I started Drizzle & Hurricane Books as a 21 years-old student, over 500 km away from home. It’s been 5 years now and my life is different in a lot of ways. I got my first job, my first permanent contract, I celebrated my 26 years old, I travelled, moved back home, changed, grew.
In those 5 years, I turned my sister into an as big reader as I am, tripled my bookshelves, discovered new favorite authors and new favorite books and fell in love with reading all over again.
In those 5 years, I wrote 851 blog posts and a gained a certain number of followers I’m a little baffled to admit (and makes me feel like I need a new glasses prescription because I might be seeing double?????), bothered everyone by talking too much about books, opened book mail and cried (for real).
In those 5 years, I met some people I talk to every single day and can’t imagine my life without. I met some people I admire, some people that inspire me, make me want to grow, to do better. Some people that make me feel like I’m enough, somehow and that I can do something great.
It’s been 5 years since I created my little book blog and the best lesson I’ve learned in all of this is that, wow I can manage to stick to something when I like doing it, no matter how hard, frustrating, complicated and sometimes overwhelming it can be.
Today, to celebrate, I thought I’d share some lessons I’ve learned over the course of 5 years of blogging, I hope you’ll enjoy it!
?5 book blogging lessons I’ve learned
1. You should just read whatever you want to read ?
I know, I know. It sounds strange to start by this statement. It seems pretty obvious, to read whatever you want, whatever you like. Yet, as you start blogging, as you get deeper within the community, immersed into it all… well, believe it or not, it’s easy to forget about what you really want to read. I know I did, more than once.
It’s too easy to see everyone all around getting incredible-looking early copies from publishers and to want to read them, without even knowing what they’re about. It’s easy to see everyone screaming about a series, a new book, an incredible one you should be reading and how come you haven’t read it now? It’s way too easy to get swept up by the hype. It’s too easy to feel like you want to read a book, but…. really, in the end, you don’t.
In the end, you’re the one that will be spending the precious money you put together for your books. You’re the one who will be eagerly waiting for them at the library, wishing for them on a star, on an email to a publisher and so on. In the end, you’re here because you love books and, god, there are so many of them. Just make sure you’re spending your time reading what you really want to read.
Related blog post: Do I really want to read this book, or does the hype make me want to?
If you can’t read 100 books a year, it’s okay, too.
If you don’t want to read, sometimes, it’s okay, too.
It doesn’t make you any less of a book blogger, or of a book lover for that matter.
2. Statistics don’t mean sh*t ?
Sorry, I’m being kind of blunt here, but… you know what? Sometimes, I need it, too.
I know we’re all starting book blogging as a hobby, because we love reading, because we want to talk about books, find other book bloggers and so on. That’s what I did, 5 years ago. Yet… we live in a capitalistic world where numbers matter, or seem to matter and our minds can’t help but get focused on that a tiny little bit, whether we want it or not.
It’s so easy to get obsessed with statistics when you start out, when you start getting one, two, three comments, followers, interactions and so on. It’s easy to feel exhilarated at your blog’s growth, and you know what? I find it even easier to have your mental health plummet down whenever numbers don’t grow the way you imagine it too.
You know what? It’s okay to care about statistics. It’s okay to want our numbers to grow, it’s only human. It’s okay to want to thrive for growth this way, to write posts that your readers enjoy the most, to want to reach followers goals and pageviews goals and so on.
It’s also okay not to care, to never check your statistics at all. To write blog posts for you, even if they’re not that popular.
No matter how you view statistics in your mind, IT IS OKAY.
No matter what, statistics are numbers and numbers are hard to understand, even harder to control. Whether you have 10k followers or 10, it doesn’t mean a thing. It doesn’t tell you that you’re not a great book blogger, that you’re not writing with all of your heart and soul. I’m not going to tell you how to care or not care about statistics. You do what you want, but no matter what the numbers tell, just take care your blog with your heart. Honestly, it’s all that matters.
Related blog post: The truth about book blogging statistics
3. Interact at your own pace… and for your own comfort ?
I’m the first one to praise blog hopping, meeting new people and chatting with them. I’m the first one to tell you that it’s incredible, the people you’ll meet, the community you’ll feel part in, the ways it will make your blog grow, too.
