Bloggy Musings: Revamping and Reposting Book Reviews

 
 
I feel like this might be some big taboo thing since blogging is supposed to be all about creating dazzling, shiny, *new* content. But this idea to revamp and repost book reviews, and the question of whether it's a good idea or not, came to me because I realized I have a whole bunch of reviews from when I first started blogging that have few or no comments and hardly got viewed since I was a brand new, lone little blogger. Maybe other people knew what they were doing better than I did and already had followers and bloggy friends from the moment they started, but I absolutely did not. Which is fine and well because hey, I've got you all now! But it makes me sad that those reviews got neglected because the reviews I posted when I first started were for the books that I loved the most, which means they're the reviews I want people to see most for the fact that those books deserve some attention and I think other people would really love them.

So... I figured I'd make a pros and cons list and then see what you all think!

Pros of Reposting Book Reviews

 

– They get seen by more people (I mean, for me, new posts and GR reviews get a lot more attention than old ones), and letting people know about the amazing books we read is one of the best things about book blogging.
– It gives you a chance to fix them up now that you’ve honed your reviewing skills a bit.
– It gives you a chance to fix up the posts themselves if you’ve changed your layout, the way you do posts, etc.
– It gives you a break every now and then from creating all new content. That’s helpful if you’re busy or tired but still want to post. And it’s almost like new if hardly anyone has seen it or it’s so old that everyone has forgotten about it.
– Even if people have seen it, they might have different tastes now, so it still might help your followers find a new book they’ll love. Or anyone who’s seen it and still isn’t interested can simply skip reading that post with no harm done.

Cons of Reposting Book Reviews

 

– Anyone who’s already seen it might get annoyed.
– Anyone who’s already commented probably isn’t going to comment again, which could mean less interaction.
– It could be seen as lazy.
– Your tastes might have changed, and you might end up promoting a book that you no longer like.
– If you have a bunch of new books to review, you might not have time for reposting old reviews.

My Experiences

 

I’ve never reposted any book reviews on my blog, but I did repost some reviews on Goodreads when I re-read a series earlier this year because I added a “reread update” to each one. And these reviews that had gotten no attention when they were originally posted (because I had hardly an GR friends) suddenly had people interested in the series and adding it to their TBRs. That made me really happy since it’s one of my favorites.

My Verdict

 

I guess, in the end, there’s never a right and wrong. Everyone can do what they want with their own blog. No one is being forced to follow anyone else or to read/comment on every single post on a blog. And if revamped reviews are spaced out, it probably wouldn’t be an issue even someone has already seen them. But I really want to know what you all think!

 
 
 
 

Talk to me!

Is it acceptable to revamp and repost book reviews?
Have you ever done it?
How often is it acceptable (or how often is too much)?
Are there any guidelines you'd use, like only reposting ones that are x months/years old or ones that have less than x number of views/comments?

 
 
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Your Thoughts

 

35 thoughts on “Bloggy Musings: Revamping and Reposting Book Reviews

I'd love if you'd share your thoughts, too!

 

Reading your comments makes me a very happy blogger!

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  1. Molly @ Molly's Book Nook

    I’ve never done this, but I think it’s totally acceptable. I’ve only had my blog for about 8 or 9 months, but I only had like 10 people reading my blog back then. So I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I reposted some of those 8-month-old reviews for people. Sometimes my mind even changes the more I think about a book, so that rating may have changed in the past months. I even have plans to repost some old content. Revamp it of course. But ones that are themed around holidays and what not, instead of rewriting an entire post, I’m just going revamp and update it. I think that’s fair. We’re human. We don’t have an endless supply of unique ideas. Also, we want those older posts to still get love. We worked hard on them. So why not? I mean, I wouldn’t repost one from a month ago. But last summer? I would. Especially for books that maybe aren’t talked about that often, to kind of put it back out there.

    This comment was kind of all over the place, but I think you get my point xD

    1. Kristen Burns

      I’ve also had my blog about 8 or 9 months, and yeah, I think 8 months is enough time considering I had like two followers lol. I’m not sure I’d change the ratings though since I could have a distorted view of the picture after so much time has passed, you know? I did change one book rating, but that because I reread it.

      I know I didn’t mention other content, but that makes sense too. I just didn’t really start posting content that wasn’t memes or reviews until January, and I’m pretty sure no one wants to reread two month old posts, haha. But our old posts definitely deserve some love! And most of the books I read aren’t talked about that often, but some of them deserve to be, so all the more reason to repost. I’m glad you support this plan 🙂

      1. Molly @ Molly's Book Nook

        REALLY?! We started our blogs at the same time?! For some reason, that makes me super excited 😀 I always thought you had yours for years!

