Book Blogger Interview: Hayley from shelflyfe | Jo Linsdell

Book Blogger Interview: Hayley from shelflyfe

Book Blogger Interview: Hayley from shelflyfe

Book Blogger Interview Series

Getting To Know The Book Blogging Community One Guest At A Time


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I love connecting with other book bloggers and finding out more about them, their blogs, and how they are going about being part of the book blogging community. 

Just chatting can give way to learning about new apps, tools, updates etc that can help in my own journey as a book blogger. With this in mind, I decided to do a series of blog posts interviewing different book bloggers, bookstagrammers, and booktubers to get some behind the scenes insight into how they are approaching the book blogging community and what they've learnt so far.

I've tried to get good mix of levels of experience, styles, and platforms to keep the information as varied as possible. 

Just because someone hasn't been doing it very long doesn't mean they can't teach us something new. In fact, I've learnt a lot over the years from people who are just starting out. As newbies they are going into the community with a fresh take on it, and the latest information.

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this series of posts and get to know some great members of the book blogging community along the way.



First up is bookstagrammer Hayley from shelflyfe.


Getting to Know Bookstagrammer Hayley from shelflyfe


The Interview:


1. When did you start your bookstagram account?

I've always loved reading but only started bookstagramming shortly after lockdown in March 2020.

2. What made you pick Instagram as a platform to build your brand?

I chose instagram as a platform because I was already using it in a personal capacity, and that's where I first came across the world of book blogging.
I personally feel that bookstagram is more accessible to more people than a separate blog, but it's just my personal preference.

3. What are your favourite genres to read?

My favourite genres are historical fiction, literary fiction and fantasy, though I'm fussy about what I like in the fantasy genre! I am open to most genres I just don't tend to read erotica/romance or sci fi.

4. Best book you've read so far this year?

It's hard to pick just one, but if I had to choose I'd say The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin.

5. What other social media sites do you use most to spread the word about your blog posts/to network with the book blogging community?

I use Goodreads and Twitter to share my love of books and my reviews, and I've recently joined BookTok.

6. What do you wish you'd known about bookstagram before you started?

Before starting I wish I knew more about the community, and especially the community on Twitter, as I have so many great interactions with publishers and authors.

7. What is the hardest part of being a bookstagrammer?

The hardest part of being a bookstagrammer is just having time for everything. If I could not work and just read full time and share reviews I absolutely would
Rolling on the floor laughing


8. How often do you post to your bookstagram account?

I post to my main blogging account on Instagram most days, but I try not to force it. Some days I don't post.

9. What's your most popular post so far?

My most popular recent post is a post about favourite fantasy authors, showing one of my shelves that houses Philip Pullman and Neil Gaiman books.


10. What are you currently reading and why did you choose to read it?

I'm currently reading Girl in the Walls by A J Gnuse. I won a proof a while ago, and have seen so many brilliant things about it from fellow bloggers. It's such a beautiful and unusual book.


I hope you've enjoyed getting to know Hayley better and encourage you to subscribe to her bookstagram channel.


FYI You can subscribe to my bookstagram channel too 😉


Book Blogger Interview: Hayley from shelflyfe


Are you a book blogger? Check out 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers


13 comments

  1. Great interview both of you. I am such a cross platform blogger myself. (Main, Facebook. Instagram, twitter.)

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    1. Thanks Tasha. I'm everywhere too but I only tend to post full content posts here. On the blog and on YouTube. My other social media posts tend to be more readers that redirect back here to the main content. I'm really enjoying seeing the different ways other book bloggers approach book blogging though. Hayley gave some great insight into Bookstagram. I'm still finding my feet over there so it was really interesting to know more about how she is using Instagram and the sorts of posts she's creating.

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  2. I cross post to Facebook and Twitter. I initially avoided Instagram, but I recently learned the benefits of using this platform.

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    1. I've recently been getting a bit more into Instagram too. I'm finding it easier to post content there on a more regular basis thanks to the scheduling feature on Facebook where I can program posts for both platforms at the same time. I definitely still have a lot to learn about using it though.

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  3. Fabulous interview. Lovely to meet Hayley. I used Instagram but I'm not as artistic as most bookstagramers. I don't have the time, set-up, space, or imagination for some of the amazing posts they create.

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    1. I'm the same. There are some truly amazing bookstagrammers out there that put together the most beautiful and creative posts... I'm not one of those. I do enjoy looking at those sorts of posts but just don't have enough time and energy to do them myself. I'm much more "basic" with my own posts on the platform.

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    2. I feel like my posts are a real mixed bag to be honest :) a lot of people's instagram feeds are very uniform and beautiful though I agree!

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  4. This promises to be a great series full of insight! Awesome idea!!

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  5. This was a great idea for a blog post. Loved reading it. I tend to use my insta account for nature photography, not as a bookstagram. E-book lovers are in a disadvantage there as it is hard to get attractive pics with a kindle.

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    1. Thanks. I'm with you on that. As an international book blogger who mainly reads ebooks on my kindle app I can confirm that this is a big issue. It's part of the reason why I decided to use the style of posts I do for my own Instagram channel.

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  6. "Just because someone hasn't been doing it very long doesn't mean they can't teach us something new. In fact, I've learnt a lot over the years from people who are just starting out. As newbies they are going into the community with a fresh take on it, and the latest information."

    I think this is a great point and Hayley touched on it in Question 6 too, when she said, "Before starting I wish I knew more about the community, and especially the community on Twitter, as I have so many great interactions with publishers and authors."

    It's so easy to keep doing what you've always been doing and not even realize you're missing out on new opportunities. I've been a book blogger since 2013 but was totally oblivious to Bookstagram for an embarrassingly long time, for example. So, I agree whole heartedly!

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    1. One of the things I love about blogging and social media is that it's constantly evolving. There's never time to get bored as there's always something new to learn or try out.

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