The truth is: interacting is overwhelming, it’s maddening, at times. Sometimes, you just don’t want to interact, at all. Or maybe it’s just me and my anxiety speaking, but… well, sometimes I just want to crawl into a hole and don’t do a thing.
I might be the worst at taking care of myself and knowing when I should step away and take some time for myself, but it’s important to. If there are comments pending you don’t want to answer to, just don’t. If there is too much happening on twitter, just take a break from it all.
Interaction is, for me, even more overwhelming than writing blog posts. It’s easy to feel like you have to be there all the time or you’ll miss our. You know what? You will miss out on things either way. Because of time zones, because you can’t always be there even if you want to.
It’s okay.
Choose your social media wisely and quit if you’re not okay with it. Don’t interact every day if it gets tiring. I used to do this and I realized I just couldn’t handle it. It was too much.
Know your limits and believe that the right people will always be there when you’re ready to interact again.
4. Make your blog yours – and not anyone else’s ?
You know something that makes me really really angry? People taking other people’s ideas and passing them as their own. I’m always linking back to Cait’s brilliant blog post about inspiring vs copying, because it’s always, always relevant.
You can’t be original in the book community. Everyone has talked about a topic one way or another, about a book one way or another, has done a recommendation lists like the one you imagine and so on. There are unique ideas, obviously, there are some incredibly unique and original book bloggers out there, yes. Yet, there are more ideas that have already been done than not.
You know what makes a difference between you and the ten thousand gazillion book bloggers out there? YOU.
It’s your voice that makes a difference. Your unique opinions. The way you’ll write your blog posts, the layouts you’ll imagine for them. Your blog, your platform, your design, the way you imagine your brand to be.
Making your blog entirely yours takes time. It takes practice, too. It took me like, 4 years to brand my blog properly. It’s okay to take your time with it all. It’s worth it to create something that’s entirely yours, something that you can be proud of.
Related blog post: How to find your blogging voice and your best blogging-self
5. Just do whatever makes you happy ?
Book blogging is a hobby is a mantra that I’ve been telling myself for the past 5 years now. It’s easy to get swept away by it all, by wanting to do it all. Reading all the books to be able to talk about them with everyone. Writing blog posts every day because it seems to work better for my blogging stats. Interacting every single day and every single time off I have, just to make sure that I’m there, not missing out on anything at all.
I’m spending 30+ hours per week on book blogging and no one forces me to. I don’t make a dime out of it either, so whether I spend 20, 10 or 1 hour a week on it all doesn’t matter, really.
What matters is that blogging makes me happy. Drafting blog posts makes me happy, interacting at my own pace makes me happy. Seeing that, after 5 years of blogging, I’m still there writing blog posts and shouting into the void, makes me proud.
Seeing the pile of books I have waiting to be read makes me happy. Seeing that ARC I received, that dedicated book I won, these words written down by one of my favorite authors makes me want to cry.
Seeing this blog I poured my heart in for 1826 days now makes me feel proud.
If you take one thing from this blog post -or if you skipped to the end… I get that, I ramble a lot -, let it be this: just blog because it makes you happy and do whatever makes you happy and try not to worry too much about the rest of it all.
How long have you been blogging for?
Do you have some lessons you’ve learned in your time blogging? Any tips you’d like to share? Let us know in comments!
? A side note:
I am celebrating my 5TH YEAR of book blogging this November! To celebrate, I thought about doing a Q&A so…. if you have any question you’d love to ask me, about book blogging, reading, writing, traveling, life, anything, feel free to! You can do so by answering to this tweet , sending me a message -dm, email- or by commenting your questions below, just as well. You have until the 22nd to send me your questions and I’d LOVE to hear from you, friends. x
Twitter ☂️ Goodreads ☂️ Bloglovin’☂️ Support the blog
“Book blogging makes me happy” is my blogging mantra too. And it does, truly. Loved this post! <3
I’m so, so happy to hear this <3 thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
Great post. Congratulations, and I’m glad you’re here, doing what you do.