        I wouldn’t change ratings on all of them, but there are a few that are pretty fresh in my mind still that I’m kind of reconsidering my rating for :/ stupid brain.

        Also, I 100% support this plan lol 😀

        1. Kristen Burns

          I feel like when I first found out we started or blogs around the same time, I had also thought you been blogging for years? Lol it is cool though 😀

          If they’re recent, then ok, I have terrible indecision, so I completely get that.

          Lol yay for reposting!

  2. Daniela Ark

    hummmm… ok… first… DO.NOT.LAUGH. KRISTEN! promise? ok.. here it goes. [looking around me, no one is looking ok] *whisper*I never heard of this before *end of whisper* That tells you how new I’m at this! LOL It doesn’t sound bad to me at all! If I see something I already read I just shrug and read it again. Which in my case it’s always like reading it for the first time because I’m like Finding Nemo’s Dory 🙂
    Bring them on! I wanna see everything I missed! 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      I don’t think it’s really a big thing, so you’re good, no one will laugh at you! Well, I *am* laughing at the Dory comment, does that count as laughing at you? Lol. But yay, I’m glad you like the idea 🙂 You’re gonna see everything you missed, and you’re gonna love it! WHETHER YOU WANT TO OR NOT. Just kidding. Probably.

  3. Ashley G.

    I’ve never thought of this before. But it does make sense. I have considered reposting a character post I had written when my blog had like, three followers. But I am a little hesitant. Because what about the people who’s already read it? I just like the post and want to share it with my current followers because I think they’d like it too. Maybe.

    Reviews though. I’ve never really thought about revamping them, unless I’ve reread the book and have something different to say? My reviewing skills still aren’t that great, so I don’t know if people would actually like to read a revamped version of an old review. XD

    1. Kristen Burns

      I say go for it! I’ve already decided that I’m going to repost some of my old book reviews, so it’s totally gonna become a thing 😉 It makes sense though since really, who has followers when they first start? All those posts go to waste.

      I think I’d more likely revamp the actual post than the review, since I’ve slightly changed how I do the posts. But I’m sure people would like your revamped reviews, especially if they’ve never seen them!

  4. Laura

    I would never have thought to do this, but now I’ve read this post it sounds like a really good idea! I like some of the first reviews I wrote, but pretty much no one ever read them, so reposting them would probably give them a new lease of life.
    Awesome post! 🙂

    1. Kristen Burns

      I feel like I’m starting a thing lol. I know I’m not the first person to have this idea, but I guess no one really talks about it. Our original posts definitely deserve a new lease on life though! Thanks 🙂

  5. Greg

    I’ve done it. A few times, maybe two or three. I think a year or so ago, not sure, but I reposted some older reviews from when I started and no one had seen them lol. The ones I liked, not the ones that made me cringe. 🙂 And a few were just books I wanted to get out there, because I didn’t see many reviews, even if only a few people saw them at least . I didn’t really revamp them though, just reposted mostly, but I think revamping is fine too and maybe even good since our views on a book can change.

    I say go for it!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Haha, so you did exactly what I’m going to do! Yeah, some of them are pretty cringe-worthy, but I figure I an at least slightly edit them so they still say the same thing but just sound a little… less cringe-y. Most of my early reviews (hell, most of my reviews still) were also for books that have never gotten a lot of attention, so that’s another great point, it can be helpful not only to reader but to the authors. I’m definitely gonna go for it 🙂 I just don’t know when since I’m kind of extremely booked up on review copies lol.

  6. Jess @ POB!

    I’ve never thought about reposting book reviews, but I can definitely see the pros. However, I don’t think I would, aside from cross-posting on Goodreads/Amazon and the review naturally showing up at the top of my feed, because that would require me to read through my past ones, cringe, and then revise; I am way too lazy for that, LOL! There are some posts I do wish got more love, so maybe I’ll repost those (they aren’t reviews, but one is an experience post).

    1. Kristen Burns

      Haha yes, some of my old reviews are super cringe-worthy. But I think a tad bit of editing will be worth since I love those books and want other people to read them! If you have other old posts, that definitely works too. I just didn’t start posting anything that wasn’t reviews and memes until January, and I don’t think people want to reread two month old discussion posts lol, so I just didn’t go into those types of posts.

  7. AngelErin

    I haven’t done this and I probably wouldn’t, but I don’t see an issue with it at all. To be honest, I would rather see someone posting revamped reviews (maybe with a paragraph about why the person chose to revamp the post) than someone posting 8 million blog tours/cover reveals all the time. That’s just my personal preference of course!

