Bookish Thoughts / General Books

Let’s Talk Bookish: Do Bloggers Owe Their Readers and Vice Versa?

Dini @ dinipandareads26 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @Eternity Books  & Dani @ Literary Lion, where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! You can check out these pages for January 2022 prompts & a full list of the past prompts!

Now without further ado… The topic asks us about:

DO BLOGGERS OWE THEIR READERS AND VICE VERSA?

(SUGGESTED BY RUKKY @ ETERNITY BOOKS)
Prompts: Do bloggers owe their readers anything? Do bloggers deserve anything from their readers? Do you think there’s a specific etiquette that bloggers/readers should follow when interacting? Do you as a blogger pressure yourself to provide certain things to your readers? Do you do certain things when you read a blog post?

bloggers + readers

I think this is such an interesting question and one that I’ve never actually thought of before. I personally started blogging for myself and I didn’t even think there’d be anyone who’d read my posts, even though, of course, I hoped there would be! And I believe many other bloggers also blog for themselves first, so I don’t think that bloggers necessarily owe their readers anything?

I mean, knowing that people read my blog, I always try to create ‘good’ and honest content. Obviously, what is ‘good’ is subjective but I try to post things that I enjoy writing and that I think people will enjoy reading. I’m also always upfront with my bookish opinions, especially when sharing reviews, which is what I think readers deserve and I also believe it’s what they appreciate. I will honestly share unpopular opinions and not-so-positive reviews of books that I didn’t enjoy, but I’ll always do so as respectfully as possible because I’m not trying to slander anyone’s favourite(s)!

reader/blogger INTERACTION etiquette

I think the one thing I always strive to do as a reader myself is to be respectful of other people’s content. If there’s content I don’t like, I simply don’t engage. If there’s an opinion I differ on and the author invites people to engage (and I want to!) then I share my opinion respectfully and try to engage in constructive conversation without bashing the OP’s view. Obviously, context is key but it never hurts to be polite, right? I’m quite sure the majority of bloggers create content because they enjoy doing so and they do it in their spare time, so there’s never a good reason to spread negativity just because it’s something you don’t like.

That said, I think book bloggers do the whole respect thing pretty well! 😂 I’ve only been blogging for a few years but not once have I received a negative or nasty comment in my posts (I really hope I’m not jinxing myself here, LOL!) and I’ve always had really positive interactions with readers on my blog! Honestly, I often still can’t believe there are people who actually want to read what I have to say? 😅 But I’m so thankful to all of you for engaging with me and I appreciate you all so much!

What do you think fellow bloggers and readers? I’m genuinely interested to know if you think bloggers owe their readers anything and vice versa!

26 thoughts on “Let’s Talk Bookish: Do Bloggers Owe Their Readers and Vice Versa?”

  1. 100% agree with everything you said! I love having bookish discussions, and I don’t mind at all when there’s a difference of opinions, as long as everyone is respectful. 🙂 Great discussion!

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    • It is pretty incredible actually 😂 Sometimes I feel like I have to brace myself for sharing an unpopular opinion but I never get scathing or rude reactions. Everyone is so kind and welcoming!

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  4. This is such an interesting question and one I had never considered before! I suppose all we all owe each other is basic decency and respect (basically what you said), which is how most people try to engage with others and the world. Also, you made me realise I’ve never encountered a bad comment either, and it’s really nice to realise we engage and are part of a kind community!

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  5. I think the whole owe anybody anything question is kind of a weird one. I guess that’s just because I can’t see the answer as anything other than no. But that’s just me. I think we’re all just trying to do our best.

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    • I totally agree with you—I honestly can’t imagine a situation where someone says ‘yes’ but weirder things have happened… Lol! We’re doing our best and doing what we love, nobody has to bring their negativity to that!

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  6. I nodded my head a lot. I respect that the blog belongs to the blogger, and like you said, if I don’t like it, I don’t engage. I like to think of WLABB as a place where I can talk about books I like and whatnot, and I want to let other bloggers have that in their own space too. I do try not to offend anyone. I try to keep it positive.

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  8. I kind of wanted to put something negative just to have fun with you (like I could do that even in jest) but, I agree with everything you said. I don’t think we owe anybody anything regarding the content of our blog though, like you said, I think we should be honest (respectfully) in our reviews. And, I agree with not engaging rather than arguing. Just like Thumper (from Bambi) taught us, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” But the book blogging community is very nice typically ❤️. Excellent post!

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    • HAHA, oh Tessa! When I first read the top sentence I was like *gasp, did I say something offensive?!* and then I read it again and laughed 😂 It’s exactly as Thumper says! It’s as easy as clicking away from something you don’t like and most people in the community do get that (thankfully lol) ❤️

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  10. Yep, I agree with what you said! I don’t think we owe anything to anyone. I blog for myself & I totally feel blessed others like & follow along! It’s why I don’t get super upset with my numbers bc it’s for me, first and foremost. But, if there’s a post or review I don’t agree with then I just keep scrolling. 🙃 I have mostly had positive engagement too.

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    • I admit that I do get twitchy about stats sometimes because as much as I do this for myself, sometimes I feel like man, it’d be so great if all that effort I put into that post got a bit more love 😂 … Maybe that’s not totally altruistic but it is what it is! Hahaha. I think in all my blogging years I’ve only had one nasty engagement with someone but they slid into my DMs for that 🙄

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      • Haha! Totally normal. There’s times that I’m like… how have I not gained a follower in months?! I feel like I’ve been stuck in the 730s for over a year! So, I totally understand that but I try not to let it get to me. Omg!! People suck sometimes! Sorry that happened & of course they had to slide into DMs. 🤦🏻‍♀️

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  13. I agree with everything you said. I don’t think we owe anyone anything apart from respecting each other’s opinions. I have a great opinion of the book blogging community, everyone is so nice! Great post, Dini! 😍

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