Up and Coming: November

I was going to apologise for the gap in posting. Then realised I don’t need to apologise: it was what I needed.

I love blogging. I love reviewing. Diving into a new adventure, then sharing my thoughts, still gives me a thrill even after a few years of doing it. I’ve had the pleasure of discovering new authors who have quickly become favourites thanks to access to novels I wouldn’t have otherwise heard of. I’ve had the thrill of comments saying they would check out a book because of my review.

I’ve seen the blog really grow this year, which is why I put off having a break for so long. I’ve really got to grips with the community and promoting my own work.

But I reached a point that it wasn’t sustainable. Everything felt like a rush as I raced to get reviews up on time. I wasn’t commenting as much as I wanted, I was missing self-determined promotion slots because I was too tired to put the effort it.

It turns out I was anaemic with low vitamin levels. No wonder I was exhausted! It explained a lot: my lack of inspiration; my lack of commitment; my lack of enthusiasm in everything I was doing. I decided to take the break as a chance to recharge, to get some posts written and scheduled.

Not all my reasons were so negative though. There have been a lot of fantastic books released in the last couple of months, and a lot of them are sequels or final instalments in trilogies I’ve been following for a couple of years. I wanted to re-read the first books before indulging in the new additions. There simply wasn’t enough time to slot these books in as well as keeping to my review schedule.

Photo by Gregory Culmer on Unsplash

When you realise you can’t read what you want because of running a blog, that’s when you realise you need to change a few things. So, I’ve paused on posting for a couple of months, allowing myself to not only catch up, but get some reading done for me rather than for the blog.

It’s harder than I thought it would be finding my productivity again after a few months of really struggling. I somehow turned into a last-minute panic type of person rather than the organised one that I’d always been, and I didn’t like how that was making me feel about myself.

But I’ve had a breather and I’ve spent a lot of time reading over the last couple of months. Having some posts scheduled takes off the pressure for a little while and I can really focus on the parts that I love again.

The end of the year is fast approaching, and I’m adamant I’m going to finish it on a high. That involves getting myself organised, getting myself sorted, and admitting that it’s okay to have a break now and again if needed.

I hope you’ve stuck with me, and enjoy what is scheduled to come.

Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Bloglovin’