The Pros and Cons of Book Blogging || Let’s Talk Bookish

Posted September 19, 2020 by Sammie in chat with me, discussions, Let's Talk Bookish / 9 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where we discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts. It’s supposed to be posted on Friday, but being on time is hard and it’s better late than never.

This week’s topic is: the pros and cons of book blogging.

Now, I am not here to talk you into becoming a book blogger. I’m not a recruiter. I’m not qualified to be. Heck, most of the time I have no idea what I’m doing, never mind what anyone else is doing.

But for those of you who actually might be thinking about jumping head first into this whole book blogging scene? Well, first of all, head first is always a bad idea, no matter what kind of jumping we’re talking about, okay? You should know better. But second … maybe this will help give you a more realistic idea of what to expect going in. Other than, you know, complete chaos, utterly annihilated feels, and a vague sense that the real world is somehow lacking something.

I’ve done a few similar posts in the past, in case you’d like to check them out:

Otherwise, let’s get this list started!

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Pros of Being a Book Blogger:

  • Entry into one of the greatest communities ever: the book blogging community! Everyone’s all fantastically dorky and making literary references and weighing the merits of enemies-to-lovers and going a little mad scientist on how we can create dragons for realsies. I’ve met some of the best people since I started blogging, people that my life is so much better for knowing. I’ve felt welcomed into a community I would never find in real life, where my bookish nerdiness is not only accepted but almost expected. And you know what? It feels nice. Really nice.
  • The chance to influence other readers. Most of us are probably used to rambling on about books already, but what if people actually listened when you did it?! Isn’t that an amazing thought? There’s nothing as nice as hearing someone is picking up a book thanks to your recommendation … except maybe that they then loved it? I’m pretty sure that’s basically nirvana for bookish people.
  • Share your passion and love for books. Don’t have people in your life who love books as much as you do? Do they even threaten what they’ll do if you talk about books one more time? No worries! When you’re a book blogger, people come to expect that you’ll talk about books. It’s kind of why they’re on your blog. Reading doesn’t have to be a singular endeavor anymore! But … I mean … it totally still can be. No need to panic, introverts. I see you at there.
  • An opportunity to read books before they’re released. Can’t wait for A WHOLE FREAKING YEAR until the next book from a certain author? If you’re lucky, you may not have to. One benefit of being a book blogger is the opportunity to get Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs), which means you’ll be among one of the first to read a book! Look at you, changing the bookish world, one page at a time.
  • The one everyone seems to want to talk about: free books! I mean, on its surface, this is a fabulous perk. But here’s a little teaser for my cons section: blogging can be time-consuming and expensive. Which means these “free” books may still be costing you something in terms of time, opportunity trade-offs, and possibly even money. That being said, it’s really nice to have the opportunity to read books without spending any money, which sometimes even means getting finished copies, too. It’s never a guarantee, but it’s always exciting to get book mail!
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Cons of Being a Book Blogger:

  • Blogging is basically a second (unpaid) job. The amount of time I (and a lot of other bloggers I talk to) sink into blogging is … astounding. There’s more that goes into blogging than you might think. Yes, there’s the normal reading books and posting reviews, but you’ll also have to come up with other blog posts, blog hop and visit other blogs to be an actual part of the community, graphic design, social media marketing, and fixing all the inevitable things that break on your website. It’s a lot. I’m sure someone’s figured out a way to balance it all at this point, and that person needs to message me and pass on some secrets, okay, because I’m tired and could sleep for about a year right now.
  • It can be expensive if you choose to self-host, meaning you’ll lose money. I’m sure someone out there makes good money from their blog, but for the other 99.9999% of us? We’re in the black. Going self-hosted was a choice I made because of the convenience of it and the things I could do with my blog, but it wasn’t cheap. There’s domain fees and hosting fees. For me, personally, the books and opportunities I’ve had throughout the year is worth it for me, but this has basically become my hobby so I stopped spending money on other hobbies to pay for this one. A financial investment isn’t required, but it’s something to keep in mind if it might appeal to you.
  • Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the book blogging world? It can have a lot of drama. I don’t know why. It’s almost like these people tend to spend a lot of time in dramatic renditions or slightly out of touch with reality. Who would’ve guessed? This may apply only to portions of the bookish community, depending on where you interact. Commenting on blogs? Probably not going to have much drama. Bookish Twitter is notorious for daily drama about something, though. Are you required to interact with it? Of course not. But it’s definitely a thing.
  • The burnout can be real. There are a lot of bloggers that fall by the wayside because real life gets the better of them and blogging is a big commitment (re: part-time job). With everything that’s involved in blogging, it can definitely be overwhelming, especially if you’re attempting to post with some regularity, etc. Sometimes setting up a posting schedule that feels doable with your lifestyle makes things easier, but the key here is just knowing what works for you without pushing too hard until you feel burned out. Also, know when to take a break! There’s no shame in going on hiatus when it’s needed.
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Further reading for good advice

