Since I’m often asked the same questions about me and this blog, I thought it would be great to compile a list of the most frequently asked questions here.
Why and when did you start this blog?
After I graduated from College, I was then diagnosed with Tuberculosis which I underwent 1 year medication. It could have been the darkest stage of my life but because of books, it lightens my baggage. I’m getting worse each day but not with my health condition but with my book addiction, and I needed to have a medium to release it. One disadvantage of living in a rural area and staying mostly at home is that you’ll only get a 1% chance of meeting a book reader like you. I always wanted to be a blogger, so I just said, why not?!
In 2014, I started blogging at blogspot with a username agentbookworm (which is now unavailable) but after a year of blogging about books, my interests broaden and I realized that I wanted to write about other things too. So instead of managing two blogs, why not combine them eh? So I decided to create vangonerogue.wordpress.com. And after a year and a half on a free WordPress blog, I came to the point that I needed to level-up and finally opted for a self hosted blog. And that’s how Blushing Geek came to life.
How do you have time blogging while working full-time?
I was currently on medication when I started blogging, which means I had the whole day to read and blog. But when I started working, I never thought I could still have time to blog. I guess the main secret of putting up a blog while working full-time is your love and passion for blogging. Because when you love what you do, you can always find time.
What did you learn after more than 4 years of blogging?
Actually, there’s a lot. Before I started blogging, I’m a kind of person that is really hard to sway away from my usual routine. So I stayed with suspense/thriller books until my blogspot account came to life. When I started my book blog, I never imagined that I could be offered by other authors to review their books. Come on, if you’ve read my previous reviews, you’ll notice the novice writing hahaha. Aside from stepping out of my comfort zone, blogging also helped me improve my writing skills. I always love English, but it seems the language doesn’t like me. That’s also the reason why I thought it’s impossible for me to become a blogger, but because I wanted to become one, I learned to take a risk and overcome my weakness. I’m still not good with writing, but I can see some great improvements.
Blogging also lessens my procrastination when it comes to traveling. I always love to travel, but I’m afraid to travel alone so I always delay it until I find someone to come with me, which mind you, costs me a lot. But when I started with this blog, I learned to overcome my fears of travelling alone.
That’s some of the things blogging has taught me, but I’m sure I’ll still be learning a lot as I continue walking in the life of being a blogger.
Do you follow some guidelines on writing a book review?
No. I write everything I want in any way I want it to be. But it wasn’t like this at first, I was so conscious of my style that I tried to copy others and it made me miserable.
Do you use regular stars in rating a book? If so, could you tell us how you interpret them?
Yes, I used the regular stars in rating every book I’ve read with the same interpretation too – 5 stars being the highest and 1 star being the lowest. Know more by reading it here.
Where do you find books to read?
There’s actually a lot, but my major source of books are as follows: (orders don’t vary)
- Wattpad
- Goodreads
- Friends Suggestions/Recommendations
- Books-to-Movie Adaptations
- Amazon
- Bookbub
- Online Research
- Book review requests
What camera do you use?
I don’t own any fancy DSLR coz I’m still saving, so I only use a Canon digital camera and occasionally use my mobile phone (Realme 6) for most of my IG posts. My aunt has a canon rebel DSLR, so when she isn’t using it, she let me borrow it.
Can I use your photos?
It’s definitely fine as long as you let me know about it and will give you the go signal. That said, it should link back to this blog.
Do you accept sponsored posts and giveaways?
I am open for any sponsored posts and giveaways but only if I have personally tried the item/product or tested the company’s services and liked it. I want my blog to be all about honesty so I want every recommendation and reviews I posted in here to be about the things, services and items that I personally like.
Do you use any affiliate links?
Yes, I use affiliate links which you usually see in my sidebar. I only use Amazon affiliate for now.
I want to recommend you a book, how can I reach you?
If you’re a reader and you want to suggest a book to me, you can always reach me out on any of my social media accounts.
For authors, you can refer to my review request page for the details.
Do you have any advice to first time bloggers or someone who wants to start blogging?
Some bloggers out there have followed some guidelines when they started their blogs, I’ve tried that too but it didn’t worked out. So the only advice I could give you is to follow your own instincts. Ofcourse when it comes to setting up your blog, you need to search Google about it, but when it comes to deciding what to write or what you want your blog to be, that’s on you. Just follow what you want and you’ll be surprised at what you can come up with.
For some tips and easy ways of setting up your blog as well as the costs, you can refer to my blogging posts.
