Q/A pt.2- Me Trying To Dish Out Advice Like A Pro And Kinda Sorta Failing

Hey guys!! I’m back, and this time, with a Q/A! I recently hit 500 followers (THANK YOU SOW MUCHHHDKQWJH) , and in honour of doing that in a span of just eight months, I’d decided to do a Q/A! I’d asked you all to send me in some questions, and I got in some really good ones, so I’m really excited to answer them!

1. What’s your favourite and least favourite flavours of ice cream? – Sumedha @ The Wordy Habitat

Can I start with saying I LOVE ice cream?!?! I have a huge sweet tooth, so anything with sugar in it is an insta hit for me. I loveee cookies and cream ice-cream more than anything. It’s just so sweet and crumbly and crunchy and sweet and just LOVE. I do not, for some reason, like butterscotch ice-cream that much. It’s a bit bland?? IDK, but cookies and cream is a definite favourite.

2. What are some of your favourite tv shows?- Charlotte @ Charlotte Annelise

Okay so my problem in life is that I don’t have Netflix. My parents refuse to get it so I end up missing out on loads of good shows. But I do watch Friends, and have binge watched it multiple times. It’s my favourite show ever and I love it so so much. I also watched Thirteen Reasons Why at a friends house and LOVED it. And just recently, one of my friends gave me her netflix account (BLESS HER), so I’m going to be starting Stranger Things soon! (after I re-watch Friends again, that is)

3. All time favourite book?- Bayance

I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO ANSWER THIS. HOW. TOO HARD. BUT. You all know my answer already. Clockwork Princess from The Infernal Devices is a timeless for me and I will love it till the world ends. So beautiful- just UGH MY HEART HURTS THINKING ABOUT IT.

4. What book got you addicted to reading? – Yoursincerely_d

This is really hard to answer, because I’ve loved reading ever since I was a kid. I could read small books by the time I was four, and I’ve always loved it. What hooked me to reading when I was nine were all the Enid Blyton books. Her series The Malory Towers, St. Clares, Secret Seven- they were all I would read till I was in grade 7. I loved all those books sooo much! But what brought me into YA and fiction fantasy stuff was Percy Jackson. Mark of Athena was the first one I read (don’t make the same mistake, it’s a long, crazy story), and even though I barely got anything cuz there was no context, I loved it. I read the series in order then, and that’s what really pulled me into reading.

5. do you listen to music when you are doing your writing, and if so what type of music?- Anatomy of A Book Thief

Yes, I do!! I’m really into music, and I listen to it all the time- when I’m studying, in public transport, writing, reading, ALL THE TIME. I listen to basically everything but rap music, and I enjoy all kinds of music. My favourite artists are Fall Out Boy they are my favourite band ever and I love them so much and they released a new album and you should all listen to it it’s amazing and I’m going for their concert in April and I’m vv excited, Panic! At The Disco, Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5, Zayn Malik, Justin Bieber (I like his music okay?!) and manyyyy other bands. I’m really into songs and stuff and you won’t ever find me without some kind of song stuck in my head.

6. do you have any advice for other bloggers?- Emma @ Emmareadstoomuch

YESS! I always have advice even though I have no experience whatsoever! My main piece of advice is to just be yourself. Yes, that sounds cliche and like something you’ve heard before. But it’s true. Don’t blog in a way that doesn’t represent who you are as a person, and be 100% yourself. (unless your Donald Trump, don’t be yourself then) But really, be who you are, blog about things you love and are passionate about, and let your voice be unique. This is YOUR blogging space, and you should let yourself shine in it.

7. also, what is your favourite type of cookie?- Emma @ Emma Reads Too Much

CHOCO-CHIP COOKIES FOREVER. DIE HARD CHOCO-CHIP COOKIE FAN RIGHT HERE.

8. what’s your favourite place to travel or you wish to go?- Flippingthruthepages

Ooooh this is a good question. Ever since I read Percy Jackson, it’s been my dream to go to Greece and Rome. Greek mythology has totally sucked me in, and these are two places I reallyyyy want to visit! They just seem so mysterious and wonderful and ancient and timeless and I just want to go there okay.

9. how did you go about slowly gaining followers when you started blogging? Did you visit other blogs fairly often? Did people just kind of come to find your content?- tornpagesandroses

Oooh this is something I’ve been wanting to discuss. Gaining followers, let me tell you, was a SLOW process. I started blogging in like very early June, and I got my first follower at the end of June. Gaining followers was a long long process, and all new bloggers should be ready for it and should be patient. It takes a while to get noticed in this HUGE community of bloggers. It takes time, but trust me, it’s worth it.

When I started, I was barely visiting other blogs, but when July came around, I started visiting LOTS of them. I had decided I only want to do a book blog, and so I explored tonsss of them, and I followed and commented on all those ones I liked and was interested in. COMMENTING IS KEY. It’s the most interactive you can be, and helps you find your place in the blogosphere. I’ll admit, I was one of the people who commented the link of my blog (I’M SORRY OKAY) BUT I always left a really genuine comment. I always talked about why I liked the post and my favourite part of it, and only in the end did I say, “Would love it if you could check out my blog too! *insert link*” and a lottt of lovely bloggers, even the bigger ones, were actually sweet enough to check it out, so THANK YOU GUYZ!! I personally don’t mind people leaving links on my blog, but only if there is a genuine comment too.

In the first few months, people didn’t really come across my blog much, so I had visited lots of them to communicate with other book bloggers. I also made use of the Discover thing on the WordPress reader which has the weekly First Friday and Community Pool feature where bloggers shared their blogs, and that’s where I gained my first few followers. But after I hit 100 followers, people started finding my blog themselves, and my baby blog started growing, and now has 550 followers!!

Basically, in short, what I’m trying to say is it took me a while and took hard work, and I went from 3 posts a month to 13, but it was really worth it.

10. Do you seek out ARC’s? (My anonymous friend who reads my blog)

Not actively. I don’t have a NetGalley, as I despise reading anything electronically. I’ve received three ARC’s till today, and I’ve been contacted for all of them by the authors. My first one was an e-ARC, but I hated reading electronically and it took me a long time to finish cuz I have no motivation to read electronically. The next two times I was contacted, I requested for a physical copy, and both authors were obliging and kind enough to send it to me, even though I live in Singapore and they sent it from the U.S. I’m very grateful for that. I don’t actively seek them because I feel like if I do, I’ll keep requesting and overburden myself and won’t be able to finish them. But if I am contacted by an author, I don’t usually turn it down.

Aaand that’s it!! Thank you once again for the questions and for the support and for following me and not thinking my content is crappy. I’m so grateful that my blog has grown so much, and it’s thanks to all of you!! If you still have any questions, you can ask me in the comments or send me an email and I would be happy to answer!

Thanks for reading!

-Rhea