Thank you so much! 🙂
I LOVE THIS POST! Congratulations on 5 years of blogging. Thanks for always being encouraging and supportive of your fellow bloggers. Proud to know you!
Ahh thank you so, so much, so happy you enjoyed it and ahh your comment made my day <3 so happy our paths crossed, too!! <3
Ahh there’s such good advice here, Marie! I’ve been blogging for six months now, which feels crazy! And I’ve felt all this advice is totally true. Thank you for such a great post!
Ahh happy six months of blogging, that’s amazing!! I’m so happy you enjoyed this post, thank you so much 😀
These are very important lessons that we tend to forget when we start. I for one am working on all of these ?
Oh, we tend to forget them even 5 years after starting, too, hahaha, it’s good to remind ourselves of these every now and then 🙂
Thank you so much!! 🙂
Ahhhhh, congrats on five years!!!! I love this list and the legally blonde gif ? it’s so easy to get stressed about interacting or stats and that just takes away so much from the fun of book blogging. Also, read whatever the heck you want! whenever you want! as much as you want!
Thank you so much!! <3 <3 Agree, it's way too easy to get stressed out about it all. It's important to remind ourselves of why we love it and to just do whatever we want hahaha 🙂
I completely agree with your advice. Congrats on 5 years! I’ve been blogging for 6 years, and sooo much has changed in that time. It’s pretty wild. I now can’t imagine my life without the blog.
YAY congratulations on 6 years of blogging, that’s amazing! It’s funny how we didn’t imagine blogging to take that much space in our lives and now… we can’t imagine our lives without it 🙂
I enjoy reading and interacting on blogs but there is a lot out there to read so yes a bit overwhelming sometimes. Social media on the other hand, is not my favourite. It requires a lot of work and management which I would rather enjoy spending on the blog. Trying to find creative avenues for that too.
Your advice with #4 is on point. I like to refer to other bloggers’ work which I read and led to me writing about a tangent of it myself. And absolutely, putting aside my perfectionism, the identity and style of my blog has to develop with time to reflect what I like and to make sure I am portraying the image I want for readers.
Agree, there are always new blogs to discover and so much to do! 🙂
Thank you for doing that, really, it’s always so good for other bloggers to find that they could inspire others, I know that’s how I feel when it happens to me! 🙂
Thank you for your sweet comment! 😀
Yes. Reader comments can really make my day.
Same here! 🙂
I love this, especially that first one. I’ve really been trying to come back to that, only reading what I actually want to, and not getting swept up in the hype because it’s hard! Sometimes, I get wicked FOMO watching everyone gush about something on social, and then feel obligated to join in on the party only to discover it’s not my party. I’ve been taking some steps back, though, and trying to really focus on what actually appeals to me, and it’s been such a relief lately, so thank you for sharing!
Ah thank you so much, so happy you enjoyed this! <3 agree, I sometimes get all the FOMO as well, but I've learned to take some steps back and reasset what I really want to and feel like reading 🙂
Thank you for your sweet comment <3
Wow, congratulations on five years! ?? I’m just under two years into blogging and have definitely found myself worrying way too much about followers and statistics but really I’m just trying to have a good time with it all. I often have to remind myself that the numbers don’t matter. When I redesigned my site a few months ago I actually had to cut down from posting twice a week to once and felt a bit guilty. It seemed everyone else was already posting more than me but I felt drained of ideas and too stressed with my schedule. I’m so glad I did it though, I’ve enjoyed blogging so much more since then! I agree completely with your points—blogging is about doing everything your own way and not worrying about what everyone’s doing or how much they read, etc. Fantastic post!
Thank you so much and ahh congratulations on almost two years, that’s amazing! 😀
Oh the stress of not posting enough, I get that too and it’s so hard to overcome, but sometimes when the rhythm gets too much, it’s important to step back, too <3
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! 🙂
wow 5 years!!!! amazing!! congratulations <3
such a good point that you should always read what you want to read! so often i feel like i *have* to read the anticipated books everyone else is reading, or read mostly YA because that's mostly what everyone else reads…but that's sooooo not the case. and i'm way happier when i'm reading what i actually want to read!
congrats again! here's to 5 more years :p
ahhh thank you so much, you’re so sweet <3 <3
I agree, I sometimes feel like I have to read some things and… well, I realize I'm much happier getting to the books I feel like reading more haha 🙂
Thank you!! <3
Wow five years!! ?? i’m so happy that I crossed your blog and you.
