Lovathon Day 2: Letter to My Future Blogging Self

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a great challenge! I’m choosing to write to my future blogging self:

 

Dear Kai. First I want to tell you how proud I am of you! If someone would have told you over 4 years ago that you would start a blog sharing your thoughts for all the world to see you would have laughed hysterically. So the fact that you have consistently run your blog is something that should be acknowledged.

 

There are a few things however I want to remind you to not get caught up in:

 

 

Blog Envy

It’s human to compare your blogs to others but it’s important to not forget your personal achievements. Yes seeing bloggers get tons of books you would love to read can make you wonder why you aren't getting the same stacks of review copies week after week, Its also hard to understand how a person who is an admitted plagiarist would continue to receive invites to the hottest blog tours and receive stacks of review books.

The solution to both of these issues is simple: Acknowledge the feelings and move forward. You will never know the ins and outs of publishing decisions, so instead keep your head down and work on your own blog. Also don't forget how far you have come! Thru  your efforts you have built a relationship with Tor Books that put you on their review list. Remember the joy of those Tor Envelopes arriving in the mail when you feel that green eyed monster trying to crawl out! Also look at how your influence on Netgalley has grown. You are getting much more approvals now then when you started. You also have received some amazing offers through them as well.

 

Work Just a Tad Harder

 

You have kept a great schedule on your blog Kai but your current schedule does allow for you to reach a bit more. “Cold Call” some publishers with E-mail review requests. Send publishers your reviews through twitter & Facebook. Seek out some debut authors and do some press and interviews with them. As the authors grow in influence they will remember the early bloggers that helped them out.

 

 

Never Forget

Always remember why you started your blog: To share you love of books and connect with other readers. Keep fostering those personal connections with comments and event participation.

 

Keep At It

I know you've wanted to have an event  &weekly memo, on your blog for some time now. I want to tell you to not give up! The blogging world is large. It’s not a failure to come up with an event that no one signs up for. Persevere! One day you will create something others will embrace. Just keep working on what you love and building personal connections. 

 

I close this letter as I began it: I’m proud of you!

XXOO

Kai

 

 

Hi everyone!  I’m excited for day two of #loveathon especially since I have more time today ! This is a fun challenge because it really is a journey about how my blog expanded over the years. When I first became a book blogger I followed the example of two bloggers that I admired . I kept my posts book themed and followed a lot of weekly memos as I learned the ropes.

 

However there was a huge part of my life that I wasn’t sharing with my readers: I’m a geek! Well I’ve always used the term Fangirl because Geek & Nerd  never seemed to cover all my varied interests. So about two years ago I decided to add the fangirl aspects of my life to my blog with the feature : My Geeky Week.

Then some amazing things begin to happen. I started noticing a lot of women getting together online  and sharing their fandom, I also noticed a lot of authors professing their love of the Marvel Film Franchise and even Comics and Graphic novels.

 

Then Rainbow Rowell rocked my world with these two books:

 

Fangirl is such a great read and a very true insight into the life of a fangirl. Though I don't write fan fiction I really connected with Cath and her passions.  I  really loved the scenes where Park introduced introduced Eleanor to comics.

 

These two recent bestsellers have very strong Superhero/Villain themes. I was so happy to get review opportunities for both of these.

 

 

My biggest Fandom love is Star Wars. Since seeing Star wars at age 10 I’ve loved it, the internet has been a wonderful source of connecting with my fellow fans especially through the community created by Ashley of Her Universe . Here are some of my favorite items from the company:

 

 

One of my Christmas gifts! Ashley is the voice of Ahsoka on the Clone Wars TV show

 

Star Wars books have also continued to thrill me over the years:

 

 

I’m also a huge fan of Comic books and collectibles. Here is what 3-4  weeks of releases look like form my local comic shop:

 

 

 

I’m also addicted to the Funko Pop line . Here is are two exclusives I got at a convention recently: Stan Lee and Peter Parker:

 

 

 

I love that my blog now reflects my fangirl passions and I’m always excited to get comments from other bloggers that they have tried a graphic novel or Manga because of my reviews .

 

Happy Loveathon!