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Stay Fierce, Sammie

9 responses to “The Pros and Cons of Book Blogging || Let’s Talk Bookish

  1. I love this post, Sammie! Influencing other people’s reading is definitely one of my favorite things about being a book blogger! And being part of such a beautiful community is absolutely incredible. And I totally agree with all of your cons, especially all the drama on Twitter (yikes). Beautiful post as always, and hope you have a lovely day! 💕

    • Drama anywhere is just exhausting. xD Who’s got time for that? Haha. The community is definitely the best part of book blogging, in my opinion! It’s hard to beat, that’s for sure.

  2. Okay, be prepared for a lot of comments on your blog, because I. Am. Behind. 😱

    I think for me the best pro is that I can share the books I love (and make other people read them. I think I make a fabulous job with that one. 😂)
    But sometimes I feel like the cons are really big? I mean, you’re not motivated for a week and suddenly your blog is empty and people forget about you. The pressure is real. You have to be so creative to be a blogger and smart and know all your grammar and sometimes it just seems to be a lot and not really worth it. But on the other hand – totally worth it. Really.
    Marion recently posted…Spooky MG recommendations //because it’s the right time for thisMy Profile

  3. I really feel your cons. They’re exactly the same as mine. I’m definitely in a deficit from blogging and it’s not something most people ever talk about? It’s also a huge chunk of my time every day and sometimes I just feel like I should quit. I never do because I look at everything I’ve created and I don’t just want to give up. My blog is part of who I am and it’s important to me. I’m proud of it…even if it’s not really worth much in the grand scheme of things.
    Dani @Literary Lion recently posted…Should You Review a Sequel Without Reading the First Book? | Let’s Talk BookishMy Profile

    • I feel like it’s hard to gloss over the negative sides of blogging, especially since most of us who blog actually do love it (you know, or we wouldn’t be here doing it). I’ve had to take hiatuses, but I don’t see myself quitting anytime soon, either. It’s become too much a part of who I am at this point.

  4. I’ve thought about it, and I’m really trying to unfollow and mute account that seem to feed on drama. Sometimes there ARE things I want to know or be informed about, but I was starting to find book blogging and book Twitter a really negative and draining experience, and being a bit choosy about whom I follow has been really helpful. I’ve been thinking in the future that I’d really like to focus on celebrating books and talking about negatives constructively and not just being…enraged or upset, I guess.

    Also I totally agree about the time and potential money sick, especially in a blogging niche where it can feel as if it’s not paying off because the audience is small.

    I do actually like blogging though. :p
    Briana @ Pages Unbound recently posted…A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe (ARC Review)My Profile

    • I somehow manage to avoid a lot of the drama. I usually don’t hear about it until someone else points it out to me. Your goal is very much the same as mine! I feel like just raging on things doesn’t help anything (though I confess that I’ve been known to love reading rant reviews sometimes haha).

      I do love blogging. Doesn’t mean it’s not sometimes exhausting and expensive. xD Like all good things in life haha.

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