Hi guys! I know I haven’t posted in a while but I had a few issues with my blog and so had to take it down for a while. Everything is sorted now though and I’m really pleased to be back posting again.
Today I wanted to talk about why I blog because I think it’s interesting to think about.
The main reason I blog is because I love it. I’ll have been blogging for two years next month and in that time it’s become my main hobby alongside reading. There’s something about blogging that gets very addictive – I love reviewing and writing discussion posts. It’s nice to just write your thoughts down about something, regardless of whether people read it or not. If people read it – amazing! If not, it’s not the end of the world because you’ve still expressed yourself and put your personality into something.
Through blogging I’ve also got to know -and met- lots of lovely and amazing people. The community is so brilliant and it has really helped my confidence. Before blogging I was tremendously shy but I’m slowly leaving my shell behind and it has enabled me to accept myself for who I am. There is such a sense of community and I love it!
Saying that, though, there are a few downsides. The community is full of its drama and it’s horrible to be on the receiving end of. Cyberbullying is absolutely awful and I know Sophie from A Daydreamer’s World is trying to help out with this.
I do blog primarily because I love it. To say I blog for any other reason would be stupid. Blogging isn’t about having millions of followers or receiving review copies. I just like spreading the word about awesome books, and set my other blog, Project UKYA, up for this reason. We’re lucky enough to have lots of people willing to support us, but that’s not the reason I do it. I love organising the projects so much and supporting other UK authors and bloggers. I don’t see Project UKYA as solely my thing, because every person who joins in is part of the team – the UKYA squad! Jim from YA Yeah Yeah is doing awesome things in May and June. Check them out, okay?
I think it’s important not to take for granted the followers and supporters of our blogs. I don’t ask people to view my blog, but they do anyway, and I’m grateful to every single one of you. You’re my friends and for that I love you. I hope that you see me as your friend too!
If you don’t enjoy reading my blog, or don’t want to, don’t! I’d rather you unfollowed me and just pretended I didn’t exist rather than be horrible. I think you’ll be a lot happier that way! Nobody needs to be horrible, because that’s just not nice and it upsets a lot of people. The blogging world should be a positive space for everyone!
So yes, to sum everything up, I love blogging and I love you – yes, YOU! *squishes*
11 Comments
Jim from YA Yeah Yeah
2 March, 2014 at 4:27 pmGreat post, Lucy! And thank you for the plug for Countdown. 🙂
(I was mentioning the idea of blogging ‘just’ for review copies earlier today on Twitter, I’ve seen a couple of people say it – thankfully not many and not recently – and I don’t think they realise just how much effort blogging takes. Obviously receiving books is AMAZING but there’s no way it’s worth blogging for those books unless you really love reading – as I think everyone in the UKYA community does.)
Sian Roullier
2 March, 2014 at 4:32 pmLove what you said and sumes up some of the same reason for me
Ruby
2 March, 2014 at 4:36 pmI think we can all relate to this so much. :’) The reason we blog is because we love blogging and we want to share our love for reading… the rest of it (e.g. the amazing people, the followers, the review copies…) are just added perks. 🙂
Ruby recently posted…February 2014 Wrap Up
Catriona
2 March, 2014 at 9:55 pmI was thinking of writing a post on this very subject for my blogaversary. It’s good that you’ve written all this down because people all blog for different reasons and it’s great to get it out there. Definitely going to join you in talking about this in a couple of weeks…
Catriona recently posted…Letterbox Love #4
Eileen @ Singing and Reading in the Rain
3 March, 2014 at 12:04 amLucy, I definitely agree! I feel like here are times where you can get really involved and obsessive about your follower count, but the most important thing is to remember that you love books and that you love to talk about them with other people! Right now I’ve been kind of debating whether or not I should stop blogging, because it seems like so much work right now, but I’ve been trying to remember that I should just be focusing on how much I love books and whether or not I’m happy with it right now. Fantastic post! <33
Eileen @ Singing and Reading in the Rain recently posted…Feminist Sunday (6): Rape Culture
Francoise
3 March, 2014 at 7:14 amI was thinking of doing a post like this for my blogoversary haha!I have to agree with everything you say! While it’s great and fun and just a generally good hobby but as you said there are many downsides. I haven’t suffered from any cyber-bullying yet and I hope to never have to but really it comes with the job. But all I have to say is don’t let it get you down, because in the end those haters tend to give you as much attention as your followers.
Hang in there! Great discussion
Francoise recently posted…Help us improve 2 Diva’s Bookish Discussions
Jesse Owen
3 March, 2014 at 1:35 pmOnce again this post has hit the nail on the head – perfectly sums up why I blog too! 🙂
Jesse Owen recently posted…Hi So Much (Darcy Burdock #2) By Laura Dockrill
Jess Hearts Books
3 March, 2014 at 5:45 pmTwitter: JessHeartsBooks
Great post Lucy! After 4 years I can’t imagine *not* blogging. It really gives me an outlet to get creative and talk about what I love most- books! It’s so easy to get lost in things like page views and comparing yourself to other bloggers. I try not to think about it any more and just do what I love to do and if other people love it too that’s just a bonus! 🙂
Jess Hearts Books recently posted…February Round Up and Book of the Month
Ife Oshun
5 March, 2014 at 4:19 pmLucy, your doing fantastic work. It comes from your heart and passion for reading, and there are many who appreciate you. Sometimes the squeakiest wheel is the loudest, but just because you don’t hear the well-oiled ones, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Keep your head up and don’t let the haters bring you down! ~ Ife
Weekly Recap | Feb 24 – Mar 8, 2014 | Oh, the Books!
9 March, 2014 at 6:02 am[…] Lucy talks about why she blogs. […]
Weekly Recap | Feb 24 – Mar 8, 2014 | Oh, the Books!
9 March, 2014 at 6:02 am[…] Lucy talks about why she blogs. […]