;why you might be in a bookstagram slump

If you follow me on bookstagram, you may have noticed that I have not been very active in the last few months. That is because I ran out of photos, and then I lost the motivation to take more!

Bookstagram slumps, am I right?

Now we all can probably agree that breaks are necessary. But sometimes short hiatus’ turn into longer ones because we start second-guessing ourselves, our photos, our entire existence – so let’s think on why we might have fallen into a slump, and see if there is a way to crawl out of it.

Note: I may be writing this post to try and pull myself out of my slump. Ask me in a week if it worked.

Reason #1: Real life needs your attention.

Not that bookstagram is ‘fake life’ or anything. It’s just most of us have families, or jobs, or school to worry about too. And sometimes things on those fronts become too much to handle so we need to step back from bookstagram to focus. Valid and fair!

What you can do to manage it is keep a backlog of photos for this very purpose. Instead of posting on your usual schedule, if you think your break is going to be long, post this backlog on a slower schedule so that your account still has some activity.

It is completely okay not to comment on as many posts – or any, if you’re really busy – during this period of time. Everybody understands, okay? You focus on yourself.

Reason #2: You’ve lost your motivation.

You’ve been taking photos for a while and you’ve realised all your photos look the same now. There’s nothing fresh about them, there’s nothing new or exciting, so you have no urge to take more, and your bookstagram is dying a painful death.

Sounds familiar?

What you can do to is try a new theme! Take photos outside your house, take a series of photos involving food, change your backdrop – experiment with your books and your bookish items. You don’t have to post these photos if you don’t want to, but play around until you find something you like.

Reason #3: You keep using the same items in the photos.

It costs money to buy props and bookish merch. It costs money to buy books! Much like the earlier point, now you’re down in the dumps because your photos look the same (to you) because you’re rotating the same props over and over and over.

What can you do? Find something else in the house that you think you can use!

I’ve actually used my daughter’s sandals as a prop. I’ve even used my daughter herself as a prop.

Simple household items can become something new when you place them near or with your books. You don’t need to spend lots of money on things if you don’t want to. (Thank you, Avalinah & Pamela!)

Reason #4: You no longer enjoy it.

It used to be fun, finding awys to frame your books for pictures. Staacking them up, spreadng them around, whatever you used to do, there used to be enjoyment in it.

Now it feels like a chore.

What you can do is take a break! It’s totally fine to take a step back – to delete even, if you need to. Bookstagram should not be a chore – don’t force yourself to keep at it if it’s turned from a hobby, from enjoyment, into something that you dread.

Any of this sound familiar to you? My reasons for the slump, I’ve realised, are a mix of 2, 3 and 4. I’ve been trying to mix things up, however, and hopefully will be back to taking pictures and posting them on my account soon!

Can you think of any other reasons you might be in a bookstagram slump? Can you think of a way you may have managed to get yourself out of a bookstagram slump? Leave me a comment with more suggestions. Help a bookworm out!