I’m starting my second year blogging, and I agree with all thoses lessons; though some really are harder than others to wrap your head onto (we all wanna have better stats, or feel bad for not reading/blogging/commenting as much..)
Thank you so much Kristina, I’m so happy our paths crossed too! <3
And happy almost two years of blogging, that's amazing! I agree that all of these are sometimes hard to keep in check, I know I have a hard time with every single one of these every now and then, but hopefully they can be little reminders to us 🙂
Actually right after I commented, I had the notification that I started exactly 2years ago! ?
aah that’s amazing!!! 😀
I’ve been blogging for almost 3 years and I still love it. I even started working a day less, because I felt that I didn’t have time and energy for my blog and I just LOVE it.
I really stand behind all the ideas you’re sharing here and you also keep me focuses on the important things with this blogpost! Sometimes I just get too obsessed with numbers, or I only read review copies. You pushed me back on the right track with this article. I need that once in a while. Thanks so much.
Ahhh yay haha that’s amazing, I’m so happy you’ve been loving it so much 🙂
I’m so happy this blog post could help, we all need a little reminder every now and then, I know I do too haaha 🙂
Ahhhh what a lovely post Marie!! <3 I totally agree about how being you…makes your post special! I think given the THOUSANDS of book bloggers it's impossible to find some extremely new topic so it's more important to have your unique take and voice on it! Like the way with story ideas – if you have a story idea, it's 100% likely someone is writing it (or thought of it) etc etc.
I can't believe you've been blogging almost 5 years! And the amount of your dedication to your blog is amazing!!
thank you so, so much, you’re so sweet! <3 <3 and thank you for saying that about stories, too, I needed to hear that today ahah <3
I kind of can't believe it's been that long, either, I feel so old hahaha. Thank you! You're too sweet, this means SO much <3
Congratulations on five years of blogging! ?
Thank you so, so much, Raven! <3
Amazing post! Saying no to author requests is first thing that i learned in hard way. It get tough and tough as the blog grows. It’s major problem when you read many genres.It feels rude to ignore it and bad to say no even though I mention I don’t accept request for a while.
Thank you so much! <3 Agree, it can be tough at times and it even breaks my heart a little bit, but we can't accept everything either and we are only human after all, we can't read it all either hahaha 🙂
Your blog is so inspiring! ??
OH CAROL thank you for saying that, that’s so sweet of you ???
It’s so awesome how, even tho you’ve struggled and still are, you’ve reached these conclusions and they don’t affect you as much anymore. I’m still working my way around it … I don’t let stats consume my thoughts on a daily basis because I have school to worry about, but whenever I check them, it’s hard not to get a bit sad. Unfortunately, I also allow my brain to compare myself with others easily, which sucks. And I feel that I still haven’t quite found my blogging voice. The worst, tho, is the feeling that I’m not doing enough. It’s hard to remind myself that this is just a hobby and, as much as I love it, I can’t let it keep doing this to me. But I hope one day, with time, I’ll be able to overcome it all.
You’re a lovely inspiration, Marie!! Thank you for your kind words and all the work you put into the blogging community! <3
As for the Q&A, I'd love to know what is your earliest memory associated with books and also, how do you keep yourself organized (how do you dedicate 30+ hours per week to blogging 😛 )
I get these feelings, so, so much. When I’m busy I sometimes am able to let all of these thoughts aside, but sometimes it all comes crawling back to me and it’s hard not to feel frustrated or to compare yourself to others. I know these feelings all too much and its good to take a step back, to remind yourself of all the amazing things you’ve done and the other bloggers’ interactions with you, to put your mind in a happier place 🙂
About the blogging and not feeling enough, 20000000000% here with you on that. We’re doing our very best and it’s a hobby and I’m tryin to tell myself every day that, as long as I’m having a good time when I do blog, it’s good and I’m good. I’m trying haha 🙂 i hope you’ll be able to overcome these feelings and I’m always here for you <3 <3
And thank you for your question, I'll have to think of that one haha 🙂
Happy Blogiversary!!! 😀 ?
