5 things I learned in my first year of blogging

Almost exactly one year ago, I posted my first blog post!

*insert confetti and lots of cake*

So, in the grand tradition of other “blogiversary” posts, I thought I’d share some things I’ve learned while blogging this year.

If you don’t take yourself seriously, no one else will

I didn’t have a huge audience when I started blogging—or really any audience. No one was anxiously waiting each week for my post. No one would hold me accountable. Except for me. I committed to publishing a post each week, and I stuck to it. Because I was dedicated, my audience grew and I gained a readership, but only because I treated my blog professionally. No one is going to give you anything, so you have to set standards for yourself until you achieve your goals.

But also, it’s okay to take a break

Okay, part of that paragraph above isn’t quite true—I haven’t posted every single week this past year. A few times, life got busy, between traveling, work stuff, and various other things. Still, my instinct was to push myself harder and get a blog post published. After all, I had made a commitment, and I should stick to it no matter what, right? Not true. Sacrificing my health or time with my family isn’t worth it just to get a blog post up. The tricky part is knowing yourself well enough to tell when a reason for taking a break is legitimate, and when you’re acting out of fear or laziness.

Just ask. The worst they can say is no

Y’all, I have met some cool people from this blog! Award-winning authors, writers of some of my favorite books who also happen to be social media darlings… I also have had the chance to read lots of my favorite books as ARCs, before they’re released. None of that would have happened if I had been too afraid to ask. It can be intimidating, you might feel like you’re being a bother, but you just have to go for it. It’s always worth asking for something you really want. You never know what might come of it!

You don’t have to do everything

As I’ve grown Penn & Paper, there’s always that part of me that wants to do more. Should I start a YouTube channel? Maybe a podcast? I could start posting more than once a week. While all of those things would be amazing, I also have to take into consideration that I have a very limited amount of time. I work a day job, that I hope will soon be full-time, and I have lots of other activities in my life that take up time—including my actual writing! Beyond that, I only have so much creative and mental energy. While I hope one day to expand, right now I have to be very picky about doing only the things I truly love to do and that are within my limits. The overachiever part of me balks at that, but I’ve learned throughout my life and especially in this past year that, in the words of the immortal Ron Swanson, it’s better to whole-ass one thing, rather than half-ass a bunch of things.

Take risks and challenge yourself

Again, I’m sort of contradicting my earlier point. Even though I can’t do everything, I don’t want that to be an excuse to stay in my comfort zone. Starting a blog felt like a risk, and I want to keep growing and pushing myself. About six months in, I started an Etsy shop. I’ve really dedicated myself to growing my bookstagram. These things aren’t easy, but they’re challenging me in a different way than writing does—they’re more visual and about design, and I both enjoy that type of creativity and want to learn more about it. So don’t be afraid to try new things, because even if you fail, you’ll still have gained invaluable experience that can end up helping you down the road.

There you have it! Truly, thank you to everyone who has read my blog, signed up for my email list, shared a post, all of it. It’s been such a great experience and I can’t wait for what the next year will bring!

If you want to help me decide what the future of Penn & Paper will look like, fill out this survey!

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Featured photo by Corinne Kutz