I woke up early this morning and knew a rare Sunday post was brewing. This one might bounce around a bit — the way thoughts do when they’ve been rattling in my brain for a while — but it’s coming from the heart.
First things first.
I love blogging.
I love this community.
I love the flow I feel when I write.
I love having a place to express myself and connect with others.
But lately I’ve been thinking about how I spend my time online, especially in the blogging world.
There’s a quote I’ve carried with me for decades — something Bilbo Baggins says at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings:
I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.
– J.R.R. Tolkien
Well, I’ve been feeling a bit like Bilbo. (Minus the hairy feet.)
The Shift
A lot has changed.
When I first started blogging, no one was reading. I’d write and hit Publish without expectations. I followed a handful of blogs, but rarely commented. It was quiet, low-key…and lonely. But then — beautifully and unexpectedly — things changed. People found me and many have become dear friends. I discovered lots of great blogs, and started leaving thoughtful comments where I could.
That was the beginning of something special — a community. One I care about deeply.
But here’s the thing: I’m struggling to keep up. I know how meaningful it is when someone engages with my writing, but I’m finding it harder to reciprocate with the same attention and energy. As Matthew says, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh [and schedule, and brain] is weak.“
How can I nurture this community while juggling paid work, unpaid work, and everything in between?
I want to give everyone equal and full attention, but I have to be honest about my limitations. I only have so much time, energy, and emotional bandwidth to go around.
What’s Sustainable?
Here’s where I’m landing: I still want to be the kind of blogger who encourages and supports others — but I’m realizing I can’t do that everywhere, for everyone, all the time. And I’m trying to make peace with that.
It feels strange (maybe even silly?) to talk about burning out (not quite the right term, but it will do for now) on something I enjoy so much. But is it silly? I’m not burning out despite loving it — I’m burning out because I love it, and I’ve poured so much into it.
And because I pour so much into it, I’ve started to wonder: Do I want to be paid for this?
Even typing that feels taboo. Like I’m selling out and have crossed some invisible line between genuine creative passion and something cold and transactional.
Some days, I feel excited by the idea. Other days, I feel like a fraud. I’m not a trained writer. I’ve never taken a creative writing course. My background is in biology, not literature. But I try to write with care, intention, and honesty.
So is this about money?
Validation? Recognition?
Am I wrestling with imposter syndrome?
Maybe it’s a little bit of everything. Or maybe I’m just standing at a fork in the road.
Maybe I’m overthinking things (I’m good at that!) and I should keep seeing this blog for what it has always been — a meaningful, creative outlet, and a connection point to an incredible global community. Can I have both things? (That’s a rhetorical question and I’m still considering the answer; if I can only have one, I pick meaning over money.)
What’s Next?
Right now, I’m most interested in making this online space more sustainable. Some options I’ve been mulling over:
- Writing fewer posts
- Responding to fewer comments
- Reading fewer blogs
- Leaving fewer comments
My gut tells me it’s the last two that need to shift — and that makes me sad. I don’t want to disappear. I don’t want to stop cheering people on. But something has to give. It’s a hard, but necessary, recalibration.
The good news? I’m not burned out on writing. I still love writing. I want to keep posting regularly — not out of obligation, but because I’m happier when I write.
But sometimes, writing feels like the part I have to squeeze in around all the other blogging things.
So here’s where my bloggy priorities are going to land for the next little bit:
- Continue creating (hopefully engaging and meaningful) content.
- Engage — not universally or constantly, but intentionally.
- Be honest about what I can and can’t sustain.
- Tentatively explore ways to earn from writing — without guilt and without losing the fun of it.
This post might feel a little disjointed — and maybe it didn’t all come out just right — but it’s real. It was written from the heart, sitting in the corner of my living room in Nova Scotia on a rainy Sunday morning.
Hugs <3
To those reading quietly: thank you.
To those who comment: thank you.
To anyone else who’s wrestled with creative limits — I’d love to hear how you navigate it all.
I’ll be here tomorrow to talk lighthouses! Feel free to simply look at the pictures. Comment if you like, no pressure. And if you’re feeling stretched in any area of life, I hope you’ll give yourself permission to step back, too.
