Shelby Bouck is sincere. That’s what I like about her. We’ve been Twitter friends for a while now so I took the plunge and asked to interview her. The sweet and beautiful blogger had a lot to say. Check out how cool she is below.
Honestly? I was in my public speaking class and we had a little downtime, and I said, "Hey, would you guys read a blog called How Not to Suck?" And all of them said yes. That was the moment I decided to write the blog, but the philosophy behind it came from a long time before that.
Philosophy? Please explain.
Well, it's all in the title of the blog: How Not to Suck. In high school (and really a long time before that) my friends and I got caught up in this idea that nothing less than perfect performance was acceptable--at school, in extracurricular activities, at home. We never said it out loud, but it was understood, and it didn't really work out in the long run, at least for me. The stress from feeling like I needed to be perfect all the time affected my relationships and my health. I got mono, I had back issues (not like Vogue in a doctor's office, like a curved spine), I was constantly freaking out. Then, after going to college, I realized "perfect in every way" was a terrible goal, and that if I wanted to do really well at a few things, I'd have to let a few other things go. I wanted to let other people know it was okay to just be okay at stuff--and I'm still learning that myself.
What do you wish you’d known before you started blogging?
Twitter. Literally everything about Twitter. I actually didn't think it was possible to say anything of value in 140 characters or fewer, at the time. I didn't realize it wasn't about making grand statements--it was about making friends and contacts. Becky Blades taught me a lot about that.
Who?
Becky Blades. She's one of my mentors.. she wrote and published a book and directs the social media marketing for it. She taught me basically everything I know about Twitter, which is all about making sure strangers care about what you have to say.
Do you have any tips for succeeding and having a good time on Twitter?
As far as Twitter goes, MAKE FRIENDS. Follow people who follow people you follow. They'll be interested in the same stuff as you. Be witty and observant, not mean.
Your blog covers a wide range of topics. How do you decide what to write about when?
Most of that happens because of what's going on in my life at the time. All the cooking posts are in real time as I slowly stop being scared of my oven. This last post was looking back on another summer of employment at a big-box bookstore. Some topics I sit on for a while before I write them, because I think they're extra important. I've been trying to write "How Not to Suck at Feminism" for six months and I still don't think it's ready.
With classes, assignments, blogging, work and personal obligations, how do you manage your time?
Poorly. I am the world's biggest procrastinator. I do things like think, "You can have some M&Ms when you're done with your blog post" or "You can watch Orange is the New Black when you've done some studying", but I usually end up doing the thing and the incentive at the same time, which totally defeats the purpose of the incentive. I do pay my bills way ahead of time, though. I'm aware that some things have horrible and immediate consequences like $75 late fees and ruined credit. I buy a planner every year and use it for a few months, and then think "I'm so good at planning things! I don't need this, clearly!" #logic
Who are some of your favorite bloggers? What do you like about them?
Hyperbole and a Half is my blogspiration. Allie Brosh is the person who made me want to start a blog, any blog, in the first place. I still laugh-cry when I read her post about the Alot. Old Single Mom, who posts through the ChicagoNow website, is another one of my favorites... she's a friend of mine, and we share a sense of humor and a tendency to wax poetic about things that are not poetic at all. Ashley from BigTopFamily has been great as well; she's another one who's adopted the "competence, not excellence" philosophy, and I love the way she talks about it.
Do you have any tips or advice for new bloggers?
Find your niche. Write about what only YOU can write about--or write about something everybody's writing about from the unique perspective only you can bring to it. (You have something like that. It just might take a little bit to find it.) And have so much fun. If you're not having fun, there's no point. Also, try and write positive stuff--ADD to conversations, don't just talk about what not to do or what's wrong with things. Talk about what should happen instead. Come up with solutions, don't just point out problems.
What are three things on your bucket list?
1) Write and publish a novel. 2) Travel. So much travel. Traveling everywhere. 3) Get a dog. A big shaggy husky. #3 was almost "shop at Macy's for something other than makeup without going into debt", but the dog won.
Down-to-earth, charming, and ambitious. Shelby is the whole package. If you can’t get enough, you can check out her blog How Not to Suck and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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