Interview with Bookstagrammer: Liz (@thebohobookblogger)

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jordan (00:09):
Welcome to the bookish hour with JustJour.
You might know her as the bohobook blogger, bringing all the
cozy vibes with the perfectblend of beauty books and a
touch of lifestyle, from herchic New York City adventures to
her stunning flat lays.
Seriously, we're all obsessed.
She effortlessly creates magicand, beyond the aesthetic, she

(00:32):
is genuinely one of the kindesthumans ever.
Welcome to the podcast, liz Hi.

Liz (00:39):
Hi, thank you so much for having me.
I'm so excited to be here.

Jordan (00:43):
Oh my gosh.
No, Thank you so much forcoming on.
I have been wanting tointerview you and I'm so excited
and so happy that you said yes,I'm honored.

Liz (00:55):
Totally honored.
I'm so excited.
I love chatting with you online, so it feels cool to finally
see each other face-to-face.

Jordan (01:01):
I know it's almost like in person, just like over video,
but like close enough.
Ish, one day, one day in person, exactly Okay, so we'll just
dive right in.
Well, I do like to start everyepisode with like a good week,
like a good thing that'shappened to you this week.
Is there anything good that youwant to share that happened?

(01:22):
Like it can be anything,something that you're proud of
or something exciting.

Liz (01:28):
I mean for work.
We had a really fun photo shoottoday.
It was just a small internalone, but it really went really
well.
I mean, it's for my real job,not my book job.
That's just a side job.
We'll get into that later, butyeah, it was a really fun shoot.
So we're working on a reallycool brand and I'm very excited.
So it was.
It was definitely a win.

Jordan (01:47):
Oh, that's so exciting.
Oh my gosh.
Okay, that's cool.
I feel like for me.
I actually got just a hateJessa Hastings new book in the
mail that like releases tomorrow.
I got that in the mail todayand I read Magnolia Parks and I
read Magnolia Parks and I lovedit.
So like I can't wait to readthis series, but I feel like

(02:08):
that was really cool.
Okay, so now we'll just diveinto the questions.
So the questions are broken upinto three parts bookstagram,
reading, and then the last oneis like personal.
So for the first one,bookstagram we'll start with
question number one duh, butwhat inspired you to start
Bookstagram?
We'll start with questionnumber one duh, but what

(02:28):
inspired you to start aBookstagram account?

Liz (02:31):
And then, how did you come up with your handle?
The boho book blogger.
So the reason I started myaccount well, I can kind of
bring it back In 2020, obviouslywe all our lives changed right
Totally and so I decided tostart reading again.
I hadn't read in years at thatpoint, because between the ages

(02:52):
of high school and college, Ifeel like there's this time
where you kind of just stop.
And for me, I went to designschool and I was focusing on
reading more design text, so Ijust didn't have a chance to
enjoy reading for fun.
So I kind of took a break fromthat and I was like, okay, well,
covid happened.
We're sitting home.
I'm like I'm going to startreading again.
And I saw that Stephanie Meyerwas releasing like a new
Twilight book and I was like,honestly, if the world is

(03:14):
basically ending like, why not,why not just to start like
reading again and just having agood time?
So it was definitely somethingthat I was like, okay, fun.
So it kind of progressed fromthere where I was just reading
so much and, you know, just kindof diving myself into these
like fiction worlds and findingall these incredible authors
that I was like, oh, I lovedoing this and then I realized,

(03:34):
like someone I knew had like aBookstagram account, and I was
like, well, I don't know if Iwant to be a complete
Bookstagram account, I want todo more like lifestyle and books
.
So actually, my friend andfriend and I started the account
, had totally different name andit was in 2020 and we had it
for about like five or like fiveor six months and it didn't do
very well.
It was just like there and itwas kind of one of those things

(03:58):
where it's just like we didn'thave the opportunity to, just we
didn't know what we were doing,right, like we're talking about
lifestyle, we're talking, wewere talking about books, we
were talking about beauty, andthat was like fun.
And then eventually, her and Iwe went two different directions
and I took over the account andI was like, well, I'm going to
change the name.
So I changed it to the BohoBook Blogger because I always
loved just like the Bohoaesthetic of like anthropology

(04:19):
and, you know, free people andeven in like, the higher end of
like, I would say like even likea Chloe.
You know what I mean.
I love that aesthetic and Ilove fashion so much.
So I was like, honestly, I feellike this kind of fits my vibe
and I just changed the name andhonestly, from there it just it
grew and it's kind of crazywhere I really changed it more
to a bookstagram account.
But obviously I still do alittle bit of beauty, a bit of

(04:42):
lifestyle.
Those are things I love.
So I feel like it's fun stuffto share.
So that's kind of how I startedthat.

Jordan (04:48):
Oh, that's so cool.
I didn't realize you actuallystarted with somebody.
So, like you, guys both sharedthe account.
Yep, oh my gosh.
And then I'm guessing yourfriend didn't want to do it
anymore and then just gave it toyou.

Liz (05:02):
Yeah, basically we just kind of separated ways in
general in life anyway, and itwas just like she's like you
know what, I don't want to dothis, you do it, you love doing
it, so you continue on.
And I was like, okay, cool, Imean again, I think we honestly
we probably had only like fouror 500 followers at that time.
It was a baby account, so itreally didn't affect.
And I met some people like thatactually still talk to to this

(05:25):
day around that time when I hadthat different name and then
once I changed it, it justreally kind of changed and also,
granted, bookstagram changed somuch.
We've seen it grow so much,right, so I feel like at that
time it was one of those thingswhere it's like, okay, it's this
natural progression intosomething really cool, but I
never thought it would havegrown to the way it has.

(05:46):
It's kind of remarkable, to behonest.

Jordan (05:49):
Yeah, like you've definitely been able to take
your account and just like growit, and I can see it just
continuing to grow like alongwith you, and I think it's
really cool.
Thank you, I think it's reallycool.

Liz (06:05):
Well, thank you, okay, so what do you enjoy the most about
being part of the Bookstagramcommunity?
Honestly, the community, likethe community aspect of
Bookstagram, is so cool.
Like being able to do this,being able to talk to authors,
like it's really such a uniqueplace and the way we've seen it
grow.
Right, because we have BookTalk, we have Bookstagram and I

(06:27):
mean I have a Book Talk.
That's not my more active space, but I have both and I think
it's really cool just to see andconnect with friends, authors,
and just be able to talk toliteral strangers on the
internet about books.
There is something so specialabout that and the fact that you
know it's such a safe space forthe most part.
I mean, obviously there's alwaysthings that happen, but for the

(06:48):
most part, like I feel likeI've met incredible friends and
I'm so grateful for it becauseit's such a cool thing to do.
Obviously, reading is somethingthat people think is isolating
and I think that's the biggestmisconception, which is so funny
because look at how the bookcommunity has changed and how
you know it's about connection,it's about book clubs, it's
about you know people havepodcasts like you.

