First of all, I want to thank Mikaela for hosting Big Blogger Little Blogger.   The project paired bigger bloggers with little bloggers.  I was paired with Erica from Erica Robyn Reads.  Please go check both of their blogs!  For this project, Erica and I both thought it would be awesome to answer the same questions and put each other’s answers on our blogs, this way we would both get new traffic and hopefully new followers to our blogs  My answers are on her blog, and her answers are featured on mine.  So without further ado here are Erica’s answers to the questions!

Blog Related

Which blog platform do you use?

I use Blogger. I had used WordPress for projects in the past but wanted to try something new. So far, I love it!

When did you start book blogging?

My first blog post went up on Blogger on December 28th, 2016. Though before then, I had been blogging on Books Amino since March of 2016.

What motivated you to start book blogging?

I had been thinking about starting a book blog for years. I decided to start on Books Amino as a trial run. When I started getting a bunch of followers that not only liked my content but also took the time to comment, I decided to just go for it! My plan was to officially release the blog January 1st, 2017, but once I had it ready to go live, I just couldn’t wait!

What has been your most popular post?

As of June 19th, my most popular post by far is “10 Things In The Book World That I Am Tired Of.” I was so surprised to see this one take off! I try to keep my blog positive, so I wasn’t sure that I wanted to post this one. I mulled it over for a few weeks and then decided to post after all. The conversations that this post sparked in my various Facebook groups was absolutely incredible!

What about your least popular post?

My two least popular posts are both honest reviews. This really isn’t surprising to me because the quality of the two books just wasn’t very good, to begin with. Neither of them was even slightly interesting to me either, so I really struggled with the posts. Of course, I tried to keep things light. But while I posted the review on my blog and sent the links to the authors, I didn’t promote in social media at all.  

What is your favorite bookish app or website?

Litsy! I am so in love with this app! It’s like Goodreads and Instagram collided, but with much better structure. Unfortunately, it is still only available for the iPhone.

How did you choose your blogging platform?

I did a ton of research before starting on Blogger. I started by Googling and compiling huge pros and cons list for WordPress, Blogger, and SquareSpace. I also had many people tell me what they felt were the pros and cons for their specific platform. In the end, I was definitely leaning strongly in the direction of Blogger. Since I had used WordPress before for other projects, I was excited to learn more about a new platform!

What are the pros and cons of your blogging platform?

Pros:

Ease of use.

Nice templates to choose from.

Google friendly.

Cons:

There isn’t a huge community.

Limited support.

Lack of widgets.

What is your biggest struggle with book blogging?

Honestly, just finding the time to blog is a quite a struggle for me. I do marketing for a living and I have handled a lot of blogging and social media scheduling for various clients. So I knew what I was getting into when I started this whole process. For a couple of months, I published a blog post every single day. At the time, I was so proud of myself! But I burnt out very quickly because I was forcing myself to get the content up rather than truly enjoying the process. Now, I just blog when the feeling strikes.

Do you obsess over statistics?

Oh yes. I am such an analytics person! I check my stats daily, but I try not to get too upset about them when I had a low-view day, or haven’t gotten a new follower yet that week.

Do you participate in any weekly challenges or memes?

I participate in a few! My favorite by far is Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addict Writer. BBH is just so lovely and the people that partake are incredible about visiting and commenting on all the participating blogs. I also occasionally take part in Top 10 Tuesdays hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and Top 5 Wednesdays hosted by Thoughts on Tomes when the specific prompt interests me. And most recently I started taking part in FLYTIP, an original feature hosted by FLYLēF.

Where can we find you (blog link, social media, Goodreads, etc.)?

My blog: https://ericarobynreads.blogspot.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ericarobynreads/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+EricaHatchericarobynreads

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericarobyn

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericarobyn7/

Reading Related

Have you always been a reader, or was it a certain book/genre that got you into reading?

Ever since I can remember, I have always been a reader!

What are you currently reading or what are you planning to read next?

I just finished reading the Edward Scissorhands graphic novels volumes 1 & 2. Next, I will be giving Flame in the Mist a shot.

What are some of your other interests outside of reading?

Photography. Binge watching Netflix, running, hiking, and exploring places I have never been before. Playing card and board games. Going to concerts, hanging out with friends and family members. Sitting and listening to the ocean.

What genres do you reach for the most?

I can’t get enough of the thriller, suspense, and horror genres! I love a book that gets my heart pumping! I also really love comics and graphic novels. A wonderful combination of the two is the Locke & Key comic series written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodríguez. It’s incredible!

What genres do you stay away from and why?

The only genre that I totally avoid is erotica. Just not my thing. I’m also hesitant with non-fiction and memoirs; these genres have to be written in a very interesting way for me to enjoy them.

What are some really inspiring books that you have read?

On Living by Kerry Egan was one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. I have already gifted it to a number of friends and family members. For One More Day by Mitch Albom is another that immediately comes to mind.

Do you participate in any readathons?

I haven’t yet, but I do want to! They just never seem to line up well with my schedule.