For the past 5 years, I’ve reviewed about 1,600 books on my blog. For the first 3 years, I reviewed a book a day. Then I reviewed 6 books per week and since July, I’ve reviewed 5 books per week. This has taken a lot of my time and I was reading in any spare moment I could, whether that was while I was waiting in a check out line in a store or listening to audiobooks while driving.
For those of you who don’t know, I’m also a writer. I’m currently revising my 5th manuscript. I queried a manuscript to agents last year but I didn’t get much response from that (querying is when you send out a letter to literary agents to see if they would represent your book). I feel really good about the manuscript I’m currently working on, and I’m planning on querying it in the next few months.
I’ve decided to take a step back from reading and reviewing books to focus more on my writing career. I will still be reading, reviewing, and posting on social media daily but I won’t be reviewing a book a day. I’ve proven to myself that I can do it, but I can’t sustain that pace anymore. I want to be honest about my writing and blogging journey. Since I decided to read less last week, I’ve felt much less stressed out and I’ve gotten a lot more work done for my own manuscript. Reading has always been a source of self-care to me, but it was becoming more stressful than it was helping me. I’m looking forward to moving closer to my goal of becoming a published author.
Jill's Book Blog 