(07:09):
There's so many differentthings and so many different
opportunities and segues thatare opening up for the book
community.
That wasn't there probably fouror five years ago when I
started this account, which iscrazy to think about yeah, I
feel like like the bookcommunity, all all we want.

Jordan (07:26):
We're like just such a nice group of people that all we
want to do is talk about books.
So it's, and like you know thatthe other person wants to talk
about books.
So I think it's just a greatway that you can make a
connection and you're right,like especially bookstagram, I
feel like you can go intoanybody's DMs, comment on
anybody's like photo and peopleare going to want to talk with

(07:50):
you Like they're going to wantto talk.
They're going to want to likeyeah, just like talk with you
about books, because that's likewhat we all love is books books
.

Liz (08:05):
Yeah, it's incredible, and I think, even like when you were
saying you got the new JessaHastings book, like I also got
that book too and I'm hyped toread it, because then I'm like I
can't wait for us to be able totalk about that.
That's cool, like to haveconnection where you find people
who like the same things as you.
There's nothing more specialthan that, and I think it's a
newer community and it's arising community, and I think
it's one that I think is alittle bit more unique in the

(08:26):
sense of it's not necessarilyabout competition versus other
influencer groups, right, like Imean the reality, fashion,
beauty, all these other likesegments.
I'm not saying that you can'thave genuine friendships I'm
sure people do but I feel likein the book community
specifically, people just wantto talk about books and having a
friend that they might not havein their daily life to do it
it's kind of awesome.

Jordan (08:46):
Yeah, yeah.
And then I agree with you too,like, especially with like like
amount of followers too.
I feel like you could slideinto other people's DMs with
like greater following than youor less than, and no matter what
people are willing to talk.
So I I think that's really cooltoo, that it doesn't, you're
right.

(09:07):
Like it's not about this likecompetition, Like we all want to
see each other grow, we allwant to just be there and like
support each other, which I feellike is not necessarily the
same in all communities, but Ialso don't know about other ones
, so I guess I can't speak forlike fact, but like I feel like
we are like such a niche cornerof the internet and I I love our

(09:29):
corner, I love it.

Liz (09:32):
Me too.
It's so cool and it's growingconstantly, so we'll see where
it takes us, right.

Jordan (09:38):
That, yes, agree, yes, okay, can you walk us through
your process for creating a postand or reel Any apps that are
your ride or die apps for postsand reels.
Post and.

Liz (09:51):
Yeah, no, absolutely so, for when I create posts, it
usually I mean obviously my flatlays or what everyone knows me
for.
Honestly, I can try to postother content and everyone's
like no, we really want a flatlay.

Jordan (10:04):
It's so funny because I I try to make flat lays because
I'm obsessed with your flat lays.
But then I try to do it, I'mlike this sucks, like I don't
know what it is.
Your flat lays are likestunning.
I can just like stare at themall day Like so pretty.

Liz (10:23):
The best compliment, thank you.
And honestly, the way I kind ofgo about it is I just I take
things like blankets, you knowthings that I love, like
sometimes makeup obviouslySummer Friday's lip balm I think
everyone knows I love them andI just take these different
things yeah, we love them andlike they're such great products
and I think just taking thatwith some really beautiful books

(10:44):
, because I feel like these bookcovers more and more have
become pieces of art, right,like they're so stunning and so
pretty.

Jordan (10:52):
I feel bad.
But then when I see a coverthat's like not that great, I'm
like there's like why, likethere's so many stunning book
covers that I'm like Likethere's so many?

Liz (11:06):
stunning book covers that I'm like the ball fell flat here
.
No, 100%.
And I think that's why I havesuch a fun time with it, because
I can take it and make it thislike art, and I've always done
that Like even before doing this, like I always loved, like
taking pictures when I got myfriends and like I'd set the
table up and like, do you know,make a coffee pick.
I always did that because Ithink it's just like it's the
design side of my brain, it'show I think as like a creative,

(11:28):
so it's something that naturallyprogressed into my style and I
feel like I've come up with likea style that works for me.
But what I do is I just usuallytake a blanket, take some cool
things, no-transcript.

(11:51):
Sometimes I'll take like theblinds and make them half mass,
so it's not complete light butit gives enough light, so it
doesn't like have a glare anddoesn't have like a funny like
cast to it, and then I kind ofjust play around.
And then some of them I'm like,oh, I hate it, and I take
different, you know like take aphoto from the top to the side
and just kind of play aroundwith it and then I go and post

(12:12):
it.
My favorite app for editing isI use an app called a color
story.
I don't know if you're familiarwith it or not.

Jordan (12:19):
Actually.
Yes, I think that's wait.
Yes, that's the app I use too.

Liz (12:27):
I think that's wait.
Yes, that's the app I use too.
I love that and I think it's sogood because I basically made
my own like very, very lightfilter.
So I took a filter that I likedand I made a custom.
I bought like the yearlysubscription it's quite
inexpensive, I think it's like24 for the year.
It's not terrible and I took onethat I liked and I tweaked it
to make it look more natural, soit's just like a teeny bit of
the filter.
So it's probably like 11%, withlike maybe a little bit more

(12:49):
brightness and a little bit moreexposure.
And then every time I actuallytake my photos this is my trick,
which I'm going to share I takemy photos at a point.
So when you go in and you'regoing to take your photo, like,
for example I'm going to justexplain it because I feel feel
it's easier to and you go toyour exposure, I do and this is
probably not a real photographything, but this works for,
specifically for flat lays I putit at a 0.7 on my camera your

(13:14):
exposure, you go to yourexposure, yes, and it's at 0.7
and it just makes it a littlebit brighter and for flat lays,
it just helps them come out alittle nicer, because I feel
like sometimes, like things lookoverexposed in post, but you're
doing it in that time whenyou're actually taking them and
it's like I feel like it givesit this like bloggery, like
filter to it.
And it's something that I'vebeen doing, probably for now,

(13:34):
like I think like almost liketwo years, and I I've seen a
major success.
Probably not the proper way interms of photography whatsoever,
but I mean, it's like when youhave a real camera and you're
playing with the exposure andyou're playing with the focus,
it's kind of what you're doingon your phone and I find that
space where you can kind of likeplay with the lighting and if
it looks a little too likeorange, like you kind of just
tweak that.

(13:54):
And yeah, that's kind of that'show I go about usually my flat
lays.

Jordan (14:00):
So cool?
I honestly never, I never knew,I never did that.
I knew nothing.
I know nothing about takingpictures, literally nothing.

Liz (14:25):
I love doing what I do and we work on a lot of cool
products, but it sometimes feelsa little monotonous, right,
like you need a break outside ofwork and I feel like books was
such a fun place where I love toread and I loved, you know,
finding this place to read butalso creating this fun content
and, like, like I said, thesecovers are books, like complete
pieces of art.
Everything is so stunning,they're so beautiful, and so
it's just been fun to kind offind fun solutions.
You know, adding a tote bag,adding a handbag, adding things

(14:49):
that I like and with it is justa nice way to set something up
that just I feel like peoplereally love, which is so crazy
to me.
But I'm always honored and whenit comes to reels, those are
not my strong suit.
I'm trying to get better.
I like to make vlogs.
I don't care if anyone doesn'tlike my vlogs.
Maybe they do, maybe they don't.

