Let's Be Honest... Who Do You Write For?

This is a post a long time in the making. Which makes sense considering I haven't written a proper, pure discussion post in a long while now, as I've been slumping pretty hard blog-wise. But every time I thought to myself "what post should I write next?" THIS is what came immediately to mind;

Who do I write for?

This blog is not very popular. In a lot of ways, perhaps in all the ways that matter as an online blog, it's not a success. I'm hesitant to say it is a "failure", but that is perhaps the most accurate description. No doubt a huge part of that is my fault, as I post irregularly at best and not at all at worst.

The facts remain that my average comment number on any given post is a huge zero and I only have about one reader who comments regularly (hey Stephanie! *waves*). It's nothing like my very first blog in 2012, where I got between three and five comments a post. I thought that was lame back there and was disappointed by it. I find that ironically hilarious.

That old blog closed because of the same thing that is happening now; irregular posting schedule, low interactive-ness, etc etc. But whereas I had so many thoughts of closing down the blog back then, of moving on, I do not have those same thoughts now.

For all the disappointment of getting no reads, and the huge slump of not reviewing many of the books I read... I've never thought about stopping reviewing books on this blog. This made me wonder... who, exactly, do I write for? What has changed since 2014?

Any reviewer who tells you they are not writing for others to read is lying. If we weren't writing for you to read it, we would do so on a personal journal that no one ever has to see. If I didn't want you to read this very post, I wouldn't have put it online where it's available to y'all.

We all wish and hope others will read and enjoy what we're putting out there. It's part of the magic of reviewing and this whole community in general. Where fandoms have fanart and fanfiction, the Bookish Fandom has reviews and discussion posts and tags.

And yet, I find myself replying to the aforementioned question with...

I am writing for myself.

Now, don't be thinking it's an altruistic desire... because it's not that at all. If anything, this is as selfish as I can possibly be. I am putting this content out there for the chance someone could enjoy it and maybe even validate me and my opinion a little bit (hey, I'm just a human), but the content itself is written for me.

Because it gives me something incredible. It gives me a shortened re-reading experience... without ever cracking the book open.

Do you have any idea how many times in the past I have encountered a book, or a movie, or an anime, or a show, that I have read/watched... and yet I can't remember anything about it? There is nothing more frustrating to me than looking at a cover or a title and drawing blanks despite knowing without a shadow of a doubt that I have spent time in this world.

It bothers me on such a personal, deep level.

But you know what happens when I have written a review on whatever it was? the words on the page trigger a slew of memories. I am suddenly able to put myself where I was when I read, what I read, what I thought, where before there was nothing. I am able to relive the emotions and have a shortened re-experience with the novel.

Be it good or bad, I am able to remember.

I love this. I love doing this and being able to recall what a book made me think and feel because of the words I put down on it in a review.

So I'm not going to stop this blog, even if I write barely five posts a month, on a good month. Because at the end of the day, while it's online so other people could read and enjoy it when I can just have a notebook for all those thoughts (although, let's be honest, at this point this blog is dead enough to be considered a personal notebook), I still write for myself. For that ability to re-read the novel through my review. And if I could maybe make some else feel emotions through this, all the better :)

Side note: if you're looking for more consistent content from me, friend or follow me on GR. There are a lot of thoughts that don't appear on this blog simply because I don't put unedited reviews on here. On GR, though, I puke all my thoughts straight after finishing a novel and then later edit them for the blog. So it's a lot more consistent, if also a lot messier.

March Round Up!

General Stuff

Oh boy, March was exhausting, and pretty low on reading. Instead, I watched some shows, read some manga and generally let myself relax because work was so hard y'all. My supervisor is off touring India (she comes back next week. Yay!) and that... put me in charge. Of a bunch of kids who don't want to work. Of making sure everything was working properly.

Lord have mercy.

Do you know how many late night phone calls I got? How many fires I had to put out? How many moments of silent panic? And between all that, interviewing for my next position!

I needed a lot of rest and a lot of not thinking when I was home (which wasn't much!) which is what I did.

And... I'm perfectly okay with it.

BTW - I got the new job! :D

MY READING MONTH

Reading? What is this reading you talk of? Haha, kidding. I read exactly three books this month and three manga (but two of them were under 16 chapters so I didn't count them really). This might sound as very little reading. That's because it is. But, I enjoyed everything else I did this month which was seeing two foreign drama and immersing myself in the YouTube and the Tumblr and going out with friends.

I still intend to bring up my count in April, just because it's been a long time since I had such a weak month. I don't plan to bring it back up to 14 a month minimum (yes, that's how it used to be lol) but five a month sounds doable :)

POSTS

REVIEWS

 Wow I forgot how many reviews I had up this month :O

Thank you so much for sticking with me in March, and here's to hoping you'll come again in April :)

February Round Up!

