#BookishThoughts-Lies, damn lies and #bookblogging

Many other bloggers have probably tackled this question better than me (and by the end of this piece you may well agree!) but here I am, throwing my hat into the ring.

We all lie. Whether by omission or outright doing it, lying happens in everyday life, so why is book blogging any different?

You will find yourself saying ‘Yes, your hair looks nice‘ even when it doesn’t because you can tell, by your friend’s expression that this all they want to hear. You don’t call it a hirsute triumph, you just nod and smile! Because to actually tell the truth would cause , in some situations, irrreperable damage so you play cautiously and carefully with the truth.

And the same with books!

• Who out there has taken a book because it is there, you are excited and put your hand up before fully assessing the blurb/life commitments/whether it is even in your preferred genre….

I have.

• Who has said their reach/followers etc are totally down to hard work and that they have no strategy to maintain their stats/increase them?

Honestly not me because I think if we are truly going to lay our cards on the table, we are all strategic, we all want the books we shout about to get into people’s hands, we all live for the glow when someone says ‘Love your review, going to get that book!’

And it’s complete bullshit to say you have no strategy, if you didn’t you would write your blog and do NO PROMOTION AT ALL!

Just leave it floating on the web waiting for people to find it if you want to be legitimately ‘authentic’!

You tag people, you engage authors and publicists, you go across all the media platforms you can and share and like to raise your profile. It may work, it may not, but every time you engage with someone you are strategising.

• Who has committed themselves to a blog tour then started reading and gone ‘I can’t finish it…‘ and sped read the book to fulfil their obligation ?

I have, I am ashamed to say which is why I am absolutely slowing down after April.

I am so incredibly grateful for each and every opportunity I have been given, but having sped read 2 books this year I cannot be disrespectful to the author, the organiser or the book, anymore.

In the spirit of wanting to be involved I have to acknowledge a MASSIVE case of FOMO(fear of missing out) and intend to tackle it head on!

Books are literally the heart of my life, they have been with me through the hardest, most gruelling times and have given me so much so it is natural to want to, in return, promote them.

But I am so over committed, that I am absolutely taking a step back and learning it is ok to say no.

And it’s getting to the point where I need to stop and read my own things or it’s not going to be fun anymore. You do you on your blog, for me I am of the opinion that if it’s not fun then stop.

All the bashing and arguments that have really dragged me down lately have been on social media and although it’s quiet at the moment, I am thinking…when is the next thing coming?

What will be the next thing we are being bashed for?

Who is next in the firing line?

We all lie because it comes from a place of wanting to be kind. We say we like the book even if we didn’t really and herein lies another issue-if you like a book, surely that is enough?

• Who has felt guilty for not liking a hyped book and feared being called a ‘book snob’?

I have.

• Who has felt guilty because they only liked something and feel they should have liked it more?

I have.

• Who gets anxious about how they are received by other book bloggers, their stats, their views etc?

I have.

Which is why it’s becoming not so much fun anymore, it’s not organic, and why I am tired of checking my schedule and fearing letting anyone down.

Because I am.

So let’s be honest and try to stop lying about the things we want, it’s ok to say you want your name on the cover of a book, it’s ok to say those things! Let’s try and stop humble bragging about ourselves and be kinder , nicer and more empathic book bloggers!

The opposite is also true, you put your heart and soul into a review and no one notices.

So what!

We wrote a love letter to a book, they are our words and let’s leave them there, they do not always need to be acknowledged for them to mean something!

‘In books we trust ‘

Moving forward, I intend to go back to the start, where I was the only one reading what I said, blog for me, and just enjoy books, stop stressing over stats and what other people think and just enjoy reading !

 If anyone wants to join in, you will always be welcome, but no longer will I fear my empty comments boxes, there does not need to be a response for your words to have  been heard.