Jordan (15:03):
No, I love your vlogs.
I love your vlogs.
I think they're so fun.
Yeah, I don't.
I feel like.
I feel like those are reallygood, like I feel like you do a
very good job on your like, realvlogs.

Liz (15:16):
Well, thank you.
I feel like maybe I'm justcritical, but I always want to
do better, right, like that'swhat I think we all want to do,
that I think, when we have thislike creative mindset to
ourselves, that we're alwaysstriving to do better.
So, like I'm like, oh, how canI?
Like challenge myself, and Ifeel like let's be real, like
sometimes we get caught up inthe concept of trying to go
viral.
Right, it's part of the, thenature of being on social media,

(15:39):
and I feel like now I'm tryingmore and more.
It's like no, I'm just going tomake the content I love.
I think that's the bestsolution, because I'll do what
I'm known for.

Jordan (15:49):
Yeah, I get.
Sometimes.
I like get caught up in liketrying to gain followers, which
and then I have to like checkmyself, being like that's not
like why I started this, butlike I feel like I kind of get
caught up in it, especially if Isee other people growing faster
than me.
I'm kind of get caught up in it, especially if I see other
people growing faster than me.
I'm kind of like, ooh, why am Inot growing as fast as these
people?
So sometimes I have to checkmyself and I have to be like no,

(16:12):
I like reading.
I just want to post about booksthat I'm reading.

Liz (16:24):
I want to not look into that sort of thing 100%.
And I think 100% and I thinkthe biggest thing I always say
is find things that you love andjust continue to do it, because
I think down the road andthat's what happened to me with
my flat lays is that the more Idid them, the more other people
knew that was my signature andit's funny people know me for
them at this point.
And I think find your niche,find something that you love and
just have fun with it, becauseI think people will remember.

(16:47):
I think there's a fact aboutsocial media After three times
of seeing the same thing, peoplestart remembering it.
That's just the nature becausewe live in this world where it's
constant.
There's constant so muchinformation.
So being able to create somecohesion and some people like do
some really cool reviews wherethey're just talking all the
time, I feel like words are notmy.
I can read words.

(17:08):
Saying words are not mycomplete safe space.
I'm just going to be like Idon't know what to say half the
time and it can get a little bitmuch in a video where, like
we're doing this, it's easier tohave a conversation, but to do
it to my camera.
I struggle with that.
But some people excel in thatright camera.

Jordan (17:24):
I struggle with that but some people excel in that right
Like it just depends.
Yeah, that's true.

Liz (17:26):
I know I was just talking about growing like my account,
but what would you say has beenthe biggest challenge in growing
your account?
I mean, that's a great questionand honestly, it really just
changes you.
The algorithm constantlychanges.
Let's be real Like sometimes,even right now, like my posts
haven't been doing as well asthey have in the past, like I

(17:48):
feel like I've seen my likesdown, my shares, my views down
significantly.
I feel, as things change,there's times where you have
extreme amounts of growth andthere's times where you have
lesser.
I think that's just the natureof social media and I always say
, like the one thing that getsme frustrated is like I'm like,
oh, I'm not growing fast enough.

(18:08):
I'm like, no, when I look, takea step back and look at it, I
am growing still because everyday I'm still posting, I'm still
continuing.
I think the biggest thing thatyou can do that can hurt your
account is to stop.
And I mean listen, there'scircumstances in life that
people have to stop.
There's circumstances in lifethat people have to stop right,
that's the nature of it.
But if you love doing it, justcontinue on, because eventually

(18:32):
those posts people are going toforget they don't have as many
likes as the one that goes viral, yeah.

Jordan (18:37):
And two, I feel like your followers don't know that
that post didn't get that manylikes.
I feel like we're judgingourself in our content, being
like, oh, this one didn't dovery well, but like I feel like
no one else is looking at that,so it's kind of nice to look at
it from like that perspective,even though it's very hard to
look at it from that perspectivetoo, because I'm still like, oh

(18:59):
, this one didn't do as well no,I get caught up in it too and I
think think you're so rightLike the biggest thing.

Liz (19:05):
I always tell people I'm like, build your community, like
that's the biggest thing, islike I have a great community of
people that I love.
Whether it's like you know, youand I, we interact with each
other's content and sometimes Idon't see it and that frustrates
me because I'm like I don't seemy friends, like what that's so
crazy?
And these are people I dointeract with.
It's not like I don't want tointeract with you, it's just I
literally don't see it.
But it comes down to it's likeI feel like it's just the

(19:29):
community aspect and likesometimes it's about building
that teeny bit of communityversus like I think, having
massive growth with a bunch offollowers that don't mean
anything and I'm not saying thatthey don't mean anything in the
sense of like they're notvaluable but I think maintaining
that community will help yourgrowth, no matter what, if that
makes sense.

Jordan (19:54):
Yes, no, that does make sense.
What advice would you give tosomeone starting their own
bookstagram account or thatwants to start a bookstagram
account?

Liz (19:58):
So the piece of advice I'd give is, first of all, have fun,
go in with no expectations andfind something that you want to
be your thing.
I think the biggest thing weget caught up in is seeing what
does well and what everyone elseis doing and, I think, being
unique and being authentic inyour own way.
Even if it's not somethingthat's popular yet, that doesn't

(20:21):
mean it won't have its moment,because I think, if you look at,
the most successful accounts inthis space are people who done
something different.
Right, it's the reality of likewhen you see one thing that
really works for somethingeveryone takes jumps on the
bandwagon, and that's nature,the natural, it's all social
media.
We have trends, right, likethere's trending songs on TikTok
.
Like.
Tiktok is a much differentanimal than, like, I think,

(20:42):
bookstagram.
I think TikTok is really morefocused on talking.
You know funny trends, likefunny videos, like all those
different things and justcreating conversations and all
that.
Where Bookstagram is really,and Instagram in general, it's
always been a photo app.
It's about aesthetics, I think.
Maybe that's more my opinion,but I think there has to be an
aesthetic element to no matterwhat you're doing.

(21:03):
Even if your video is youtalking.
There's got to be more of anaesthetic element where you can
literally be in sweatpants andjust be like whatever on TikTok
and that's cool, like I thinkthere's value to both different
things.
But I think it's find out whatyour niche is.
Find what space you like better.
You know, if you're moresomeone who likes to just sit

(21:27):
there and talk to your cameraand you just want to have these
casual conversations abouttalking about what you're
reading, I think TikTok is agreat way to start and then move
into the Bookstagram space.
And if you're more into theaesthetics and you love flat
lays and creating these curatedmoments, I think Bookstagram is
more like your space.
I think you have to find kindof what will work for you.
That's the best piece of adviceI'd give someone.

