Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Paths to Becoming a Better Blogger - Armchair BEA Day 2

Here we are - Day 2 of Armchair BEA.  Here is today's discussion:

Today, we're inviting you to talk about approach. Have you branched out into your community? Do you partner with other bloggers? Have you gone "pro" or tried generating some income through your blog? If you're a long-term blogger, how has your online personality developed over the years? 

Tell us about things you've done to expand your blogging horizons, and the things you'd like to do but haven't managed (or figured out) yet. Come back here to link up your post, and then go see what other participants have to say. Let's foster our development as bloggers and learn from each other!

9 years ago I started blogging about books.  It all started after I had my oldest daughter and decided I needed to start documenting the books that I have read.  While I was pregnant and on bed rest I re-read a few books that I had no intention of re-reading.  I just didn't remember that I had read them. So, it was then I knew it was time.

I also joined sites such as Shelfari and Goodreads (as I became aware of them) and quickly made other bookie friends.  I was so excited.  So, I hung out in the blogging community, kinda like I do now, and started to follow lots of bookie blogs.  Not only did I get book recommendations, but I made some great friends.

This lasted a few years and I was getting ARC's from publishers, and just loving life in general. That is when I was contacted to participate in my first virtual book tour.  I wasn't really sure what this was (remember, this is almost 7 years ago) but I thought it sounded like fun so I said sure thing.  And I participated in more with this company and really enjoyed it.  5 1/2 years ago the owner of the company asked if I wanted to join them and I said yes, yes, yes.  So, that is when I started working for Pump Up Your Book  To this day I absolutely LOVE what I do, and after doing it so long (we have been around a LONG time), I have learned so much.  It is great to see how much things have changed.

My blogging personality hasn't changed much, except I do have more than one book blog.  This is my newest 'creation' because I wanted a place where I could just talk a little more.  One of my sites is going to start being for reviews only (although those reviews will be mirrored here as well).  I just hope to continue to find new blogs to read and keep enjoying the old ones I already to.

8 comments:

  1. I'm a new Bloglovin' follower, by the way!

    9 years! That is such a long time, wow :D I'm also on Goodreads and I love finding new books there. I'm happy that you love what you are doing :)

    Development + Fiction - Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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  2. Love the blog title, the look! And can really sense how much you love blogging. An inspiration. Certainly to us newcomers. Thanks for that :0)

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  3. Blogging for 9 years is amazing! I hope this is a hobby that I can stick with for a long time too. And there are so many blogs I'm sure you'll find new ones to add :-)

    Tanya Patrice
    Girlxoxo.com

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  4. Congrats on 9 years of blogging.

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  5. 9 years is quite an accomplishment!(Though it makes me feel even newer!). It's so cool to see someone who has been blogging for that long and make me think that this could be a long-term hobby for me as well.

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  6. Wow, it must be interesting to have more than one blog. Great job blogging for 9 years! Its a blast to discover new bloggers!

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  7. Wow, 9 years! I hope I can get there one day, only 8 years to go but I'm loving it so far. Hope you have a great ABEA Week! New follower here. Here's my Blogger development and favorite books by genre post if you'd like to stop by.

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  8. New follower! I don't think I've "met" anyone who has been blogging for longer than you have. To-date I haven't done any book tours, but that's really been more because I didn't know how to go about joining up. I totally need some more information. I can't even imaging having time to run multiple blogs though. It sounds like you've got a great story and a lot of experience. Great post.

    Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know

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