What I’ve learned as a Blogger

I thought since I’ve learned so much during my nine months as a blogger, I’d share a little of my journey with you guys.

1)  I am one of many blog pages, so I need to stay positive.

This is probably one of the hardest things to remember at times. Some days are great and I have people interacting with posts, liking posts, and sending messages. Many other days, ghost town. I swear I hear crickets and I see those likes go down. It can be disheartening. I just need to remember to keep moving forward.

2)  Blogging is hard work

What to post, how much to post, looking for sales, trying to be funny, trying to be relevant. These are all things that run through my mind every day. I never realized how much work other pages put into doing this until you start blogging and have no idea what to post.

3)  Just because some messages your page to share things, doesn’t mean that they actually took the time to like you or check your About page.

Sigh. I run the page by myself. Please don’t message me saying “Hi Ladies.” It’s only me. Also, please make sure that if you want me to share something, send what you want me to share and don’t make me feel like I’m disturbing you when I’m asking for more info on the book.

3) Reviews are scary

You never know how an author is going to react to a review that’s less than five stars. I’ve seen people threatened on Facebook and Goodreads because they posted a less than favorable review. I don’t want to be one of them. I just want to be as honest as possible.

4) Making friends with other bloggers is an incredible thing

I have been so lucky to chat up some great pages and talk with other bloggers and learn from them. I’m a fairly shy person but behind a computer, it can be easy to be outgoing and interact with others. I love being able to network with other pages and have them respond back to me. I love learning about what they love, messaging them about great books I’ve read because of them and generally learning to be a better blogger because of it.

5) Authors are the most awesome human beings

Do I need explain this? Maybe just a little. The biggest supporters of my page, by far, have been authors. They’ve liked my page, they’ve gotten their Street Teams and friends to like my page, they’ve encouraged me to keep blogging, they’ve thanked me for posting, and the list keeps growing. Your job is one of the hardest possible things to do, literally giving a piece of yourself for others to look at, critique, and say ‘here’s my baby, tell me what you think” and yet you still find the time to encourage me in mine and I will forever be grateful.

AND FINALLY

6) I love being a blogger

I’ve always loved to read and getting this time to express my love for books and talking to others about that is amazing. Who knew my nerdiness could be shared with so many people who might share my same passion? And who knew this could make me so happy to do so?