Jordan (21:44):
I like that.
I like that because I agreewith you, because I feel like
TikTok is I don't know how toexplain it other than like I
feel like you're right, like youcan literally be in sweatpants
and just like talking to yourphone.
Granted, I sometimes use thosesame TikToks and post them on

(22:05):
Reels, but it's like you know itwon't do as well on Instagram,
like that's like the TikTokspace, but then Instagram I love
posting, like my photos, whichyou can't really.
I mean, I've seen people postphotos on TikTok, but like it
doesn't seem like it reallybelongs there, like it doesn't
make sense, in my mind at leastno one.

Liz (22:26):
I totally agree with that.
I think photos on TikTok is adifferent animal right, because
it's like the one space whereit's like, okay, you have to be
like recommending a bunch ofbooks or like it has to be more
recommendation based, where Ifeel like Instagram is just more
aesthetic based and I and Iagree, I think, agree.
I think there's different funthings about both apps.
Like I have a TikTok too and mybest videos on TikTok are the

(22:48):
me just like literally reviewinga book and talking about it
Somehow.
It tends to be LJ Shen centricalways.
Those are the ones, I swear toyou, that do the best.
If I review an LJ Shen book,it's going to do extremely well.
Like that, or like a sing singalong, where you're singing and
telling the plot, like that kindof you know talking about those
kinds of videos where it's like, okay, you're singing along to
a song and you're saying, likethis is the plot of the book and

(23:09):
like it's about, like I did oneone time for, like I think, a
Sarah Adams book and like thatone actually got a decent amount
of views, versus if I'm justdoing something else, like it
just doesn't work for me andsome people do hauls and that
works for them.
It doesn't work for me.
I could do vlogs and I can talkto my camera, but if I did that
on Instagram, no one's seeingit yeah, yeah, no, I I try on it

(23:32):
honestly, tiktok.

Jordan (23:34):
So, like my, I'm like my main focus is Instagram too,
like how yours is.
But like sometimes I've beentrying to like do more things on
TikTok because I want to try todo more like talking videos I
don't know like what I'm doing Itried to do like single book
reviews.
Sometimes I even take thestories that I do on Instagram

(23:55):
and I'll put them on TikTokbecause I feel like TikTok can
be the most random place.
And some of those story videosof like me unboxing a book do so
well, like it literally makesno sense to me, but it just does
.

Liz (24:14):
No, I think 100%.
I think it's like the thingthat you're not when you're
trying too hard on TikTok, itdoesn't work, but if you're just
doing it and having fun with it, I feel like that always does
better.
And I think they're just.
They're just two differentanimals and I feel like you have
to treat them like twodifferent animals and I think
there's value to both.
Because, listen, I will admit,when I first started my

(24:34):
bookstagram account, no onetalked about romance.
Romance was not a thing.
It was not.
It was all fiction.
Everyone was talking aboutTaylor Jenkins Reid.
I'm sorry, taylor Jenkins Reid,I think, is that her name, yeah
, yeah.
So they're talking about her.
They're starting to talk aboutEmily Henry, but Emily Henry was
the intro to romance.

(24:55):
That was the level.
Think about where we're at now.
All these indie authors aretraditionally published.
It's crazy and that's reallybecause of BookTok we can credit
to that.
I think it's both spaces, but Ithink once BookTok started
pulling romance into the space,it really worked and, like you
saw authors, I think, reallystart on like Bookstagram, like

(25:15):
BK Boris and with her gorgeouslittle covers, like those really
blew up on Bookstagram becausethey were so aesthetically
pretty and it makes becausepeople are doing the discrete
cover like I mean, for me, Iremember like my first kind of
thing that I took from like booktalk that I was influenced was
anna wong.
I remember when like twistedlove first came out, I read it
indeed like just as a reader,and then I read twisted games

(25:37):
and I was like, oh well, this is, this, is it for me and and I
just love that book and Istarted posting it on
Bookstagram and that's when,slowly, the Rome romance started
taking over and you saw theseauthors from BookTok really
transfer into the Bookstagramspace and I think it really
changed the way my perception ofit too, of just being able to
talk about romance versus likeeverything was a Reese's Book

(25:59):
Club pick, everything was a ReadWith Jenna pick Like you, like
you didn't have the same, Iwould say, romance space that we
have now.
Look at the romantic, I mean Iwould say like a court of silver
flames.
When that came out, sarah JMaas was really popular.
That oh, she's always beenreally popular, and I feel like
that was like the firstquote-unquote spicy series that
I saw on bookstagram.

(26:20):
More so then, eventually,because those had a discrete
cover, everyone read it, becausewhether you like fantasy,
whether you like romance, it's agood mix of both.
And obviously romantasy now isa thing right where we have a
whole new name genre for this.
It's all changed so much and Ithink seeing that romance based
change and being at thebeginning, like knowing authors

(26:40):
from a very early start, it'skind of incredible to see and
that's like what I absolutelylove and that's why I say like
you can start anything, whetheryou want to be an author,
whether you want to be abookstagrammer.
I think there's so many optionsand that's kind of endless,
which is really really coolabout like the book space in
general right now.

Jordan (26:58):
Yes, I agree.
I also love all of these likebookstagrammers or like book
talkers that end up like wantingto write a book, like I think
that's so cool and I love that,like they can use their space to
promote a book that they wrote.
And then, like I love thatthere's like this
self-publishing platform, solike if anybody wants to write a

(27:19):
book, like you can write a bookand I think that's so cool.

Liz (27:24):
It's the coolest and I love that and I love that for so
many authors and I have so manyfriends who transferred from the
reader space into the authorspace and I think now that's
that's where, in general, we'relearning how to coexist, right,
like that's a whole new thing,where people are coming from one
space to another and changingand how the we're changing into

(27:44):
and also like there's I wouldsay there's like a three tier
when it comes to bookstagram.
You have influencers, becausethere are influencers.
There's people who have massiveplatforms that really help
support books.
You have authors.
Then you have readers.
There's are some people who havebookstagrams where they're like
I don't care, I post her forreviews and arcs and I just like
to do it because I like to havefun.
And then there's people whoreally like to take, you know,
bookstagram, book talk moreseriously and are not trying to

(28:08):
be influencers but creating asense of being an influencer, of
influencing people to read andtalking about it.
And then there's people whocome from community.
Then there's people who arejust like just come and follow
because they like all of theabove, just come and follow
because they like all of theabove.
I feel like the space isconstantly changing and forming,
which was different than in thepast, because you had
traditional authors, you hadindie authors that came more

(28:30):
from like, I think, like theblogger space, probably because
that was what existed before,because there was like bloggers
instead of like influencers thatwe have now.

Jordan (28:38):
Yeah, yeah, it's like, but it's like.
So it's so crazy Like the waythings have like grown and
expanded.

