Hi friends! 👋🏻 I’ve been on the lookout for tags that interest me and finally came across this one!
Tags that are about blogging are always fun, especially since I’m an oldie, and I can say more than just show the cover of a book and then more on to the next question, so let’s get into it.
how long have you been blogging?
I have been blogging on this blog since April 2020 and for some reason, it feels a lot longer than that but maybe it’s because this blog really feels like my home now as opposed to the old messy blog that I barely miss.
As for in general, I have been blogging since September 2011, and had a Piczo site and Livejournal before that which I sometimes posted diary entries so I guess I’ve technically been blogging since 2008 or 2009? I don’t think that counts, though.
at which point do you think you’ll stop blogging?
Once it really stops being fun, I guess. I’ve taken a lot of breaks and hiatuses but coming back has always felt like coming home after being away for a while.
what is the best part about blogging?
The community! Even though I’ve always been in my own little corner thanks to my crippling social anxiety, I have never talked to someone who was completely rude. If I get a comment I don’t like (which is extremely rare) I just delete it and pay it no mind, unless I feel like I have something to say in response.
I’ve seen other bookish places online that have a lot of fighting and hostility and thankfully book blogging doesn’t have that.
what is the worst? what do you do to make it okay?
I’ve seen my fair share of scandals – authors behaving badly and plagiarism are two that always stick out in my mind – but nothing bothers me quite like infighting does. This mostly happens on Twitter and I don’t follow a lot of bookish people on Twitter for this exact reason. Taking a step back from the noise and closing my brain off until things have calmed down have always worked for me because I’m not a confrontational person.
how long does it take you to make/find pictures to use?
I’m not much of a picture person so it doesn’t take me very long at all. I have folders on my computer of little character graphics that I cycle between to make the process quicker, but sometimes I will go searching through Freepik for new vectors that fit my aesthetic of cute and spooky.
Going into Photoshop and making a header doesn’t take long at all, but there have been rare occasions where I haven’t been able to find a GIF that I want and just decided to make it myself and that takes even longer so I don’t do it as much anymore.
who is your book crush?
Eeh, I don’t really have book crushes anymore since I’m an adult and most of the characters in the books I read are teenagers so swooning over them feels weird. However, an age-appropriate book crush I could say I have is Nikolai from the Grishaverse. I think he’s around my age in King of Scars (I’m 26, for reference) but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
what author would you like to have on your blog?
I’m not really a ‘book promotion’ kind of blogger and I never really have been – reviews, cover reveals, tours, and interviews just aren’t my jam – so I don’t think I’d want to have any authors on my blog. Shouting my opinions into the abyss is how I roll.
what do you wear to write your blog posts?
Clothes? I don’t have a special blogging outfit I just write them while wearing whatever clothes I’m wearing at that time.
how long does it take you to prepare?
Preparing posts doesn’t take me very long but my writing process can take a while because I am a terrible procrastinator. Sometimes I’ll plan to have a post up for a certain date but it takes me so long to write it that my schedule ends up getting completely shuffled up.
how do you feel about the blogging community?
I love the blogging community! I haven’t had a bad experience with a single person and nobody is outright hostile to anyone else. There’s definitely a true “community” here compared to Book Twitter (and I refuse to go anywhere near TikTok so I don’t know what goes on over there other than hyping up books that are over 5 years old.)
what do you think one should do to create a successful blog?
If you get even just a handful of readers, I think you’ve made a successful blog. It’s very easy to get sucked into caring too much about numbers and stats, but it’s more important to care about whether you’re enjoying blogging or not.
talk to me!
I tag you!
Idk if it’s because as a maritimer I have an odd timezone- or what it is, but I find funny that I manage to miss ALL the drama 🤣 I always come up after the fact and seeing the subtweets about the drama and im in my corner like « eh? » — not complaining at all! But odd that it happens all the time ahaha
The community really is the best 🥰 mostly supportive and kind, when however most of your readers will be fellow bloggers. It’s important to blend with people and make friends, which is hard at first & absolutely discouraging when you start and barely get any traction ahah
Nice! Love reading these types of posts because we get to know the blogger a bit more, which is (as you said) one of the best parts about blogging!
OOh nice! This looks like a fun tag! I’m going to have to do this as soon as I have time to sit and answer these questions! I agree with a lot of things you said. I’ve always blogged because it was something I enjoyed. The community is really great, but yeah, sometimes book twitter gets a little out of hand. I’m not always on that though and when the drama starts, I’m sifting through things trying to find the start of it…out of morbid curiosity if anything!
Hi, Louise. I love this post because I think you have just the right, healthy attitude toward blogging. I look forward to following your blog.
I dislike using Twitter as well. I mostly use it to just promote my posts or other peoples posts. Otherwise, I just find it to be a place filled with hate and hot takes and almost too many opinions without enough actual conversations happening.
The what do you wear question had me cackling. Even when I read it I was like “clothes?” and then that was your answer hahah
I love this tag! I might have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing!
LIVEJOURNAL REPRESENT! I started blogging back in the days of Xanga and I feel like I finally just reached my niche? Like everything I’ve done has let me to book blogging and it’s my home.
Also THANK YOU for being another adult who finds the idea of book boyfriends from YA books weird.