Next year I will be going into my 9th year of book blogging. And when I think back to when I first started, I realise I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just wanted a place where I can talk about books, in a judgement-free and safe environment.     And as I come close to the 10-year mark of being a blogger, I’ve learnt a lot of things. Sometimes through other bloggers, and sometimes I had to go through them myself.

So today I thought I would share five things that I think you should consider before you dive into the world of a book blogger. And while I’m talking about my experience as a book blogger here, I assume that a lot of this can be entwined with other forms like booktubers and bookstagramers. 

1. Don’t Put Yourself In A Corner 

One of the things that I regret when I first started blogging was sticking to one genre and not talking about anything else. Reading habits change; it happens when you when grown older. When you start to figure out what you like and don’t like. Therefore, if you are only blogging about one thing like a genre or readerships, it takes a while before you can start to change and it becomes natural to yourself and your readers. 

As I said, I’m about to go into my 9th year of blogging. And for most of it, I was blogging about YA. But as the years went on and I started reading more romance, I had to change what I was blogging about. It was quite a natural turn for me. I was reading romance slowly at that time, so it slowly became part of Angel Reads. And now, I blog about YA and romance as I read them.

And when I talk about putting yourself in a corner, I’m not just talking about the content that you are writing, but your blog itself. If the name that you pick for your blog includes a genre, it does become harder to change what you started blogging about. It’s not impossible; however, it does take a little bit more time to change how others see you and your blog.  

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2. Start Things Simple and Don’t Pressure Yourself 

Don’t jump right into it. Blogger burnout is true and real. It’s rough and hard, and sometimes it can knock people out for months or even years. So don’t pressure yourself to be posting four times a week and everything having to be meaningful. Start slow, and when you feel more comfortable then you can start posting more and more

Even now, there are times where I need to step up and just slow things down. Blogging, for me, is a full-time job. For the past few months, I’ve been posting nearly every day. But this year is different for a lot of others. My shifts were cut down because of limited hours, and for the past six weeks, I haven’t been working at all. I have another month at least of this. And I know that when I got back to working what I usually do, my posts might drop off – and that is okay. 

Another component to this one is not pressuring yourself to post all the time. My health is up and down a lot, and sometimes there is no way that I can get a post up. At first, that was hard. Consistency is key most of the time. But I don’t want my health to suffer either. So finding that balance was important to me. The less pressure I had on myself, the easier blogging became. 

3. Find Your Voice 

I think this is the hardest challenge when it comes to anything. From blogging to writing to creating. Finding your voice in a sea of voices is hard. But the best way to do that is to try. You won’t find your voice right away. It’s not something that stays stagnant either – it changes. And you will have to be able to learn how to overcome that. 

I took me until maybe my 4/5th year of blogging to find my voice as a book blogger. There were a lot of ups and downs. But once I did, blogging and writing posts became second nature to me. Everything seemed to flow easier, and everything clicked. But it’s not just about finding your voice in writing. But also finding your voice in the blogging community. 

The book blogging community is big. And finding your voice and place in it is hard. But once you find your voice as a writer, finding your voice in the community is so much easier. Being able to find where you fit becomes easier. I blog about YA and Romance with a focus on diversity, especially disability.   That is where I want my voice to be heard the most. 

And as you become more equipped with blogging and the changes in your reading habits. Your voice may change. My writing from 9 years ago is nowhere near what it is now. I look at things differently. I might even look at some the same. But as I have grown older and my reading habits have changed – my voice has also changed. And that is not a bad thing. 

Photo by Anete Lūsiņa on Unsplash

4. Things Will Change

There is one thing that runs through all these steps, and that is change. Things don’t always stay the same. So, being able to recognise and be ready for a change in blogging is so important.  This will sound clique, but change is not a bad thing. And as the blogging community grows, books change and the way that you read changes – so will everything else. 

It’s a domino effect, and you will want to be ready for it. You have to let the change happen and then adapt to those changes. Ten years ago, I didn’t think I would be reading the number of romance books that I do now. But it happened, and I had to change the way that I blogged. I was 15/16 when I first started blogging. I’m 24 now. That is a massive age difference, and the way that I was writing, see the world and understand everything has changed. And this affects my voice. 

Change is not bad. It’s a great thing. It shows that you can grow, adapt, and understand the changes. And it’s not just the changes in yourself or the way that you read. Your audience changes, as well. They grow older or younger. It changes with what genre or readership that you read. You will lose some, and you will gain some. And being able to accept these changes makes being a blogger that much easier.

Blogging does not need to be a struggle. It doesn’t need to be something that challenges you in the wrong way. Being a blogger doesn’t need to be hard. 

5. Be True To Yourself 

One of the last tips that I want to include in this post is that the best way that you can become a good book blogger is to be true to yourself. It’s hard not letting others influence you; however, to achieve everything above you need to be yourself. And this may sound cheesy, but I think it’s something that needs to something that you remind yourself.

By sticking to who you are, it makes writing and creating so much easier. This is one of the things that I struggled with my first few years of blogging. Trying not to let others influence the way that I blog, the things that I read. Even let it influence the way that I thought about books. Once I started to let go of all that I made Angel Reads my own. And everything became so much easier. It all started to glue together. 

Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

I know at first this all seems daunting, but there is one last thing that I want to tell you. Have fun. Book blogging is about sharing your love for books with other people that love books. It’s about sharing the books that you want everyone to read. Try not to think too hard about all this, because it will start to become natural as you start to blog. Being a book blogger is something I never really thought that I would be doing for 9+ years, but it’s one of the best things I have ever done. It has changed my life. Just let everything come to you, and you will be fine.

The community is always here for newcomers and oldies. It’s hard to break in. I’m not going to hide behind that. But I am always here to talk with anyone that needs too. I know that taking that step to blog is hard sometimes, and if anyone wants to chat about anything to do with book blogging and becoming a blogger. I’m here. 

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How long have you been a book blogger? What are some of the hints that you have learnt over the years? If you would like another post like this, please let me know. Let’s Chat!