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Monday, December 14, 2015

The Book Blogger Struggle

 Kumiko Lei     Blogging, Books, Struggle     No comments   


There is a struggle.
If you are a book blogger, you know there is. Multi-faceted too.

This is mine. I speak for no one but myself. 

This is not a complaint, this is a vent, an observation, or maybe even an explanation. An explanation of where I've been, where I'm at, and where I hope to go (blogwise).

For the most part, bloggers want the same thing, to have a voice about something and have someone listen, identify, and/or appreciate that voice. I think that's true no matter what you blog about, because what's the point if no one is listening. Right?

The Struggle(s):

#1. Why am I doing this?
I like my blog. The ACTUAL blog. The www.liabreviews.com blog. 
Does it matter how much I like it or how much time I put into it, if no one else is seeing it?
This question NEVER goes away. Over 2 years in and I still ask myself this question.
When I started I was a tiny fish in a gigantic ocean. I still am. Maybe I always will be.

#2. The Netgalley Hole
One of the first things I did as a book blogger was sign up for Netgalley. Netgalley is an awesome place to get books to read and review in moderation. Most, if not all who sign up go through a period where they request EVERYTHING. Partly because they get rejected and partly just because they can. All of a sudden, someone accepts your request, then another, and then another. Before you know it there are 6 months of reading sitting in your Netgalley Account... just waiting.

#3. The Evil One
Oh yes. E-V-I-L!
The Facebook Page. The Soul Crusher. The place that can make the most mentally healthy people dissolve into a puddle of self-doubt. 
  • "Oooh. 30 people saw my post. No one commented. Was my post stupid?"
  • "My likes dropped. Why are people unliking me? Do I suck?"
  • "No one wants to enter my giveaway. I can't even give shit away???"
For statistical purposes that Insights tab is great, for self-esteem and mental health, not so much. I recommend never looking at it. EVER.

You will spend more time than it's worth trying to make your Facebook Page successful and, dare I say, it's not worth it. When you think you figure it out, FB will change something and you have to start over. It will take over and you will not be on your ACTUAL blog.  Seems counter-productive.

#4. Promo-palooza
Promo is wonderful. Authors need it. And there will always be bloggers that will do it. And at some point every blogger has probably ventured this route. We all want to help, and we forget that we can't help everyone. Try to help everyone, see where it gets you. Overwhelmed and unhappy. Spending more time cleaning up pre-made htmls and posting about books you will probably never read, than actually reading and posting about things you like. You'll also probably miss some posts and get aggressive emails about it.
One day you realize that your blog has the same exact posts as every single other blog there is, and you are a product of a company. You look the same as everyone else with no unique features. You still want to help authors, but how can you do that if no one can see you because you look like everyone else?

#5. The Balance
Finding balance between what you love to do AND the rest of your life. This blog is your hobby, but it is your passion. You want it to succeed, but at what cost? Sometimes it's sleep, sometimes it's time with your family. We're all guilty of it and sometimes you have to re-evaluate what you're doing. 

This is where I am. These are my struggles and no doubt, I have more. I have been re-evaluating. I will be doing things differently. I'm still trying to find my balance and I'm hoping I'll be able to.

I started this by saying, I speak only for myself. This is my blog, but it is shared with my cousin, Sarah and occasionally you will see a post from a great lady named Suzanne. Their posts are their own and they can do them how they see fit. 

As for me, I will no longer be signing up for tours, blitzes or reveals. 

I haven't been accepting review requests for awhile now, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I have a hard time saying no, and I'm not going to put myself in that overloaded position again. I have thousands of books sitting in my Kindle Cloud, not to mention the paperbacks that I own or my Kobo account. I also have a slew that were won in giveaways and a few that people have been waiting on me to review.

If for some reason I feel the need to go in search of a book to review, I'll peruse Netgalley or NovelReviewers. There are great things there.

The FB page is more active some weeks than others. I expect the page will slow down considerably and consistently. I won't be spending as much time worrying over it. With Facebook's ever changing policies, it's just not worth it. 

If you follow the page, great! I do appreciate it. Facebook, however, does not. I'll still be around on Facebook, just not worrying over that soul sucking page.

If you've read this whole damn post, thank you! 

What is your book blogger struggle? Are you making changes, finding a balance?



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