I’m going to start by saying I know this is a very privileged question, with so many people in the hospital and or way behind on their rent, or out of a job, being able to worry about something like blogging is a luxury. But I wanted to talk about how the pandemic has affected my processes as a blogger and wondering if it has affected you all similarly.
First off, the pandemic has limited my acesss to books, not completly, I do have acesss to two libraries and a book subsciption service. However I feel like my content was more varied and diverse, and of course and got to grab new releases faster when I had a brick and mortar library on hand.
As a blogger with limited fiances this has hit me fiancially as I’ve had to buy some of the books that I otherwise would have just checked out. I know that’s not a problem for everyone but it’s been an issue for me.
I also feel like I’ve had to give up most of my work with Bookstagram, due to the lack of having a library with non-digital copies of books. I’ve tried shooting with my iPad, and maybe it’s just me that hasn’t caught the trick but I can get my iPad and props to look right together. The glare is its own issue, maybe I just need to spend more time working on photography?
On a high note though I feel like things have slowed down to the point where I’m able to post on the blog every day, and I’m able to read more, which is good because I want to hit my 100 book this year goal and keep posting every day.
So maybe I’ve lost some things from my blogging routine but I’ve also gained some things too.
I’ve barely blogged since November 2020. My mental health has been at an all time low and trying to concentrate on posts is just not happening 😔 I’ve taken a step back and stopped requesting books via netgalley as it’s the pressure to catchup and also I never request physical copies either anymore. I’ve learnt that I take too much on and then get easily overwhelmed. X
Yeah, I think I’ve had the opposite reaction where all my negative mental health has just gone into the blog, like it’s something I can control and I can’t control the pandemic. But I get you about being easily overwhelmed I’ve had to slow down in other parts of my life and can totally see how blogging would fly right to the back burner with Covid going on.
Blogging is hard anyway and I found it really hard in 2020. Good luck with your reading and blogging goals for this year! I miss libraries too.
Library access is a privilege here, and even then the collections are outdated. I read so much more than I usually do last year as a way of coping with fear and anxiety. I also discovered blog tour companies in 2020 so I had a greater chance of accessing the books I really wanted to read. Otherwise, a Kindle Unlimited subscription works well for me.
Yeah, since I broke my ankle I’m doing a trial of Kindle Unlimted an I like it. I’ve recently found out about blog tours too. Do you have any tour companies you work with that you like? I think I read a lot last year too due all the anxiety, doing the same this year.
I like Blackthorn Book Tours for dark stories and Rachel’s Random Resources for rom-coms and mystery novels.
I also discovered some excellent indie authors with R&R book tours and Booktamins.
I’ve recently signed up for a few thrillers with Damp Pebbles, but I’m yet to start posting my reviews. I know that there are plenty more, but I can’t handle so much.
I heard about Blackthorn Book Tours. But the rest of these I’ll totally have to look into. Yeah you don’t want to overload yourself with too many books.