Liz (28:58):
I've seen it.
I got to watch it before myeyes unroll and it's kind of
wild, because I always tell thisto people.
They're like, oh, you've beendoing this for a long time.
I'm like, yeah, it's been fouryears since I started my account
.
Actually, this month four yearsago, I changed it to Boho and
it's so crazy how much haschanged in four years.
How many books have becomepopular.

(29:19):
I mean, look at the new adultgenre.
Like we didn't have that.
I remember when I was like 1920, I did not know these books
existed.
Like I did not know, I didn'tknow that you had Colleen Hoover
, that you had Elle Kennedy,that these authors existed even
in the indie space.
Like being in the new adult,like that age group, there's so
many books for you to read and Ithink that's so cool because

(29:41):
it's also not like I'm sneakinga romance book in like my
private time.
No, people are reading them inpublic.
They're sitting on the trainreading Twisted Games or, like
you know, Fourth Wing, Like howcrazy is that?

Jordan (29:54):
I, I like, agree.
I love where BookTok andBookstagram has taken romance
because I got back into readingWell, not back, I was not a
reader, but in college I readthe Hunger Games for the first
time, became obsessed, and thenI started reading all these
books.
Now I was reading a lot of YAbut I wanted that romance aspect

(30:20):
of it, but I didn't really knowbecause there was no new adult
and there was no like there wasromance, but it was the like
ripped bodice, like type covers,those like historical fiction,
like romance wasn't what it,what is now.
So I graduated I ended upgetting like my first job and

(30:42):
then I found the indie space andbut it was still like hush,
hush, like nobody really wantedto talk about it.
Everybody like, like we all knowromance is a huge genre and I
think it was.
It still was then just nobodytalked about it and there was
almost like a shame level to it.
No-transcript, you know it'sromance but it's not like a

(31:32):
naked guy on the cover.
So I really love the way booktalk has expanded the genre in a
way.

Liz (31:44):
No, absolutely it has, and I totally agree.
I think it's the coolest thingbecause all these authors are
getting these traditionallypublished book deals where their
books are in stores.
The romance sections in storesare a forefront.
There's tables you go into likewe have an Indigo here where I
live and it's funny becausethere's not a ton of Indigo
stores in the US when you walkin, like during Valentine's Day,

(32:07):
it was so cool.
All these like totes mugs, thiswhole romance section of all
our favorite books that we love,all there, and I'm like this is
so cool.
You did not see this a long timeago.
You would see, you knoweverything about like book club
books and like Reese's book club, which, honestly, those books
I'm not devaluing, they're greatand they're awesome and they're

(32:28):
great reads.
But I think it's just cool tosee how the romance space has
just shifted and how people likeyou said we're we're open to
talking about romance and Ithink romance is such a cool
genre because there's so muchyou can talk about, like there's
so many big messages and thingsthat we can have these bigger
conversations and it's why Ilove the genre so much.
So it's so cool and I just lovebeing a part of, like this

(32:51):
community in general.

Jordan (32:53):
Me too, me too, okay.
So now that we took like a verylong side tangent, here's the
last question, well, last fewquestions in the bookstagram
section of this.
So I noticed you do a lot of IGlives where you interview
authors.
How did you go about doing that?
Is there any prep you do beforea live with an author and is

(33:15):
there any dream author that youwould love to interview?

Liz (33:18):
I love this question because it's a funny story.
So I have a book club.
It's pretty chill.
It's only about like 15, 20people come.
It's a group of friends.
I started it more online andthen I feel like, because of
COVID, people just have a hardtime doing stuff online at this
point, especially like virtualbook clubs, and unfortunately

(33:40):
everyone lives in differentplaces.
So what I started doing is whenI first started I was like, oh,
it'd be fun to bring someauthors on.
So I had a few authors, likesmaller indie authors, who came
on first and it was really greatand I think it was a fun way to
like connect and createcommunity.
And then I started asking morepopular authors.
So I started like emailing themand it's funny, I emailed

(34:02):
someone for Ana Huang.
I was like I emailed.
I was like, oh, like I emailedher pre-art team.
I was like I just really loveto have her, I think it'd be
really cool and I just let it go.
And then I I actually emailedElsie Silver and Elsie Silver
came and I will tell you we hadabout 10 girls at an LC Silver
one, which is so crazy, becauselook at LC Silver now, she's

(34:23):
massive.
So I've known her for such along time.
And so I started doing theselives like that, where, like on
these book club, and I was like,okay, they're cool, like they
were fun.
And then eventually I did getAnna.
She came to book club and thatwas like a bigger one where I
had like a link and I had to geteveryone in on the zoom and I
was like it's kind of hard tomanage to get all these people
on a Zoom and it was morenerve-wracking in that sense and

(34:45):
trying to coordinate.
So I was like maybe I shouldjust shift to doing it on
Instagram.
I think that's the better spaceto do it, so more people can
see it, they want to tune in.
They don't have to go on theircomputer or on their phone, they
can just go onto Instagram.
And I started working with someauthors and just different PR
companies and I started doingthem and they just kind of

(35:06):
became my thing.
And so the way I prepped for anauthor live is that okay?
I have another funny story hereOne of the authors I had I'm
not going to say who it was, butI did not have questions
prepared.
That was my bad, I didn't.
I just didn't have questionsprepared for a book club thing
and I was like, so I had putsome questions together and
she's like you need to askbetter questions.
And I was like, okay, well, no,I'm like okay, well, I will

(35:29):
take that.
And after that it really likeit clicked in my mind because I
was like I need to ask betterquestions and I started doing
that.
So then before I would read thebook and I prepare and I create
some questions and I had like astandard set usually and then
eventually evolved to likeasking more complex questions.
But I mean it was such a greatlesson because I feel like it's

(35:51):
something that's pushed myself.
And what I love about a live, ina sense, is because anything
can happen.
Like you're literally liveright, like you're on Instagram.
Sometimes it just stops workingand that's really awkward, but
other times you can have reallyincredible conversations, and
that's really awkward, but othertimes you can have really
incredible conversations andit's really cool.
Like I've had some crazyopportunities with some authors
that I really have loved and I'mso grateful.

(36:12):
Like, actually, a fun thing Ican tease right now is on Friday
I'm going to do with one of theauthors that I did a live with.
I'm going to do a live likeinterview with her at the Rip
Bodice her new book.

Jordan (36:23):
Oh my gosh, wait.
I saw this and I was like thatis so cool and I wish I could go
.
That is so freaking cool.
But I also I love your livesbecause then you save them,
because I usually I'm an oldlady and I do not stay up late
and some of your lives are atlike eight o'clock at night and

(36:49):
I'm like I'm in bed like readingand I'm like I can't, but then
it's nice because then I see itthe next day and like I like
that you can do that it's notsomething that you have to tune
in for, because then I would notbe able to see any of them.

Liz (36:59):
No, I have to start posting them again.
I feel like sometimes theInstagram algorithm just doesn't
like that, which is so annoyingbecause it's something that
like they, they push and I feellike, so sometimes I won't share
them.
Some I will share, depending on, like, how long it was, or if
it cut out a few times, like Iwon't share it because, like
there's a technical issue and itjust kind of awkward from where
it started and it's an awkwardlike weird thing of my face.

