Last Updated: December 11, 2022
Welcome to the FAQs page…
…where we answer almost all the burning questions you might have about Bookwyrming Thoughts and the bookwyrms who write the musings.
Got questions you don’t see an answer to? Tell us! We do, however, reserve the right to not reveal anything we don’t feel comfortable revealing. We’ll be updating this page as needed (and when we have the time).
Who owns Bookwyrming Thoughts?
Bookwyrming Thoughts is owned by Sophia (a quick look around the blog shows evidence of this, though). Lupe is a co-blogger, and Clo from Cuppa Clo is a contributing writer. Past writers include Anelise and Ella.
How do you pronounce “Bookwyrming Thoughts?”
A lot of people tend to say “book w-y-r-m ing thoughts” with the “wyrm” spelled out, but it’s actually like saying “bookworming thoughts.”
In my defense, I was 15 years old, and the only thing that mattered in coming up with the blog name was 1) there had to be dragons involved in some way (even if it’s a different word), 2) it couldn’t have anything to do with my name, 3) no one is already using it. There have been plenty of times a rebrand in the blog name was discussed in recent years because the name was long and it’s not exactly pronounceable. Nothing else felt right or a better fit (and rebranding takes a lot of work), so the name stuck. Perhaps this will change in the future, but maybe the name will stay due to sentimental value.
Can I use any of the content?
If you plan on copying any of our content, no. Should we find out you have copied any of our content without our explicit permission, we will kindly send you a message privately asking you to take the content down. A horde of angry bookwyrms will be sent after you with sharp pineapples should you refuse or repeat the offense.
If you would like to repost any of our content, please contact us for permission. Content includes but is not limited to: blog posts, graphics and banners, and photographs from the site and Instagram. Please note you will be required to include a canonical link to the original post if we give permission.
Inspiration is good, plagiarism is no good. If any of our content inspires you to write a post, please feel free to write your post and send us a message! We also request that you link to the post(s) that inspired your post. We’d love to see what you’ve come up with.
Do you have any book recommendations?
Some of Sophia’s favorites include the Shadow of the Fox trilogy by Julie Kagawa, The Dragon Warrior by Katie Zhao, Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds, the Guild Codex Universe by Annette Marie, The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee and A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
Some of Lupe’s favorites include Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.
Please note this changes pretty regularly, so if you would like a relatively more recent list, we would definitely recommend checking out books we rate 4.5 or 5 stars to start off.
Do you accept sponsored posts or collaborations?
While we do receive free copies and affiliate commissions, we are open to paid opportunities, and we strongly suggest looking at our content prior to contacting us to see if we are right for your brand. Should you feel we are the perfect fit for your brand, please reach out to us and we can talk.
Do you accept review copies?
Please view our collaborations page for more information reading preferences, reviewing status and contact information.
While we try to regularly update the page, we highly recommend viewing our latest posts for the most accurate and up-to-date reading preferences.
Do you review anything other than books?
While most of our content and review requests are books, we do step out of the book-reviewing space sometimes! When we do, we review games, mobile apps, and movies/TV shows (specically Asian dramas).
I want to invite you to an app! Are you on Android or iOS?
Both of us use Android devices, but Sophia also has an iPad Air 2 she occasionally uses.
Are your reviews spoiler-free?
None of our reviews are completely spoiler-free, but we do try to avoid spoilers about the plot that will ruin the reading and viewing experience for others. In other words, there may be minor spoilers, but nothing major—anything major will be hidden by a spoiler button. Going into detail about content that is triggering for one of us and potentially for others or problematic content is not what we consider a spoiler.
Please note sequel reviews will generally include spoilers from the previous novels under the assumption you’ve read the previous books.
How frequently do you post?
We aim to post content at least once a week, typically on Tuesdays or Fridays. However, as we are both working full time, this is heavily based on what our schedules look like. Sometimes there will be more content, other times, there will be what seems to be an on-and-off hiatus. Blogging takes a lot of time and energy, and unfortunately, we do not make a living off of blogging (although it would be nice). Because of that, we generally have to push blogging back when life becomes a bit much.
Currently, Sophia’s schedule has a lot more freedom than Lupe’s, so she’s the primary poster.
Can I contribute content to the blog? What about guest posts?
We’re currently not actively searching for any contributing writers, however, we do accept guest posts! Please be sure to check out some of our recent posts to get a feel for the types of articles we publish. To submit a guest post, please contact sophia(at)bookwyrmingthoughts(dot)com.
I want to submit a guest post! What topics do you accept?
Bookwyrming Thoughts is first and foremost a book blog. While we do post other topics, the vast majority of our posts are book-related, which fits with the tagline “Musings from bookwyrms” pretty well since we’re book nerds at the core. That being said, book-related posts are generally the topics accepted.
