How My Blogging Style Has Changed Since 2012

This dear little blog of mine has been around for 13 years coming this November — and that, my friends, is a truly wild thought. That’s almost half my life??? What do you mean this blog is going to be the equivalent of a teenager? I started this blog as a teenager…

I’m a little mad at myself for not paying attention to a past (but relatively recent) Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) prompt about how my blogging/review style has changed over time, but hey, it’s a freebie week! Given that I started as a teen, I definitely changed — as a blogger, a reader, and a person. I think it would be quite concerning if I didn’t change.

This blog has been the source of many tears (when things break) and cringe (what teenager isn’t a little cringe, though), but it’s also my pride and joy, a memory capsule, and the source of some of my greatest and most fulfilling friendships*.

*Shout-out especially to Clo, Ruby, Izzy, and Jayati for always dealing with my shenanigans and leaving me/regularly waking up to my newspapers in the DMs

1. Not every book needs a review

I used to write a review for every book I read, which made for a lot of content and never running out of them. Plus, they’re pretty evergreen, so they won’t die out since someone is always bound to discover the book years later. My thoughts, however, are not so evergreen. But absolutely a memory capsule*.

*Sometimes I’d rather they not be on the internet because once I stumbled across my review for 1984 on r/BadReads — I was 15. People can be mean to literal kids.

Don’t get me wrong — I love writing reviews and sharing my thoughts (mostly for my own records), but sometimes I feel like I’m writing the same thing, you know?* And sometimes, I feel like I’m losing the enjoyment of reading, which isn’t something I ever want to do. I also just had a lot more to say as a teen and was very opinionated (still am, somewhat).

*I have a niggling feeling that it might not necessarily be me, but the current state of the publishing industry and books being published/books that land on my radar. But maybe it’s also me.

These days, I only write a review if I have something to say and feel like writing one — at least for the books that I opt to read and discover on my own, that is.

2. I no longer just review Young Adult novels

(I’m also no longer the audience…)

I still love picking up and reading a young adult book. I still love writing reviews for them. And I think people should stop getting all tied up in knots at adults reading YA — heck, we shouldn’t be getting all tied up in knots at adults reading Middle Grade because there’s something absolutely magical and nostalgic about reading them.

While I read and review across a wider range of age groups and genres now than I have in the past, there are some that haven’t changed: I don’t review non-fiction (I read a fair amount of them now, though, especially since I’m picking up books that are related to my therapy sessions) or picture books. I’m extremely selective about reviewing manga (the only one I did was Little Witch Academia and mini reviews for 4 others for a different Top Ten Tuesday prompt) since most of the ones I read are ongoing, and I’ll forget what happened or what I want to cover.

I gravitate more toward books written by Asian authors than I have in the past, but part of that is more diverse voices are being published, which gives more reading options even if we have more work to be done.

3. Rarely partaking in blog tours

Way back in the day, blog tours were such a staple in blogging (so were book blitzes and cover reveals). They’re still around, and there are still some bloggers who regularly post blitzes and cover reveals, but in the past maybe… 7 years? They’ve appeared less on blogs. I think a majority of us feel that posting excerpts for tours and synopsis and covers for cover reveals and blitzes are simply filler posts, and we’ve pivoted to more original content. It’s a welcome change, I think.

I used to join in blog tours even if I didn’t have time to read the book or had other obligations (but if I had the time, I absolutely would because I was at least interested); I posted a lot of excerpts back in the day. There was a fair amount of reviewing as well for tours, but I don’t even remember the last time I joined a blog tour? Or signed up for one outside of one coming up this July/August.

According to the blog tours archives, I last took part in a blog tour in May 2024, and it was the only tour of 2024 I joined. I did 2 in 2023. I’m sure 2025 will just be the one. It’s not that there weren’t books I wasn’t interested in — there were quite a few I wanted to sign up for — I just chose not to. I make it a point to only sign up for ones I want to read and review these days (or already have the ARCs for and that’s one way to keep myself accountable), and sometimes I’ll sign up to do extra content, but that’s even rarer (especially since I’m not really on social media these days).

4. Becoming more selective about what I take on for review/request

These days, I take on fewer books for review. I don’t know the last time I’ve opened myself up for review requests — it’s much longer than when I last took part in a blog tour, that’s for sure! Most requests get deleted these days, often because the book in question isn’t even a book that I would normally read, and it is so painfully obvious the person sending the request didn’t even look at the first page of my blog.

Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s hard out there. I think fewer bloggers are open to requests these days than 5-10 years ago — if they even have a request/collaborations page. Personalizing each request is like writing a cover letter and the job market is in shambles, so why would you want to do that for reviews, too, when the blogger isn’t even going to respond?* It’s exhausting, and we’re all Tired™. But there’s gotta be a bare minimum, ya know? If I’ve never reviewed dark romance or mention a dark romance book in a wrap-up or even mention the slightest interest, in what universe would I read it? (I know reading tastes change, but I doubt a month would do drastic change.)

*I’m guilty of this, though I used to respond to each request regardless of yes or no. And then a publicist shamed me for not having the time to read their author’s book. Buddy, I was a high school senior. I think I’m more concerned about writing my college essay in time for admissions and trying to get a decent score for the ACT (I have thoughts) so I can avoid going into a depressing amount of student loan debt as much as possible when I’m already concerned about adult things before I even should be concerned about them (rent and bills). I’ll get off my soapbox now. Anyway, I stopped after that.

I’ve also dialed back a lot with requesting on Netgalley over the years, though I’ve always limited myself. When I first started blogging, I used to request roughly 5-7 books every 3-6 months. It worked out amazingly well for me, and I was always on top of it. Then I graduated from high school in 2016, started college that same year, experienced a traumatic event — since then, I’ve been running behind with Netgalley (I have like 15 books overdue?). I’m still above 80% — I think I’m 90%? 88%? I don’t know, y’all. Clearly I haven’t logged onto Netgalley in a hot minute.

(I do browse Netgalley for work just to keep myself somewhat on top of upcoming books and not sound completely clueless, but I don’t log in.)

Nowadays I request maybe 1-2 books a year that I’m really looking forward to (this year it’s A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim and Fateless by Julie Kagawa) if I even request. The others are for blog tours or invites from publishers directly.

5. No longer holding myself back from writing outside of my niche

Take a quick look around the site, and you’ll very much categorize my blog as a literary blog. And that’s not entirely wrong, other than I occasionally decide I want to write a 2-3k word post about an Asian drama that won’t leave my brain because I was that obsessed with it (but so was everyone else — listen, it’s a great drama, and I will keep singing its praises).

When I first started blogging, I thought a blog needed to stick with one niche, and one niche only. I can see why, and I’ve definitely experienced/witnessed a blog audience getting all up in arms over the blogger writing outside their niche.

These days, when someone asks me about what niche my blog’s in, I usually say, literary and lifestyle (or the longer version: lifestyle blog with an emphasis on books and other forms of media, specifically those with Asian representation), which is more accurate. I no longer worry about writing a review of an Asian drama I enjoyed or writing a post about K-pop or journalling and how others will react. I am more than just someone who likes books — why not talk about it?

6. Being expressive in ways beyond GIFs (lessening the GIF usage)

I still love GIFs and use them, and I think they’re one of the greatest inventions that says everything I need to say with just one of them. But I will admit I flung them around often and every chance I had when I probably didn’t need to do that.

Part of that is likely because I was a teen and didn’t know how to communicate and express myself as well as I do now; I still struggle with this sometimes, but I’d like to think I’ve grown over the years and have gotten more comfortable telling my friends I don’t think their joke was as funny as they thought. Having a GIF was handy because it’s literally an animated picture — and those are worth a thousand words. They’re still handy to have every once in a while to break up a post or add a little flavor of life to it.

7. It’s okay to fall out of the blogging schedule and miss a post

When I first started blogging, I thought it was important to post daily — after all, that was what all the blogging posts were saying. And they’re not entirely wrong, because consistency is important. People know when to expect a post from you, and that’s really important if you’re wanting to make a career out of blogging or you’re working for a company (or even building your personal brand) where the goal is to establish yourself as an authority in your field.

But for most of us? We’re blogging for fun and as a hobby. For some, blogging is just a chapter in their lives. We’re not making much, if anything, and those that do are either on another platform or have a focus on other niches too. For me, it did become a goal of mine to work in content writing and blogging back in college if I couldn’t break into the publishing industry. I definitely listed my blog when applying for my library position and other relevant positions, and I’m sure that boosted my application (or hindered it, depending). Heck, I wrote about blogging in my college essay and scholarship essays when relevant (and I did graciously get a few scholarships that helped pay tuition). I am, however, not exactly the norm in this scenario.

I posted daily from 2012 to maybe 2015/2016. In the earliest days, there were some weeks I did multiple posts a day, and honestly, I don’t know how I did it. Who even was she?

I think reviewing all the books I read and joining in book blitzes, cover reveals and blog tours definitely helped, but I’m definitely not that person back then. I fell back to about 3 posts a week from around 2017-2019, and then around 2020 I floated between 1-2 a week until around 2022 before I stuck with my current.

