A couple of days ago, the wonderful Kelly @ Paperback Adventures nominated me for the Blogger Recognition Award! Not only am I over the moon because this means a lot to me blog-wise, but also because I found a great new online friend in Kelly over Twitter. She is very supportive and super nice, so be sure to pay her blog a visit and follow her there! Thanks so much Kelly – you rock! 🙂
The Rules
- Thank the blogger who nominated you
- Write a post to show your award
- Give a brief story of how your blog started
- Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers
- Select 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to
- Comment on each blog and let them know you’ve nominated them, and provide a link to the post you’ve created
The Start of my Blog
Well, this is actually a long story… I’ve been dreaming of starting a blog for a couple of years, but I never found the courage to take the plunge. I was too afraid of the ‘online rules’ (as in, what pictures am I allowed to use, could I get into serious trouble if I do something wrong – that kind of thing) and also of not having good enough computer skills to actually being able to create my own website out of scratch. The other concern I had was with my workload at uni. I have studied English literature and had so many reading assignments (which could have been good for the blog), but also numerous written assignments like essays and papers, and together with all the research for them I was not entirely sure if I would be able to post regularly on a blog. However, after graduating from university, the true adult life begins, and time is a concern now just as much as it was a year ago, maybe even more. So, when’s the right time to start a blog then???
In the beginning of this year I decided waiting for something I really wanted to do and was thinking about for so long is not going to help me achieve my dreams ever, so I’m just going to start right now. And I did. I then had to hunt for a name for my blog because everything I came up with was either already taken – thank you very much, Internet era – or it didn’t seem to express me well enough. I then settled with The Artsy Reader, because – who would have guessed – I’m usually very artsy (lol), meaning I enjoy everything from painting, to sketching, to drawing, to crafting, and I’m also a reader and true lover of books. There are times when I devour one book after the other, and can’t go a day without reading, and then there’s also the odd week or two, when I just can’t bring myself to read at all. However, in both cases, books and characters and the fantasy worlds they inhabit are always on my mind. And I have a longing to share my thoughts on these books, these characters, and their worlds with people out there – with you guys. Which is why thearsthyreader.com was born!
My two Pieces of Advice
I’m not entirely sure if I am entitled to give advice to other bloggers already, but I can definitely share what I wished I had known in the beginning.
Number one:
If you don’t plan on earning money from your blog and start one just because you have fun writing about the topics you chose, then I would strongly encourage you to do everything so that you continue to HAVE FUN! Sometimes I get very concerned because I don’t really have a posting schedule like many other bloggers do, and often I regret that. However, I also know that it would stress me out a lot, especially in times when I couldn’t stick to the schedule. So that is why I post whenever I can, and whenever I feel like it. (Obviously, there is the fear of losing the connection to your blog and followers, but if you manage to connect with them via Twitter or so maybe, then I don’t really see a problem). You started your blog to have fun, so don’t lose that!
Number two:
Connect with other people! I know that many book bloggers (especially younger ones) like to write and spend much time online because they don’t really feel comfortable in face to face social situations, and I was like that too! But being in the comfortable confines of your own home AND still being able to connect with others is a great thing the Internet has brought us, so I strongly recommend you to take this chance and do it as much as you can! My favorite social media platform (I never expected to say this ever, because I used to refuse to join literally any sort of social media before I had my blog) is Twitter, because you can follow like-minded people and find some great new friends. Join groups, reply to comments on your blog, comment on other people’s blogs, tweet and retweet whenever you can – you’ll soon find your group of people, I promise! And if not, you can always come and talk to me! 😉
And that’s it! My story of how and why I started my blog, and two pieces of advice for you.
My nominations:
I’m sorry if some of you have been nominated already, but I love you and your blogs and obviously had to show this love! Feel free to add some more advice on your posts if you’ve done this already 🙂
Thank you so much for tagging me! I was hesitant to start my blog too so I totally get where you’re coming from with that 😂 You give some great advice – twitter is my favourite platform for engagement too!
– Hannah / https://hannnahsbookshelf.wordpress.com
Thanks so much Hannah! Twitter is great, isn’t it!? I’m so glad I’ve met you there! 🙂