    1. Kristen Burns

      That’s a good point, reposted content that most people haven’t seen or have forgotten is definitely better than copied and pasted posts that have nothing personal to them. I’ve probably just offended someone with that comment lol, but I don’t like those blog tour type posts that are pure promotion with no reviews or anything unique either.

      1. AngelErin

        I don’t mind one here and there (heck I’ll do one once in a blue moon), but I will admit I hate seeing them ALL the time. Of course people can do what they want. I’m glad it’s not just me that gets annoyed by that though. 😀

        1. Kristen Burns

          Yeah, I mean, I’m not going to write off a blog I like just because they post one every so often, and I don’t mind if the person also has a review in the post since that makes it more person, not just promotional. But I really don’t understand those blogs that just post like five promo posts a day and nothing else, no original content.

  8. Lola

    I know what you mean, I have some reviews I either never posted on my blog or books I haven’t even reviewed the first time I read them and also a lot of reviews and books that never got as much attention as I was still a newbie blogger. And it would be fun to tell my current readers and followers about them now in some way, while at the same time I don’t really want to share those reviews again as they are probably cringeworthy.

    I also agree that often the newer posts and reviews get seen more often. I sometimes comment on an older post if I see a topic on social media for example that catches my interest, but beside that I hardly ever go looking for old posts and certainly not reviews. I know most bloggers have a page where they list all their reviews, but I wonder if anyone ever looks at those.

    I also like the idea of having content to share without spending as much time on creating new content, it sure takes a lot of time and effort to come up with new posts and while I enjoy it I can also see the appeal to have a somewhat easier post now and then. I think giving a slightly new twist to it probably would be my preferred way. maybe add a few new lines or maybe do a re-read and share your old review and new thoughts, although I that case it probably would take about as much time as when you write a whole new post.

    So I am not totally sure what my stance is, on the one hand I would like to share my love for some books I read a long time ago, but at the same time I don’t want to share those exact reviews again. My review style has changed and when i read older reviews I usually don’t like them as much, so i still would want to find a way to share something new about those books. And I read them so long ago that i am not sure if I would feel the same and then I would want to re-read them and it would still take as much time as a normal review. When it comes to other blogs, I wouldn’t mind them re-posting old reviews, especially when I haven’t read them before. I am sure I missed quite some of your reviews before I became a regular visitor and I would like to read those. In case of review that i already read being reshared, I wouldn’t mind that too much as like you said I can easily skip it.

    I like your idea of adding a re-read bit to a review and think that would be a fun way to handle it and give an old review some new attention. I do agree that you don’t really see many people doing this. I know one blogger who if she re-reads a book reviews it again and posts it on her blog sometimes and it has happened once I read a different review by her for the same book and I didn’t really mind, it was still fun to read. Interesting topic and something i don’t see many people talking about!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Even though my early reviews are cringe-worthy, I feel like I can fix them up a bit while still keeping the original thoughts. Or I suppose, even if they’re still cringe-worthy, we’re probably a lot harder on ourselves than other people are! So they’re still worth posting.

      I also rarely ever look at older posts on blogs. It’s true that we all have those lists of the book reviews, but people rarely seem to use them. I occasionally get views on older reviews, but rarely ever comments.

      As I mentioned, I did add a bit when I reread some books this year, but I didn’t repost. I like adding a bit though because it lets people know that the book was just as good, or better (or I suppose possibly not as good lol), as it was the first time around and can help people make a decision about reading it. Plus, if you like a book enough to reread, it kinda deserves to be shared twice lol. But I think it’s necessary to reread just to repost an older review. Like you said, that would take way too much time!

      It isn’t something I’ve seen talked about before either, so I figured I’d put it out there lol. Thanks for you thoughts!

  9. Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

    I think this can be a very good idea, Kristen! I have recently re-vamped and re-posted reviews I wrote a long time ago on someone else’s review blog. I had permission to post it on my own blog, and it was for books I really enjoyed, and so I figured – why not share them with my own followers, too?
    I have also thought a bit about doing something like this for my old discussion posts. Some didn’t get a lot of attention, even if I, personally, thought the subject was very interesting *grins* or I think it’s something that’s still very accurate and important to talk about. I may rather do a new take on one of my own older discussion posts and link to the old one, though.
    When it comes to reviews, I know the way I write my reviews has changed quite a bit, and I have so many of those from the beginning that don’t really have a lot of comments, but others do. I think if you feel like re-vamping and re-posting your reviews, you should – it’s your blog! And I’m sure there might be some that you’ll be very happy about changing 😉

    1. Kristen Burns

      It definitely make sense to share the reviews with your followers! And I think this would work for discussion posts too (I just didn’t mention those since I don’t have any “old” discussions, I just started those this year). But if it was a topic you really liked, then go for it 🙂 Doing a new take on it works too.

