Guest Post: My Blogging Journey by This Booky Place (Rebecca)

Hi I'm Rebecca from This Booky Place and as of the end of June I have been blogging for a whole six months. I know to a lot of you that probably isn't anything, but for me it's the longest I've managed to go without people at school finding out and bullying me into stopping, or just generally thinking I was doing something stupid. So, to be finished university now and having the confidence to blog almost every day, is so liberating.

Since I have only been blogging for half a year there's still a lot that I'm learning, but I wanted to share a few things that I have already learned, proving that you don't have to have thousands of followers to be recognised as a blogger.




Weekly blog chats.
Whether these are the type of chats to promote your latest post, or just general Q&A's about a topic/book, taking part has really helped me discover new bloggers and helped me build my regular interactions which has been amazing. It's so much less daunting now to see familiar faces in the blogging community instead of always feeling like you're surrounded by strangers.

Interacting with authors. 
More often than not, an author has liked, responded to and even retweeted my reviews of their books. Even after six months I still get a rush when an author tells me they loved what I wrote about their book. I never thought authors would have the time for me, but they do, they want people to read your work just like you read theirs.

Freebies. 
Although I have spent quite a lot of money on new books to read and review, you don't need to have a lot of money to maintain a blog, I enter giveaways regularly and often win books that I can review on my blog and photograph for Instagram. Also by interacting regularly with authors and publishers you might find they offer you their latest books because they now value your opinion, the first time this happened to me I could have cried (happy tears), but it really does happen. Don't feel bad for spamming giveaways every now and again, this is also great if you're stuck for something to read.

Blogging about a range of things. 
When I very first started my blog I just reviewed books and nothing else. More recently I have started doing one personal post a week (like this one), mostly tags for now but I have more content planned for the near future. I also review things like sub boxes and other bookish goodies from sites like Etsy either on my blog or on Instagram, hoping to broaden my audience beyond books.

Making friends. 
This is probably the most important thing I have learned. I started my blog because I was inspired by the lovely Zoe, you'll know her because you're reading this on her blog right now. Since then I've had the pleasure of becoming her friend, I've also reconnected with a friend from middle school through blogging, Shannan, who I had lost touch with over the years. Blogging can do amazing things for your productivity but also great things for your friendship group.

I hope this has given you an insight into the beginning of my journey. I will be doing another post like this one on my one year anniversary over on my blog. Hopefully I have a lot more to say by then. If you have any other tips for beginners, leave a comment and maybe help make someone take that first step into the blogosphere.

BIO: Rebecca is a 22 year old who is trying to make it in the media industry. Blogging is one her many creative outlets that also include photography, videography and writing. She can be usually be found behind her laptop watching Netflix, reading a book or hanging out with her dogs and family. You can find her here.

No comments