The Secret Life Of A Book Blogger Tag

I saw this yesterday on Great Imaginations and decided to do it, since it was so fun to read that post.

1. How long have you been a blogger?
I've been blogging on and off since about 2005, but I started my book blog in 2010.


2. At what point do you think you will stop?
I don't actually. Unless something happens that makes blogging to stop being an enjoyable activity, I don't plan on stopping in the near future.


3. What is the best thing about blogging?
Meeting new people is always fun, both readers and authors, editors, publishers, and so on. I enjoy talking about books and discovering new authors, new genres. I don't think I've ever said this before, but sometimes I feel like I'm competing with myself, to see how many new authors I discover in a year. Since I usually get...not bored, bored is not the right word here... let's say less excited about reading books in the same genre after a while, I'm always open to try out new things, new books, new authors, new genres. Blogging has really given me the opportunity to have access to these things, not because of "free books", but because by connecting with other bloggers I get to hear what's new in Bookland and I stay informed.


4. What is the worst thing about blogging? What do you do to make it okay?
Drama. I try really hard to stay away from it, to ignore it, to not bring it here, on my blog. Unfortunately, with media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, I do get to find out whenever drama happens. Some stuff is good to know, like when bloggers are being catfished or when they're harassed for writing negative reviews, but sometimes some of the stuff I hear about really makes me want to scream in frustration, because come on people, most of us are adults!!


5. How long does it take you to create/find pictures to use?
I use Picmonkey and I used to use Paint Shop Pro to create graphics. It took a bunch of time and it still does, but I kinda enjoy the work.


6. Who’s your book crush?
Roth from the Dark Elements series by Jennifer L. Armentrout is pretty dreamy. Acheron, Styxx and Savitar from the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon are dreamy too. And Hawkeye is also a good character to have a crush on. As for girl crushes, my ultimate girl crush is Rose Hathaway.


7. What author would you die to have on your blog?
That's a hard question. I wouldn't necessarily die to have certain authors on my blog, but I'd certainly hyperventilate a little if Sherrilyn Kenyon, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Kelley Armstrong, Kylie Scott or Joanna Wylde would stop by. I'd faint too, let's be honest here.


8. What do you wear when you blog?
PJs. I blog when I'm home and my normal, day-to-day clothes when I'm indoors are my most comfortable PJs.


9. How long does it take you to prepare?
Oh gosh, it takes me a long time. I get distracted a lot. I need to have the perfect playlist to blog, but then I waste so much time making up the perfect playlist on youtube (because the radio pisses me off most of the times because for fuck's sake, if you're going to play a song, play the full song and don't talk over it!). But then the light is not good enough, so I need to go turn on the light. If I'm in bed when I blog, I arrange my pillows tons of times to get the perfect writing position and so on and so forth, and then Poof! the day is almost gone. Or if it's not that, then I must check out if some other bloggers had similar ideas in discussion posts and then I read a bunch of posts and never actually start writing my own. But once I start writing, I write until I'm finished with a post.


10. How do you feel about the book blogger community/culture?
Like I said before, I actually enjoy it here. I've met tons of people that I do like to consider my friends, even if I don't always talk to them. I've been in a shell ever sine I hit my teenage years, not talking to strangers, not feeling in my element in clubs or at big parties, and basically being an introvert. To this day, my idea of an awesome Friday night is staying at home, in my comfy PJs, surrounded by fluffy pillows, drinking tea and reading a good book. So while I still don't like parties, blogging has allowed me to interact more with people and basically rediscover the very social girl I was as a kid.


11. What do you think one should do to get a successful blog?
Not stress about pageviews and followers too much and blog about something you're passionate about. I used to look at the pageview count and at the followers number and cringe. Then, a few months ago it hit me like a freight train: I didn't start blogging because of it. When I made that first post almost 6 years ago, I did it because I wanted to talk about the books I loved and potentially meet other people with similar likes and dislikes in literature. I didn't do it to become famous, I certainly didn't start it for the possibility of free books (true story: when I decided to start my own book blog I thought only "famous" bloggers got free books, which meant they absolutely needed to have press credentials. I was young and new at this, okay?! Don't judge!). I did it because I was passionate about books and because most of my friends only read classic literature and didn't understand my love of the books I enjoy reading, no matter the genre. So my advice, without sounding patronizing, is blog about what you want to blog about, don't let yourself be ruled by stats, and definitely, definitely don't let other people's blogging choices define what you think is or isn't a successful blog. Unless you're doing it for income, this should be a hobby, not a second full-time job.


12. Who do you tag?
Like Kara did in her post, I tag anyone who feels like doing it. It's an awesome tag and if you want to do it, go ahead. Leave a comment if you did, to check out your answers :D