What's one thing you'd like to challenge yourself as a book blogger to do this year?
Since I'm apparently a huge cheater when it comes to narrowing things down, I actually have two things I'd like to challenge myself to do as a book blogger this year.
Challenge One: Blog however / whenever I want to blog.
Sometimes, it's easy to get caught up in memes and trying to stay on top of everything. I honestly do not know how some bloggers manage to post 5+ times a week, or even daily! Despite having been a book blogger for almost four years, I consider YA Book Queen to be a small blog. I do not receive bundles of review books each week (thankfully, because I'd probably lose my mind from stress), so I tend to run my blog a bit more slowly. I take a lot of breaks whenever life gets too crazy, and sometimes I feel guilty for doing so. So, it's a goal of mine to keep my blog as relaxed as possible. If I want to post 5 posts a week, awesome. But if I only manage a couple, then it's still fantastic so long as I'm happy with my content. In essence, my goal is to simply be happy with what I'm blogging about and not rush my content just so I can keep up with the "big" bloggers!
Challenge Two: Interact more with my readers and other bloggers.
Readers who comment regularly might have noticed that I started answering comments in the comment section during the last month or so, instead of emailing my responses. I've been trying to be a bit more active on Twitter, too. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage adding in more time to interact with readers and bloggers, but I know that I really want to make the time to do so, even if it's only 10-15 minutes a day. I tend to be more of an anonymous blogger, so I want to engage my readers more, since I do read and appreciate every comment I receive. I especially want to interact more with my fellow bloggers, because I rarely get to talk about bookish things in real life - the closest I get to bookish discussions are always about Shakespeare or BEOWULF whenever I talk to classmates, but it's more fun to talk about YA lit. ;)
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I've managed a full week of posts this week, but it is tiring, I find two posts and a meme a week is my comfortable pace. Otherwise it does get stressful.
ReplyDeleteIt's absolutely exhausting to blog for a full week! I'm always very impressed whenever anyone can actually manage doing so.
DeleteBlogging can be exhausting -- don't burn yourself out! But the interactions are definitely some of my favorite bits about blogging. So many awesome bookish people out there!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying not to burn myself out on blogging, which is probably why I take so many small breaks. It's nice to relax for a few weeks, and then come back!
DeleteI love interacting with other readers - bookish people are the best!!
Lea, I love your goals! I think number one, especially is most important. I got so burned out from trying to keep up that I needed an 8-month break. I'm lucky now that I have a queue of reviews already written and ready to go for a few months, just helping me get back in the swing of things. But, the moral of the story is really just to keep going at your own pace. Love these both, and I love your blog! Thanks for participating this week! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's the one good thing about blogging breaks - sometimes when you come back, you have a good amount of posts that are ready to go! Agreed about going at your own pace. It's easy to get caught up in trying to post more, when it's sometimes better to post less.
DeleteThanks for stopping by! And for the fantastic discussion topic :)
Great goals! I think it's very important to be happy with what you do. It doesn't matter if you post 5 times a week or only onces. It's your blog and you should do what feels good :)
ReplyDeleteMel@thedailyprophecy.
Yes! I'd rather love my content (even if it's only a few posts) than post more but be unhappy with the content. Blogging should always be fun, not stressful :)
DeleteAmen sista. I feel the same way. I like to keep it flowy. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteBlogging is much more fun when you keep it relaxed :)
DeleteThanks for dropping by, Juju!
Awesome goals! I have, for the past year or two, been trying to commit to your first goal. It's hard to not get stressed out by blogging, but I think I manage to find a balance. I don't know how people post 5+ a day and hold down a regular job/school/life, etc. I am trying to have a post for most days during the month of May and it is REALLY tough. I think you do a good job though, especially with school and all! I hope you have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteFinding a balance is tricky with blogging. It's so, so easy to get caught up in all of the stress it can bring! I'm impressed with your blog - you've posted so much great content this month!
DeleteHope you had a great weekend, too :)
I think it's always great when you can relax about blogging and not have to worry about posting everyday. I don't think I could ever update as frequently as some people do, but I'm perfectly okay with that. It's also brilliant to hear that you've been blogging for nearly four years. That's quite an achievement! :)
ReplyDeleteBlogging is more fun when you relax and post when you can. It's a hobby, and it should always be fun - not a job to stress over ;)
DeleteThank you! I'm sometimes amazed that I've been blogging for almost four years. Time goes by so quickly!
I love the replying to comments! That's something I've been doing for the past couple of months and I think it's very helpful for my blog. Sometimes I get behind but then I catch up :)
ReplyDeleteMe too! I just need to work on replying more quickly ;)
DeleteI could basically copy and paste this as a manifesto for my blog and it would still work because I feel the same as you. I have also reached a good place in my blogging where I don't feel pressure to blog all the time and I feel much more relaxed and happier with my blogging life than I did in my first year. (It's soooo awesome that you have been blogging for four years, by the way!!) And I've also been trying to interact more on Twitter... and mostly failing. Don't know how some people make it seem so easy! I just suck at all social networking.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it nice? I'd rather post less and be happy than post more and be stressed ;)
DeleteI fail at Twitter, too. I always show up randomly and then have to leave once conversations become fun :(