Sunday, April 21, 2013

That's What Chey Said: Feeling Inadequate

If you saw my exciting news this week, you found out that I was contacted by HarperTeen to join them as the “official live blogger” for the Dark Days of Summer tour stop for Milwaukee!  This means that I will get to interview some amazing authors, tweet all of the happenings so my followers can get a glimpse of the event, take pictures and post about the night on my blog!  After I got the request, I couldn't stop shaking.  What?  You want ME?  Compared to the other bloggers who were chosen, I feel like a nobody…even sometimes inadequate.


I’m sure most bloggers feel like this, because we all have to work our way up from the bottom and sometimes that takes a long time.  Whenever I check my email, I’m still shocked that I receive review requests, even though I have been for well over a year now.  I don’t feel as though I have a large following, even though the numbers say the opposite.  I've never stopped being grateful for those of you who do read my blog on a regular basis, because I realize how much time it takes just to scroll through your blog feed, let alone read each post that interests you. 

I’m very confident in the things that I love to do, it just surprises me whenever I get acknowledged and it makes me realize how lucky I actually am to be noticed out of the hundreds of book bloggers that are popping up every day.

Obviously if I have returning visitors, a constant flow of new followers, and publishers or authors investing in my thoughts, I must be valued...but sometimes I feel like I just can’t compare.  Many of us hear the phrase “quality over quantity” quite often.  It’s easy to forget that when you’re scheduling posts, since most of us need to post at least every other day in order to maintain a successful blog.  What else is crucial to maintain a successful book review blog?  Reading!  Some of you are reading machines and more often than not, I feel like I can’t keep up! 


Finally, unlike some others, I tend to procrastinate and leave my posts unwritten until at least a half hour before it goes live.  This doesn't always work out in my favor, because occasionally (especially lately) by the time I plan to type and post, I get distracted and end up pushing it back a day.  I often look at all of the bloggers I follow and think, “Wow, how did they get to be so creative/ awesome/ incredible/ witty?  Where do they find the time in their busy lives, and what do I have to do to be like them?” 

Can you relate to this feeling as a blogger, reader, or human being in general?

5 comments:

  1. I do this all the time!! And then I feel bad about feeling bad! Does that make sense? Congrats on your news! I am very happy for you.
    I have this quirky thing I do whenever I do a review: I always write it by hand in a really pretty notebook and then I type it up late at night. I know I am weird but it works for me.
    Again, Congrats and I can't wait to see all the goodness from it! I love your blog too!
    Amy@Read to My Heart's Content
    www.readtomyhearts.blogspot.com

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  2. CHEY! Congrats, this is awesome news! SO jealous.

    I agree with all you have said and I am the same way. I procrastinate way too much, even leaving my reading to get done the day before...like a whole book the day before a tour post :/

    I work full time and teach at night...and run my blog, so I really do get into slumps. I feel like sometimes I schedule myself too thin..but I love all the things I do, so I keep truckin :)

    It is hard to think that we bloggers are valued, I think it depends on the day... some days are better than others but really I am doing it all for myself and it is just an added bonus that others enjoy my ramblings too.

    <3 Congrats again, can't wait to see what comes..

    Steph @ Cover2CoverBlog.blogspot.com

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  3. Great post! You put into words exactly what I felt like just minutes ago when I rushed up to somehow, in a way, get the review done I'd planned for today ;) I especially like the term "reading machines". There was a time when I read a solid 12 books in a month and I was actually proud of it (still am), but there are people with over 20 books! I think it's amazing what some people do for their blog (and for their reading hobby in general), but I think everyone has their very own and unique ways of reading and blogging and keeping up...the only thing that bothers me a lot is all the amazing sounding novels I still want to read and that I see everywhere - and knowing I'll probably never be able to read only half of them :/

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  4. Congrats, what an honor to work with HarperTeen ! I can't wait to see your coverage.

    I feel so lazy compared to most bloggers and it seems like everyone likes to read more than I do. I have been really failing in how many books I've read, I think I only read maybe 10 or 12 so far this year.

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  5. Ugh, yes, I swear I feel this every day. At least a few times a week I wonder WHY I'm blogging. I feel that way about other things too. I get in funks :/

    Congrats again on the awesome news!

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