Saturday, August 1, 2020

Five Years Ago...

Hey Bookworms! So Five years ago while I had finished my first year of College, I had become more and more in love with reading. You see, my love didn't really start until the end of grade 8, but as the years and summers progressed, I found myself completely devouring a book a day and living all these lives withing the pages of these books!



Then going into College, I realized that I didn't really have a large group of friends who LOVED reading as much as I did. When I signed up for Goodreads all those years ago, I entered one of many giveaways they host and ended up winning a signed copy of Jason's Princess by Elise Manion and just was amazed by indie publishing and indie authors. I felt like word of mouth wouldn't get far to share how much I loved this book, so one late night going through a bunch of different names that might work, The Graduated Bookworm Blogger was born.

The idea behind the name is that we all have graduating moments. Whether it's school, work, life, we all have moments that change us in some way or another and when we read, it can be the same.

So what has five years brought me?

Five years of Blogging and Bookstagramming has brought me SO many incredible things. I've met the most amazing influencers, creators, shop owners, bloggers, authors and friends from around the world who share the same interests as I do.

seth meyers lol GIF by Late Night with Seth MeyersI've been given the chance to work with some amazing companies and publishing houses that I'll forever be grateful for! It's also given me more of an insight into what I really want to be doing with my career and the future ahead.

I've collaborated with some awesome people, had Book clubs, read-a-thons, started my own Etsy Shop twice, and even had the courage to finally finish my first novel and hit publish! And I'm constantly learning new things every single day...

I also have had the opportunity to interview authors both in person and online, go to book signings and meet authors face to face as well as travel and explore more than I have before!

What can I share with someone wanting to start out?

I'm sure you've heard it everywhere, but just be yourself! By posting the way you like, with the edits you love, that's all that matters! As long as you love what you're posting, the rest will come. I know (even myself sometimes) we get caught up with the amount of likes and follows and you know what, I'll be honest... it does matter when it comes to being an influencer or business. It matters as an influencer because the more followers, the bigger "the payout" but realistically how many of those followers are natural, and how many people actually interact with them? It matters as a business, because they want to be known, they want people to see what they have to offer. 

When you've got a smaller following, yes it may seem like you're "not enough", but if you talk with half of those people, THAT is way more fulfilling than just a number or verification icon... A lot of people don't like talking about this because it seems taboo to some, but this is reality. How many of these celebrity influencers that people instantly buy from when they create a product, started out exactly like you and me...They just did the exact same thing by posting what they love, it's no secret.

Do You Yes GIF by Rachael Ray ShowPeople will also try to sell you on classes "To be better at xyz" because of ads and algorithms and all the stuff that changes all the time, but you just gotta go with the flow! Be yourself because there is nothing better than that. Trying to copy someone else won't make you feel any better, and at the end of the day, you want to love what you do, right?


Where do I see myself in another five years?

You know what... I really couldn't tell you! 2020 alone was definitely not something ANYONE expected their year to be! Of course I'm going to continue my blogging and bookstagram as long as I can go with it and get to meet more awesome people out there!

Of course I do see that my forever insane TBR piles will most likely be the same in five years!🤣🤣 I do hope that I'll finally be able to publish more of my books for the world to read, and if I'm lucky, it could be a full time gig! (Fingers crossed!)

Anyway, that's all I really have for today. I still can't believe it's already been five years of doing something that I love so much, and I certainly cannot wait for more years to come!

Did somebody say GIVEAWAY?
That's right! I'm giving away these items below to ONE lucky winner!

GIVEAWAY ITEMS:
~ A copy of Simon v.s The Homo Sapiens Agenda
~ A copy of The Boyfriend Project
~ A copy of The Trouble With Hating You
~ A copy of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
~ A reusable tote bag
~ A Dayna Lee Collection Journal
~ An item from The 95 Collective

a Rafflecopter giveaway
So until the next time, Keep Reading!
Your Graduated Bookworm!! :)

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