Obviously, I’m biased, but here’s the thing: I’m not wrong 😉 Nowadays, it feels like bloggers are low hanging fruit, and everyone wants a piece. I barely go a week without seeing some disparaging comment about “what even is the point of bloggers” or “who even cares about bloggers” annnd I’m here to correct those assumptions- cos as a point of fact, bloggers are underrated. Here’s why:
Endless enthusiasm for books! Whether it’s in reviews/lists/discussions, bloggers have a way of creating continuous exposure and forming intense fandoms. Blogs are the perfect place to create superfans- which is why I believe some books with strong connections to the blogosphere have the power to do so well.
Cos, frankly, blogs are a brilliant place to cultivate organic interest. It’s not just that blogs have the ability to spread a book far and wide (and oh boy they do- a few book bloggers raving can get a book to spread like wildfire), blogs also manage to make that spread feel less like hype sometimes and more like fans sharing art. Which brings me onto…
The blogosphere is a wonderful place for readers! You can get some genuine advice on what to read and rave directly with someone else has loved a book. Feedback is super easy to get and real conversation is up for grabs. This is largely thanks to how interactive the blogosphere is, but also because…
The community side is so strong. I personally believe it’s one of the more intimate platforms, with a greater connection to other readers and more meaningful engagement. This isn’t to disparage any other platform, cos everywhere has it’s “casual viewers”, but the format of a blog does lend itself really well to communication. And, even better, as we all like to point out regularly, this is one of the friendliest places on the internet. What’s so wonderful about blogging is how friendly everyone is- and this makes a huge difference. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it makes the reading experience so much more pleasurable (and, c’mon, it’s reading, it was already pretty darn awesome!!)
Blogging also helps us writerly types to develop our craft further. Since we’re all lovers of the written word here, it stands to reason we’d enjoy reading other people’s posts and learning that way- PLUS we also get to improve our own skills every time we post. Really, it’s a win all round!!
And lastly, blogging is addictive! You’d probably have to prise our blogs from our cold dead hands 😉 Which doesn’t necessarily sound like a good thing, buuut having a blog quickly becomes a way of life. We put so much love and effort into our internet space- and that real commitment is why the blogosphere such a wonderful place to be!
In short, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it 😉 So do you agree? Are bloggers underrated? Let me know in the comments!
Oh my, low hanging fruit. Got the Tenacious D song of the same name stuck in my head now and it is filthy.😂
Great post, totally agree on all points.
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hehehe!!
Thank you so much!!
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COMPLETELY! 🙂
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Thank you!!
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Hear, Hear!!!
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I agree
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Thank you!
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😀
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I love this! Needed to read this today. There are times where I feel bloggers are underappreciated. And you are so right about blogging be addictive. I can’t imagine not doing it now!
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Thank you! I really agree!! Me too!!
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Great post! I don’t know that I totally agree with you for *one* little reason: non-bloggers don’t really read blogs anymore. We’re powerful within this community, but it’s a small community and the outside world doesn’t care one little bit about what we think.
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Thank you! That’s fine, I can understand that- and that’s where I see where that perspective is coming from- I just have a slightly different view about some of the things they say (even in terms of marketing and reach). Plus, my main contention is that there’s no need to disparage other people’s hobbies (which is why I’m skirting around some of the marketing questions and leaving it at every platform has problems). And I’m not under any illusion that most people care what I/we think 😉 But I think there is still huge scope within the community (especially since it’s made up of a lot of avid readers). I hope that reply made sense!
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It does! And I will also conceded that this community is SO MUCH BIGGER than I could ever have imagined prior to becoming a part of it. Like, I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that THIS MANY PEOPLE are still writing and reading blogs. When I got into it I just wanted a place to put my thoughts, I had no idea there was going to be a whole community. So glad i was wrong. 🙂
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We are so underrated. I get most of my book recs from here in the blogosphere. When a blogger is enthusiastic about a book, it makes me really want to pick it up.
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Yeah I know exactly what you mean!
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Very well said!
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Thank you!
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Totally 100 Percent agree with you. Amazing post 🌼
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Thank you!
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Totally hundred percent agree with you book bloggers are amazing and deserve more love you🌼 great post !
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Agree! Thank you!
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yes. But blogging is something real and personal and meaningful. At least blogosphere is not full of just ads and hate speech and negative like facebook and insta or other sites
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I really have to wonder about the people who disparage bloggers. Are they the kind of people who have stuck to devilreads and never had a bad experience? Do they only read 1 book a month and so have no need of further input to fuel the voracious appetite that the majority of bloggers have? Or, and this is what I think, are they just self-entitled twats who can’t actually contribute anything to life if it takes longer than 5 seconds? People in that last category, I like to help them across the street. Just as a bus is coming…
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hehe well I can’t speak for the people on devilreads (I only use it for the massive database 😉 I don’t actually know what people think on there) but I see it on *so many* other platforms (my working theory is that they just don’t understand it and if they did they’d love it too- but maybe I’m being too kind 😉 ). hahhahaa!!