General Stuff

February was kind of a busy month. On the one hand, I can barely remember what I did; on the other, I have the embedded impression of a lot. I feel like I never got any time for myself and my interests, always running from one social event to the other. It was exhausting. I'm kind of an introvert; too much social encounters makes me feel drained to my core. 

As for the blog, I was greatly disappointed this month. I'm not going to lie; this blog effects my general mood. I don't care about views too much (because I've come to realize views hardly translate to discussion and what I'm looking for here is discussions), but I posted some of those posts I'm really proud of or really excited about such as my Harry Potter post or my bookish story or my Hush, Hush rant extravaganza and not many people read/commented on them.

This makes me think - are these not the type of posts that interests you guys? Should I change their format? What do you think? 

MY READING MONTH

Has been pretty crappy. I was in a book slump from the middle of January to the middle of February which sucked up my reading schedule big time. I've read 7 book in February and finished three manga, all of whom will be reviewed on the blog at some point. But I felt like I read nothing at all. It was depressing! 7 books is not a bad number (though I'm used to reading 15 books a month, which hasn't happened for Jan or Feb!) but it felt like nothing at all. Gah! 

AND NOW, IN CASE YOU MISSED MY AWESOME POSTS THIS MONTH (*wink wink*)

POSTS

REVIEWS

What to Expect When You're Expecting... a New Blog

Thank you for coming back if you've already been here before, and hello there if you've not!

This time I would like to tell you what you can expect to see on this blog, in order to help you decide whether you'd like to stick with me or not (I hope you'll choose the first)

Starting with what I'd like to get out of the way first:

#1: Recycling Old Content 

Yes, that's right. For some people, reusing old content is a big no-no, but I don't agree with that outlook. My old content is not something to be forgotten and ignored, or be embarrassed by. I love and I'm proud of all of it.

And... I kinda want all my stuff to be in one place.

I love revisiting old reviews and giving them a face lift, rewriting them to fit my current style and the reviewer I have become. I love bringing up old discussions and seeing new ideas and answers to them. I love tracing back to my origins.

But don't worry, none of the old content is just going to be copy-paste. All of it will be re-edited, so in a way it will also be new and shiny.

And I promise - no more than two "recycled" posts a week! That way there will be a good balance between the old and the new.

You can easily recognize the recycled content by looking for this Oldie hashtag on a post. If you don't, it means it's new and original content. 

#2 Bookish Reviews, Tags, Special Features and Discussions 

Obviously, as a blog mostly about books, there are going to be book reviews and book discussions. A lot of them, actually, in all genres and age ranges.

here are going to be young adult, new adult, adult and occasionally even middle grade. There are going to be fantasies, contemporaries, mysteries, historicals and occasionally sci-fi.

There is going to be something of everything!

And when I'm not doing either of those two, you can expect me to do bookish tags (mostly without being tagged 'cause I almost never am lol) or special features. Some more well known, some unique to Afterwords! 

#3: Posts About My Life 

In my other blogs, I always felt... guilty... when writing about my life. I had defined them solely as "book blogs", and therefore anything that wasn't about books seemed to me out of place. It wasn't something my readers came for, after all.

But not with Afterwords.

This blog is for everything I want to talk about. If something big happened in my life - I might talk about it. If something political happened that I want to bring up - I'm going to do it without shame. If there is a celebrity I want to shamelessly fangirl over or publicize because they kind of saved my life by existing... you are going to hear about it. Loudly.

So be warned: this isn't always going to be about books.

#4: Bargains

One of my favorite things on the internet is finding BOOK BARGAINS. I mean, seriously, is there a better feeling than finding a book you've been lusting after at a discount price on amazon / The Book Depository? I dare you to think of one.

So, more often than not I go on deal-searching rampages, and I will share the fruits of those with you guys.

You can thank me later--or sue me for contributing to your bankruptcy. whatever.

#5: Everything I love - Including TV, Movies, Music, Manga and Anime

Same as shamelessly talking about my life when I need it, I'm also going to do the same with everything I love. I'm going to review shows, movies, anime and manga. If there is anything I feel like gushing about--or ranting about--I'm going to do it.

I'm going to recommend my favorite artists, my favorite shows, my favorite anything. I'm going to make this a place where I'm comfortable discussing everything freely.

I am going to make this my home.

So if you'd like to sit down with me around the table or something like that, stick around. Everyone's welcome for as long as you want to be here. Like an open house of something. The door's always opened, and you don't even have to knock.