7 reasons I’m rebranding my blog

If you’re a returning reader and are wondering if you’re in the right blog, then you probably are. This is Jessica E. Larsen’s blog, also known as Jessie Winterspring. If you’re new, welcome!

I wish I could chat more, but to make it less boring, let’s break down my reasons for the changes you’re seeing with a list of 7 questions. If you have more questions, there’s always the comment section. 😉

Oh, before you keep going, if you enjoy reading webpages in dark/night version, click on the moon ☾ icon at the top right corner.

Now, let’s go!

1: Why did you change your blog URL?

I honestly don’t know. See, now you have an answer why this blog is called: Diary of a Confuse Writer. It just speaks for itself.

2: Have there been any changes in your interests or passions that have influenced your decision to rebrand and start over?

No. Not really. In fact, I’m more passionate about writing now more than ever. I write slower, but I believe I write better. Experience is such a treasure.

Also, I wouldn’t exactly call this a rebrand. I will still share short stories, geek out on music and movies, share tidbits of life and the struggles of being a writer. However, I think the biggest reason is that I don’t want to let go of my writing names. I want to hold on to Jessica E. Larsen for my Filipino stories (which will release fewer stories). But I also want to blog as Jessie Winterspring, and I can’t do that under the URL of another author. Diary of a Confused Writer is my perfect solution. If you’re curious about where the ‘Winterspring’ comes from, keep following or follow my blog because I’ll write a post about that later.

3: What inspired you to begin blogging in the first place?

Short answer is: Because of my life journey.

I began blogging in the summer of 2005, and over time my blog evolved into a writer’s journal. I posted regularly until 2007 when Facebook emerged and became the new ‘it’ thing. (I deleted my first account and signed up again on WordPress back in 2009.) Then came YouTube and the rest. Despite all of them, blogging had always been a safe place for me to fall back into. I went to many blogging platforms as well and wrote God knows how many posts. A lot of them were about books, but what do you expect from a fiction addict like me? At least it’s not a drug, right? 😆

4: Have you noticed any shifts in your target audience or their needs that have prompted this decision?

Yes, actually. When I decided to separate my Filipino and English writing back in the spring of 2021… wow, that was spring too? Haha, spring sure is the time of change for me. Anyway, back then, I had no plan to blog under my new name. I wanted to just leisurely interact with readers and fellow authors on social media; however, I should have known that I would never be satisfied. We always go back to our roots, and mine was blogging. This prompted my need to blog not only as Jessica but as Jessie as well. If I don’t make sense, never mind, just shrug it off as the rambling of an idiotic, confused writer. 😆

As for the shift in target, yeah, maybe a little bit. I’m still interested in reaching my usual readers, but I’d also love to connect with fans of time travel romance. After writing under Jessie Winterspring and completed my upcoming novel, “In Another Time.” I realize that I’ve always been a time travel romance fanatic, and I’m eager to meet others who share this love.

5: Are there any industry trends or changes that have influenced your decision to rebrand your blog?

YES! After two years of actively interacting with book readers on social media and following the current book releases, what’s trending, and the most hyped ones, I noticed something I hadn’t seen much before. Monster romance, Mafia romance, stalker, “I’m gonna kill you if you’re not mine so unhealthy toxic but it’s what makes it so good, romance—” Let’s go back a bit.

Okay, maybe I went a bit overboard there, but the thing is, there’s no easy way to say it. Unhealthy, toxic relationships seem to dominate the book trends in the last 2 or 3 years. Those that aren’t dark romance, monster romance, or romantasy (which often feel like dark romance anyway) still annoy me.

Most of the books that I’ve read, published in recent years, have one thing in common. They contain pages after pages (and chapters) of explicit scenes. It’s gotten to the point where someone on Instagram thought that readers only enjoy men who insult and degrade them. I’ll stop here because this story deserves its own post.

I don’t know how to explain myself properly here. I don’t mind sex in books, even open-door sex scenes; in fact, I want to “see” them, there no need to censored behind close door. It’s given that a couple does it, but it’s frustrating when it becomes excessive.

I mean, do we really need such repetitive descriptions of how his dick feels, or the how it looks sliding into her, or even the sounds of the bed hitting the wall, over and over across many chapters? 🙁 Finding the right sweet balance in new books is hard, and so I want to use this blog to feature the books that might interest readers who are like me.

6: In what ways do you anticipate the rebranding will differentiate your blog from others in your niche?

Wah! 😱 I think I put myself in the trap for creating this question! Why did I have to use my brain cell for this?

No, I don’t know! I really don’t know the answer to this. But I can tell you I’ll be talking about things from the past, like old movies, music, and because my niche is time travel romance, I’ll be talking about it often. How? I don’t know yet. Maybe through short stories and snippets of my current work in progress.

7: What aspects of your previous blog do you feel are not aligning with your vision that you wanted to change?

It may just be a feeling, but aside from the URL being focused only on one of my author’s names, my previous blog also gives off too much “author’s blog” vibe. I’ve realized that there’s a key difference between being a ‘writer’ and being an ‘author.’ Again, maybe it’s just me, but an author wrote a book, a writer keeps writing. And I’ll keep writing for as long as I can.

Also, I want my new blog to show me as a book reader as well. I’ve always separated them, but it’s time the writer in me and the reader in me get along and stay in one room… err… blog. 😅

Phew… that’s it.

Wow, believe it or not, this took me 4 hours to compose. 4 hours not counting the editing time. But I can always give more time to answer your questions or reply to your comment. 😁

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