Dear Diary: Confessions From A Blogger (3)


We all know what goes on behind the scenes at our own blogs but rarely do we lift the curtain and share those experiences with others. Dear Diary: Confessions From A Blogger stems from the curiosity. This week I want to talk about Jealousy in the blogging community.



Here is my Confession:

Jeal·ous·y [jel-uh-see] n: a feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another.


We've all experienced jealousy at some point. Like many feelings jealousy is a part of life. However how you react to being jealousy can define you as a person. Sometimes jealousy can be a good thing, it sparks a flame inside us to do better, achieve more. On the other hand, jealousy can be all consuming making someone a bitter and resentful person. I've seen that jealousy before in the blogging community and it makes me sad.

Semi-recently I had a blogger mail me saying they were jealous how many books I'd been approved/requested to read that week. They were a bigger blog than me, had more followers even. It's like OK what do you want me to do about that?!? Say I'm sorry?? I'm not. I work hard on my blog, I dedicate hours each day on it, why should I feel bad that I'm rewarded for the effort. Clearly it all came down to the simple fact, they were jealous.

I'm not saying I'm perfect, far from it. I see the books some bloggers receive, or the designs some blogs have and that green eyed monster named jealousy purrs loudly wanting to rear its ugly head. I learned a long time ago though that it's not worth worrying about what everyone else is doing,instead I try to just focus on making my slice of the internet pie satisfying to me. I hope my followers like it, but ultimately my satisfaction and happiness is what matters. I couldn't keep doing this if I kept comparing myself to other blogs. I'm not like them, I'm my own person. Only I can make myself successful or not. I sometimes worry about new bloggers starting up. I've seen many try and take shortcuts such as: Asking bigger blogs for publishing/Author contacts they worked hard to establish, plagiarizing reviews just so they don't have to do the work themselves, to an extent I'll even include denying Indie Authors review requests just because they only want pretty covered well known Arcs/Authors on their shelf.

In the end I hope this type of instant gratification amongst the fresh crop of blogs popping up is only temporary but I suppose as long as jealousy exists it is bound to continue.


So here are my questions for this week:
How do you tackle jealous bloggers? Do you ignore them or try to offer words of encouragement? Name a time in recent memory where you've been jealous yourself. Leave your responses in the comments below, I love reading them. Have a question? Leave that as well and I'll try and answer it.


That about wraps up this weeks confessions from a blogger. Thanks for stopping by and reading,sharing, or commenting on this post. As always, it is appreciated.

Comments

  1. Great post! And what an odd thing for someone to do! I run a pretty small blog, sometimes I'm approved for titles that bigger blogs aren't, other times it seems I'm knocked back for almost everything, but I'd never begrudge others because a publisher approved them for a title I wanted to read! In the early days of blogland I remember thinking how do these blogs get approved for such huge titles, honestly I was so naive about the whole publisher/blogger book exchange, but I worked my butt off and slowly started to see more review requests come my way!
    Sorry you've had some less than pleasant blogger interaction lately,and I hope all the drama dies down soon, this used to be such an awesome, supportive and friendly community! :(

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    Replies
    1. It still is a great community, with many great people!! These instances at least for me are few and far between thankfully but they do happen which is why I talk about them :)

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    2. Heyy! I recently started my blog a few months ago. Do you have any tips for me? My blog isn't going anywhere fast! I would love for you to give me some advice on how to make my blog a little more appealing. :)

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  2. I just found your blog and I love your blog name!

    I think it's normal to be jealous or at least a tad envious of others and what they're doing. It was coming up so much at one point that me and a blogger friend covered it on our meme as well. (Here's my thoughts if you're curious: http://bit.ly/QMFpvO ) I have seen a lot of bloggers try to take shortcuts as well or just don't think things through. I think it's generous when bigger blogs who have been around for a while share their information and tips, but they certainly don't need to give away their hard earned contacts and information they've gotten through experience. People need to jump in the pool themselves.

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  3. I loved this post! I was just talking about jealousy on my own blog! :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! As for advice I'd say just keep posting what you love and don't worry what other blogs do. That's probably the best advice I can give you.

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