It’s hard to believe that it’s been three years since I started The Cozy Owlet. This blog – and this community – have become such a mainstay in my life. This blog has given me rhythm and structure, even when life is a whirlwind. I appreciate that it forces me to slow down and reflect on my reading every week, letting me capture what makes different reads special. And I love the creative pause as I figure out just the right photo for a cover.

If you’d told me when I started that I’d still be at it three years later, I’m not sure I would have believed you. At the time, the blog was a project designed to get me out of a life rut. In fact, I was so uncertain that I’d find enough to say that I planned quite the intense series just to make sure I always had a backup option. What I didn’t anticipate is how much I’d take to writing every week.

In fact, there’s a lot I didn’t anticipate about creating this blog. If I could rewind three years, here’s what I’d tell myself…

Read and write what you love

I know you’re worried about whether you’re reading the “right” books. It seems like reading has become much more categorical – you’re a romantasy reader, or a cozy mystery fan. Every advice post about starting a blog encourages you to define your niche and stick to it. But it’s been difficult to try and force-fit yourself into one of those boxes – because you like to read such a wide variety of things!

The good news is, you’re not starting this project as a side hustle / to become a massive influencer. And it turns out there are plenty of readers who enjoy a similar mix of books to you – mystery, fantasy, epistolary; a traditional quality bar with a modern sensibility. If you keep reading and writing what you love, those people will find you. (Some will even send you you kind messages about how your tastes align!)

Over the years, you will be surprised by these people, and the reasons they come to your site. Maybe it will be in search of an explanation of the ending of one your favorite epistolaries, or Discourse on your favorite cozy mystery sleuth. Maybe they’ll want to learn more about one of your favorite fantasy authors active today, as he releases a new mystery. (!) Or they’ll be in search of the perfect present for their mystery-reading loved ones. But for them to find you, you have to take the first step of writing what you love.

The right amount of structure

That said, your instincts about structure are good. In those first few months, everything will feel a little overwhelming. You’ll have to figure out topics, write and edit posts, and learn to take photos in your evolving aesthetic. Then you’ll need to figure out scheduling – what needs to happen when to make the whole enterprise work. The world is full of beautiful celebrations, and you’ll want to participate in every single one of them.

And because you read so much—and because the ideas keep flowing—it will start to feel like choice overload.

This is where structure comes in. Having a default post topic can be extremely focusing, reducing the degrees of freedom every week. Challenges can help determine where and how to make progress. And ARCs, when selected carefully, can add structure as well, setting specific “anchor” dates.

But beware the siren song of too much structure. Early on, it will be tempting to take on too many challenges, promise too many ARC reads. You’ll be comforted by the idea of a long list of topics to draw from, from never running out of ideas to write. But as writing and photos and posts become easier – you’ll find that structure suffocating. It’ll limit you from sharing that serendipity bookstore find, or from compiling your thoughts on cozy as a genre. And it turns out, that creativity is one of the greatest joys of this project – so make sure you leave room for it to grow.

Deliberate practice makes perfect

You are a great reader and a decent writer already. But this project is going to require new skills, and make you practice every week. You’re going to learn to edit your own writing, to title each post. You’ll start to have a sense of your own voice, and know when your writing for a given week doesn’t meet that mark. You’ll learn to stage photos of what you read, which is really a whole basket of skills: framing, photo design, lighting, even editing.

It’s not just the content. You’ll become much more familiar with the basics of web publishing – of scheduling posts ahead, of managing a website through WordPress upgrades. You’ll learn how to review search engine outcomes without losing your head. And then, you’ll start to experiment – with different types of posts, different posting outlets, different cadences. And you’ll be learning all the while.

It might feel daunting at first, because your eyes will be bigger than your skills. You’ll know that you’re not yet expressing what you want, that this nascent project doesn’t yet feel like you. But if you keep your eye on the prize of authenticity, you’ll keep honing your skills of self-expression. And with that skill comes the reward of self-knowledge, even self confidence.

Books everywhere

You already think of yourself as a reader, but this blog will expand your perspective on what that means. Writing about your reading will force you to slow down; an implicit audience will make you want to diversify away from cozy-mystery binges. Over the years, your reading will become more varied, and you’ll become more comfortable with reading something risky. In fact, you’ll give yourself challenges that deliberately expand your reading comfort zone.

Then there’s travel. Right now, you’re reading the same stuff when you travel vs. when you’re at home. But the tempting combination of a cool series and unique photos will slowly change your reading habits, until you incorporate reading as a travel ritual. When you read about the locations you’re in, you’ll walk away with a whole different perspective on your trips – and the books.

As your house fills with books for this project, the others in your life will get to read more, too. Your partner will start to read again, and you will delight in conversations about books together. Your friends will benefit from your library, and you’ll thrill in pulling them towards your bookshelf and loading them up with new books to love. (The best reads, after all, are those a friend recommends.) Your local little free libraries will also benefit from this constant influx of reading material. Your books, previously solitary, will be the foundations for both an online and in-person community. Books will become the bridge between you and others—a shared language that deepens old bonds and sparks new ones.

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It has been a truly wonderful three years of blogging, and I’m so thankful for everyone who’s been part of the journey. From my most loyal social media fans (I read every comment!) to my new reading friends, thank you for helping me build this nourishing, fulfilling source of growth. I hope that these posts bring you even a fraction of the joy and comfort they bring me, and I’m looking forward to what Year Four brings us.

 Until next time, stay cozy, and stay curious!

❤️,

🦉