Let’s Talk Bookish: Evolution of Book Blogging

I’m back this Friday participating in another Let’s Talk Bookish post, as always hosted by the amazing Rukky @ Eternity Books and awesome Dani @ The Literary Lion! For this week, our topic is: Evolution of Book Blogging, recommended by Hasini @ The Bibliosini!

Let’s discuss!

Evolution of Book Blogging

Since I’ve started to become a fan of sharing the questions that are posed to help craft my answers, here’s this week’s prompts: How long have you been blogging, and how has the book blogging community changed since you started? Do you think it’s been a positive or negative change? What do you think the future of blogging will be? Would you want to keep blogging even if blogging becomes very “old school” and isn’t really done anymore?

So, let’s dive a bit into the evolution of book blogging! Specifically, I want to look at: what book blogging was like when I started, where it is now and what I hope the evolution of book blogging to be.

Book Blogging Then

So, I first started blogging back in 2012 (💀). It was a mishmash of super personal posts and random thoughts. Book blogging wasn’t even on my radar yet. I’m not quite sure when I made the switch to book blogging (or, at least, incorporating book blogging elements into this personal blog, since I don’t stick with just one element). So, I won’t lie: it’s a bit hard to remember what it was like when I first started.

I will say that it felt intimidating. I felt like a kid who knew nothing, had no connections and was surrounded by a lot of powerhouse bloggers. These were creators who had gorgeous layouts, read often (and diversely) and got tons of traffic and connections. It was also something that felt like it had power. I started reading new books thanks to connections I made and posts I read. To me, it felt like an amazing community wit the power to move mountains–one I didn’t deserve to be in, only because I didn’t know how.

Now? Well, some of that has remained, while much of it has changed.

Book Blogging Now

While I can’t give you a specific number of years I’ve been a book blogger, it has been years. And I think part of my mindset has shifted around to what I believe book blogging is now because of that experience. To me, book blogging is a very personal experience. It’s tied to who I am as a person. Many of the inadequacies and comparison traps I fell into when I first started aren’t as relevant anymore.

And not because I suddenly have confidence, mind. 😅 I learned to trust my voice, continued to cultivate and create a space I’m proud of and created genuine friendships and connections–all of which have allowed me to quiet the comparison voices, even if to just background noise.

So, part of the evolution of book blogging, for me, is tied to the evolution of myself and this space. Yet, I think it’s also important to point out a few other things:

• Book blogging isn’t alone anymore: with the rise of other social media platforms, like BookTube, Bookstagram and BookTok, the art of book blogging has become underappreciated and undervalued.
• Publishing doesn’t value book bloggers as they should: In the vein above, we’ve also seen publishers value creators on other social media platforms in ways they aren’t valuing bloggers anymore (and sometimes never did). Which ties into:
• Creators deserve to be paid for their work: book blogging is work. It takes a lot of skill, time and effort. If a book blogger wants to be paid for the work they do and the partnerships they form with authors, publicists, publishing houses or brands, they should be.

What I Want the Evolution of Book Blogging to Be

Now, in terms of the evolution of book blogging, from what it looks like when I started to where it is now, I don’t think it’s all necessarily bad. I’m still discovering new book blogs every week that I fall in love with. While I do see it being underappreciated, I don’t think it’s truly dying. And, as long as there are people willing to read my content, I’ll probably continue writing on this blog. I can’t truly imagine a point where book blogging died off completely (and I don’t want to).

For me, the future of book blogging looks:

• Accessible for all who want to partake
• Inclusive to everyone who creates, consumes, promotes and partners
• Diverse in all forms, from the creators who blog to the content they blog about to the creators they support
• Appreciated by all parties, but especially publishing at large
• Paid opportunities on the regular

That isn’t to say these elements aren’t already included, in some way, shape or form. Much of it is already present within the community! But, all areas could continue to improve and grow, which is what I want the evolution of book blogging to be.

In Sum

Okay, Hasini brought us an incredible topic today. I had a lot of fun writing about it. Of course, my favorite part about writing bookish discussion posts (and participating in Let’s Talk Bookish) is interacting with your thoughts!

So, I’m curious to hear from you all. What do you think about the evolution of book blogging? Has has it changed since you started? Where do you want it to go? Let me know in the comments!