Other topics that are acceptable: bullet journaling, movies and TV shows (it doesn’t have to be about Asian dramas!), music (it doesn’t have to be about K-Pop), blogging tips, gaming (this is pretty rare). Other ideas are welcome if you feel they’re a fit!
Do you have a Patreon, Kofi, or another way to support you?
Thank you for believing in the value of our work to consider supporting us! You are under no obligation to support us with your hard-earned money. Currently, the best way to support the blog is through our affiliate links.* Patreon is currently not available.
Sophia also has a Ko-Fi and Buy Me a Coffee. She should absolutely do better at promoting her work.
*While we are Amazon affiliates, we strongly encourage supporting indie through Bookshop.org or Libro.fm instead. If you’re from the St. Louis area, we encourage supporting Left Bank Books directly.
Sophia, can I view your portfolio?
Because I blog under an alias, I’m not comfortable posting my portfolio publicly everywhere. That being said, a lot of my portfolio consists of existing blog posts on here and The Arts STL, so if you are looking for my most recent writing pieces to get a feel of my style and voice, I definitely suggest checking out my latest posts! Please note I post more regularly here.
If you’re a current student and would like a link for inspiration, please email me at sophia(at)bookwyrmingthoughts(dot)com, and I’ll send mine over to you. I’m honestly no web designer, so it’s very similar to the landing page I use as my link on social media.
Should I start a book blog? (Or a blog?)
Sophia has a post about signs to inspire you to start a book blog written in 2019, though that post is more in a fun tone rather than a serious one.
On a serious note, as someone who started blogging in late middle school, it’s a fantastic way to build a portfolio and develop writing skills. Blogging is very different and far less conforming than traditional academic papers, and you also don’t get graded on it, which is great if deadlines give you anxiety. This gives you that freedom to really explore your writing style and voice that you can’t really develop solely from just writing academic papers, and you develop a lot of other skills as well (SEO, social media, photography, etc.).
You might die of embarrassment when you look back on older posts or wish you could’ve written it differently (or even get hurtful comments, which I usually ignore), but I honestly think it’s turned me into a better writer.
How do you blog for so long?
Sophia has a post about how to continue blogging even after 7 years written in 2019 for this blog’s 7th anniversary.
In a nutshell (and perhaps more serious), though, I’m sometimes surprised I’ve blogged as long as I did, but I think part of that comes down to initially choosing a niche I’m interested in, along with the tendency to backlog a lot of my posts.
I also don’t beat myself over blogging consistently (the Tuesday/Friday alternating schedule isn’t a hard deadline), because I’m considered a chaotically organized person. Habits and consistency don’t work for me, and beating myself up is a quick and great way to get me to quit blogging (or anything).
What does each of your ratings mean?
While the rating system may change over time and varies on the reviewer, here’s a brief rundown of what each means:
1 Star – n o p e
2 Stars – not the greatest
3 Stars – okay, but liked it overall
4 Stars – enjoyed it a lot
5 Stars – absolutely loved it
Note: We do use a half-star rating system. As a general rule of thumb, DNFs and 1-2.5 is will not recommend, 3-3.5 is maybe recommended, and 4-5 is recommended. Typically anything 3 or higher is a book that’s liked. DNFs are rated on what was read, not the entire book. These days DNFs reviews are scarcely written on the blog and are generally found on our individual Goodreads profiles.
Why do you have ratings for book reviews but not for movies/TV shows?
Trust us, it’s been thought of to permanently remove ratings for book reviews plenty of times; the lack of a rating in movies/TV shows is a sort of experimentation with this.
Ratings, like “Best of…” lists, are deeply subjective and differ on the person; reviews are very much the opinions of the reviewer, and simply rating something on a scale of 1-5 is too simple when there’s so much to a book, movie, TV show, etc. beyond that rating. Additionally, some people feel 3 stars mean the book is okay, but some folks (including Sophia) actually think anything 3 stars or higher means the reviewer liked it, even if they might think it’s okay. Complicated, no?
Why can’t I comment on a post?
Comments are set to automatically close approximately a year after the post goes live. As much as I enjoy discussing in the comments section, most posts don’t receive comments a month after it goes live (there’s only 1-2 that have), and I receive enough spam comments that sometimes I unintentionally delete a legitimate comment in spam (I would really prefer to avoid doing that). Additionally, I just don’t have the energy to monitor comments as much.
Please note this is subject to change and may differ on the post itself, as I do keep track of posts that continuously have comments throughout the timeframe before it closes. If you see a post that’s a year old and has a comment from 1-2 months ago but is closed, I probably didn’t have the time yet to adjust the individual settings. 🙈