Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Minton.
Hi Allison, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I couldn’t read until I was 9 years old. I just could not grasp the concept of reading until one day it just clicked. Once I discovered the worlds within books, I was hooked and have been an avid reader ever since.
For the longest time, I read primarily mysteries and fantasy books, I had a big imagination growing up and these two genres fit right into my longing for adventure and magic.
Whenever I would finish a story, I would find myself inventing additional storylines for the characters and envisioning myself in the world. I eventually started to write these stories down, and while they will never see the light of day, they really set the foundation for my love of writing and just reinforced my love of books.
Reading and writing took a bit of a backseat while I was in college and grad school, but once I finished I found myself wanting to not just read what I always had, but to really branch out of my comfort zones. At the same time, I decided I wanted to work on my writing skill and found the best way to achieve this was by writing all the time.
It gets a bit mundane writing only for yourself, so I decided to start a blog where I would post reviews of the book I was reading, which would combine my love of reading and help me be able to practice my writing.
Once I figured out how a blog & website worked, I started to casually promote it on my own personal social media accounts, which is when I discovered the world of Bookstagram! Bookstagram opened my eyes to so many books I never would have picked to read and it’s also a great place to find other book lovers!
I knew I wanted to be a part of the community almost immediately and decided to start my own Bookstagram account that would tie in with my blog, which is how @speakingof_books came to be! My Instagram and website really started to gain traction almost four years ago and have really started to expand from there.
Around that time, I also started getting requests to review upcoming releases and now routinely review books for major publishing companies such as Random House, Berkley, Doubleday, and William Morrow among others. I love not only getting to read new releases early, but I also love helping others to find new books they’ll love!
Past the exposure to new books and interaction with other book lovers, I’ve found this space to be a great creative outlet. My pup Sadie has also been a regular feature since we added her to our family in 2019, which has culminated into ‘Sadie Sundays’.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My biggest struggle with running is both the website and Instagram and balancing it with my other life commitments.
This is a side hobby for me and other things tend to take precedence especially lately. I’m a full-time project manager at a tech company, and a have a 4-month-old at home, so juggling those responsibilities with the time it takes to read, review, promote, and research new and upcoming books can be a lot.
Setting boundaries and not accepting every Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of a book is really important, as it’s easy to overcommit and get overwhelmed. I do my best to remember that this is supposed to be fun for me and try my best to not turn reading into ‘work’.
I use to compare how much I read to others in the community, which would leave me trying to rush through books instead of enjoying them. I try to focus on quality not quantity now to combat this.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My undergrad degrees are in fashion design and International business, and I also have an MBA.
I’m currently a project manager for a tech company. and we specialize in Digital Transformation and Cloud Innovation. I’ve been in this space since 2014 and have been able to work with some great companies.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
There has been a big shift in who gets published in the past few years. The shift is putting more of a focus on minority and women authors.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://speakingof.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakingof_books/