(37:22):
So, being like you know, and ithappens sometimes,
unfortunately, luckily I putcovers and whatnot.
No, but it's been somethingthat's really fun and I and I
love talking to authors and it'sreally given me so much
perspective into the spacebecause there are so many
authors who are so incrediblytalented and have been in the
romance space from beingbloggers back in like 2013,

(37:44):
becoming authors.
Then there's people who arelike bookstagrammers, who have
become authors.
I think it's just cool to heareveryone's journey and talking
to all these authors and seeingsome of them really have grown
significantly in the past fewyears and I think it's just it's
been really fun and like I'm sograteful.

Jordan (38:00):
but and oh yes, I was just gonna be like wait, I need
to know who your dream authorwould be.

Liz (38:07):
I'm lucky I've talked to a lot of my favorite authors like
I mean that between lives,between book club, like all the
bigger, more contemporaryromance authors I've had like
lives with, but I would say atthis point it would probably be
Sarah J Maas or, like RebeccaYaros.

Jordan (38:23):
Oh, I little like side story for myself.
I I always believe in likeshoot your shot.
Like I can't, you can't, likenot, you have to.
So like, one of my dreamauthors would be Sarah too, and
so I like reached out to her PRteam and I'm like hey, I have
this podcast and I would love tointerview Sarah.

(38:44):
And someone actually got backto me.
Of course, they were likeSarah's not doing any PR, which
totally understandable, but theway they said it, they were like
she's not doing any PR at themoment.
So I think, if you want toreach out to her which I know
I'm going to do this is waituntil a book is coming and you

(39:04):
have like like, whether it's ayear out or like six months out,
I think she'll be open to doing, granted, she's also on like
the today show, so coming on ourlike small platforms.
But I feel like Sarah also likeknows too that it's like
sometimes it it's these smallerplatforms.

(39:24):
I feel like Sarah knows.

Liz (39:29):
Well, I'm manifesting this for us.

Jordan (39:32):
Yes, yes.
So I think we just need to waituntil a book is coming and then
we reach out to her PR team.
No, that would be so cool.

Liz (39:40):
Yeah, 100%, it's so cool and I think like the
opportunities of just seeingthese authors just grow, like
there's so many cool authors outthere, I mean I, I it's hard to
pick one because there's somany authors I probably, if I
could think of, I want to, but Ifeel like, just because of
picking her brain, she's sointeresting to watch her
interviews like they're sointeresting.

Jordan (40:00):
so I just like did you ever read her?
Sorry, another side tangent.
Did you ever read her likeThrone of Glass series?

Liz (40:08):
I only read the first book.
I need to continue on.

Jordan (40:10):
I know I do yes, I like I'm assuming you read all of
Court, thorns and Roses, okay,so like that series is amazing,
but Throne of Glass is like mygod tier, like that is my number
one series of all time.
I need you to continue it.
But what I was basically it'snot going to be a spoiler, but

(40:31):
like what I was going to say islike she started that book when
she was like 16.
And she foreshadows things thatare in like the last book.
So the fact that she was ableto write this like whole series,
piece by piece, but have beable to like reference things

(40:54):
back, like it's just I don'tunderstand how her brain works.
Like to be able to do that,like starting it when you're 16
and then like finishing it likeat like 30.
I think she was 30 when shewrote the last book.
Maybe I'm not positive, but Ijust, oh, I just you need to
read it.
Please, please, please.

Liz (41:15):
I will have to read it and don't worry, I will send you DMs
with reactions.

Jordan (41:19):
Please If I could just like reread that series again
for the first time.

Liz (41:24):
oh my gosh okay, that's the best feeling it really is, um.

Jordan (41:30):
Okay, so now on to that.
Like we'll get into the readingquestions um what is your
favorite book and or series, onethat you would recommend to
anyone and everyone?

Liz (41:43):
this is a hard question.
Okay, this is a very me thing.
I think it's magnolia parks.
I know it's not for everyone,but I just think of the way that
jazza writes.
It's just so truly unique, likeshe is probably one of my
favorite authors in the sense ofwhen I read that series I was

(42:04):
just so like shocked, because Imean, the reality is we read a
lot of spicy romance, right likethat's the reality and that
series there's none, there's nospice there isn't.
Right Like it's not known inthe same way or it's not there.
It's there in a different senseand I think what she does is a
perfect, like literary.
I call her like the literaryromance author where she has

(42:26):
that vibe and I just thinkthere's something really special
to what she does.
So she's definitely one of mytop.
My other top is I love theTwisted series by Anna.

Jordan (42:40):
Wong, like Twisted Games is just that book just makes me
happy.
I love that.
I actually I've only readMagnolia Parks, I haven't read
the other ones, but I want tolike.
I said I need to, but I theending of Magnolia parts, it's
like so good, I liked it, I did,but it made me so angry that I
was like I can't continue this.
And so I was like but I didn'trealize that it wasn't Magnolia

(43:02):
parks next.
It's like Julia, julia hatesit's.

Liz (43:06):
Daisy hates.

Jordan (43:08):
That's it.
I like her brother Julian.
That's why we all love him um,but I do really want to continue
.
It's just like one of thosethings that I was like.
It's like I don't want to likesay anything because I don't
want to spoil it, but like I'mokay with part of it, but like
not part of it.

Liz (43:27):
No, the ending is jarring.
You're 100 right, and I thinkthat's what she does so well is
make you angry like I don'tthink that's what she does so
well is make you angry like Idon't think it's for everyone.
This series is not for everyone.
I just think there's somethingreally cool about the way she
writes and there's somethingreally special.
It's very unique.
I think it's a very memorablebook, whether I'm rephrase that
again, it's a memorable booklike.

(43:48):
It's not for everyone andthat's okay.
I think it's one of those booksthat's specific, that you'll
remember, whether you hate orloved it.
So I feel like that is it'sprobably one of my favorites now
, a book like a series I'drecommend I honestly will always
recommend A Court of Thorns andRoses.
I feel like it's the perfectentry for anyone who wants to
read romance and fantasy.

(44:09):
Right, like it is the.
It's the series that has gottenso many people to read.
Once upon a time, I would haveprobably said a Colleen Hoover
book, because the reality for along time, a Colleen Hoover book
was the intro into reading,because her books are easy to
read and they're quick, andthat's what she's known for.
I feel like now, though, likewith the way things have just
shifted naturally and that she'snot releasing books like she

(44:32):
used to, I would definitely sayit's probably a court of thorns
and roses.
I think that's just like a goodentry into a series, an entry
into reading that, if you wantto try something and kind of
lose yourself in a differentworld, I think it's like a great
intro for a lot of new readersyes, agreed, because that was
like the series that my likefriend told me to read like a
long time ago.

