Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayley Sakamoto.
Hi Kayley, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Kayley, I’m a twenty six year old, born and raised in Los Angeles. I started Coolgirlsreadingbooks in early 2020, inspired by photos of women posting themselves reading, and the photos I’d see in “moodboards” where the woman and the book were not tagged. At the time, I was getting all of my book recommendations from social media, which involved a lot of zooming into photos and searching half-visible titles. When I made the page, I had a book community in mind, as opposed to just a page of aesthetics. I wanted to talk to people about what they were reading. I wanted to get reading recommendations and give my own. Social media interests me the most when it’s actually social.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The peak of @coolgirlsreadingbooks, in my opinion, was when it had about 3k followers and everyone was so active and social. This was also during covid, so it was lovely to have such a thriving community, often reading the same books. When I got over 10k followers, I got psyched out and took a step back. That’s been something I’ve been working on repairing, especially with the launch of coolgirlsreadingbooks.substack.com. Also, I’ve had some challenges with feeling burnt out in my personal life, especially with work, and desiring to take a break from social media while also having a sense of obligation to the girls reaching out to my page. I try to reply to every DM I get. Balance, I’ve learned, is everything.
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?
I’m a writer, no surprise. I started a personal substack, kayleysakamoto.substack.com, late 2023 and only recently launched one for Coolgirlsreadingbooks. While my personal blog talks about my life and thoughts, with the occasional fictional story, the Coolgirlsreadingbooks blog is more centered on book recommendations, explorations into the lives of authors, bookstore highlights. I also do an interview series on my Instagram called Get to Know a Cool Girl that I’m now doing on the blog as well. I’m interested in the expansion possible with the blog; ie, interviewing anyone, asking strangers for book recommendations, etc. I’m really excited to see where I can go from here.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
I think passion and real human connection are so essential in anything, but especially anything with social media. When you have an account devoid of connection, it feels so dead. I knew that when I started out, and I’ve lost it a few times along the way. I wish I knew, when I was starting out, to stop limiting myself. I’m always my own biggest barrier, whether its self doubt, or procrastination (often a side-effect of self doubt). What’s the point of holding yourself back?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://coolgirlsreadingbooks.substack.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/coolgirlsreadingbooks
- Other: https://instagram.com/kayleysakamoto
