How To Name a Blog

I don't know about you, but I have a really hard time naming things. I tend to go toward names that are really long and I love them because they're like sentences, which was how I came up with the name of my first blog - Drugs Called Books.

But these type of names also tend to be clumsy and a bit tedious after time. For this blog, I wanted something simpler. Something that will have this punch and would convey everything I want to say about the blog in one simple word.

And for the longest time, I actually wanted to call it THE UNDERWORD. 

You know, like what's under the words? A world for what you can find between the words, of my opinions, of what I truly think. And this just stuck with me. So when I started working with Amanda, the amazing designer for the blog, I told her about this name.

I was really excited for it, too.

But then Amanda asked me some questions. Really important ones.

"If you've got a Pinterest account, making a private board that you can store inspiration onto would be fantastic. When I say inspiration, I mean just anything you like the look of, pin it and collect images that make you feel the things you want to feel about your blog - happy, positive, motivated - just images that you like really...

Choose 7-10 words you want to use to describe your new blog. They could be anything, like: personal, comforting, delicate, bold, powerful, inspiring - just words that you feel would fit your future blog.

Other small things (although important) would be a name [it might be worth brainstorming what you want this new blog to be, thinking of the type of content you want it to have and working that way, I can help with that if you want/need it] so I can practice and play around with different looks.... 

Those things ended up making me understand The Underword was just not the right name for this blog.

First, I started with a Pinterest board for it because, let's be honest, it's just great fun so why the heck not?

As you can see, most of the images I added to this board were dark and going toward the deep blue. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, expect that I realized that this type of feel was, essentially, fantasy. Same as The Underword, with it's obvious Underworld connotation, is very darkly fantastical. 

And I love fantasy... but thinking about the words I wanted to represent my blog, and what I wanted it to be, Amanda's two other requests from me, it just didn't match. Because the words I came up with were personal, versified, inspiring, positive, free style and safe harbor.

I want this blog to be my home away from home, my place to talk about everything and nothing at all - ordinary things that have nothing to do with books, opinions I can't let out anywhere else, inspirations and aggravations and yes, books. Because that's just one of my favorite things in the world. But I don't read just fantasy, either.

I didn't want to limit my blog to something fantastical. And while I loved my original idea of it - of the Underword as this magical place underneath seemingly ordinary stuff, hiding underneath the regular world, no none can deny The Underworld (and by associations The Underword) is dark and gritty, even if what's underneath words and what words create is everything and anything at all.

That's not what this blog is about.

This blog is something open and free and real. 

You can ask Amanda how truly hard it was for me to discard this name. I literally told her I was set on the Underword about a dozen different times, told her this was the name I saw my future blog having in my head, that this is what stuck.

And then one day, I came to her and told her I was going with Afterwords instead.

Simple as that.

Afterwords has a very definitive connotation to reading. But it doesn't have to be - Afterwords are literally words that come after something, which is exactly what I'm doing in this blog. After I read something, watch a show, be in a certain situation, I come here to talk about it.

So those are my words, after the fact. 

Why U No Give Out Five Stars?

If you've been following this month long recollection of my favorite reads of 2015, you might have noticed something a bit... odd. That is; there are barely any five stars among the group. And if you read the reviews, you might be a bit baffled as to why they aren't five stars.

I didn't even notice this myself, until they were all put one next to the other. But, yes, I am extremely stingy about handing out five stars. It's quite shocking considering how I was the complete opposite in 2012, when I opened my first blog.

I was... overly generous back then.

Back the the point; books like Vicious, Of Beast and Beauty, Shadow and Bone etc that I absolutely loved and adored and had nothing bad to say about (which is reflected in the reviews) got 4.5 stars instead of outright 5.

Right. No where in the review do I mention why they were reduced that half star. What makes them different than Written in Red or Love Shaped Hack? 

So, here's the deal. I keep the remaining half star reserved for books that not only blew me away like all these 4.5s did, but books that I am certain, without a doubt, that I would re-read over and over and over again. Which is how it came to be that there are only two 5 stars in my 2015 archive.

Written in Red & Heart Shaped Hack are both books that I know I would re-read. The first one I already did, the second I've been battling the urge since I read it, especially in times of depression.

So you see? 4.5 stars is actually the highest rating I can give a book - but 5 is that extra something. 

No More Apologizing!

One of the most distressing things I noticed while revamping old reviews, was how often I felt the need to clarify; "in my opinion", "to me", "I think", etc out of fear. I was absolutely terrified of people taking what I'm saying in the wrong way, especially if I was talking about something popular.

Of people attacking me and criticizing me. To the point I kept putting disclaimers to my reviews so no one could ever mistake that I was talking about my perspective and my perspective only.

Even in the revamping process, I kept catching myself writing those words. And to me, this is just so jarring. Of course this is just my opinion. Of course those are my thought and my take on things and obviously not everyone is going to agree and that's perfectly alright.

When has the internet become something that I needed to fear and counter-defend myself against? I haven't even been attacked yet and already I am bringing up the walls. I don't believe I have ever been offensive of obtuse so why did I constantly act like I was being so?

Enough is enough.

So one of my goals for Afterwords was to stop apologizing for my reading experiences, tastes, thoughts and opinions. The only time I am going to say this is right here, right now:

Everything on this blog is subjective to me. 

