Book Blogger Myths & Blogging Tips

Hi Friends,
Today, I am going to be shattering those myths of being a book blogger. I think these are Booktube myths as well, but I could be wrong. I am including a few blogger tips for all you new bloggers, or those of you thinking of starting a blog.

No Books Necessary A lot of people think that book blogging is all about having a huge personal library. We see bloggers posting their rainbow bookshelves on Bookstagram, and we think the first step to being a book blogger is to buy books. This is completely untrue. Many book bloggers use the library and borrow books from friends. You can even use apps such as Libby and Overdrive to get audiobook and ebook copies of books from your local library. You can still share your love of books without owning a single book.

Book Hauls Aren’t A RequirementThis is piggybacking off the last myth, but book hauls don’t matter. Yes, it is cool to see the book people buy or receive, still, there are tons of minimalist book bloggers out there. Also, a lot of book bloggers go on book buying bans until the clear their tbrs. I don’t typically buy books, so most of my collection is books I’ve received as gifts. Library hauls are a great option, or buying discounted books from a local thrift shop is an inexpensive way to grow your collection as well.

Reading, Reading, ReadingI used to think that I couldn’t be part of the book community because I was an extremely slow reader. Luckily, that isn’t a problem anymore, but truthfully, it doesn’t matter how many books you read a month. There are tons of people in the book community that only manage to read one or two books a month. You are not alone in your struggles to read, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t hit your GoodReads goal. As long as you have a passion for books, and you engage in the community, you are golden.

What Everyone Else Is ReadingThis might shock you, but you’d have to read the same books as all the other book bloggers. It is a common mistake that all book bloggers have to read the same books and genres. At times, I am guilty of trying to read what’s popular. I’m not saying it isn’t nice to read multiple opinions on the same story, but people, including myself, read book blogs to discover new, underrated books. Don’t be scared to read for yourself, and not what people except you to read.

Want An ARCI am sorry to break this to you, but if you want to become a book blogger just to get arcs, you’re wasting your time. Yes, sometimes book bloggers are fortunate enough to receive ACRS of books. But this rarely happens, especially for physical copies. Publishing companions are very selective about sending out review copies. Most of authors and publishers are turning to Netgalley for ARC releases. I have been using the platform for a while, and I can say that getting approved for some ACRS aren’t easy. Don’t start a book blog for money or gifts.

Tech Savvy The last myth I want to shatter is that you have to be some web design wizard to start a blog. True, there is a learning curve when starting any kind of blog. But a lot of sites, such as Squarespace or WordPress, are pretty straight forward. Also, there are tons of articles and YouTube videos on how to navigate just about any platform.

As for my tips, I only have a few, so don’t stop reading yet.1) Write Before Publishing: This is something I wish I had done before publishing my blog. I think you should write at least 10 to 20 blog posts before launching your blog. This way, you have a lot of posts that will go up so that you don’t have to worry about writing a new post every week. You can focus on reading and writing as you go.

2) Set Schedule: Some people might say this is due to my need to plan everything, but I think having a posting schedule is important. Whether you post once a week, month or even once a year, you should pick one day for your post to go up. This way, your readers know which day to visit your site for a new post. I don’t think a set time is as necessary as a regular day, but having both couldn’t hurt.

3) Always Edit: I didn’t do this with my earlier posts, but I found that editing and proof reading is a must. You should read over your post at least twice before publishing it. Also, if you suck at grammar like myself, it couldn’t hurt to use an editing software or subscription. I hear that Grammarly is a great resource for bloggers. But keep in mind their subscription is quite expensive.

I hope that you liked this original post. It was fun exposing book blogger myths and sharing some of my blogger tips. Please support my little book blog by liking and sharing this post. If you want to join my mailing list, you can subscribe via email.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny