Saturday, January 28, 2012

Busting the Newbie Blues



Busting the Newbie Blues is an event hosted by Small Review. Basically, you fill out a questionnaire and hopefully bring attention to yourself as a newbie blogger. Plus, you get to find other awesome newbie bloggers as well! Even established bloggers can participate, so go check it out! :)


When did you start your blog?
I started my blog at the very end of September last year. :) 

Why did you start your blog?
Well, none of my friends or family like to read, so I have no one to talk to about books! After finding great blogs like the Story Siren, I became inspired to create my own, because I felt like it'd be a great way to share my thoughts with others. Before that, I didn't even know that book blogs existed. 

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far
Definitely getting views and comments consistently. I do get comments occasionally on my posts, but I don't get comments and views on every post that I write. 

What do you find most discouraging about being a new blogger?
Sometimes I feel like I'm invisible, as cliche as that sounds. There are days when I feel like no one reads my posts, but I think I'm just too down on myself because I envy all the older bloggers who get like 40 comments per post. >:) 

I also find my number of posts discouraging. I don't understand how bloggers are able to consistently post every day. As it is, I have trouble reading one book within a week because of my busy schedule.

What do you find most encouraging? 
Definitely the whole book reading community. :) I just see everyone acting so nice and friendly to each other; it's great to see everybody united by their common love for reading! I'd love to get more involved in the community, but I'm rather timid, even on the internet.

Also, every little comment or view I get encourages me to keep blogging, because then I realize that at least someone is looking at it.

What do you like best about the blogs you read? Have you tried to replicate this in your blog? 
I like it when you can really tell that the blogger loves the book in their review. There are some people that just put so much emotion into their review. I've been trying to be more creative with my own reviews, so they don't sound bland or boring. I'm not too sure it's working, though. \: As I said, I'm kind of a timid person, so even writing my own opinion on this blog is challenging. I'm hoping that, through blogging, I will open up and be more friendly. :)

What do you dislike about blogs you’ve read? Do you try to avoid this? 
Hmmm.. I dislike it when blogs post reviews that are only a paragraph long. I feel like if you're going to review a book, then you might as well put more effort into it. Then again, I'm not going to tell people how to run their blogs. I myself try to post at least a few paragraphs when reviewing.

I also dislike overly complicated blogs. I haven't seen too many of these, but when your blog is hard to navigate or my screen is crowded with a bunch of things, then I probably won't read your blog. I like to keep things simple!

Any advice for other new bloggers? 
I would just say to never give up! I know that people are always telling each other that, but it's true. :) Even if you aren't getting a lot of views/comments right now, your blog will grow in time. It will just take some dedication and hard work, though. Plus, if you love doing it, then why should it matter how many people are visiting your blog? Do it because you enjoy it! :)

Any questions you'd like to ask newbie or established bloggers?
I don't have any questions in particular, but any tips - especially networking tips - would be appreciated. :)
Also, I'd like to know how you use Twitter to network yourself. I always see a bunch of bloggers claiming it's an amazing tool, but I haven't figured it out for myself yet.

Is there anything you’d like to tell us about your blog? Feel free to link a few of your favorite posts or posts you wish had more comments. 
I like hearing other peoples' thoughts, so if you comment on a review, be sure to let me know what you are thinking about the book! Also, if you leave a comment on one of my posts, I'd be more than happy to comment on one of yours!

12 comments:

  1. I found this so interesting that I did one myself! I agree with pretty much all of your answers. I started my blog late October hehe. And I also hate when blogs are so confusing! It's like... they're making US work to read their blog. I don't wanna work, I just want to enjoy. And your making it hard for me to do that, so I'm just not going to try anymore! *Throws hands up and walks away... like a boss* lol!

    Shae @ Understanding Shae's Story

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    1. Very true! I think a blogger should definitely keep their readers in mind when designing their blog. If it's too much work just to get to one thing, then they probably won't have too many regular visitors! :)

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  2. Your blog name is so cute and clever!

    I completely agree with you about reviews that are only a paragraph being not enough. It doesn't give your readers much to comment on. If I'm going to respond to something you wrote... then there has to be something there to respond to...

    Looking forward to following you!
    Lauren @ Hughes Reviews

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    1. Thank you! :)

      Yeah, I've personally been trying to increase the length of my reviews, but then I realize that there's also the balance of quantity vs. quality. I'm still working on that!

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  3. Im a new follower :) Ive used Twitter a bit but I tend to use Goodreads and FB to promote my reviews more :)
    www.thephantomparagrapher.blogspot.com

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    1. I LOVE Goodreads. :D I haven't yet tried Facebook, is it really helpful in networking your blog?

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  4. Hmm... you say that you find the fact that bloggers are able to post almost everyday discouraging... Well you should think about participating in some features and meme's like Waiting on Wednesday ,Teaser Tuesday,Top 10 Tuesday and TGIF so that even if you don't post that many reviews atleast we get to know what you like and/or are looking forward to!

    Thanks for visiting and following :)
    Krazyyme @ Young Readers

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    1. Yeah, I think I should try to participate in memes more often. :) Thanks for the suggestion and comment!

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  5. I definitely agree about cluttered blogs. If I can't figure out how to follow or where your reviews are, I tend to leave. But your setup is very nice!

    I also agree about very short reviews. I think my unofficial guideline is that the review should be longer than the summary. But then I tend to write my own summaries, whereas a lot of bloggers use the Goodreads summary, which can be massive!

    I wouldn't worry about posting all the time. A lot of the answers to this survey include bloggers saying they prefer blogs to have a few quality posts instead of tons of memes. So join a couple, of course, but you don't need to do one a day.

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    1. Thank you!

      That's a pretty good guideline, and I think I may start using that. :D I actually considered writing my own summaries when I first started my blog, but then I didn't think I could do it accurately without accidentally having spoilers!

      Okay, I'm glad to hear that! :D It makes me feel a lot better about not posting everyday.

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  6. I second the cluttered blogs. I get so confused and overwhelmed that I don't get past the first page. I like clean and simple layouts like yours.

    In regards to Twitter. I loved Twitter. I used to spend all day on Twitter. Here are tricks I used to use when I had Twitter: tweet new posts as they are posted, tweet any news/updates of interest, retweet posts of interest, respond to any new tweets or retweets of interest, introduce yourself to other book enthusiasts, and nurture budding relationships. Honestly, Twitter is a great informal way to meet new people. No need to write a lengthy e-mail, just shoot whoever you like a quick hi or just respond to one of their tweets and go from there.

    Patricia at The Tale Spin

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    1. Yeah, especially those widgets that some people have! I can understand having a couple, but some people really overdo it. And the ones that have noise freak me out, haha. :D

      Thanks for the advice! :) I'm still trying how to use Twitter to my best advantage. I think I'll try to interact more with people like you said.

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Thanks for taking the time to comment. :) I really appreciate it, and I do try to visit back in return!