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Well, when you become Queen Monkey of the Fairies, after doling out all the magical bananas maybe you could address that issue 😉
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hahahaha!!
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Blogs are definetly underrated it’s so difficult trying to get followers as well.
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Yeah I get what you mean
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Bloggers are awesome!
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YES!!!
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I love the whole blogging experience
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So underrated! Lol
And it’s so great when after interacting you find ppl whose bookish likes and dislikes often match your own… it’s a great way to get ideas for your next favourite read 😊
And yeah… blogging has certainly helped me dust off the writing pencil!
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In a scholarship interview recently I was asked what sort of books I liked and thanks to being a blogger, I knew exactly what to say! I love writing about books and sharing it 🙂
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Great post! I completely agree! Blogging is the best.
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Thank you! Glad you agree!
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yoooooo you are completely right! Nobody ever talks about blogs, and when they do, it’s usually something negative. Blogs are a great way to connect with people. Great post!
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So glad you agree! And yeah totally! Thank you!
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Agree … mine, which never really hit the big time, did get prized from my cold dead hands … sigh … but I’m working on bringing it back. It is big fun, though, even if I am only writing to myself most of the time!!! Love your posts … keep ’em coming!!!
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Ah well that’s great you’re working to bring it back! I’ve definitely had to press pause on the blog before, so I do relate. But like you said, it’s so much fun! Thank you so much!!
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I agree! I’ve found so many good books from different bloggers/reviewers (and I don’t seem to pick up as many recommendations from traditional review sources like newspapers). I’m still working on the community part – I think the demise of GFC cut me off from the rest of the book blogging world for a while :p But at least wordpress is excellent in this regard!
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Really glad you agree! I totally get what you mean. Ah I can understand that, but yeah WP is really good on that score.
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If there’s negativity, it’s probably from those who haven’t really tried blogging or didn’t do their best to make their blogs blossom!
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I’m quite possessive of my blog 😉 I think blogging is all the things you mentioned and more, but – as in all human endeavors – there are also some downsides to it 😉 some blogs don’t seem as much a product of selfless love, but rather like crafty ways of making money through misleading 😉
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hehe I totally relate 😉 Yeah I get what you mean- and yeah I do see that for sure- you make a good point!
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Sadly, it’s true.
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Yeah
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Love my blogging buddies so I absolutely agree!
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The only readers that are left are the writers.
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Agree! Bloggers provide free press and help stories reach a wider audience (even if we seem like a niche community)! Most of the books I read now were recommendations from blog posts, and I probably would have never thought to read them if it weren’t for a blogger with persuasive writing. We do good work 😂.
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Back in May 2007 a critic named Richard Schickel published an op-ed called “Not everybody’s a critic” that was a scathing attack on bloggers. It was eloquent and literate but also unnecessarily sarcastic and really only useful as an example of the strawman fallacy. According to Schickel criticism “is, or should be, an elite enterprise, ideally undertaken by individuals who bring something to the party beyond their hasty, instinctive opinions of a book”.
That’s a fine idea but his assumption that all bloggers are incapable of being such individuals, and his further belief that bloggers are unfamiliar with Sainte-Beuve or that they’re unquestionably lesser writers than Orwell or Edmund Wilson, seems even more ridiculous now than it did back then. I don’t need to go any further than this very blog to find thoughtful, insightful criticism.
It’s only toward the end of his screed that Schickel gets to his real raison d’etre: he’s concerned about the decline of print journalism. He paraphrases Dr Johnson, badly, with the claim that “the act of writing for print, with its implication of permanence, concentrates the mind most wonderfully.” The irony is that Schickel’s words only last, and were made widely available at the time they were first published, thanks to the internet.
Some of us hope and write with the hope that our words will last; for some of us it’s the message rather than the medium that matters.
So, my short answer, and with apologies for the length, is, yes, bloggers are underrated–still. Hopefully, though, the assumption that “blog” must automatically equal bad writing is one we can put behind us.
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YES!!! Blogging is fabulous. I love the book blogging community on WordPress especially, and I’m so grateful for the lovely, friendly people I’ve met so far – and the amazing books they’ve recommended! I especially love your point about blogging being a way for us to hone our writing skills. The best ways to get better at writing are to read and write! ❤
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I know that I’ve learned a huge amount from other bloggers, but I suspect that we undervalue ourselves far too much too… I keep catching myself, when asked about my writing and interests, waving my blogging away with dismissive comments about how ‘it’s just a bit of fun’ when actually I’ve found blogging to be incredibly formative in my development as a writer and reader. I imagine I’m not the only one either!
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You tell um!! I 100% agree with everything you said. I’ve been fortunate enough that I have come across all of these negative Nancy’s but I am all the time seeing people I follow talking about stuff like this happening.
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I wholeheartedly approve of this blog and your post!!!