      I don’t really have an exact style of review, I just do each book however it feels right, but it would nice to just kind of edit some of the old ones to sound a little smoother and to fix them up to match the way I do the actual posts now. I’ve decided I am going to do it, but first I have to actually find some time since I have so many review copies to review right now lol.

  10. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    Revamping old reviews is perfectly fine and if you want to repost that’s completely your choice too. One really good reason for revamping old reviews alone is formatting them to fit your blog. Also, you’ve refined your reviewing skills and refine your reviews. I think it’s all down to individual choice. Looking back at some of my old reviews makes me cringe and revamping them would probably be good, but there are so many new posts to work on so it’s hard to find the time.

    I’d be interested to see more people do this, but I can see why people don’t. We all get drawn into posting the new, it would be nice to give love to our old posts too.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Exactly, I’ve changed my formatting a bit, and I’d love to fix up the old posts to match, but it’s way too daunting to consider just going in and doing it all at once to a bunch of reviews. This way, it’d be in smaller chunks or one at a time. And I’m sure we all cringe at our old reviews, so editing those a bit wouldn’t hurt lol. I agree though that even though I want to do it, I’m just not sure when I’ll have the time!

  11. Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

    This is really interesting – I never would have thought of this, but I suppose as long as you don’t do it ALL the time, there’s no harm in it. I would just maybe put a paragraph at the top explaining that you re-vamped the review and why you really love the book and want to spread the word a bit more!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Exactly, it’s not something you’d wanna do too often. And that’s a good idea to add a little note about how it’s a repost. That way anyone who’s already seen it won’t be confused lol and it shows even more how much you love the book!

  12. Annika @ Hiding Books

    I think it’s totally acceptable, and although I haven’t done this, I am thinking of revamping some of my oldest posts because, like you said – they’re some of my favourites and I’d really like to talk about them to people who follow the blog now.
    I might actually put it off for a bit, and start going back and revamping posts once I get busier with my dissertation.
    I really think it would be nice to see you talk about your favourite books – and since it’s been 8 or 9 months since those posts, it would be super interesting to hear if your opinions have changed since then and all that.
    So actually, I think we should all do this sometimes. It would be fun!

    1. Kristen Burns

      That’s a good plan, to wait until you know you’ll be busier, kind of like having a backup plan for posting!

      I feel like I’ll probably edit the reviews a bit to make them sound nicer, but I don’t think I’d actually *change* them, you know? Unless I just added a line about how I still think about the book or whatever. Like, I wouldn’t quite trust my opinion now and would rather trust what I originally felt about the book. Anyway, I suppose that, unless I reread the book, my opinion is pretty much still the same on the books I’ve read. We all should do this though! I’d love to see the old posts from people I only recently started following.

  13. Bookworm Brandee

    This is an excellent topic for discussion, Kristen. And honestly, I see no reason why we bloggers can’t revamp and re-post our reviews. I figure as long as we make mention of the fact that it’s something we’ve posted before, since it’s revamped it’s still ‘shiny’, right? And I’m sure there are some reviews that are of books you really, really liked and no one saw those reviews and therefore, your love of the book wasn’t really shared. Right? This has me thinking because there are many, many reviews I posted when the only person following my blog was my older daughter…so there are books that I reviewed and loved but that no one, except my daughter of course, saw my love for. And I wouldn’t post those reviews again as is…I mean, my style has evolved so much since then! LOL Bottom line, I think you’re right in that there isn’t a right or wrong answer here. But if you want to polish up an old review, go for it! I know I, for one, would be happy to read it. 😀

    1. Kristen Burns

      You know, what’s funny is that I think you more than most of my other followers might really like some of the earlier books I reviewed lol.

      Adding a little note to mention that it’s a repost is a good idea. But yeah, I feel like it makes sense too. I feel like most of us probably posted our favorite books first, and I want to read about other bloggers’ favorite books too! And it does give us a chance to do some editing lol.

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  15. Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons

    I think this is a great idea. Do it on Thursdays and call it a Throwback Thursday and make kinda a meme of it. There are a ton of people in content marketing that recommend you do stuff like this. I’m sure the authors of the books would love you for it. It is not something that I’ve done, but then I don’t have my own blog. And, I started reviewing on two well established blogs when I started reviewing, so I didn’t have this issue. If I were to ever start my own blog, I would totally do something like this. Good luck!

    1. Kristen Burns

      Oh that’s a fun idea, to make it a throwback Thursday thing! Now that you mention it, I think I have read stuff about kind of refreshing content like this for marketing purposes. And yeah, the authors will appreciate it! But their books completely deserve it, so the extra attention to their books is earned. I am gonna give it a go, thanks 🙂