I have been bookstagramming for a little over two years now. I love it. There are certainly days when my follower count seems to be dwindling that I get discouraged, but overall I enjoy being a part of the community! Here are four reasons you should also think about joining the bookstagram community!
The People
This may be cliche, but I have met some of my closest friends on bookstagram. People I talk with daily. And though I haven’t met these people “in real life,” I certainly feel connected to them!
Personally, I am not great at initiating conversation; I am an introvert by nature and am not good at making the first step to connect to people. On bookstagram, you have a built-in conversation starter, books! There are a ton of people who like the same books that you do.
Creative Outlet
I consider myself to be a creative person. I’ve never been very good at creating things, however. I can’t draw or paint. I’ve been interested in photography but didn’t have a ton of time for it. So when I discovered bookstagram, I discovered the perfect creative outlet. I got to practice my photography skills on a subject I loved, books. In addition to the mechanics of taking a decent photo, bookstagram also incorporates photo styling and editing. I love the whole process, from setting up the shot to editing it just the way I want it.
Book Recommendations
Nothing has opened my eyes to the books and authors I’d been missing out on more than bookstagram. Being a part of the bookstagram community has introduced me to new books, authors, and even genres I would never have known before. For example, I read A Court of Thornes and Roses before joining bookstagram, and I liked it but didn’t love it, and probably wasn’t going to finish the series. Seeing everyone rave about A Court of Mist and Fury on bookstagram piques my interest. I decided to continue reading the series, and boy, am I glad I did!
Free Books
I am not going to lie; this is one of the best perks about bookstagram. You don’t have to be a huge account to get them either. Many publishers and authors use bookstagrammers to promote their books. The quickest way is to sign up with book tour companies. Keep in mind you aren’t going to get the most sought after books right away. It will be slow at first, but as your account grows, so will the number of books you get. If you are entirely new to book reviewing – no blog or book twitter or anything, I recommend having at least 500 followers (if not more) before you start this process.
You can view my bookstagram here and check out my post on how to start a bookstagram as well.