Naming Your Baby (I mean, Blog)
When I started Bookmark Lit, I was looking for a place to discuss books and maybe some other lifestyle kinds of posts. I had no idea that there was a whole book blogging community that I could grow to be a part of.
I was trying to think of clever names for my blog when I ended up on Bookmark Lit. I was looking up some puns or play-on-word kinds of names for book-related blogs. I thought Bookmark Lit would be cool, because it’s a play on “bookmark it” and lit = literature. Nothing too exciting or fun, but just enough of a clever name to satisfy me for the moment. The name Bookmark Lit was temporary. I liked it, but wasn’t overly excited by it.
I honestly figured the first few months of blogging include me beefing up the site with some posts and reviews. I didn’t want to go out of my way to meet other bloggers or get entrenched in the community until I felt that I had enough posts to show that I was a credible blog. I wanted to come up with my temporary name, add some content, and finalize my site’s identity before really gaining any followers. My blog ended up taking off much more quickly than I expected. It was too late to change the name.
I see blogs everywhere with adorable names that suit the person behind them. My site’s name is so blah. It seems stupid to reference literature in the title when I mostly review young adult books and none of the standard “literature” or classic titles. I would love to include my name in the title, especially since I could use the word “love” and have some alliteration perhaps.
Now here’s the question: what do I do?
I’ve only had my blog since July but have over 200 followers. I don’t want it to seem like I’m having an identity crisis by changing my name. I would have to go to every site I use in conjunction with my blog and change my name. Places like Netgalley, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Edelweiss, and even my email address. Even though I’m not widely known, I am known as Bookmark Lit.
If I’m going to change my blog’s name, I would want to do it NOW before I get further into blogging. I need your help! Please give me some input in the comments, or take the poll below. Do you like the name Bookmark Lit? When you heard the name of the blog, did you get the pun/play on words about “bookmark it” and lit = literature? Or, do you think I should incorporate my name into it? Should I change the name to something that suits me a little better?
Musing Mondays is a meme at Should Be Reading, where we respond to one of these questions: describe one of your reading habits; talk about a book you recently bought (for yourself or for someone else) and why; discuss the book you’re currently reading and your thoughts on it; talk about a rant or complaint about the industry, books, or reading in general; or discuss anything else related to books. My archives can be found here.
I think bookmark lit is cute, and just because you’re mainly YA doesn’t mean it’s not considered “lit.”Ultimately you need to do what you’re most comfortable with, but I think your blog name is fun and punny nonetheless! Naming a blog is really so stressful, so I understand your struggle! When naming my blog I went through a lot of similar thoughts and didn’t really decided on a name until after I had been blogging for a bit, but I’ve found that the more important thing seems to be people recognizing your brand rather than having THE most creative name out there!
Very true!! I love the name of your blog 🙂 I’ve grown comfortable with Bookmark Lit and don’t mind it, but I feel like it may not reflect me as much as it could… but you’re right, I think I’ve done a good job of creating a style and brand that work regardless. Perhaps changing it is more trouble than it’s worth.
This is such a difficult question! I’ve also thought about it in the past as “One More Page” can sound a bit generic, but I agree that going through a name change seems like a lot of work. It’s a tough choice! Personally, I think Bookmark Lit is a cute name, but you’ll have to let me know if you change your name so I can know it’s you! Good luck with making a decision 🙂
Haha thank you!! I will. I think I am leaning towards keeping it. As long as most people understand/like it, why bother going through the hassle?
[…] phrase, and I decided to make it more of a pun by changing IT to LIT. I’ve talked about possibly changing it in the past but just didn’t want to re-do my web […]