My current “schedule” is aiming for a post a week, but I don’t beat myself over it if I have nothing to post. I’m okay with going for a month or two without posting at all. I think I’ve gone 3 months before (last year? 2019 when I had wrist issues from work? I still have those issues). My current schedule is just a goal post should I choose to shoot for it. Frankly, I think younger me would be horrified because I was that much of a stickler for staying on top of things. Who even is this adult?

8. Focusing on quality over quantity (read: focusing on my blogging happiness more)

This goes hand in hand with a few others I mentioned already, like rarely partaking in blog tours. I no longer do book blitzes or cover reveals, because like I mentioned earlier, I feel like they’re filler posts. Even with weekly memes like this one (Top Ten Tuesday), I’m picky about joining in unless the topic interests me, and I have something more than just a list of books.

I’m happy for everyone who loves doing weekly memes and is okay with a list of books or a short and sweet prompt — that is completely valid! But I would not be happy doing that (well, not anymore. I used to be happy about it, and they brought me great joy when I started blogging). And that is also valid.

I’ve also stopped with giveaway hop posts and author interviews at some point, and weekly life updates have changed to monthly. Sometimes I’ll even skip out on monthly and compile 2-3 months of life updates together depending on what happened.

I never really did discussion posts, and if I did, they were rare. Some of my posts do fall under that category, but they’re more personal essay-like.

9. Longer posts

The lengths of my blog posts have drastically changed from when I first started. I deleted a lot of my earlier posts (I still have them! On Blogger… hidden), so I can’t use WordPress’s analytics where it tells you the average word length of your posts each year until 2019 when I was fully on self-hosted WordPress (although we can count 2018 since I moved end of February).

But from what I do see, I was sitting at 636 words in 2018 and slowly jumped until 2022, when I went from 843 words in 2021 to 1,246 words. I went down a little in 2024 going from 1,397 words in 2023 to 1,196 words, but 2025 has a huge jump at around 1,661 so far.

I’ve never really paid attention to the length of my posts over the years until recently when it suddenly hit me I’m wordier than in the past. Maybe the amount of words carried across those many posts I wrote somehow jumbled together into the fewer posts I write now. It evens out?

Either way, I’m not afraid of having posts go to 2-3k words once in a while — I used to be more conscious about not dragging the post out even if it needed to be dragged out. Sometimes, you do need to have a lengthy post or review. But I try not to go beyond 3k words if I can help it — 3.5k is pushing it for me.

10. Being less social

Frankly, I hate this for me. I miss having the time to be more social — blog hopping, responding to comments, etc. I’m not the only blogger who has noticed engagement has been lower over the years, and part of that is definitely because a lot of bloggers have stopped blogging — either completely or in favor of prioritizing another platform. Sometimes I think about starting a Substack*, and while I didn’t start one because I like fully owning my content and not be at the mercy of a third-party platform I also fear I’ll just drop my blog completely if I start a Substack. And I like my blog a little too much (despite my occasional blog identity crisis) to drop it like that.

*I have one, but I haven’t posted. I just exist.

But I can definitely see why some bloggers drop blogging in favor of Substack — you don’t need to worry about the other aspects of having a blog like designing and optimizing posts and creating pages and updating all of them; you can just write and vibe. Maybe that’s why I haven’t bothered with making a Bluesky or Threads account. It’s just nice to simply exist and take up space.

Part of that is also just the ebbs and flows of life and maybe even just the circumstances of the world. No longer are we in the carefreeness of social media and blogging as much as we wish for the old days (and maybe that’s also why some of us are going to Substack).

A lot of us — especially the ones who started as teens — also have different priorities now, too. Some of us have gone on to college, moved to a different city/state/country, started families and began full-time jobs, etc. There’s just so much going on that these days I forget about responding to comments and leaving on comments on blogs — I’m mostly reading blogs and liking the post to at least acknowledge that I’m visiting (because I think it’s at least courtesy to visit someone and read a post or two of theirs if they’re taking time to stop by my corner and leaving a comment).

Let’s talk!

This post turned out longer than I thought it would be (I knew it was going to be long because I have a lot to say, but I didn’t think it would be 3k words long)! I feel like I’ve missed way more than what I’ve listed, but 13 years is a long time and there’s so much change especially when you start blogging at a pivotal point in life.

Anyway, tell me about how your blogging and reviewing style has changed over the years — and if you’ve not been blogging for long, tell me about how your reading taste has changed!