Congratulations to 5 years! That’s quite the milestone! 😀
You shared some really great advice because it’s all very, very true, whether we want to admit it or not. I enjoyed reading this! 🙂
ahhh thank you so, so much, I’m so happy you enjoyed this post 😀
You are very welcome! 😀
Girl you are speaking my language! It is so so hard to remember that mantra sometimes but it is so important to do so! I found that after I stopped tracking and looking at my stats, I started to lose that urgency that was eating away at me. We put so much pressure on ourselves to reinvent the wheel when really most of us started this out as just something fun! I’m glad you said it. It reminds even me to have fun with this platform and not worry about too much else.
Congrats on 5 years!
Yes yes that’s exactly it! Once I take a step away from all the stats and numbers and focus on what makes me happy, I just feel free and happy haha and honestly that’s the most important 🙂
thank you so, so much, Samantha! 🙂
Your blog keeps and keeps growing, I’m so happy for your! Once again you post quality content, I’m so happy I’m able to read you 😀
ahh thank you so, so, so much, this means so much <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
First off, I want to congratulate you on your fifth year 🙂 That is such a great achievement.
I do agree with your points, especially the one about statistics. It is easy getting deflated when the number of interactions plummet but I agree, these are just numbers that are very whimsical as they come. Great post! Again, congrats on five years of wonderful book blogging!
“No matter how you view statistics in your mind, IT IS OKAY.”
Thank you so much! 😀 I’m so happy you agree, statistics are so strange at times and it’s so important to focus on what makes us happy, which is blogging overall 🙂
Thank you!
I always enjoy reading your posts Marie, but this one made me smile like nothing!!!
Ahh thank you so, so much, Kate, this means so much thank you! So happy you enjoyed it ?❤️
Your points are very, very valid. Great advice!
Thank you so much!! 🙂
Everything about this post was COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY spot on and I loved it. <3 <3 <3
Ahh Nicole thank you, I’m so happy you enjoyed it <3 <3 <3
Congratulations on 5 years! I don’t know how long I’ve been blogging but I do it for fun. Some days, I feel more social than others and I like your advice about not worrying about the numbers or doing your own thing. Thanks for keeping it real for me.
Thank you so, so much! I’m so happy you’re doing it for fun and hope this continues for a long time! 🙂
Congrats on 5 years of book blogging, that’s amazing! 😀
Reading and blogging about what make you happy is so important. I think we all start blogging thinking we have to be talking about what everyone else is talking about – I read a lot of YA I didn’t really want to read when I first started blogging because YA was the big thing (and still is) and I felt like I couldn’t gush about the adult historical fiction I was reading and enjoying at the time – but as soon as you just start blogging about what you enjoy, everything becomes easier. Not only has it made me enjoy blogging more (like you, it’s one of my big hobbies and I enjoy taking the time to do it!) but I think that’s when you start being able to interact with the rest of the bookish community more, too, because it’s so much more rewarding to talk to fellow bloggers about the books they love, whatever the age range or genre.
Thank you so much, Jess! 😀
I so agree with you! Once you really focus on the books you love, on what you love to write and do on your blog, somehow… it gets easier and it makes us happier, too, so it’s a win for everyone 🙂
What a fantastic post, Marie ? Learning your comfort zone for interacting is so important, it’s definitely important to blog in a way that makes you happy 🙂 In general, I learned that you have to do what’s right for you, be it your posting schedule or what books you read! ?
Thank you so much, Caro, so happy you enjoyed it! <3 Agree, no matter what our anxious minds might tell us, we need to do what's best for us before anything else 🙂
Such great advice! Thank you for making this post, it’s really helpful. I just hope that I’ll be able to stick with it in the years to come lol ?