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I totally get why some publishers are sniffy about giving bloggers review copies… I mean, people like me… We don’t have that much influence! I don’t tens of thousands of followers… But I definitely think people underestimate the value of the book blogger community. And I agree with allll your reasons why 🙂 plus, love your Sword in the Stone gif :p obviously…
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It IS so friendly in the blogosphere! Much friendlier than any other social media type of place, I think. I thoroughly enjoy being part of this community, and never once have I had a “ugh whyyy” moment. Plus, I’ve found that I’ve been able to cultivate my reading a little better. Books I may have ignored previously, I’ve been swayed by reviews and ended up loving. And books I’ve seen hyped so much elsewhere, I can find honest breakdowns and make educated decisions rather than just buying into the hype. It creates a lot more effective reading!
Thank you for sharing this!
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Yeah I really agree. Yeah me too! And absolutely agree there!! And I really get what you mean about finding undiscovered gems and also getting the low down on some hyped books. I find it really helpful too!
Thanks for reading!
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I love this post SO much! There are so many books I’ve discovered thanks to the community and I would never have heard of them if it weren’t for these bloggers shouting about all of these books. The community is brilliant and I love it ahh ❤ ❤
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Thank you!! I really agree with you! I feel the exact same way as well!! 😀 ❤ ❤
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This is such a lovely post! I love this community so much ❤️
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Thank you so much!! I’m really glad you liked it and me too 😊❤
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Ho hum, what fool has been saying that there are no point to bloggers? Heck, they’re the majority building up hype for new releases and pumping out reviews so the public can know about ’em, so I can’t believe you’ve come across such idiotic comments. (Were they on Twitter? lol)
But yes, excellent points! I particularly second the one about the community. I think there’s more drama and fighting on other platforms like Youtube and Twitter, but here in the blogosphere, everyone’s pretty chill. I think perhaps because we’re all bloggers (and friends) and try to think about what we say first? After all, we’re creatures of habit, and crafting our own posts tends to cultivate caution in spewing thoughtless comments lol.
Lovely post! Very empowering, and way to bop those idiots on their noggins. 😉 ❤
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Unfortunately too many
I know right!! (hehe of course it happens on twitter- and elsewhere 😉 )
Thank you!! So agree with you there!! It’s the best community by far, cs like you said, everyone’s so much more chill. hehe yeah true! LOL!
Thank you so much!! I’m really glad you thought so!! 🙂 ❤
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Ooooh, don’t get me started on this again! Remember that publisher who said bloggers all thought they were really important but they had no effect on book sales? Hoo boy that invoked a Twitterstorm!
Totally agree with your lovely sunny take on this, bigging up the book blogoshphere. I’ve met loads of lovely friendly people on here and it really feels like I’m part of a community. I’ve definitely bought books based purely on the recommendations of other bloggers and I feel much more aware of the publishing world in general since starting a blog. That’s not to mention the (limited) IT skills that I’ve picked up along the way!
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Ahh yeah I remember that (it’s just sad I’d forgotten cos of so many other people doing it now
)
Thank you!! Me too and I really agree 🙂 I really agree with you there!! Oh that’s a good one and a great point!
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Definitely agree with the intimacy of the community! People here are so supportive, it makes me smile every time I log on. By the by, you have absolutely wonderful content on your blog 🙂 Your humor and love of books and willingness to stick by your own tastes are engaging as heck.
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I totally agree with you! I love blogging even though It takes lot of effort and time to maintain it. I also have bookstagram and twitter but I prefer connecting with the book community through blogs.
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Really glad you agree! Me too 🙂
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I totally agree with you ! Great post !!!
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Fantastic post. Of course I’m also biased haha. I started the review blog because I wanted to get better at writing reviews. But it’s been so much more than that. Anyone who wants to disparage bloggers doesn’t know how hard we all work behind the scenes.
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Thank you! ahh I relate! I totally agree!! So true!!
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Totally agree! Great post 😊
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🎉Bloggers ARE the best. Three cheers for Bloggers!!
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YASS GIRLLL SAYS IT LOUDER 😍😍🔊🔊!!!
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So true!! All of these reasons… especially what you said about being a platform with more meaningful engagement. I have a range of rather neglected social media accounts that sometimes lead to nice interactions or to finding a good book, but it’s not the same as the blogging community (I don’t even count myself a particularly dedicated blogger and wish I managed to keep up with more blogs – but even with what I do it’s still rewarding). And what you said about being good for readers is so true too. A reading buddy once asked me where I find all these great new books to suggest we read, and the answer was the blogosphere 🙂
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Great post about blogging. Totally agree. I have tried to explain about book blogging to my friends. They don’t get it. I just think about all they’re missed. Some only read one or two books a year. ❤️❤️
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Thank you!! hehehe I completely get what you mean! Ahh the horror 😉 ❤ ❤
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Blogging is definitely underrated! Which is weird because it truly is the best social media platform there is! I started on instagram last week and can’t stop comparing it to blogging – where the latter is like having a real conversation at times, IG is even less than small talk.
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Really agree with you there!! Oh gosh I really get what you mean! I compare everything to blogging and I love the chatting- that’s such a good point!
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Totally agree! Xx
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Thank you! xx
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I love your post sooo much! ❤ The blogging community is simply wonderful! 😀
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Thank you so much!! ❤ Really agree!
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