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I have confidence you’ll figure out a compromise. Try painting maybe, or another creative outlet…
I get this, Elisabeth. I’ve been having some of the same struggles lately. For years I blogged for no one but myself. I had very little interaction, but then, I rarely interacted either. Little by little I am building my community and I love it! I love the photos and the stories and the poems, the little glimpses into my new friends’ lives. If I have something of value to say, I comment. But as my community grows, I struggle to keep up. With a day job and books to write, it’s a challenge to juggle all the notifications and visit all the blogs — as much as I love it.
Yes to all of this, Jean!
Oh I feel you.
Writing is so much fun but having people read it even more so. Being part of a community and all. But it is only part of the blogging because a lot of the connection comes from commenting and reading other posts.
I personally have very deliberately decided to not make money with my blog. For one I do very similar things for work and I don’t want stress and expectations to taint my blog. But that needs to be everyone’s own decision.
I try to live by the principle to first create something before I consume something.
As for my time management: I mostly read blogs on weekends and then try to work throughs as many blog posts I can because I want to know what is happening in my online friends life. But it also means at times I am 3 or 4 weeks behind.
I have a few blogs that are in favorites folder and I try to stay on top of these. Other are in another folder and I am trying to catch up on as many as I can.
And usually every year after NaBloPoMo I have a little session where I shift things around to my current tastes and priorities.
I am always sorry for not spending time on everyone’s blog but I just can’t. And if a blog mainly talked about kids, running or something that I am only partly interested in I won’t be an avid reader. And it hurts me because I know how much fun it is to bee seen with your thoughts and joys.
All that said. Do what is good for you and I appreciate you when you happen to read my blog and leave a comment.
Thanks, Tobia <3 It's so nice to know other people "get it" - it's such a wonderful outlet, but there can be some quasi-stressful aspects to it as well.
I’m just going to say it…anyone who can get paid for writing SHOULD get paid for writing. You have the output and the talent.
My crystal ball is showing a book in your future.
I can read blogs for days, but I am a very slow writer, so sometimes it is tough to write posts and it is often just Too Much to leave comments. My rule is that when getting on the internet feels like a chore then it’s time to stop for the day. I don’t want to leave anyone out, and there are so many good conversations happening, but what Tolkien said that there is a lot of bread and a limited amount of butter. So far no one has shouted out “hey you didn’t comment on my post!” and I most certainly do NOT take attendance on who leaves comments for me. Using the party metaphor, we’re all hanging out in a big room and having different conversations with different people as the night goes on. We may see someone across the room that we like, but maybe there isn’t time to get to them in the moment.
If I have to chose between getting a post from you or you leaving a comment on my blog, let me be very clear that I WANT THE POST!!!
Okay, I’m giggling here and now as I picture you as a stern old teacher making sure everyone has taken their seats and shown up for class. Elisabeth’s not present. Tisk, tisk.
And, as always, you make me blush, Birchie, and leave me feeling so appreciated and understood. Thank you <3
Oh, Elisabeth, I feel this. I have a hard time keeping up and there is so much amazing content from this unbelievably awesome community. But each person can only do so much. I don’t think anyone is keeping score. I know I am not. I love it when people read and comment, but I never want anyone to feel like they HAVE to read my (really infrequent) posts. I want them to read, comment if they feel moved to do so, and move on.
My thoughts?
1) Do what fills you up, what makes you happy, what makes you smile, what brings you joy.
2) Focus on what means the most to you.
3) Don’t worry about the rest of us. (Easier said than done, I know.) I lov e getting replies to my comments. But if it’s too much – particularly if I’m commenting on an older post – I never, ever want the blogger to feel compelled to respond.
4) You don’t have to be trained as a writer, or have a graduate degree in history, to write! You’re living proof of that! I am with Birchie – you have an amazing ability to communicate. Just because you did not figure that out when you were in college doesn’t mean you’re not amazing!
I will be here, reading. I may not always comment, but I will always read. <3
Thanks, Anne. Unfortunately, my comment responses seem to be going to spam, but I will admit I often am not responding to comments on older posts these days. It’s always wonderful to hear your “voice” though, and I read every single comment and always love seeing your name pop up with your wise insights.
I understand that feeling of it being a bit too much! I feel that way every NaBloPoMo, that I just can’t keep up. And I know it isn’t meant to be this way, but oftentimes things feel a bit transactional. Like, if I’m taking the time to comment on blog x, I would like blogger x to take the time to comment on mine. Not always! But the truth is that is how it feels, often. And I also feel that if someone is commenting on my blog then I want to thoughtfully respond to the comment. But what happens is this takes a lot of time and energy! During NaBloPoMo, or with bloggers who post a lot, sometimes I just skip it, but I always feel bad doing so.