Oh you’re so, so welcome, thank you so much for such a sweet comment, Alex, I’m so happy this could help you <3 Happy blogging!! 😀
HUGE congratulations on this milestone! What an incredible achievement 😀
And this is all such perfect advice for any book blogger! Doing what makes you happy, what fits best for you, is so much more important than trying to conform to whatever others are doing. Thanks so much for these words of encouragement and for everything you’ve contributed to the book blogging world in the last five years! <3
Thank you so much, Margaret for your sweet words and comment, this means so much! <3 <3
Oh Marie! You’re the best! I needed to hear some of that stuff again 🙂
Oh I’m so happy this came at the right time for you <3 thank you for your sweet comment <3
HAPPY 5 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY MARIE!!! <3 I'm so glad I found your blog because it is so inspiring and it is so lovely to talk to you!! And it is such a huge achievement to have been blogging for so long!!
I absolutely adored this post and I think it contains so many great lessons that I need to remember more and that I think would help everyone!!
The whole thing about statistics is so true– I've gone on a journey with them as I used to be obsessed but then I stepped back and thought this isn't what I want. It is exhausting to constantly care about them and only had moments of satisfaction so for me personally I try to focus on enjoyment and talking to people. Blogging is so much more than statistics which I love but it took me a while to realise that!!
I think interacting at your own pace and own comfort is important because it can easily stress you out if you think of everything you need to do. I think I used to be a lot better at it but I think that is the wrong mindset as it says I'm doing worse now but that isn't the case, I just do less and I'm a bit inconsistent but if it suits you than it is perfect not less than.
And doing what makes you happy is brilliant advice!! I always love it!! <3
Sorry for the long comment but like I said I loved this post. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and it has definitely made me feel better!! <3
Ahhh Sophie thank you so,so much for your sweet words, this means so much <3 <3
I'm so glad you found a way to step back and feel better about statistics, it can get overwhelming and exhausting, I get that so much. and I'm still struggling with the whole interacting at my own pace, but I'm doing my best to take care of myself first even if I suck at it, haha <3
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment, this means so much <3
I needed this right now <3 I've been so busy for the longest time and, now that I'm not, I'm struggling to crawl out of the anxious hole and start interacting again. I feel genuinely overwhelmed by how far behind I've fallen and I don't know how to go about catching up. Think I need to accept that I'll have to let some things go and that I won't be able to read every single blog post I missed, but the FOMO is real!
I get that so much. I’ve been falling behind on blog hopping a whole damn lot in the last couple of months as well and I’m trying not to beat myself up too hard over it, even if it’s tough. the fomo is real, but we’re doing our best <3 you're doing amazing, alex <3
You are too sweet for your own good <3 Never stop being the amazing person you are!
oh Alex, you’re too sweet ❤❤❤❤❤❤
This is probably one of my favorite posts of the year, and exactly what I needed to read today. Blogging and reading pressure is getting to me HARD, and sometimes I need to remind myself this is a hobby, something I do for fun. So thank you for this great post ?
Oh Cat thank you so much, this made my day! thank you <3 I also need that reminder a whole damn lot, I'm so happy this could help you <3
Even though I just joined the readership of your blog this summer, I feel like I’ve been here for a longer period of time. You are one of the kindest, sweetest, and loveliest book bloggers in this community, and your honesty does so much to encourage and uplift the smaller, newer bloggers who might be more prone to falling in the traps that you mentioned here. These lessons are some wise takeaways from your years of being a blogger, and you remind us that we should do this because it brings us joy–I couldn’t agree more. Here’s to five more years (& beyond!) of you brightening this space and blogging because it makes YOU happy <333
Oh Macey I might have teared up a little bit ?? thank you, for your sweet comment and for being so sweet I’m just so grateful that our paths crossed and hope to be able to talk with you for many, many years to come <3 I'm so happy this post could be useful to you and hopefully to others and I'm only hoping that it inspires everyone to keep on blogging and most of it all, to keep on blogging because it makes them happy 🙂
?❤️
Marie, why are your posts so amazing?? They make me feel like someone is hugging me next to a warm fireplace—I love this, I love your blog & I love you ???
