different ballgame..!
I am reading this post the second time… Reading this makes me feel so good!
Thanks for writing this.
Hello Ms. Cait,
This is my absolute first blog comment for anyone so forgive me for rambling or whatever an amateur blogger would do as a mistake or annoyance.
But I felt very inclined to comment because I enjoyed reading this blog. I appreciate the description you put in it which gives me a great visual. My comments will be nothing like yours but that’s what makes me appreciate your blogging style.
I am also an aspiring author who is learning the right of passage on launching my first unborn child into the world. And here I am thinking raising children was tough. This is a whole new bowl of spilled Cheerios.
From my understanding, I am to place my website in this comment box and some sort of magic is to take place. Possibly some brujas brewing my coffee hopefully spiked with some good herb. Hahaa.
And if it is improper for me to do so then I apologize and will repent for my blogging sins.
But before I do that, I want to say ‘Thank you for a great blog.’ I know the effort it took me to type this comment and reread it so my tone is heard . Then there is spelling and grammar checks. The struggle is real and the effort is… well everywhere.
My website is just like a kid. It is ever changing and always fighting me to change with it.
ilesodmc.com
I can also be reached at:
ilesodmc@yahoo.com
Thank you for the great insight, Ms. Cait. I am a fan of yours now. Keep up the great work. And yes, you should have your cake and eat it, too. I mean what’s the point of having cake if you can’t eat it, right?
Take care.
ileso
Hi Ileso! Please don’t feel pressure to leave a “perfect” comment or whatnot! Just go ahead and ramble and be yourself. 😀 I wish you all the best with your blog beginning! And definitely agree that we should all be able to eat our cake too. 😂
Yes!!!! Ms. Cait, you are my very first reply. One thing people never forget are their firsts. Well for some people they may want to forget but not in this case! Hahaa!
Thank you for the reply. This is a new adventure for me and it feels good to know someone out there paid attention to me. After all, aren’t we all just wanting that special attention we feel we deserve?
Well if you ever have a chance to see what this newbie has been up to, just look me up. You never know. I might even surprise myself.
Til the next time we give ourselves a digital hi-5.
ileso
OMG!!! Awesome post!!! So completely true!!
I’m in several “writer” groups on Facebook. A lady had posted about “book blogging” . I’m like, “what the neck is that”? I looked over several listings, popped in on a few sites and was intrigued. Fast forward to bed time…well remember I’m not a book blogger yet so I get to sleep. I typed in the same wording and found you. You’re hysterical and I enjoyed your humor; wanted to let you know that now, book blogging is moving further up my list as to how to get through retirement without losing my sanity.
Aww thank you for reading this post!!💛💛It’s really encouraging to know you enjoyed it eep. And good luck starting blogging. It is most thoroughly worth it!
I simply love this post! I’m about to start out on this crazy book blogger path and your post made me laugh and was just what I needed! I’ll find you on Instagram when I launch! 🙏♥️
This is perfect! Book bloggers deserve soooo much more recognition. It takes a lot! Thanks for the great post 🙂