After weeks of brainstorming, planning, and editing, our blog’s soft launch is here. No, there is no launch party, no long subscriber list to send a mass email to, or a social media account with thousands of followers. No, our blog is emerging quietly and cautiously. You see, we are not new to the world of book blogging, we aren’t new to the world of social media, we’ve lived alongside the internet for decades. We have seen many variations of the internet. When it first brought the promise of connecting us closer, when it became known for a way to build income and influence, the internet is forever changing, and because of it we feel oddly familiar with navigating it.
This new blog doesn’t bring with it aspirations of grandeur, of recognition from millions, or the lights and glam that influencers often bring with them. We miss the days when the internet brought a sense of exploration and recognition from its micro-communities. We love books, we love stories, we love the feeling of familiarity that comes from sharing a story with a friend. When we write ‘we’, I am referring to myself, a one-person show. For now, this blog only has one reader, but in time, I hope to bring more readers to explore, read, and share more stories. I am not interested in the glam that comes from places like Bookstagram or BookTok, I believe it can be a beautiful space, but it can easily overshadow its main purpose of sharing good books. I won’t lie and say that it wouldn’t be nice to be paid for some of the work that comes with book blogging; I’d love to be paid to read (who wouldn’t)? But I know how easy it is to lose sight of what matters, in this case, what matters to me is sharing good stories so I’ll tread carefully. My plan to monetize this blog will come from a place of necessity because it is silly to think that time isn’t limited. I will do my best to ensure my monetization strategy is as honest and transparent as I mean this blog to be.
I plan to keep this book blog focused entirely on the three categories listed: book reviews, spotlights, and essays. However, as you may or may not know, many things come up behind the scenes in the successful management of a book blog. If you are interested in following my journey as I build this blog from the ground up you can follow it by subscribing to my substack linked HERE.
We are working on creating social media accounts so please be patient.
Thank you for being here and please be patient as I begin adding new book reviews, spotlights and essays.
Talk to you soon friend.