The Blogger Recognition Award (AKA: I’ve Gone Self-Hosted and I’m Pretty Excited About It)

Okay, so how should I start this post?

Hi, my name is Kat. (No…too boring)

Once upon a time… (No…too cliche.)

It was a dark and stormy night. (No…too dreary.)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. (No…too Charles Dickens).

Well, I’m at a loss.

I guess I’ll just skip the beginning entirely and move on to the part where I scream and shout and shake it all about because GUYS LOOK AT HOW PRETTY MY NEW BLOG IS! *ahem* Keep it together, Kat.  As you’ve probably already guessed, I’ve decided to take the plunge and go self-hosted!

So, without further ado, I present to you my sparkly new website: novelsandwaffles.COM! *insert appropriate squealing and applause here* (Also could we just all take a moment to appreciate the beauty that is Giulia Priori’s art because DANG it’s so beautiful I’m crying heart emojis).

Anyways, as I thought about what my first post on this fancy new site of mine should be, I figured that FINALLY doing The Blogger Recognition Award that I was nominated for like…a year ago…would be as good a place to start as any. Because what better way to start a new chapter than to look back and thank all of those who have helped me get here?

The Blogger Recognition Award

I think I’m just going to stand here awkwardly and flail my arms around while I accept this award. For those of you who didn’t already know, I was stung by a radioactive jellyfish and acquired the superhuman ability to turn into a spineless lump of mush whenever I’m in front of a large crowd…(or any sized crowd, really.)

Also, let me just take a moment to gush about how much I love Kaleena @ Reader Voracious. She is an amazing, wonderful, awesome, (insert pretty much any positive adjective here) person who works SO DANG HARD at being inclusive and supportive (she also nominated me for this award, so there’s that too). Thank you, Kal, for being a light in this community! If you guys don’t already follow her blog, might I recommend that you take a gander at it. *wink wink nudge nudge*

The Rules

• Thank the blogger who nominated you for The Blogger Recognition Award and provide a link to their blog.
• Write a post to show your award.
• Give a brief story of how your blog started.
• Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
• Select 15 other bloggers that you want to give this award to.
• Comment on each blog to let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.

My Origin Story

Alright, people, let’s do this one last time. My name is Kat. I was bitten by a radioactive spider a desperate need to read books and for the last year, and I’ve been blogging at the one and only Novels & Waffles. I’m pretty sure you know the rest. I reviewed a whole bunch of books, fell in love with some fictional characters, shirked my TBR, and then I shirked my TBR again and again and again…So no matter how many books I read, I always find a way to add more to my shelf. Because the only thing standing between me and mind-numbing boredom is books. There’s only one Kat. And you’re looking at her. *wink*

Okay, but in all seriousness, my blog’s origin story is pretty simple:

1. I like books.
2. I like writing.
3. I thought, “I should WRITE about BOOKS!!”
4. I patted myself on the back for coming up with such a novel idea (pun intended).
5. I ate a waffle.
6. And here we are.

My (Attempt At) Sage Advice:

Do It Your Own Way

When I first decided that I wanted to start a book blog, I channeled my inner Doc Brown (sometimes minus the crazy hairdo) and did a lot of research.

In the name of SCIENCE™, I visited pretty much every book blog I could find. And because I’m a big dweeb, I actually took notes on all the exciting stuff that I discovered. How were people writing their reviews? What sort of widgets did they put in their sidebars? What books were they reading? What weekly memes were popular? What social media platforms were they using. I just had to know.

I’m a hardcore perfectionist, so I wanted to get everything JUST RIGHT, which caused me quite a bit of stress (shocker). But, eventually, I realized something: why was I pulling my hair out over something that was supposed to be a relaxing and fun hobby?

✨My first pearl of wisdom is this✨ It doesn’t really matter what everybody else is doing. Do what you want to do. Be who you want to be. Blog how you want to blog. And do it unapologetically (unless you want to blog about how pineapple deserves to be on a pizza; then you should be apologetic…hahaha naw, I’m just kidding! Even that’s fine too!)

Do It At Your Own Pace

Slow and steady might win the race, but let’s face it, today’s society is more like the hare than the tortoise from that old Aesop fable. Everything has to be FAST – fast transportation, fast service, fast internet, and yes, even fast success. The mere concept of “slow” is frowned upon because it means that we’ll have to – heaven forbid – wait for something. *A collective gasp of terror escapes from the audience*

It can be difficult when everything and everyone is screaming at you to go faster, faster, faster, faster, faster and blogging is no different. There are a lot of hares out there in the blogosphere – people who post every day, who are constantly on social media, who seem to be going a million miles a minute. And that’s not a bad thing! But for those of us tortoises who need to take things a bit slower, it can make blogging feel oh-so daunting.

✨Here’s my second pearl of wisdom✨ It’s easy to get caught up in the need for speed – the subtle and the not-so-subtle pressures we feel to DO everything and BE everything – but don’t push yourself too hard. While some people blog like The Fast and the Furious, others (such as myself) need a Driving Miss Daisy approach if we’re going to stay sane, and that’s okay! Just find your own comfortable blogging pace and stick with that. Just remember: it’s not about speed, distance, or even perfection. It’s about direction!

Bloggers I Want to Recognize

The Blogger Recognition Award has been described as, “A way of acknowledging the hard work and talent of other bloggers. Because running a blog is not just sitting down and hammering something out in half an hour. It’s a heck of a lot of hard work, research, promoting, and all kinds of activities which can certainly be fun, but which take a good chunk of time out of your day, too.”

Although I know all of these bloggers have probably been tagged for The Blogger Recognition Award an inordinate number of times (please do not feel pressured to do it again if you have), I still want to show my love and appreciation for all of the things that you’ve done to help my blog get to where it is today. So here’s to the ones who go above and beyond with every post. The ones who inspire me everyday. The ones who comment, reach out, and befriend. Here’s to you.

• Marie and Nyx @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books
• Kelly @ Another Book in the Wall
• Becky @ Blogs of a Bookaholic
• Brianna @ Brianna the Bookworm
• Truffles @ Truffle’s Literary Wonders
• Tiffany @ Read by Tiffany
• May @ My First Chapter
• Malanie @ Malanie Loves Fiction

Who are some of the bloggers who help, support, and inspire you?

What do you think of my new and improved blog?

Have you ever made the move to self-hosting? What was your experience like?