In terms of $, personally I have kept my blog unpaid BUT I have used it to get paying jobs. This was how I got my job at YMC and a few other free-lance writing jobs. And hopefully it will be a springboard for when my book is published. It’s a good compromise for me, because I want my blog to be an honest look at life, one in which I can write anything I feel like.
My friend Laura switched her blog to Substack, and she has paid and unpaid options for it. That could be an idea for you. Laura has a lot of subscribers, plus quite a few who pay for “bonus” content. It feels like a good mix.
Mmm also, in terms of imposter syndrome, that is literally every writer ever. EVERY SINGLE ONE. It’s quite astonishing, you wouldn’t think someone with a lot of literary success has it, but they do. My background is economics. It’s not writing or even writing adjacent. And yet…I wrote a novel! And look at all the people who do things like that and they have like a background in law or what have you. So no, you are not too big for your britches, my friend.
Anyway. I get that feeling of burnout. I have a set amount of time each week that I devote to the community aspect of the blog and that’s how I set a boundary. Maybe that will help?
Idk, I’m always just a text/ phone call away if you ever want to chat. xo
Thanks, friend. This comment was so insightful and helpful, as always.
Kae and I were just talking offline about how it can feel a bit tit-for-tat. Not in a bad way at all; but I’m sensing that other bloggers get what I’m talking about. That feeling of WANTING to be able to do it all, engage with all the good things, but in Birchie’s analogy, it’s just too big a party and we can’t always get to mingle with all the guests every time.
As you know I’ve written a personal blog for a long time and I’ve had the same conversation with myself about what to do about THE BLOG. In the end I decided that writing fewer, but better, posts was a good thing. I also decided that replying to all comments left on my blog posts was the golden rule.
I read fewer blogs than I once did, but the ones I do follow regularly I check in with once a week even if the blogger posts multiple times a week. I leave a comment to let them know I care. Another blogger clued me in to this idea about how to follow someone without getting bogged down and it has worked for me too.
I love this idea of commenting to show you care. A little “Hi, I’m here. I can’t always say hello, but I’m interested and here if you need me.” sort of thing.
I so understand this. I’ve had the feeling of blogging burnout myself recently, which is ironic considering I barely write on my blog, to me the problem is that I overthink writing and kind of think everything I write has to be brilliant which creates a complete writing block. I’ve developed a better attitude and plan about it so now I feel positive about it again and just need to make time to write (and not overthink it).
But yes, you’ll have to do less of something and my idea will always be, cut back on what’s least important to you.
I’ve only recently been reading you blog and I really enjoy it even if I haven’t been able to read every post, my only reflection is – how do you manage to post (almost) every day?! But if that’s something you want to do and have the creative flow for, then that’s great and perhaps then writing for money would be a good fit! I used to feel cringe about paid blogging (because it was all about marketing someone’s product) but now there’s Substack and lots of people there actually write about real topics and still get paid! You certainly don’t need to be a trained writer for that, you only need to write something that resonates and makes people feel something and makes them come back for more.
I hope you find a strategy that works for you. People will understand if you don’t always comment back and all that jazz – if they follow you they want to see your posts more than anything.
The writing is what comes most easily to me (and takes the least amount of time, overall). My biggest output in time is likely commenting on other bloggers posts. I think when I started, it was a much smaller group, but as my network has expanded (WHICH I LOVE) the techniques and ways I handled things in the past are what I was trying to apply in the present and that just is no longer tenable.
It was so helpful to process it in writing and to hear back that I’m not alone.
Writing is my main “hobby” so if I have free time on weekends, evenings, in and around other things, I’m often writing (or reading). One of those two are my go-to activities if I have spare time. I also only work part-time, so I have more daytime availability than many of my readers.
This is such a good conversation, Elisabeth. I’m glad you decided to write so honestly about it because I sometimes feel bogged down by commenting on blogs, especially if they post every day. Yet, I don’t want them to change their frequency of posting! I enjoy reading blogs, but commenting does take extra energy. I love Birchie’s analogy of a party and we’re having conversations with different people as the night goes on. I also love Ally’s idea of checking in once a week, and like her, I will reply to every comment left on my blog because I want to acknowledge that I read and appreciate their efforts. I also love Nicole’s idea of having a set time for blog comments and doing what you can during that time. I never want anyone to feel obligated to comment on my blog, and I’m not keeping track of who does.