Read what you want to read is something that I should’ve learned when I was a new book blogger! It was around this time that people were reading & getting arcs of RW&RB & DOTC, seemingly except for me! It hurt my soul a little, & I started to measure my worth according to how many arcs I got, which is laughable because I don’t even read arcs now unless I’m part of a blog tour ??
“Statistics don’t mean sh*t” is the perfect way to put things! I am such a stats obsessor, to be point where it becomes a little unhealthy. You’re right that it’s so easy to become happy when we see our blog growing, but it’s way easier to become sad when our stats aren’t as good as we hoped. I don’t think that it’s bad to care about stats, because the point of having a blog is to interact & stats are a reflection of interaction, but when we want too much of it, that’s when it gets unhealthy!!!
Congrats on 5 amazing years of blogging Marie ???
oh my god caitlin this is the best compliment ever and all I ever wanted ahhh thank you ??
I so get that feeling! you see everyone reading this or that book and it’s easy to feel like you’re not “in”, like you’re missing out on something, but… once you get onto that hype train, it’s hard to get off and it can be a bit overwhelming, too, haha.
I agree! It’s okay to care about statistics and to want to grow, but it’s important to have an healthy relationship with it all, too<3
Thank you so much!! <3 <3
I love this post!!
The numbers one really stuck out to me, because it’s been something I’ve been thinking a lot about recently. I’m kinda just trying to get back into the swing of things and do posts that I like but still trying to grow at the same time. This is my third year blogging and trying to be more consistent because I fell off track a little bit.
And the one thing I’ve realised is that you really do just need to be authentic, and learn what you like and who you want to put yourself out there online. Plus you need to remember that to see results, you need to put REAL effort into it because a blog doesn’t make itself haha.
Oh thank you so, so much Ruby, so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Exactly! I think it’s so important to be yourself and to find your own, path, somehow in this blogging adventure: that’s the way you’ll grow, because finding your own rhythm and voice will make you want to be more consistent and everything else, too. At least, I see it that way, too 🙂
I hope you’ll keep on growing and will have tons of fun getting back to it all again! 😀
Congrats on your 5 years of book blogging! 🙂
I really liked this post. I feel like I’m still starting and knowing these lessons, I think it can take some of the pressure off.
I love your blog and I definitely look up to you and your blog. Hopefully you’ll blog for many more years! 🙂
Oh thank you so, so much, Jas, this means so much!! <3 <3
I totally agree that you should read what you want to read – sometimes I see these bloggers with all these new books and ARCs literally every day, and I’m just like, do you actually want to read all of those? Or is it just because you got a free early copy? I like to read and review at my own pace and I wouldn’t want to be too beholden to other people.
Right here with you on that! Plus, I tend to feel so overwhelmed and having too many new books and ARCs that you have to read before a deadline would stress me out so much and take off a bit of the joy of reading, too.
Thank you, Angela 🙂
Could not have said it better myself. I can understand how easy it is to get swept up by stats, I’ve done it myself, but I’ve learnt to never use them as a means of validating my worth on the blog. Do what makes you happy has got to be the most important lesson I’ve learnt from blogging and the day I stop enjoying it is the day I take a step back. Congrats on 5 wonderful years of blogging and here’s to many more.
Agree, the day we stop enjoying it is the day we need to take a step back! Thank you so, so much, Lois! <3 <3
Happy 5 years Marie!! ?????? I love your advice to not interact everyday. I didn’t realize I had learned that too until you pointed it out. But when I can’t handle interaction for whatever reason I just take a day or two. Sometimes even a week if I’m dealing with health things. It’s what we’ve got to do to stay happy and not overwhelmed.
Thank you so much, Dani!! <3 I agree, sometimes we just need to step back, interacting is amazing, but it can get so overwhelming, too.
