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

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:

• A Day in the Life of a Book Blogger || Let’s Slay Some Misconceptions
• Lessons From a Two-Year Book Blogger
  

Otherwise, let’s get this list started!

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!

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.

Further reading for good advice

• Things to Consider When Starting a Book Blog (Always Trust in Books)
• A Complete Guide to Starting a Book Blog (Pages Unbound)
• How to Start a Book Blog in 8 Easy Steps (Happy Indulgence)
• Book Blogging Tips and Resources (The Uncorked Librarian)
• NetGalley Guide to Requesting ARCs (Bookish Heights)
• How to Request ARCs (Jenniely)

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