As some of you might have noticed there was a 17-day break between the two recent posts. Thatโs the longest since the beginning of the blog. So, I think Iโve officially been to and returned from my first blogging slump.
Whatโs a blogging slump?
A slump is a slowdown in an activity. I always imagined a blogging slump to be that cosy, lazy process when you simply donโt want to focus on your blog and choose to focus on something else. Turns out, itโs not always true. I simply had to do other things, but I was really missing my blog and the community. So hi guys, how are you?
The other end of the tunnel
Now when Iโm back I thought Iโd turn this experience into a positive one summing up those things I noticed while trying to return. I’ll also ask you some questions and if you want to reply to any of them, please, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. My hope is that both the post and the comments will be helpful to other people who are going through similar situations.
Here is how it was for me
I dreaded returning to a project that remained untouched for so long
I think it was one of the main obstacles that kept me away for longer. I felt as if I’d been neglecting a hungry monster and it could now eat me up when I’d finally turn up at the doors. Luckily, it was a mistake. No monsters behind the doors, just dear old blog and lots of familiar people in the comments and Twitter replies. ๐
Replying to comments and messages
This has been my main priority because it’s the people I’m here for. They did help me get back on track.
Something super exciting happened while I was away
I’ve been featured in an article called The 19 Best Book Blogs to Read in 2019ย by Scribendi!!!
Of course, I’m over the moon about it, and it also encouraged me to come back here sooner.
My genius plan on how to avoid such long breaks in the future
I’ll try to schedule several posts ahead so that if the trouble does happen again I will be able to still stay connected with everybody while not having to spend time on writing new posts.
Questions to you
- What’s your experience with blog slumps or any other long breaks in your projects?
- Do you dread returning to a project after you have stayed away for some time?
- What is the thing you try to address first once you do return?
- Has anything exciting ever happened to the project while you were away? Did it help you return?
- Do you think thereโs a way to avoid slumps?
Hope to hear back from you! Wishing you inspiration and enough time to do what you love doing!
If you want to chat more, here’s my first post with blogsitential questions.
Happy to have you back! Haven’t had a slump yet, I’ve not been doing this long enough to have one I think ๐
I kind of feel like I’m in a bit of a slump now that I finally updated ALL the posts on my WP blog after transferring them over from Blogger. But it isn’t a slump, just slightly less work to do.
So do you mean you can finally relax after completing a huge task? True, it doesn’t sound like a slump to me, more like a well deserved rest. Did you post on why you moved? There was time I wanted to move to Blogger (but it was years ago with another blog, now look at me, back on wordpress as always).
Oh, and congrats on that feature!
Thank you! ๐
….wow, Scribendi ! and No.9 out of 19 !! in the Top Ten !
Well deserved !
Thanks! I’m so excited! That really helped me to get back because I was like, well, now I need to go back and continue making a good blog ๐ You’ve been blogging for so many years! My different blogs appeared, blossomed and went to oblivion but yours is still there, full of energy and your awesome paintings! You are an inspiration!
I have hit slumps, and it’s usually because I’m busy with other things, then I start feeling bad that I’m not posting, and then that makes me stressed about posting, so I don’t… when that’s happened, I try to remind myself that every blogger takes time off when they need to, and no one minds. Congrats on the 19 Best Blogs!
Couldn’t have said it better!
I agree, it’s a great comment ๐
Thank you very much! And thanks for stopping by. Yes, that’s exactly what happened to me. I actually didn’t know that every blogger takes time off. What I tried to remind myself is that I started doing it because it’s fun and that’s why I should return, not because it’s an obligation (because it isn’t).
It is great to have you back, Alexandra. I haven’t had a serious slump yet with my blog in its current form, but it might happen if I start struggling to publish a wide range of bookish content. ๐
Hi Stephen ๐ What do you mean by wide range, like on many different topics, or many different genres? You’ve been blogging for over a year, right? Or I might be misremembering.
Hi – I hope you are doing well! I mean many different topics. I like to post a range of bookish content and sometimes I fall short of ideas!
Welcome back!!! I noticed I hadn’t seen activity from you for awhile, and I was wondering where you’d gone to. ๐ However, I’ve also been away from my own blog for about two months — a HUGE “slump,” though mine wasn’t so much a slump as a forced break due to a medical injury. It was agony not being able to blog and use social media for blogging, but after being away from it for a little while, I did kind of get into a little slump. When I started to feel better, I was like, “Ehhh, do I really wanna go back into that chaos again?” For a day or two, I was like, NAH. Then something stirred in me, and I was concocting a plan to get my blog back in action! I’ll be posting about all that next week, when I start posting new content again. ๐
I’m glad to see you’re out coming out of your slump. The blogging life is HARD, and I’ve heard from others that at about 6-8 months in, new bloggers hit a wall. I didn’t understand how that was possible during my first few months, but at 8 months in, I definitely get it now. I’m also trying to get ahead in my work so I can take a break to recharge if I need to. Hopefully, 2019 will be the year of great creativity and no more slumps for both of us! ๐
And…OMG!! Congrats on being named a best book blog!! That is so awesome! I am so happy for you. I love your blog and how much you appreciate the beauty of books (and cats).
Hi there! Thank you so much for your lovely words. Yes, I do remember about your health situation. What a story! Was it possible for you to read after some time or no books either? Well, my slump was also caused by medical reasons but by ones of my cat (cats at some point) so I wasn’t ready at all to focus on anything else but them, and then, yes, as we both know, I was just delaying the return.
I never heard about the wall of 6-8 months. How interesting! I hit it at about this time exactly. I thought there’s just the burn-out somewhere 2-3 years into blogging, I was prepared for that, but not for this ealier wall.
I think the hardest thing about blogging (at least for me) is the feeling of responsibility. When I know there are already some readers who might be expecting my posts I feel the responsibility to post but this creates and urgency and necessity and it’s easy to start being put off my that, although I don’t know if there ever was a blogger who received and angry message from a subscriber, like, hey where is a new post? I know I didn’t :))
haha, I know what you mean. I don’t want to let readers down, but I really don’t think they minded my absence as much as I did. ๐ I felt almost guilty for about the first month of silence, but I soon realized that life goes on…and the blog and my readers will be there when I get back, most of them, at least.
I hope your kitties are doing better! My cat got sick, too, while I was also sick, and that was just awful. I get into a panic when my cat is unwell. I don’t know how parents with human children deal with the anxiety, lol. I can barely handle it when my cat is sick. He is doing better, though, thankfully! Though I think he is going to be very upset once I go back to work and am no longer home to snuggle all day, haha.
Congratulations for being featured in the list of best blogs to read in 2019! Actually, that is how I found your blog. I-m looking forward to reading more of your posts.
I’ve had a massive blogging slump for a couple of months, but hopefully, I’m getting out of it now.
Hi blogging-slump-buddy ๐ I’m still there. Let’s see if we can get out. I’m scheduling my new review and planning to write one more. How are you doing?
Well done on the award, I think the best way to avoid slumps is to adapt, change and transform constantly. ๐
Congratulations on your award, itโs the reason I found this blog by the way! ๐ Taking breaks is cool, sometimes we must just stop for a while!