Nothing on this blog is "fact". 

I am not denouncing your opinion if you disagree with me.

And if someone doesn't get this from this point on... well, then, I'll deal with that when it happens. I'm a big girl.

On DNF Reviews

Thank you for joining me again, or for dropping by if you're new!

This time, I decided I will share with you my two cents on DNF reviews. Some people and bloggers are against these type of reviews (or at the very least, they don't participate in them), because how can you review something you never reached the "point" of? I am not among those.

I write DNF reviews - and when I write them, I do not review the book. I review the reasons I could not finish it. And I write them for several reasons.

The first is, I believe that if a person couldn't finish a book, it is equally important to share the reasons why as it is to explain what you loved/hated about a book you did finish. After all, as readers, we aspire to finish every story we start - so what went wrong? 

The second is, this blog is first and foremost my home on the internet. My place to be me and share my opinions and thoughts. Everything I write here is strictly subjective. And I am someone who loves having opinions. I am someone who spent all her teen years stifling her opinions and thoughts and fading into the background. Being afraid to speak or voice them in fear someone will get hurt or look down at me because of them.

As such, I have spent the years after that trying to regain my voice. Trying to be comfortable enough with speaking up, first by gaining a group of friends who would hit me if I ever hid my opinions from them and who respected them no matter if they differed than their own, and by opening my first blog (and, consequently, this one). In fact, being able to freely share this information with you guys is, to me, an indication of how much I've changed and opened up.

As a person, I am an individual that basks in talking. I love ranting. The only way I find I can relieve myself of anger and frustration is if I talk about it. I rant and complain and grumble until the wind has been let out of my sails and it doesn't matter anymore.

Same goes with books.

If I read a story that I was disappointed in. That infuriated me. That bored me to death. That made me unable to finish it - the only way I can shake the bad energy is by speaking of it. 

But don't worry - I don't review every book I DNF (same as I don't review every book I read). If I have nothing in particular to say about the book, if I don't have clear reasons for not finishing it, if it's a book that's simply not for me but I understand the love towards it, then I won't review it. In those cases, I usually leave a couple of words on GR, but nothing more than that.

If you don't like DNF reviews, that's alright. I guarantee every such review will be clearly marked in the title, so you could avoid them completely. But if those are to your tastes, you can expect them, and you can expect them to be rants. And... you can expect gifs. Lots of them.

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. 

Out With the Old, In With the New

How are y'all doing?

In a series of posts that will be published throughout the blog's first month active, I am going to share with you guys some things about Afterwords; from what led to the creation of this blog, to the content you can expect from it, to the beliefs I hold regarding blogging and more.

And naturally, the post that will start it all will do with how I came to create Afterwords. 

The first thing you need to know is that this is not my first book blog. It's not the second, either. It's actually the third--and hopefully the last.

My first venture into the world of Book Blogging back at 2012 came side by side with my finding the site called Goodreads, and was named "Drugs Called Books".

Drugs Called Books was perfect for me, it really was. It was my spot, and alongside it I grew as a reviewer, as a blogger and--dare I say it-- as a person.

Fast forward two years and I was still happy with my little blog (though less happy with the name I chose lol), but I was having problems. Problems called Real Life. RL was interrupting with my blogging; and slowly the amount of content on the blog started to dwindle. From four posts a week minimum to two a week maximum.

I had a hard time with that - I felt like I was disappointing my readers. I felt like I was disappointing myself. 

So I searched for a solution.

At the same time I was struggling with all this, an online friend - the lovely Megs from The Book Babe's Reads was having the same issues. Those same doubts. We talked a little about it - and decided co-blogging would be the perfect answer.

We would have each other's backs. The load of blogging will lessen because when one isn't posting, the other will. There will be the same amount of posts,  but half the effort. Goodbye guilt. Goodbye stress.

And so, I moved in with her, so to speak, becoming one half of The Book Babe's Reads.

And for a short while, it was everything the both of us wanted it to be. We had more ideas, we were more relaxed, and things were going swimmingly.

Until RL came back to haunt us again. Things in Megan's life became complicated (luckily, mostly with good stuff and I can't be happier for her) and she couldn't blog anymore. All for very good reasons, trust me, but I kind of became a solo blogger again, under the guise of a co-blogger. At first, it was alright. I was a-okay with holding the fort until Meg can come back.

But... weeks turned to months, and I was starting to feel very discouraged. Not because I minded but because... well, tBBR didn't really feel like home. It still felt, to me, like Meg's blog. Despite being the only one blogging, I still felt like I was intruding. 

Most of the followers were there for Meg, not me. Everything about the blog, aside for the posts I've written, was still hers. What started as the logical step - my moving into her blog, which was bigger and had a larger support base, when we had no time or desire really to start again from scratch - became something that hindered me.

I wanted my own place again.  

But I was a bit scared of it, too. I mean... I couldn't move back to my old blog. It felt wrong, after having abandoned it so callously. And starting again, from scratch? I wasn't sure I could do it.

This is where Amanda, another great internet friend and the owner of Nellie and Co. came into play. You see, she has gone through everything I had too, and then she branched out from her co-owned blog and opened a new one.

Seeing her beautiful blog-design I half jokingly said I would love for her to design a blog for me. And she told me that if I wanted to, she will. So I had a decision to make--to take the leap or not to.

And I did.