I already feel like I’m breathing easier!
Such good ideas from everyone, today! I’m glad others can relate, and maybe this will remove a bit of the barrier to having open conversations about the pressures (real or imagined) to constantly be commenting?
I liked that bread and butter quote. How relatable! I have been blogging for almost 17 (!!!!) years. It’s tough to balance it all. For me, I have really decreased my posts to about 2 and at most 3 posts/week. With a low number of posts, I can respond to comments now that I have a commenting set up that allows for that. And then it I don’t get to every post a person publishes in a week, I dont feel bad because 2-3 is about all I can handle writing so that’s about what I aim to read from others. But it is hard at times to not feel bad about not commenting! But I remind myself that I don’t really track who comments on mine, so if others miss a few posts of mine, they likely dont notice either. But it’s hard!
I knew you’d understand <3
I only comment on blogs and don’t blog myself, so I’m not the best resource. I like commenting on blogs so that the writer knows someone’s read it, or that it sparked an idea or memory. It’s great that I can show up at 2am when I’m not sleeping and read something you wrote. You’ve made your blog a very cozy place to come and chat. However, you need to take care if yourself and nurture your creative spark. Maybe fewer posts, maybe less comments (your replies are always so thoughtful!) . You’ll figure it out.
PS-You should send your Nova Scotia posts to the tourism office for the province – they’d couldn’t find a better writer to extol the beauties of NS!
Writing and responding HERE are my favourite things about blogging. They really give me energy and joy.
I also love reading others posts and commenting, but the latter – especially – can really start to drain my energy. It’s not that I don’t want to do it, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day.
I love imagining you reading this at 2 am. Your comment is often the first thing I see when I check in with my blog and it always makes me smile. So a huge thanks for being such a wonderful part of this community.
I haven’t ever pursued something with NS Tourism, but…maybe?!
I understand completely! I often feel guilty for not commenting on blogs that I read regularly, but if I did, I’d have no sleep or no writing myself or something else would have to go. It’s a balance.
Do what you can. I hope you don’t let guilt get in the way of enjoying your community online. If you have the bandwidth to write for money, go for it. But whether or make money from it or not, you are an engaging writer. I love your posts even though I am a very sporadic commenter. 🙂
Thanks, Joy. It’s so helpful to realize other people are struggling to find the same balance. Phew. It does feel like an invisible weight lifted <3
HOLY Schneikies! It is like you read my mind. I literally have a post drafted that I have been hesitating to post about this very same thing. I am an upholder. If I start to comment or follow someone, I feel like I have to give my all, 100%. But then, they start posting every day and I cannot follow everyone I want to 7x a week, or even 3x sometimes. But then I feel guilt! And my little brain says that maybe I should just stop all of it. But then what does that solve? And I know it is only me, and my own expectations of myself, that feel this way. I am sure that nobody else would be upset with me if I only comment on 2 or 3 of their 4 or 6 weekly posts. So I need to get over it, but I really struggle. So…I feel you girl! And just so you know, if you don’t have time to comment, I get it!
Didn’t you know I’m a mind-reader?
I hope you go ahead and post what you’ve written but just knowing you have something drafted in a similar vein is very reassuring. It’s not just me!
I think we’ve all hit this wall at some point or other in our blogging journeys. Wondering if we should stop, go slower, write less, or are being an upstart. And believe me, burnout is real too. I was running at one point 3 different blogs and, well, burnt out and stopped for a good few years. I only really started again these last couple of years.
What you need to do is find what works for you, your schedule, and tailor accordingly. We’ll all still be here whether you post once a day or once a week. You have fans, and I think the community that has grown over these last couple of years is solid enough it won’t fall apart if one or other of us only posts weekly or monthly.
It’s really hard to visit every blog every day, and comment on every post. I pick a few blogs to visit each day, and try to make the rounds on a weekly basis. It also helps to subscribe to the blogs we like, so we know when someone posts something.
Again, do what works for you.
Yeah, I was wondering how you write such long posts with all the beautiful photos on a daily basis! I can barely manage two or three posts per month. I’ve been blogging since 2008 and have really cut back over the years. I do feel as though connection is lost when comments are not answered, but I’m always blown away by Ally Bean because of the sheer number of comments she gets and responds to! That’s dedication!
