We recently connected with Maggie Gomez and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Maggie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I first started my bookish content creating and blogging journey in November of 2021. My husband had prompted me to start up a creative hobby for years but I always came up with excuses. In my defense, I had two children in under 2 years while we moved across the country. Although I had reasons to place my focus else where, I wish I would’ve taken the plunge much earlier. I let my own non-existent boundaries stop me, such as telling myself “Nobody will care about what I like anyway, so why bother?”

Now that I have done tis for over a year, I know the limits I placed on myself were only part of my imagination. I am thankful for a husband that pushed me to create what I love. I have met wonderful people and learned new skills that I wish I could have sooner!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Maggie and I run a blog/Instagram called Busy Moms Read, Too! Like my blog title states, I am a busy mom of 2 (with one on the way) that considers herself a certified bookworm. The idea for my blog started in November of 2021 after years of my husband encouraging me to pursue a hobby I enjoyed. When I finally put my self-imposed limits to rest, I settled on starting a wholesome book blog and Instagram (bookstagram) to help others who love books find their next favorite book.

One of the goals for my sites was to provide a quick reference guide for content warnings. Books do not come with ratings like movies, so any type of content that someone may want to avoid can be found in them. In my case, I wanted to avoid certain warnings but had a hard time finding resources for lesser known authors and publishers. Having this goal in mind, my reviews contain spoilers free reviews with content warnings so readers of all ages can find the right book for them. As well as providing content warnings, I love to write about reading tips and other bookish topics. I also enjoy creating relatable and funny reels that all bookworms can find themselves saying, “Hey! Me too!” I hope to have my followers find a trusted resource and build a community of fellow bibliophiles when they come onto my sites. Connecting with others is the best part of this experience!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A hard lesson I had to learn quickly about content creating is: Success ≠ your follower count.

It’s a common misconception that the more followers you have, the more successful you are. In some ways, this is true. But in the vast majority of cases, you can be successful (and happy!) even if your follower count isn’t at the goal you would like. When I first started out, I instantly wanted thousands of followers and views on my sites. I tried everything I possibly could to bump up the numbers. As time went on, I realized I was slowly getting discouraged and burned out. Why wasn’t I enjoying this? Isn’t reading one of my favorite things to do? If so, why does this feel so heavy?

Upon reflecting and speaking to friends about this, I realize I had idolized my follower count to the point that I was crashing and burning while forgetting the reason I started in the first place. I originally wanted to have a space I could talk about books, post content warnings, and find a bookish community. I started to go back to the beginning and value people over numbers. As my relationships began to grow, I noticed my loyal following did, too. This was the beginning of realizing that I would rather have 100 loyal followers that engage wholeheartedly with me, than 10,000 followers who don’t care about what I post. As my mentality changed, I began to have fun again and remembered the love of reading that started it all. Having thousands and thousands of followers isn’t a bad thing, don’t get me wrong. But do what you do because you love it, not because you want to see the number go up.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When my creative thought process shifted from number oriented to community oriented, I found that people value authenticity. When I began to be my authentic self online and posted content that was true to me, I found this attracted people much more than perfect looking content. If you are first starting out, remember to be true to yourself. People might be attracted to a certain look at first, but they stick around for YOU.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.busymomsreadtoo.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/busymomsreadtoo

Image Credits
All photos by Maggie Gomez @busymomsreadtoo