The Infamous Book Blogging Slump

Monday, April 1, 2013 9:00 AM
Every so often, I fall into a deep and dark book blogging slump. It comes without warning. Suddenly, I have no desire to write a single book review and no book can capture my interest, no matter the genre or length. I'm listless, frustrated, and can't even find the motivation to write a meme post. I feel like a lazy bum...

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I'm sure we've all been there. What bothers me the most is that I'm never entirely sure why this happens. For me personally, I think the book blogger slump hits whenever this blog starts to feel like work instead of a beloved pastime. I started Courtney Reads A Lot because I love to read and I wanted to share my thoughts and recommend books to others. I actually enjoy writing these reviews and meeting new bloggers and discussing our various opinions. But, sometimes, the pressure to read faster and write reviews quickly is just too much, and unfortunately, that makes me reluctant to either blog or read. If I plan a strict schedule of blog posts and reading, it sucks all the joy out of blogging. I place so much emphasis on reading this book by this date that I lose sight of why I really started this blog.

Whenever I feel a blogging slump come on, that's my cue to take a little breather. I know I need to step back and relax, and maybe even take a tiny break from my blog. Sometimes, I stress myself out so much that the best thing to do is anything but blogging. And then I return to my blog only when I feel a little more levelheaded.

So what about you guys? Do you suffer from the same problem? What helps you out of a book blogger slump? Any suggestions?



12 comments:

  1. Great post! I know exactly what you mean - sometimes my 'slumps' can last weeks! But I found that if I just step away from the blogging world and goodreads and just read what I want to read for a few days it'll blow over. Love your blog!

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    1. Thank you so much! And yes, reading what I want to read instead of what I feel I should read always helps! :)

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  2. This happens to me from time to time. Good luck sweetie. I'm here for you.

    What works for me?
    A genre change usually.

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    1. Thanks that means a lot :) and good idea. I should try that.

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  3. Girl, this is nothing! I'm just getting out of a book blogging slump that lasted MONTHS! <= Embarrassing, I know! During that time, I didn't blog, read, or even get on blogger! But i'm just now getting back into the swing of things and it feels good to be back because I do really miss it! Sometimes, you do need to step back and get that breather :) (But you probably shouldn't take months like I did lol)
    Shae @ Understanding Shae's Story

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    1. Awwww I'm sorry about that. I'm glad you're back on your blog! I know what you mean. I love that break but I always miss blogging and it's a relief coming back to it.

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  4. Don't stress so much, your blog is awesome! And lol, I love that gif :)

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    1. Awwwww thanks Mary. And yeah, I couldn't resist putting that in :P

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  5. Everyone needs a break now and then. :) I have yet to hit a bad slump, but there are times when I just sit down and I realize I just need like a day away from blogging altogether. Sometimes it can get stressful with having to read so many books by certain days. It is a really awesome hobby, but I know what you mean about hitting a slump. Good luck!

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    1. Thank you Kay! I think I just put too much pressure on myself instead of just having fun like I should. I'm glad you haven't hit a rough spot in your blogging yet, and I hope it remains that way. :)

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  6. At the end of last year I found blogging to start stressing me out as well as realising I spent more time blogging than going out with my friends. I mean sometimes I even preferred to stay in and work on writing posts rather than going out... That's when I realised I was going to let blogging take over my life. And I'm not getting paid for it.

    So I decided to take a step back. I actually decided to only post one post a week so I had time to focus on living my life instead of procrastinating online.. I found things slowed down drastically and I probably lost a tonne of readers. But I needed to do what I needed to do.

    But now that it's almost winter here in New Zealand I suddenly find I'm spending more time indoors which then leads me to blogging more. After a three month break of only posting one post I've started to get organized again. But I'm putting limits on myself. I'm not going to put blogging before my real social life and if there's work to be done I will do that instead of blogging.

    I definitely feel like this is going to make things slower than they were last year (Not including the break) but I want to live a social life too.

    Miss J @ Miss Book Reviews

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    1. That's understandable. If I was still at college, I doubt I would be blogging as much as I do because I would need to socialize and get out and do stuff. But at home, things are definitely slower so I have more time for blogging and I feel less guilty about it. I'm glad you are finding a balance between blogging and your social life. I know it can be tough and I wish you the best of luck with that. :D

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