It’s a bit of a catch-22 because comments really are where the community part of blogging starts and I wouldn’t have the dear friendships I have without having first launched those relationships in the comment section. But…something has to give for me right now as the number of blogs I read (often after they “find” me) has gotten a bit unwieldy. But I hope to continue answering almost every comment that comes in on my blog because the discussions are wonderful!
I feel you Elizabeth. It comes to the core of why we blog, each with its own reason. If you are blogging to create a big community, then it could feel overwhelming and tik for tat happens if you want to keep the large group of people engaged. If you are blogging for your own journey and writing, then it’s really no need to read/comment to everyone that comments on yours. If you are looking for a smaller community, then limiting the number of blogs you read/comment may be the way, but willing to let some of your commenters go as well.
In my case, I blog to organize my thoughts, record my life happening and reflect at the same time, and have a small group of bloggers that I do want to keep up with their lives and thoughts.
Hope you find a way to make it sustainable, fun, because I really enjoy your blog and it would make me sad if you stop.
Thanks, Coco <3
No plans to stop blogging, just need to decide how to best juggle what is right now an enjoyable hobby with all the other things in life 😉
I’m always impressed with the quantity and quality of your posts and your dedication to replying to comments and commenting on other blogs. It’s clear you care deeply, and it’s lovely. Take however much of a step (or steps) back as you need, and don’t worry about what people may think!
Personally I read far more posts than I comment on, and while I’m trying to be a more consistent commenter on more blogs, I also don’t feel bad if I just read most of the time. It’s a hobby and it’s not worth stressing over. As for monetization, I’ve seen blogs where it’s worked, and blogs where it’s taken a lovely enjoyable blog and destroyed it. I’m confident that you’re someone who could monetize in the right way! And I’m also confident that you could write for pay in other contexts if you wanted – in particular your travel recaps and your posts about NS make me think you could easily find a way to get hired to write promo articles for the province. Your posts about NS are both informative and read like a love letter to your home and your travel recap posts are so informative and engaging!
On a very slightly different note, thank you for your beach posts and the map of the beaches! Used it this week when we went to Halifax for a day to renew C’s US passport (the joys of dual citizenship lol). I looked at your map of beaches and we settled on Lawrenceton and I guarantee we absolutely wouldn’t have made it there if not for your post and map!
Thanks for letting me know about the trip to Lawrencetown! I’m thrilled to hear one of my posts was helpful in the “real” world.
I love the title for this post because I thought maybe you were actually talking about your pants.
I love my blogging community, but I cannot dedicate the time or energy to read and comment on every single post, especially for those who post daily. I DO feel guilt about that, and that’s the reason I only post one or two times a week because it kind of is a tit-for-tat kind of relationship. Right? And I don’t mean that in a negative way, at all.
I love your honesty here! And honestly, I’ve wondered how you were able to put out such lovely content, so many gorgeous photos, replies, etc….while being a full time mom and a worker bee. The burnout was earned.
I know you’ll come up with a good compromise, that fits your life goals. XO
Ha! Well, I’ve decided this year to not wear any uncomfortable clothing, so in cases where this is the reality, I am not wearing them – haha.
This is like ‘NaBloPoMo syndrome” on a larger scale. At first it was just a little group of bloggers, then it got so big I couldn’t keep up with all the posts, every day. I agree with everything you’re feeling. We love this community, and part of being in the community is reading and commenting. I mean- it wouldn’t be much fun to write if no one were reading and commenting. But sometimes it IS a lot, a lot of time spent on a hobby.
I’ll say this- I love the fact that you post eveery day. It feels comforting to me to turn on my laptop, settling down with my tea and know there will be your post to read. So in that way I do feel like you’re providing a service and it wouldn’t be unreasonable for you to get paid. I do think that earning money from the blog might get a little tricky- so if you do explore that, I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts. One thing we know is that you’ll be completely honest with us! Also… I’m wondering if there’s some way to cut down on the amount of time it takes to read and comment. Like instead of commenting every single time, just sending something to say “I read it!” But that somehow seems wrong too- if someone writes a post I want to give them more than a thumbs up emoji. In general, I really enjoy my blog reading time every morning, but there are days where it starts to feel like a chore- like when I link up with the fitness blogging community for the Weekly Rundown and am confronted with a dozen extra posts to read and comment on, on a Sunday morning. But I don’t NOT want to do it either… Hmm. I know there’s an answer here somewhere. The bottom line is, I love your blog. I would rather see you earn some money from it and keep posting regularly, than cut down on your posts. But obviously you have to do what’s right for you, and I’m sure everyone will respect whatever decision you make.
