Wait, that's not true. I am pointing a finger to someone: me.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I am terrible about this. I will compare my amount of books with others' and feel almost inadequate when I find that a publisher has sent them more books then they have me. Same with followers. This is something that I've recently realized shouldn't be done; blogging is a fun hobby. We each try our hardest to make our blog the best it can be, and we don't need to be worrying about the success of other blogs, just our own.
Besides, some people have been blogging for a lot longer than I have (my first blogoversary will be in June) and they totally deserve the amount of followers and/or books they receive. We all do. I've recently realized this and am going to be working very hard to remember this any time I begin to feel competitive with other bloggers.
Your blogs are all amazing, no matter how many followers or ARCs you do or don't have. :)
One of the best posts I've ever read on a blog! And very true Jessica :)
ReplyDeleteI've stopped doing Mailbox posts and cut back on a lot of memes. It feels a lot less competitive after doing that.
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ReplyDeleteI agree. This is not a competition. I enjoy reading about others' ARCs, because sometimes I hear about upcoming books that I've never heard of. And it also shows me that the publisher/publicist/whoever is sending out copies for review. If I like the concept of an ARC, I'll write the author/publisher/whoever and ask for a copy. The worst they can say is "no", right? So in that sense I enjoy IMM posts. But not the ones who have an air of bragging.
ReplyDeleteThe people I really admire aren't those who necessarily get alot of ARCs, but those who are able to read and review alot of titles, even if they're just library books. (Sheila, I'm talking about you!!) I'm more envious of people who read a couple dozen (or more) books in a month!
And having alot of followers doesn't necessarily everyone is reading. I "follow" hundreds of sites, but I don't go through my Google Reader all the time. Reading books should take priority.
Okay, I just WROTE a book! Thanks for your thoughts!
Laura Hartness
The Calico Critic
CalicoCritic at gmail dot com
I definitely see your point. I've been lucky enough not to get jealous over number of ARCs. I'd rather only have ARCs of books I want to read, so I get a little jealous when I see someone with it. And I don't get jealous over follower number, but when I see someone with the same number or less followers than me getting ARCs I'd love to have, I kind of go "Umm...what?"
ReplyDeleteBut you're right. The blogging part *is* fun. Well...writing the reviews can be a bit tedious at times, but connecting, and spreading the love of a good book and seeing how people react is insanely fun. That should be the main focus.
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ReplyDeleteI think a lot of us are susceptible to this, I know I definitely am. I compare myself all the time and I hate that I do it. I'm trying to fix this and work on it, because it's really not a competition.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, this was a really awesome post and so ridiculously true!
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ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this post. I'm guilty of thinking the same...sometimes. But at the end of the day, I'm not thankful for the NUMBER my ARCs, I'm not thankful for the NUMBER of followers I have, but instead, I'm thankful FOR my followers, and I'm thankful FOR my ARCs. And in the end, I never forget what got me to blog in the first place: my love for books and the desire to help authors and publishers with their books.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, read blogs that have interesting in-the-now posts, and quality reviews =) I don't look at someone's blog and follow just because of their IMM or their number of followers.
Reggie =)
I agree with you post! I am guilty of this...not the ARCs but the followers! Before I used to feel my blog was bad or stupid or not worth reading and I thought of deleting it. But I realized I loved blogging not for the followers but just to blog in general and because I love to read and I want to tell others my thoughts on the books. So now I'm over it!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post. I caught myself doing something similar to this once and just thought, well what can I do to make myself a better blogger and have my followers and readers enjoy my content more. I focus on that, as should we all.
ReplyDeleteAs for ARC's others get, I don't get jealous, I look forward to what they might say about the book in a review as it usually makes me even more excited about a book I’m looking forward to. The mailbox posts are a fun way to learn what everyone is about to read and many times I get a chance to find out about a book I haven't heard about yet.
In the end I do agree with what you said and maybe each and every one of us needs to, from time to time take a step back and think about and remember why we started blogging in the first place. Our love of great books. :o)
Thanks for such a truly great post.
-Lisa
I think ARCs are great just because I'm often impatient and wanna read it faster. Am I gonna not read the book because I didn't get an ARC? Def. not. Buying the book out of pocket means I support the author =)
ReplyDeleteBut I agree- this has become a bit of a competition to see who can get the most attention... the only real reason I think ARCs cause such a stir is those people review htem first, drawing more to their blog, etc. Somewhat of a Catch-22 BUT. We're all still gonna be reading a bunch of books, posting tons of reviews, ARCs or not.
Also, very huge props to you for admitting that you do what all of us do- get jealous over blog followers, ARCs, etc. Awwesome job.
Thank you for making me stop and think. <3
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I blog because I love it and I enjoy spreading the word about awesome books. I also hope people do the same when(if) I get published!
ReplyDeleteI just love to chat with people with like interests: Books! :)
ReplyDeleteI enjoy seeing what everyone is reading and adding to my library wish list :)
i never compare amount of my books to others and followers of my blogs. i just do what i'm happy with: blogging. i found new friends, new books that i never they exist, and also there's a lot of wonderful meme and giveaways!
ReplyDeletethat are what i gained.hopefully i will feel that way forever.but your post somehow makes me think.thanks.
True true!
ReplyDelete*high five*
Personally...
I do my best to stay out of that.
I never do In My Mailbox or boast about my ARCs.
And honestly, I don't get many.
But ya know what?
That's ok with me.
ARCs come with allot of responsibility.
I just keep doing my thing and spreading the love.
Thanks for bringing up a great point.
As for followers: you know what's more important to me?
ReplyDeleteComments :)
I would rather have fewer followers and more commenters
than fewer comments and more followers.
I will keep it short-I can totally connect with you!
ReplyDeleteGood reminder. Sometimes I feel inadequate compared to other blogs. Then i shake myself down, remind myself I do this because I love books. The ARC's are a huge bonus. And so waht if I don't have hundreds of followers. The ones I have are special.
ReplyDeleteI admire your honesty in this post. We are all guilty of these things and the first thing to do to change that is realise that we are doing it. Our reviews are what really matters and it is important to remember that :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat post!! I tried to post a little about this issue in my IMM post today. I really don't want to feel like I'm bragging, I'm just trying to give the books exposure!!! I don't get that many books from publishers, but when I do I want to give the publishers a shout out, ya know?? I'm really glad to see what others think about this issue.
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