I’d always toyed around with the idea of branching out from kind of “safe” forms of social media like Instagram and Twitter. I say “safe” because they’re relatively easy to navigate and don’t come with a ton of risk when it comes to starting up an account. You just make an account and start posting.
I found after a while, though, that just posting little blurbs of book reviews and kind of engaging with the community wasn’t doing it for me. I wanted something a bit more personal where I could really go in and leave my thoughts about books, as well as leave whatever updates I ended up having. Then, at the very beginning of 2022, I bit the bullet and made my own book blog.
I think the hardest part about having my own book blog was finding a consistent schedule that I can actually stick to. I love writing, but it can be really hard to come up with stuff I’m proud of sometimes, especially when I’m writing about something I love as much as reading. There are days where I can’t find the right words to say, so I push off coming up with posts until it’s way later than I would anticipate posting. Once I figured out an upload schedule that really works for me, though, I’ve been having a really great time. I sit down twice a week to draft up some posts, and being able to see the stats and general engagement has been really rewarding.
Something I love about having my book blog is I can voice my own thoughts and opinions in a way I see fit. Because it’s all so new to me, I don’t really feel afraid of saying what’s really on my mind about a book I’m reading. There’s no pressure to like a certain book (or dislike a certain book) because of other people, because my blog is solely my own. It’s all been really lovely, to be able to write exactly what I want to write without having to censor myself or worry about what it may do to my follower count.In general, starting my own book blog has been lovely. It’s definitely come with some downsides (starting up my own website was not cheap), but being able to have my own schedule and write exclusively what makes me happy has been super nice. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it for everyone, but it has been a fun challenge to push through. I hope I can keep up with the plans I have for myself, and maybe even start uploading more posts in the future!