Yes! Such an apt description/summary.
I think it’s a bit like the frog in a pot that is slowly warmed. The community was small and manageable when I first started so I got used to a certain level of participation that now that the group has expanded (WHICH IS AMAZING), just no longer feels tenable.
At this point, I’m still planning to keep posting 5x/week. But my comments, especially on blog posts outside the core original group who have become such near and dear friends, will almost certainly start to slide.
I appreciate this and relate to it. Blogging is sometimes a lot to juggle. Like you, I started out blogging without any readers. Now that I have found this great community, it is hard to skip posts and not comment. I hate to think that I’m offending anyone. I used to post more frequently, but I’ve opted to usually post twice a week. I’m trying to write a book and that’s really my focus, so sometimes I wonder if I should even bother blogging in order to afford myself more time to write my chapters.
I have no solutions, but I agree with Birchie that if you can get paid to write – go for it.
I know you’ll figure it out and I hope you are pleased with your decision. Good luck! Change is hard.
Yes! You get it. I have been so happy to hear from so many other bloggers that I’m not alone in this struggle.
Hooray for your writing progress. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to do all the things we want and need to do and sometimes it’s hard to make choices about what to let go of…
Ooooh Elisabeth! I am so excited to see (and read!) whatever it is you do next!!!!! You ARE a writer and I love your posts and your unique blend of tell-it-to-me-straight mixed with gratitude. I completely understand the burnout and the inability to keep up with everyone. It’s hard, and it IS guilt inducing. But we can only do what we can do.
I really, really feel this! I often struggle to keep up with blog reading and commenting, and I’m usually at least a few days (if not more) late to commenting on posts. It’s a source of stress for me, which is ridiculous because this is a thing I do for fun! It shouldn’t be stressful. But if I choose to keep Feedly closed for a day or two, suddenly, I come back and it’s already out of control and I feel so behind and frantic to catch up. It’s also like, which hobby do I spend time doing today? Writing, reading blogs, reading BOOKS, working on my podcast, watching TV??? If I spend too much time blogging, then I’m not reading. If I spend too much time reading, then I’m not keeping up with my blog feed. It’s a vicious cycle. It’s a GOOD problem to have, but it’s still a problem.
For me, I have committed to writing 3 blog posts a week and that’s all. (If I’m feeling particularly inspired, maybe 5 posts but that’s rare.) I try not to get too hung up on responding to comments. While I love when bloggers respond to my comments and I try to reciprocate, it can be very time-consuming. And I’ve split my Feedly into a few categories so I know which blogs I really want to keep up with and comment on all of their posts (if possible), and blogs that I like to keep up with but if I miss a few posts, it’s okay. Sometimes that means I’m just deleting a whole bunch of posts in my reader because I’m over a week behind, but something had to give.
Maybe a good first step is to start time tracking and figure out which parts of this process are a) the most time-consuming and b) the least enjoyable for you? That way you can figure out how much time you’re really spending on all the different parts of the blogging process, and from there, can give yourself some manageable parameters (example: “I’m going to spend 15 minutes every morning responding to comments.”)
It was so helpful to write this out AND to receive all these insightful responses. Writing and responding to comments in my own space are definitely the priority. I’m glad I’m not alone. I never really thought about other people feeling overwhelmed or pressured or stressed. Blogging is fun but sometimes there are unexpected layers to it!
I totally agree about other hobbies. There is so much I want to do, but we’re all limited to 24 hours (and I tend to have pretty low energy, so I’m not someone that can go, go, go without naps and some early bedtimes).
I have your future book pre-ordered in my mind and would like to preemptively request an autograph. I’m going backwards in your recent posts so looked at today’s lighthouse highlight and was thinking, This should be a paid post for a Nova Scotia/Canada tourism magazine/website! You have the talent and the inclination and the community and the platform! If you want it you should go for it!
I liked the comments above about setting time boundaries around blog consumption and replying to comments. Also, prioritizing creating before consuming seems like an obvious choice for you since it’s the writing that is your primary draw, although of course the community you’ve built is amazing!
Ha! Yes, I will hand-deliver an autographed book to your front door.