Jordan (44:51):
It was like before bookstagram, which probably was
a good thing, because I feellike bookstagram is filled with
spoilers.
So I like, definitely foranybody that starts that series
that's never read it don't lookanything up, just don't do it,
don't do it yeah, don't, you'regonna, you're gonna be sorry and
it's not gonna be like findfriends.

Liz (45:10):
Find friends who will make sure that you enjoy your
experience.
I feel like being a supportivefriend reading that series.
You get, you get an extra starfor that.

Jordan (45:20):
Yep, agreed, okay.
So what are your favoritegenres to read or your go-to
tropes Like?
If you know this trope, is it abook you're going to read it?

Liz (45:31):
So obviously I'm fully a romance reader.
That's my go-to.
I do like to switch it upsometimes with like a literary
fiction or like a contemporaryfiction Sometimes, just to you
know, change things up for tastepurposes.
I also do like to read,sometimes thrillers Not a ton,
but I do like a thriller.
When I actually started myaccount and before, like when I
started my reading journey again, it was really like a lot of

(45:53):
like contemporary, like literaryand thrillers, which is so
funny because I didn't know theromance.
You know world was so vast.
There was some romance likeEmily Henry was my first romance
book as an adult, so which wasbetrayed and it was actually
right when it first came out,which is so funny.
It was like I found it in aBarnes Noble before the day
before it released.
Like you know, they used tohave those tables where you find

(46:15):
them.
So I was like, oh, I'm like, oh, this looks really cute.
I saw it on Amazon and I waslike, oh, I'm gonna go buy this
because I tried to buy it atTarget and they're like, no,
it's not out, you can't takethis.
And I was like really confused.
So I my love for romance, but Iwould say now because I read
all of it.
Okay, I love like a brother'sbest friend.

(46:37):
I love second chance.
I love anything that's justlike pining and a little bit
taboo.
I love rock star romance, whichI feel like people don't
appreciate as much in thebookish space as they should.
I love a rock star romance.

Jordan (46:50):
Yeah, you don't really see that very often.
I feel like that.
I don't know if that's justlike not a popular trope, but I
feel like I don't see a lot ofrock star.

Liz (47:01):
Yeah, no, it's not like a popular one.
My favorites probably are by Ilove Brit Benson.
If you haven't read her books.

Jordan (47:12):
No, I haven't, but I really want to.

Liz (47:13):
I feel like I've seen a lot of people talk about her books
and I'm like I need to read her.
Her Rockstar Romance series isreally good and her other series
is also incredible.
She does a really nice job.
She's the queen of a redemptionarc, I would say.
But I love that she doesRockstar Romance.
I mean, kate Stewart also has,I think, a Rockstar Romance too.
Yeah, she does.
There's a lot of them, butthey're, I feel like it was more
of a thing a few years agowhere you kind of backlog, but

(47:35):
they're fun to read.
Like I know LJ Shen has one too.
Like she has a rock starromance as well.
So like there are a lot ofauthors who have them.
They're just it's not like thequote unquote trend right now,
if that makes sense.

Jordan (47:59):
Yeah, I agree, I agree it's not.
So I feel like they're not verymuch, they're not like pushed
and they're not definitely notbeing written now, or maybe they
are and they're just notreleased yet.
I don't know, but like I, justI don't see them.
Okay, so if you could have aliterary dinner party with three
authors, living or dead.

Liz (48:10):
Who would you invite and why this is such a hard question
?
Okay, well, I think one has tobe Sarjay Moss, right, because,
like I have questions, I havequestions for her.
She would be fun to talk to.
Um, trying to think I don'teven know there's.
There's so many authors I wouldlove to like have at a dinner
party.
Um, I think, let's see, I feellike be fun to have like Anna
Huang at a dinner party.

(48:30):
Um, I think, let's see, I feellike it'd be fun to have like
anna huang at a dinner party too.
Like I love her because I feellike between her and sarah j
maas would be just like two verydifferent vibes and I would
love to like pick her her brainas well.
And also rebecca yaros.
You know, I want to know, Iwant to know more, maybe the
three of them, because I just Ihave so many questions from the
three of them and I'm like I Ihave, I just I would love to

(48:52):
know and I love how, like theinternet goes down these like
little rabbit holes of all theselike theories and the people
who create those videos.
I love you, could never do itmyself, but I love you for it,
because it's incredible.

Jordan (49:04):
I like love just watching like the theory videos,
especially of Sarah's.
I'm just like, and then I'mlike I totally believe it, and
then somebody could saysomething completely different
and I'd be like I totallybelieve that, like it's insane,
100% Okay.
So what is one of your mostanticipated reads for 2025?

(49:25):
No matter, like whenever it'sreleasing.

Liz (49:30):
I don't know.
Honestly, I feel like there'sso many books especially you can
you probably understand thislike with the romance genre,
there's constantly so many books.
It's hard to like, say one.
I guess probably onyx storm wasa highly highly anticipated
release.
Like that was one I was reallyhyped for, just because, like
it's such an event, like it'ssuch a thing where it's

(49:50):
something that so many peopleget to enjoy together and
whether you were a heavy readeror you're not, like it was
something that I feel like wasmore phenomenon and I thought
that was kind of cool to be ableto like.
Yes, there was some messiness,as we know, based on everything
that happened, but just likegoing to like in a line or
standing in a line and talkingto someone, I feel like it.

(50:11):
Just it was a differentexperience versus being like I
feel like there's so manyauthors that are gaining that
level of popularity and seeingthese midnight release parties
and all these things, I feellike that was like a.
Really I was really excited forthat one.
Another one that I'm excited toread is probably I have actually
have an arc of it it's the newTaylor Jenkins read and I'm very
excited.

(50:31):
It's called Atmosphere and Iwill say 2020.
Liz, when I got that in themail, I low key freaked out.
I was like, wow, this is sofull circle, because that was
like the second book that Istarted reading into my reading
journey as an adult and so I'mexcited for that one, just
because I feel like it's such acool moment.
So I'm excited for that and Ithink my I would say I maybe I'm
giving you too many.

(50:51):
Probably the last I want to, Iwant to know how that ends.

Jordan (50:57):
I need to get back into that, because I started it like
right before the third released.
The third came out, read thatand then it was just so long
because she started that secondseries.
That was part of it and I likewasn't really like totally into
it, so I just like dropped off.
But I really need to like pickit back up because I feel like
everybody's like still liketalking about it but I think I

(51:20):
just like kind of like fell offthat I'm like I think I need to
like re-read the first threebefore I can like actually get
to the later ones.

