The slow death of a blog

Sorry for the melodramatic title but it feels accurate somehow.

But I have to admit I am just not feeling it these days. I haven’t posted a review in nearly three weeks and only six times this year.

I don’t know if it’s being busy at work, my kids getting older, or what but I have seemingly lost the motivation or desire to post book reviews or blog posts.  I haven’t stopped reading, as you can see from my Goodreads feed, but I am having a hard time writing reviews.

I also don’t know if this is just a phase that will pass or if this is truly the slow death of this blog.  But at some point you have to ask yourself is this really worth it anymore.

And to be brutally honest, the one remaining motivation to keep this site alive is the access to book and authors.  I had a moment of nostalgia recently when I recalled the heady days when I would interview authors, receive advance reader copies (aka ARCs) of hot forthcoming books, and enter into the latest debates ranging across the lit blogosphere.

Lately, however, it won’t surprise you to know I do none of these things. Some of my favorite author’s, authors I have covered extensively in this space, release books and not so much as a how do you do from publicists. As the kids say these days, this briefly gave me the sads.

Now to be fair, as hard as it may be to believe, I still do receive review copies and emails from publicists.  And recently, I have received a couple of books from favorite authors and have  not reviewed them in a timely manner. So the blame is all mine.

The fact of the matter is that keeping a blog going is hard work.  It takes energy, focus and time. I just don’t have much of any of those things right now.

So, what does all this mean? Heck if I know. I just felt like putting some thoughts into pixels and figured I would ruminate on how this blog has kind of gotten away from me.

I am going to try and post some reviews of the books I have read. Maybe, I will shake it up and post a video review or a podcast or something. Perhaps a change like that might break the slump.  Stay tuned … or not.

Kevin Holtsberry
I work in communications and public affairs. I try to squeeze in as much reading as I can while still spending time with my wife and two kids (and cheering on the Pittsburgh Steelers and Michigan Wolverines during football season).

5 Comments

  1. I’m impressed that you get emails and review copies from publicists. In eight years of blogging, I’ve never gotten either!

    I wait in joyful hope of the day the blogosphere makes a comeback, as people realize how limiting other forms of social media are and find that they can have total ownership of their writing and no restrictions on length. I try to write with that future in mind, even if it never comes.

  2. Kevin,
    I have “known” you and your blog for a long time, and I am in the same boat – blogging has become hard and not as fun as I had several years ago. Seems all my bloggy friends have moved on, and in another sense, so have I. I am trying to return to writing something, even if its flash fiction of 100 words every day, but even that is elusive. Not sure what to chalk it all up to….perplexed.

  3. Thanks for the comments Jeff and Pattie. A lot has changes in the world of blogging in the last decade that is for sure. For me, kids, work, and, I think, outlets like Facebook and Twitter have changed things. I still love to read and am interested in the the exchange of ideas, etc. but can’t seem to find the motivation and time for writing much. Frankly the free books and access to author’s is what keeps me hanging on.

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