It has been surprisingly helpful to put all my jumbled thoughts down on screen and see that it IS clear: my favourite thing to do is write/create and then engage with people within my own comment section first and foremost. That small change of perspective that those two things are my decided priority feels liberating.
Aww I loved our in person meet up. I definitely face these challenges Elisabeth, but on a much smaller scale! When I first started reading blogs during covid, it was really just SHU’s and LV’s. I mostly lurked, and I remember how nervous I was to comment at first, it felt like a club I wasn’t a part of. Ha! Now I am a blogger myself, and read a much larger number of blogs, and feel guilty for not commenting on them all. But where I am in life, even what I do is quite a lot.
I think your strategy is a good one, we should all feel permission to read and comment only as we want, and have time for. Honestly, I don’t pay much attention to who comments on my blog (I love comments of course but I don’t EXPECT it).
As for monetising your writing- UMM yes! You could create a paid Substack, or newsletter, or Patreon, where perhaps you share some longer form posts, or more personal or whatever. I’d pay 🙂
Thanks for your encouragement. And it was fantastic to meet up last year. I still can’t believe my first in-person meetup was with someone from Australia!
I often wondered how you managed to have time to write such long and wonderful posts with all you have going on in your life–
please, if you are feeling overwhelmed, scale it back to where it is more manageable !!! We will continue to read and enjoy whatever you feel your have time to post. And really, I don’t think everyone expects a reply from you. Give yourself a break. And do what you feel is the right thing for you and your family. You are a beautiful writer. If you could earn money by doing so, by all means do it.
You have to prioritize what is right for you to prioritize. That is all life is, I think. Just a series of choices about how to spend your time. I also love our blogging community, but it has to take a backseat once in a while. It is my hobby (unpaid!) and that is how I prioritize it. If you only post once a month or once a week or whatever, your blog and its readers will still be here.
In terms of monetizing, I guess I differ from a lot of other commenters. One of the things I like about this hobby is that I don’t have to spend money on it and I’m not bombarded with ads or paid content. If you changed to something like a paid Substack newsletter or whatever, I probably would not pay for it. Blogs that have paid content tend to be less authentic and I always end up unfollowing shortly after they are monetized. If that’s what is right for you (and I get why someone would want to get paid!), that’s awesome. But you might find yourself losing some of the community that you’ve worked so hard to build.
I share many of the same feelings about monetizing (though a number of the blogs I read DO have ads, but I’m mostly oblivious because I use Feedly + have an Adblocker extension on Chrome). And I very much don’t want to jeopardize community. Lots of things to think through and thankfully no decisions need to be made now (or at any point for that matter). For now it is exclusively a hobby!
Hi Elisabeth,
I am always, always so impressed with the quality of your posts and the frequency of posting! Also, you comment a lot and again-quality.
I am nowhere near that. I think Stephany said above how you keep Feedly closed and then you open it and it’s CRAZY! So much good stuff! Things I want to react to, to show care or just contribute. Alas, that is not possible.
Lately I have been laying low on my blog because of my dad’s stroke situation. I just didn’t not have the focus it takes to read and comment. Heck, or to write. I will be back but right now I feel like I have to give myself grace- the end of the year at my school, our anniversary with Tony, and my trip to Russia are all coming up very soon… I am churning in a state of anxiety.
Oh Elisabeth, I get it! My blog is about 1/100th the size of yours, and I feel similar. I love to blog and appreciate comments so much. BUT, it is a WEB, and it draws me in. Think about FG Kristen—a zillion comments, and she only replies to a handful PLUS gets money. Maybe you could post less often (yeah, right, when sometimes I have more to say than there are days to blog—no idea to stop thinking and writing) or only reply to a couple of comments (WHAT?? Isn’t that rude? Sigh.)
No insight, only the same questions myself.
I think it all comes down to being a bit more intuitive with my time. I started blogging/engaging in a certain way but because of the size of the community and the increase in my own readership, it’s not sustainable to keep on at the same pace.
I’m so glad to know I’m not alone in wondering how to best strike a balance.
Elisabeth, good for you for exploring and respecting your own limits! I know it’s hard. But you’re designing a more sustainable, joy-giving experience for yourself and your readers going forward. Huzzah! And now, hopefully, you can rest a bit this weekend.
Yay! Today is shaping up to be a good mix of rest and getting various errands done. So far, it’s been absolutely lovely. Hooray for weekends.