Liz (51:30):
I do recommend reading the other series too.
Like you have to read them both, because I think this yeah,
because it really leads a lot, Ithink, to the end of this
series.
Like they interconnect quiteintimately in that sense of like
there's a lot of weaving andtwists and turns that explain
something from because of thishappens, because of this it's.
It's like she, her mind, is soincredible to me because of just

(51:52):
the way, like very much, how,like Sarah J Maas has the
ability to like create theseworlds that intermix, like she
does that too in this series.
And I will say like I I likedthe first book in that what's it
called?
The Flesh and Fire series?
I think it's called, I think so.
So I liked the first book, likeI enjoyed it, and then I took a
break for book two and I wentback into it and then I was like
, oh, I really enjoyed this.
I have to read the third book,which I know I'm going to read

(52:13):
that, and then the final book,which comes out, I think, in the
next few months, so it's verysoon, but I'm just curious to
see a series that like reallysparked my love for a lot of
like you know, for like the bookboyfriend, like I would say
like the book boyfriend fromBlood and Ash.
I don't want to say who it isbecause I feel like if you
haven't read it, you got toexperience it.
But yeah it's a total teaser,but I will say, like that

(52:34):
created it was like my firstlike real book boyfriend, I
would say for me, because I justI really loved that whole, like
his whole vibe.
I think it's just so much fun.
And I know that's an unpopularopinion, Like there's people who
really love the series, but Idon't know it.
Just it just hit for me.
And after reading Akatar,because I think Akatar is just

(52:54):
so massive, it has this massivefollowing.
I love those books.
But I found something else thatI feel like I could have had
another fun experience rightafter that.
I was very fortunate to findthose two back to back, so I
feel like those two series willalways have a special place in
my heart because of that, ifthat makes sense.

Jordan (53:10):
Oh, I like that.
I like that.
Okay, so now we have, we'reonto personal, which is the last
and final question.
So where do you see yourBookstagram journey going in the
future?
Where would you like it to go?
And then I know I didn't havethis in there, but like any
personal goals you have thatcould be for Bookstagram.

Liz (53:40):
That's a great question, so I don't know exactly where I
want it to go.
I would I have mentioned thisto you.
I would love to start a podcastat some point.
That would be kind of fun,because I love doing the lives.
I feel like that would be avery natural progression For my
Bookstagram itself.
I just want to continue havingfun and growing.
I mean I'm lucky, I get to goto a lot of events and where I
live, proximity-wise to New YorkCity, is very close and I work
in New York so I'm able to go tothese incredible events and

(54:03):
some of the things I've gottento experience have been so
incredible.
I think just seeing thiscommunity grow and just being a
part of that growth is thebiggest thing I want.
I just want to continue on it,whether it's, you know, a
podcast, but I don't know whatthe avenue is yet.
I like to grow my TikTok alittle bit more, have more fun
there, you know, create adifferent sense of community in
that space, but just continuegrowing in the book space in

(54:25):
general.
I love doing it.
It's something I'm sopassionate about and I'm so
happy that, like I found mypeople.
If that makes sense, it's thecommunity that does it.
For me.
It's if I lost the communitylike if I lost my Instagram, my
socials tomorrow I would be sadabout losing the people I get to
talk to all the time.
That would be the worst part.
I could say it's obviouslygreat to get the books and all

(54:48):
the fun stuff and the PRpackages and all these cool
things Like that's so special.
But I think just continuing tojust have fun in the space and
growing in a sense of whetherit's getting more followers we
all want more followers, right,that's just the nature of social
media.
But I feel like I've come to apoint that I'm like I've already
outgrown myself so much more.
Honestly, I never thought Iwould hit 1000 followers, let

(55:11):
alone 33,000.
It's so crazy to me.

Jordan (55:14):
I think that's so cool, though I think it's like you
just like posting what you wantand you were able to grow it to
this like level and then justalso to see where you grow from
here to like I can't, like I'mso excited for you, like I think
this is so cool.
Would you ever want to makeyour bookstagram like your job?
Or would you do you like yourjob and you want to keep your

(55:37):
job and then this is like yourside gig?

Liz (55:41):
I think it's a side gig.
Yeah, I think it's my, it's myside thing Because I mean, if it
got to that level and it had togrow, like, obviously I'd be
open to it.
But I don't want to say that'snecessarily an end goal, because
I feel like then the minute youcreate something as work
completely it shifts right Likea change.

(56:01):
And I don't want to necessarilydo that because then I feel
like it would put more pressureon myself in that sense too.
If I could grow something basedoff of this space into
something else, I think thatwould make me feel more
comfortable.
But I think I love mybookstagram to be what it is
like.
I will tell you right now and Imean this on record I will never
become an author.
You will not see me write abook.
I just don't.
That's not my thing and I lovethe people who do it.
That is not for me.

(56:22):
I love being able to talk aboutbooks.
I love being able to, you know,create this whole curated space
like that, to me, is morecomfortable.
I will not be an author.
That's not something I want.
And I don't know if I want tosit like I.
I don't think for my mentalhealth.
I'd be able to just sit homeand read all day and create
content.
I feel like I need to havesomething else.
I like to keep myself as busyas possible.

(56:43):
It's.
It's a good and bad thing and Iand I do enjoy like working in
marketing and like listen, ifsomething grows and opportunity
presents itself.
I can't say what the future willbring, but I feel like it's
just to continue on and justkeep on growing and in this, in
the way I have, like I said, Inever thought I'd be where I'm
at now.
So the fact that I have, youknow, people who I find is my

(57:03):
community, my space people,authors who want to work with me
, authors who want to talk to me, just brands who want to work
with me, it's beyond what I everanticipated.
And I always tell people likemy biggest thing is like don't,
don't get caught up in thenumbers, get caught up in, in
what you're doing, because everylittle piece of success,
success looks different foreverybody and I think that's the

(57:23):
biggest thing is like you canalways get caught up in the
minutia of numbers, but numbersdoesn't, like, I think, dictate
your success in a space.
It's it's do people love whatyou're doing and do they connect
with it, and that's something Ithink is just so important and
that's the best part about likethe book space.
So I think that's my piece ofadvice.

(57:45):
I hope that helps.

Jordan (57:47):
Oh no, it definitely does, and I think that is like
the best piece to like end onwhich I wanted to give you the
floor.
I don't know if you want toplug your social media TikTok
handles.
I can also put all of this inthe show notes too, so then that
way people can like referencethat.
But then I was going to say youcould talk about the event
coming up.

(58:07):
Except this episode is going tocome out way after when you
actually have the event, somaybe that wouldn't be good to
say, but you could still mentionit if you want to.

Liz (58:18):
No, absolutely I have a fun .
I'm going to be doing my firstevent with an author.
I'm going to get to have aconversation with her.
It's with Jay Rose.
She's an Indeed why Choose?
Author, if you just don't knowher.
She writes dark romance, sothat's going to be super fun.
But, yeah, you can find me atthe Boho Book Blogger, on TikTok
, instagram and also on Lemonade, which I do love to use too.
So thank you so much for havingme.

Jordan (58:40):
Oh my gosh, thank you so much for coming on.
I had so much fun and it was ablast talking with you.

Liz (58:48):
Thank you, I'm completely honored to be here.

Jordan (59:04):
Thank you, I'm completely honored to be here.
You would like me to have withsomeone specific.
Please reach out either emailor through our Instagram,
available in the show notes andhappy reading.

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