Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Trying to do ALL the Things




You guys, blogging is HARD sometimes.  I've been blogging for almost 6 years, so obviously I've known this for a while, but I don't always realize it because I'm so used to it.

I mean, blogging is one of my hobbies and brings me a lot of joy and happiness, but it's also become part of my weekly routine-- to the point where I think I do a lot of it on auto-pilot.  I'm just so used to blogging and everything else that comes along with it-- and there are A LOT of things that come along with it.

I'm sure most of you know, but blogging is more than just writing out posts and hitting PUBLISH.

There's:

  • the promotion you have to do to get your posts out there in front of people
  • the emails you have to answer
  • the schedules you have to keep
  • the pictures you have to take
  • the Twitter account you have to keep up with
  • Facebook promotion
  • Pinteresting your posts
  • the little things you have to do to keep your blog updated
  • oh yeah, and actually reading the books


Also, I've started running blog tours, which is basically everything I do for my regular blog x's 2.  More tweeting, more emailing, more Facebooking, more reading, more posts to format, more graphics to make, more pictures to take.  AND I started a podcast with some friends (called WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID ON FEAR STREET), which I also try my best to help promote through Twitter and our webpage.

Sometimes, I wake up out of my blogging bubble and realize that "OMG I can't keep up!!".



But the main reason I started writing this post is because I've been sitting here feeling guilty about not posting on Instagram.




I know it sounds dumb, but I genuinely feel bad that I haven't touched my Instagram (or my blog tour's Insta) since July.  The reason being that it was all getting to be too much. Taking pictures everyday, tweeting everything that I want to tweet, and emailing everyone I need to email, and posting all the posts-- something felt like it needed to give for a while.  Unfortunately, that ended up being Instagram.

I know it's not a big deal.  I don't get paid to post products and I'm not a rep for any companies or anything, so the only person who really cares about it is me--- but damn it, I REALLY DO CARE.  I can't even explain why I care, but by not doing it, I feel like I'm failing at part of the blogging process.  I should be able to do all the things, right??

Also, I feel like Bookstagram is another way of showcasing books that I get for review and giving them exposure.  Some books don't end up working out for me, but if I Bookstagram them, then I feel like I'm giving that book at least some sort of spotlight.  I feel super guilty that I haven't been sharing those books.

My goal in the next week or so is to get back into that groove.  Obviously I'm not going to post every day-- and I'm not even going to strive to post every day.  I feel like 3 days a week is a good goal for me.  Plus, I'd like to feature some of our blog tour books on our blog tour Insta.  If I can just get this back into my regular blogging routine, I feel like it will work.  I just need to push through for right now.







Let's Talk:
If you blog, do you find yourself becoming overwhelmed (or just whelmed) by all the things that go along with it that don't have anything to do with the actual post writing part??  Have you ever had to let part of your blogging process go for a while?  Do you have any advice for keeping it all going?



17 comments:

  1. I can totally relate! I feel really guilty about never being on Twitter anymore but I just don't have the energy between YouTube and Instagram (PS I miss you on insta!)

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    1. I'm not on Twitter as much either. I still use it to promote my blog, but I'm way less social on there because it's just not the same place anymore :( I miss being on Instagram and am going to try really hard to get back into it!!

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  2. Oh man I have been ignoring IG too. It is too hard to keep up with everything!! I can't imagine how you do it with the blog tours too. Plus sometimes life gets in the way of everything. I think it is ok to let something go every now and again though.

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    1. Ugh. Yeah. I think I need to be less on Twitter and more on Instagram because I do miss it. And life totally does get in the way too.

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  3. Oh gosh, yes. I've been blogging for 10 years and I've definitely added a lot more work to just blogging as the years go by and its grown. I mostly focus on Twitter and Instagram, because they are my favorite and I have the most followers/engagement there, but then I feel like I need to do more with FB and Pinterest...and ugh!!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. 10 YEARS!!!! Wow, go you!! Yeah, I barely do anything with Facebook and Pinterest anymore. You're so right-- it's best to focus on the medium where you have the most engagement.

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  4. I am just coming back to blogging after an unexpected 6 weeks off. Life just got in the way. I know how you feel. Here's my post about it: http://www.momsradius.com/2017/10/when-life-gets-in-way.html

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    1. Yeah sometimes life totally gets in the way. Every time I have a weekend away or any big thing going on, I get SO lazy about blogging-- so having so many work trips, I can only imagine how that affected your ability to want to keep up with the blogging.

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  5. I can totally relate 100%! Working and other life things can make time so limited and often it's like, do I read or do I write a post because I have time for one but not both. And instagram is HARD! Taking pictures takes so much time but not only that, you've got to clean up the mess afterward and put all the books BACK. I took zero pictures for this month and am feeling sad about it but I just didn't have time. Sometimes something just has to give. Here's to doing our best at keeping up!

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    1. OMG THE MESS!! My "photo room" is still trashed and I haven't taken a picture in over 3 months!! All my books are mixed up and half of them are naked. I do want to get back to it though because I really do like it. And you take some of my FAVE pictures, so I hope you come back too!

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  6. I am really good at the reading books, reviewing, and visiting other blogs stuff, because I really enjoy all that stuff, but I am not good at the photos and social media stuff. I try, but I am just not good at it.

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    1. Yes!! Reading, Reviewing, Posting, and Visiting, I can handle!! It's the other things that are hard for me to keep up with.

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  7. Totally. Nothing is a must-- it's just hard for me to not feel that guilt sometimes. Maybe it's not even guilt, just that little tug that tells me that I'm not doing the blogging thing at 100%. I'm trying harder to let those things go-- but sometimes I can be a perfectionist.

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  8. I absolutely find myself becoming overwhelmed, especially when other things come up and I just don't have time! I haven't been able to keep up with reading and commenting back has been a challenge lately. I feel so guilty. :/ I totally understand where you're coming from!

    Tracy @ Cornerfolds

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    1. It's really hard to keep it ALL going all of the time. I'm good at the posting (usually) and the reading-- but the social media and the graphics and the pictures are just HARD sometimes. I want to keep it fun, so I have to let some things go sometimes :)

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  9. Yes! I've been blogging for almost 7 years, and when I started I was in law school. But now that im out and working anywhere from 45-65 hours a week, finding time to read let alone post daily on my blog and post daily on my instagram gets really tough. Not to mention finding time to do other things outside my blog. Finding a schedule that works and that you can actually maintain is key. and remember, you don't have to do all the things, all the time.

    I wrote a series of posts called blogging on a time crunch in case you are interested in checking out some things I use :)

    Michelle @ Book briefs

    Blogging On a Time Crunch

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  10. Oooh so much yes. I feel you with this post. I went through this, oddly enough also with Instagram guilt! And for a lot of the same reasons- it seems like a great way to promote books (especially unsolicited ones that I may not get to for awhile/ever), and it seems to have a pretty big fanbase, so the potential to get the books noticed seemed big. But then I realized that I actually mostly hated it so whyyyy was I doing it? Blogging really is a LOT to balance, and I think that as more mediums are added, sometimes we have to prioritize. Now, I only do bookstagram if I actually have a picture I want to post- and if I don't get around to posting a book, like you said, I am not getting paid for this, so I kind of need to remember that blogging can't happen at the sacrifice of my sanity, you know? Love this post, it's SO relatable!

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