Tomorrow, February 8, marks the one-year anniversary of my very first post on this blog.
I can’t believe that I’ve been blogging for an entire year! Time really does fly, huh? In that time, I’ve published 109 posts and written 115,370 words. A year ago, I don’t think I could ever have imagined I’d be here now!
In the past year, it’s safe to say that I’ve learned a thing or two, not only about blogging in general, but about how I fit into the blogging world. And today I’m going to share a few of those things with you!
This isn’t really a list of tips – maybe I’ll do a separate post for that in the future – but more a reflection on things I’ve realized in the past year. So without further ado, here they are: the six things that I’ve learned in a year of blogging!
1. Don’t compare myself to others’ progress
It’s so easy to be discouraged when I see others building an audience faster than me or hitting milestones before I do. In those moments, I feel like I’m failing somehow, but I have to remind myself that it’s not a competition. Other peoples’ success doesn’t mean my failure. I simply don’t have the time to post every day or commit a huge amount of time to social media, and maybe that means slower growth, but that’s okay. I’m here because I love doing this, and comparing my numbers to someone else’s will only bring me down!
2. Do what I like to do, not what everyone else is doing
In a similar vein to the last point, I can get discouraged when I see other people doing a certain type of post that I don’t do. Sure, lots of people love taking part in weekly memes and tags, which is awesome for them, but those aren’t the kinds of posts I enjoy doing. Instead, I’ve learned focus my energy on the content that I like creating. I gotta go my own way!
3. Be creative, if only for myself
Some of my favorite posts that I’ve done have been the ones that let me be creative, such as my Emoji Book Challenge, reacting to bad writing advice, and sorting favorite characters! They’re not always the ones that get the most views – in fact, they sometimes get the least views – but they’re the ones that I enjoy making the most. Even if I’m the only one who has fun with them, that’s fine!
4. It’s all about community
As much as my previous points have emphasized doing things my own way and not focusing on what others do, I’ve learned that one of the best parts of book blogging is taking part in the community. The internet is full of amazing bookish people who love the same things as me! Getting to talk to likeminded people, share opinions and reactions, and join a community of amazing book nerds has been one of the most rewarding things about book blogging.
5. Blogging is work and I should treat it as such
When I was first starting out, I was so excited and brimming with ideas that writing posts was no trouble at all. As I got more settled, though, and my life grew busier, it became more difficult to fit it in. I had to shift my thinking to make sure that I considered blogging work. It’s not just something that I do when I’m in the mood – it deserves time that I set aside specifically for this purpose. Treating blogging as work has made it easier, rather than harder.
6. Learning about the book/publishing world in general
I thought I knew a lot about the book world when I was starting out, but I quickly realized there was so much more to discover! This blogging experience has been so valuable to me since I do want to work in publishing one day, and these are things that I only could have learned through getting involved in the community. From staying on top of new releases to learning how publicists find reviewers to send ARCs, I’ve discovered so much more about the book industry.
This year of blogging would not have been nearly as fun and rewarding if it weren’t for all the people who have joined me along the way. So if you’ve ever commented on a post, talked to me on Twitter, or even just read something I wrote and smiled because of it, you have encouraged me to keep going and made all of this worth it. Thank you all so much! I don’t think I would have made it this far without you!
x Margaret
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Fabulous advice! I always agree with blogging for yourself and doing what you like because that’s really the only way it stays fun instead of becoming a job. Happy blogoversary!
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Thanks so much! ❤ Yes, the goal is definitely to keep it feeling like fun instead of an obligation 🙂
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Congratulations! And good advice, thank you 🙂
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Thanks! 😀 ❤
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Great advice! And congrats. 💜
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Thank you! 😀 ❤
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Congrats! Lovely advice; I definitely agree with not comparing yourself with others 🙂 Happy blogiversary!!
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Thanks! 😀 Yep, that’s something I constantly have to remind myself, but it really is important ❤
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Happy one year blogiversary, Margaret!! I’m so happy that you’ve come this far 🎉💓 I love reading your blog posts so much! And this post is no exception. I definitely agree that one of the best parts about blogging is the bookish community – I love interacting with everyone ☺️
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Thank you, that means so much!! 💕💕💕 And yes, the community is truly amazing. I wouldn’t love this nearly as much if it weren’t for all of the awesome people!
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Congrats on your blogversary! 🙂 Useful post!
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Thanks so much! Glad to hear it was useful! 😀
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Congrats on reaching your first anniversary (as a blogger) 🙂 More power!
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Thanks so much! I’m pretty excited! 😀
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Excellent insight 🙂 These are all SO true. I gave myself creative freedom but at the same time took my reviews and blog seriously and it’s been so rewarding. I’m glad you learned so much! Keep it up!
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Happy 1st Blogiversary, Margaret!! 😀 Congrats, I’m so happy for you!
All of your points/advice is awesome, especially for bloggers who are just starting out. We should never compare ourselves to other bloggers (even if we really want to!), because we all have our own ideas and paces! Sometimes it’s hard to view blogging as “work”, since it’s fun most of the time, but it is something that we put a lot of effort into! And the community is one of the best things about blogging (especially fellow bloggers who talk about books AND writing 😉 )
Here’s to another great blogging year for you! 💕
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Thanks so much! 😄 Yeah, the community truly does make all of this worth it. And even though it’s definitely FUN work, it’s still work! We’re just lucky enough that we get to work on something that’s so awesome 😉
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Happy Blogiversary 🙂
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Thanks so much!
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You’re welcome 😀💜💜
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Congratulations on your blogiversary! 😊 My favorite posts to write are the more creative ones too, they’re the ones that feel the most rewarding regardless of stats. I still need to work on comparing myself to others, though when I do it it’s more about how articulate or honest or creative someone is, not how many followers they have. It’s still unproductive and unhelpful though! We’re all different and that’s the beauty of the community ❤️ This is such a lovely post!
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I completely agree, it’s no use comparing ourselves to others’ creativity when we all have something unique to bring to the community! ❤️ Thanks so much for your lovely comment!
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Aaah congratulations on one year of blogging!! That is so amazing. ❤️ This was so interesting read, and I agree with so many things! The community here is so so incredible and kind (like you!!) and it makes me so happy to talk to such lovely people ahah. Congrats again and here’s to (hopefully) many more years! 🙈💕
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Aww thanks so much! The community truly is something special ☺️ I’m also hoping for many years to come!
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AHHH congratulations, happy one year blogoversary, Margaret 🎉💓 I’m so, so happy you are part of the community and I absolutely love chatting with you every time, too. I love your advice here, it’s fantastic. It’s so easy to compare ourselves to others, but we’re all so different and sometimes we just can’t put the same time as others into our blogs, too. We’re all unique and have our own personality and love for books to bring into the community and that’s the most important 🙂
Here’s to many more years of blogging and fun!! ❤ ❤
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Thank you!!! That means so much 💕 And I definitely agree that everyone brings something special and amazing to the community 😀 Your lovely comment made me smile so much – thank you!
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You’re so welcome! ❤ ❤
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Great post and Congrats!
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Thanks so much 🙂
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Sure thing =)!
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Brilliant advice and I agree with all your points. It can be difficult at times to stick to the advice (even if you know it makes sense i.e. don’t compare!) but its all incredibly relevant and worth repeating! Congratulations on your blogversary!
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Thanks so much! Yes, as much as I KNOW these things, I constantly have to remind myself to make it stick, which I guess is partly what this post is for! 😂
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