Why Blogging Sometimes Scares Me

• I'm afraid to recommend books (though I do). I always envision someone buying a book on my recommendation and HATING it and then, not only do they not come to my blog anymore, they start badmouthing me around the Internet. 


• I'm afraid to give a book a bad review (though I will). I always anticipate a flood of defensive comments from the author and/or a flurry of emails (which has happened but I'm not naming names). 


• I'm afraid of the PC culture that primes readers to be offended at everything you say. I'm so conditioned not to antagonize that I go out of my way to keep political opinion out of my blog and I never post anything political on my Facebook feed-- though I often want to. But then I suppose I'm just as easily offended; I have unsubscribed to a LOT of people myself. 


• Losing my online anonymity. This isn't really a big deal-- it's not like I'm a rockstar or something. But I have weird privacy issues. I am definitely not one of those people who posts a gazillion pictures online (and never put up pics of my kids). But it took me years before I felt comfortable attaching my real name to this blog in any way. But with my luck I'll end up being cyber-stalked anyway. 


• I don't have an editor. I try to post halfway decent writing, but there are always typos, clunky sentences and horrible grammar that slip through. Every time I go back and reread an old post I end up correcting something. 


• I'm pretty sure I sound like an idiot on a regular basis. 


• I worry that I'm not quite geeky enough for my own blog. When I started the site I knew I liked fantasy books and science fiction movies but I gave no thought to comic books or video games.  Thank goodness for my contributors-- they give me some geek cred. 


• I have a fear of running out of ideas and cope by making pointless lists of bullet points.