Greetings readers and welcome to my Blogger Recognition Award! We all know that I like to hoard tags like the greedy dragon that I am, and… well, I have a total of 8 for this particular award currently. I am truly honored and humbled that so many people thought of me and my blog when working on their posts, and I cannot thank you enough!
Many thanks to Kathy @ Pages Below Vaulted Sky, Maddie @ Munch Reviews, Rain @ Bookdragonism, Mandy @ Devouring Books, Cassandra @ The Bibliophagist, ERK @ Musings of a Confuzzled Reader, and Amanda @ Books, Life, and Everything Nice for nominating me for this award! Each of their blogs are absolutely fantabulous, so if you are not already following them please be sure to go check them out.
The Rules
- Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
- Write a post to show your award.
- Give a brief story of how your blog started.
- Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
- Select 15 other bloggers that you want to give this award to.
- Comment on each blog to let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.
How Reader Voracious Blog Came to Be
Growing up on the internet, I dabbled a lot with blogs over the last seventeen years or so. I remember having a xanga page in the early 2000s that was full of my emo angst and poetry, a livejournal in the mid-late 00s where a lot of my gaming friends and I just talked about life, and a health blog on tumblr in the early to mid 2010s.
I mention this because I think I have always been a writer in waiting, wanting to share my thoughts about various subjects and connect with others around the world. 2017 was a dumpster fire year for me and I turned to books. It was 3 years after university and my mind was wanting some stimulation, so I started using Goodreads to actually write reviews for the books I read (I joined in 2012 but until then I was only using it to keep track). I really enjoyed this and decided to become a consumer reviewer on NetGalley to get more into upcoming publications, and after a few months I decided to take the plunge and create a blog – Reader Voracious Blog – because I wanted to cultivate a community of readers and interact more with others. And I haven’t turned back since!
Blogging Advice
I wrote a list of six things that I learned in my first six months of blogging back in September that includes most advice that I would give, but here are a couple new ones:
- Schedules can be your friend! When I first started I quickly became overwhelmed with review requests, and I started to feel very anxious about everything. I created a spreadsheet that I kept track of all my ARCs that developed into the Book Blogger Template Spreadsheet, and honestly, it has saved me! Those that use my 2018 spreadsheet will be excited to know that in a week or so the bigger and BETTER version for 2019 will be unveiled, so stay tuned!
- Blog for yourself first and foremost. Your passion will show through in your posts and that is what will resonate with other readers. I am super into analytics and data, but I don’t let that deter me from writing the content that I want to write. I know review posts don’t get views, but I enjoy writing them. Everything I post is important to me and I like to think that is why people like to visit!
Bloggers I want to recognize
Darina @ Facing the Story, Avery @ Red Pocket Panda, Arden @ Phantom Paper, CW @ The Quiet Pond, Will Read for Booze, Becca @ Becca Leighanne, Krystin @ Here’s the Fucking Twist, Jen @ Pinot and Pages, Petrik @ Novel Notions, Drew @ The Tattooed Book Geek, Kat @ Novel and Waffles, Karlita @ Tale Out Loud, Victoria @ The Contended Reader, Siobhan @ Siobhan’s Novelties, and Christine @ The Uncorked Librarian
I hope that you take the time to check out all of these amazing blogs!
Let’s go on another adventure together!
Thank you for the tag! <3
& YES, I agree with blogging for yourself. When I figured that little tid-bit out, I started having WAY more fun!
You’re totally welcome, very well deserved!
Thanks so much for the award! <3 I so agree with you on both your tips! Scheduling is really useful in order to not feel overwhelmed but I also agree that blogging for you and writing about books that you truly love is the most rewarding part of it all.
You are most welcome, Darina! Scheduling I think for some people create more anxiety but for me it is the most freeing thing in the world!
Thanks babe! 😘
Of course!
Congratz
Good advice Kaleena! I am checking out your spreadsheet! I didn’t know you had one!
I wish I had time to make a spreadsheet and schedule posts in advance! I barely have time to read these days, so a schedule is out of the question. Maybe one day… I love that you said people should blog for themselves. It really makes a difference!
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?
Most of the time my schedule helps me be a little more streamlined and focused (I really REALLY like to do lists!), but it is flexible when my reading doesn’t go as planned, etc. I hope you find time for reading soon!
OH GOSH THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS NOMINATION *breaks down into tears of gratitude* But seriously, it means a lot to me that you would tag me for this award. I love what you said here about blogging for yourself. I haven’t been blogging for very long, but I’m already finding this out. It’s so much more fun writing what I want to write than doing some prompt I’m not super into just because I see everybody else doing it. Anyways, thanks again and congrats on the nomination! You deserve it, you wonderful human!
Kat you are SO TOTALLY WELCOME! You really deserve it: I love your blog’s aesthetic and your reviews!!! xoxo
*SOBS* YOU ARE A SAINT.
Love youuuuuu
Wonderful post, Kaleena! <3 I absolutely agree with your two bits of blogging advice! I think it's of the highest importance for bloggers to blog first and foremost for themselves. Blogging shouldn't feel like a chore of obligation, and so long as you enjoy what you do, your passion and love will shine through! Also, schedules are SUCH A STRESS RELIEVER! Hahaha.
Thank you so much, Kelly! Schedules honestly saved my blogging career, but I know for some they can cause more anxiety. I really love having my blog though and hope that passion shows through.
I never thought I would be someone who would do schedules for blogging, but I grew to love it so much!! And your passion certainly shines through, love! You’re such a great and inspirational blogger imo, Kaleena! 😉❤️
Awww thank you so much, sweets!
Kaleena!!! Thank you so much for nominating me! This means a lot to me, really!♥️♥️ I appreciate you for this and I definitely second what you said about blogging for yourself first and foremost!🤗
Awww you totally deserve it, Karlita!
Hey, you!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for the recognition and congrats. I, like you, hoard these awards lol. I might be hoarding for a year. Gahaha.
Your scheduling tools are amazing, and every spreadsheet you make is so helpful. Love your blogging advice, and of course, I love your blog and support.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday if you celebrate Thanksgiving. I also hope the air quality is a tad better for you.
YOU’RE TOTALLY WELCOME, book bestie and fellow hoarder of tags!
Thank you so much, air quality is back to red levels at least (unhealthy) but I don’t know when it will be back to more normal levels. Happy Thanksgiving to you!
I seriously envy how organized and meticulous you are!! I tried using spreadsheets for ARCs a couple of months back but I dropped it after like…a week. Maybe I’ll try it again in 2019. 😀 And I’m an unrepentant book tag hoarder too! I’m probably gonna end up doing my Halloween tags in January or something 😛
Awww Kathy, thank you so much that means a lot to me! Honestly I think the reason that spreadsheets work for me is that I made a habit of using Googledocs years ago, so it is second nature to remember to keep it updated! On the other hand, I keep buying planners because I actually prefer written stuff and use it for maybe 2 days. My 2019 spreadsheet is super updated and I just wrote the post last night, it’ll go up on the 28th. Maybe that will work for you!
Oooh I’ll definitely check that one out! You’re the best. <3 And LOL the funny thing is that I'm in research and spreadsheets are pretty much an everyday thing. But when I think about using it for books my brain just flatlines 😀
Thank you for the tag, friend! I definitely agree with blogging for yourself. If it ever starts to feel like work, or if I ever start to feel guilty for not posting x-amount that’s when I’ll peace out! xo
Same here for sure! Life is too short to force something I am no longer enjoying.