Congrats on 5 years Marie! You’re amazing and I always love popping over to your blog, the interaction and blog hopping point hit me hard though. This November I’ve been a hermit and not really engaged all that much because well…I haven’t the energy but hopefully December will be better for my blog hopping <3
Aww thank you so, so much Clo, you’re so sweet, this makes me SO happy <3 <3
I get that, I haven't been that engaged and blog hopping just as much lately, but I feel like forcing ourselves would only result in us hating it all and we don't want that. Here's to a better December <3 <3
This is seriously the best advice post I have ever read! Because it’s stuff that we all are basically aching to hear, but hear so infrequently! I remember when I was really deep into completely draining myself while blogging, staying up literally all night sometimes returning comments, etc, and wow this would have helped Past Shannon. I somehow got past it all, but it was such a struggle. And it can feel overwhelming- both blogging, and NOT blogging- I am still rubbish at taking breaks- because you care, but you’re human, too! I am so, so happy that you are going strong for 5 years, we’re all so lucky to have you in the community! Hoping for many more years to come ♥♥
AH SHANNON thank you ? this makes me so, so happy to hear, thank you so much!! ?
It is such a struggle and even now, I’m still learning to take it slow. Still, it’s funny how quickly it can overwhelm us. there is just so much to do!
Thank you so, so, so much for your sweet words, this means so much ?
I’m a bit late but, HAPPY FIVE YEARS!
Also yes, thank you for the reminder to read whatever the hell I want. You’re absolutely right, we seem to really forget this one important thing in our blogging journeys. Anyway, congratulations and I hope to see you around for many more years 😀
Thank you so, so much, Charvi!! It’s so easy to forget to read what we feel like reading and pick up what everyone else is reading, instead. Here’s to hoping we manage to pay attention to that more 😀
I love this! Huge congrats on 5 years, and thank you for the incredible advice as always ♥♥
Aaah thank you so much, Destiny, you’re so sweet <3 <3 <3
These are definitely all the experiences we go through as a new blogger. ARCs, community and so much pressure that we put on ourselves to blog hop, to write reviews and read books, and do other million things that blog requires.
I love blog hopping, I love to stay connected with this community, see what everyone else is reading and talking about. But you’re right, it can be very overwhelming.
I’m glad you could relate to this post, Alex! Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
Marie, why are you so good with words and expressing how I so often feel about blogging? It’s good to hear those things or read them stated clearly sometimes, because in my head, I know them. But then I still struggle not to care and make a big deal out of statistics and interactions and the books I turn to. This felt like an awesome validation though!!
Ohh I so get that. I have these loud and clear in my head, but somehow sometimes I still struggle in just doing these things. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed and influenced by the community.
Thank you so much, Kat <3 <3
Happy Bloggiversary Marie! ?❤️ Even though I’m super late to it. ? Amazing advice as well, you always manage to put into words how I feel regarding the different aspects of blogging. ❤️
Aaahh don’t worry about it, thank you so much!! <3 <3 <3
I just found this post, read it, and realized that I so wish that I had known all of this when I started my blog back in march. Blogging is full of so much uncertainty surrounding numbers that it’s so wonderful to know that you’re not alone in it. 🙂
It really is filled with uncertainty, every step of the way, whether you’re a newbie or an “old” blogger ahah 🙂
Thank you so much, I’m so happy you enjoyed this post <3 <3
Congrats on five years, Marie! I look up to you so much as a blogger and am really happy that book blogging brought you into my life. Your advice here is spot on, and I am trying REALLY HARD to stop beating myself up about blog hopping and just doing what I can.
OH Kal you’re too sweet, this means the world coming from you, a blogger I admire so, so much. Thank you for all of your support, it means a lot <3
It's hard not to beat ourselves up about these things, I'm always having a hard time with it, too. always here if you need to talk, we're all doing our very best <3
Love all of your lessons here! And I also love that you turned your sister into a reader—that’s the best thing a bookworm can do!
Agree, I think it’s the one thing I’m the most proud of, making other people as obsessed with books as I am ahah 🙂
Awww, thanks so much for sharing, Marie! As always, your post is so sweet, honest, and relatable! I’ve struggled so much with feeling guilt over not blogging consistently, feeling unoriginal, and worrying far too much over statistics. You’ve reminded me that blogging should first and foremost be fun! I blog because it’s what I love to do, and if it brings me stress or frustration, it’s important for me to take a step back and remember what parts of it I love. <3
Oh Kelly, thank you so much for your sweet comment, I’m just so happy you enjoyed this post <3 It's so important to take steps back every now and then and to remind ourselves of why we love this 🙂