When RTB launched less than a year ago, there were just a handful of blogs listed on the sidebar. I had about six or seven I visited regularly, and all was right in the world.
Have you noticed the exploding sidebar? I have. I used to check out the new blog links to see who was who and what they blog about, now I barely have time to keep up with my own list (which has grown to about 40 blogs I visit at least once a week.)
Like all new trends, blogs grew exponentially. Blogs are growing because people have a new toy.
They will come and go. Good blogs will rise to the top. Bad blogs will disappear.
Bloggers often have more than one blog. Many authors have their personal blog and share a community blog.
Like yours truly. I have three. Four if I count RTB. My personal blog is temporarily down (long story, I won’t bore you with the details), but that’s okay because I can blog in a community blog! (Addiction fed.)
At first I was skeptical when my former critique partner Sharon Long suggested our crit group put together a blog. Who would come? What could I possibly say that would interest people? We launched Writeminded and I was pleasantly surprised at the response. Each of us had a distinct voice and brought in different people.
But there are several other community blogs and I find that I’m enjoying them. Even some author blogs, like MJ Rose, have regular “guest bloggers” that provide information that relates to the theme of her blog (about the publishing industry, marketing and promotion.)
For example, RWA’s Published Author Special Interest Chapter (PASIC) launched a community blog last month: 2B Read. The purpose is to give exposure to published romance authors by offering insights on the industry, writing, reading and the like through the blog format. Who better to talk about reading and the state of the industry than published authors, each with their own unique perspective? And we get to promote our books the month of their release. How cool is that?
I’ve noticed several communities of writers, either publisher-centered like Harlequin Intrigue and Warner Women; or genre centered like Lipstick Chronicles and Literary Chicks–have launched group blogs. And these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head! I’m sure if I did a little research more would pop up.
I discovered other group endeavors as well: the Science Fiction Blog which talks about (surprise) science fiction novels and ancillary subjects; the LitBlog Co-op which seeks to promote great literary novels that have been overlooked; and Fresh Fiction, which I just discovered, which is a group of readers talking about . . . what else, books!
I’m sure there are group blogs about everything under (and around and beyond) the sun, not just books, but since books and writing is pretty much my life outside of family, that’s all I’m reading.
I recently agreed to join a group of suspense authors in a new venture: a suspense blog we’ve launched called Murder She Writes. We’re all published suspense authors of different genres — romantic, erotic, mainstream, humorous, horror — so people who like suspense can get everything they want (we hope!) in one place.
I don’t know if RTB was the first, but I think the founders of this group blog really jumpstarted a trend. And, like with all trends, the cream will rise to the top.
Other than RTB, what group blog do you find yourself reading regularly? Do you think it’ll last the proliferation of blogs and why? Do you prefer group blogs to individual blogs? Why do you come back to your favorite blogs?
Procrastinating minds want to know.
No related posts.
Allison-
How did you find the others that you blog with? I enjoy Writeminded and some of the others you’ve mentioned, but wonder about the “how tos” of getting started.
How to? Gosh, I don’t know. I’ve never been the instigator.
I think the key is to find a group of people where you have a common bond. If it’s writing, you can have a crit group, or harlequin Intrigue writers, or like the new one I’m doing of suspense writers (which, apologies, isn’t going to actually be up until tonight . . . I got my dates confused, surprise surprise!)
In short:
1) Find a group you want to blog with.
2) Define your purpose.
3) Decide if you want to pay for your own domain or use a free service (splitting the cost for a url and hosting between 3 or 4 people isn’t expensive.)
4) Set ground rules (like forbidden topics, how you’re going to approve new regular bloggers, etc.)
5) Start blogging.
6) Keep blogging. There’s nothing worse that a site that is stagnant. If you intend to have daily blogs, keep it up. If you intend to do weekly blogs (a lot of published authors do them weekly — when mine is up for good, I’ll be blogging once a week) — blog on the same day so that people intuitively know, “Oh, it’s Monday and Allison will have a new blog up.”
Hope that helps! Have fun!
Hi Allison! My crit group followed in your footsteps and created a website and blog as well. We each have about three asigned days per month and we blog about anything writing related, or vaguely writing related
Not too long ago we held a well-attended Author Day on our Yahoo board and a couple of the members’ editors stopped in to answer questions.
It’s still early days yet, but industry professionals are starting to notice. Most of our members are now published, and the few who aren’t are getting some exposure too.
I think it’s a wonderful forum for like-thinking people to gather for fun and information. As you said, it looks as if you started a trend. A really good one! *pats Allison on the back*
For interested parties, here’s the URL to the Belfry Collective : http://thebelfrycollective.com/
Thank you Ann, I so needed another blog for my roll.
The only way I can deal with the mess is to have an upper limit of blogs I read regularly, and when I add a new one, I’ll have to delete one that hasn’t been updated for ages, turned from writing to politics only, or something other that spoils the fun for me.
But right now I still have 4 slots – wait, 3 now.
And yes, blogging is addictive. It should come with a warning. Did I mention I have a LJ, too?
Thanks Ann! I’m glad you’ve had a very successful blog (and I went to check it out … I love it. Excellent stuff! I’ll be back again . . .)
I can’t take credit for writeminded. That was Sharon’s idea and we jumped on it! And my suspense author’s blog? Well, that was Natalie Collins, Jen Apodaca and Karin Tabke who thought up the idea and Deborah LeBlanc and I are along for the ride.
And RTB I think was the first major group endeavour, but I could be wrong. (Hmmm, do I see a NF book in the making? History of Blogs.)
So I can’t take credit for these wonderful ideas, but I always like a pat on the back because being a writer can be very lonely.
Gabriele, I now use bloglines to track updated blogs. It is SOOOOO much easier than going down my bookmark roll. The blog needs an rss feed, but it’s so easy! I know there are a gazillion out there. I think Kassia did a post on it awhile back.
*gives Allison an extra pat*
Thanks for checking out the Belfry, ladies!
Blogs can be addicting. As if emails aren’t enough of a time suck.
I check out my CPs’ blogs, of course. Other than that, The Knight Agency blog and Miss Snark are on my daily list. I blog hop when I have time–and often when I don’t. RTB, of cours, and now I’ll have to look up 2B READ. Two of my CPs and I recently started our own blog at http://www.magicalmusings.com. We each write one a week, and that works perfectly for us.:grin:
I have a blog and a live journal that I use. The blog is my writing stuff, (my angst and curiosity about the writing world since I’m still unpublished) and the live journal is for my other obsession (all things star wars)…
What I read is pretty much any blog or live journal that I stumble across. I hop from board to board and read, and I learn something on almost every one. And I share my own knowledge… who knows, maybe someone will learn from me!
Allison, you’ve named most of my favorite group blogs. I enjoy individual and group. I love blogs about the industry and buzz of author books. But also enjoy the personal writer and author blogs, who share trials and triumphs.
I guess if there’s something unique about the blog, I’ll keep coming back for more.
Yesterday on public radio there was a story that indicated that people who are bloggers are very engaged and interested in the wider world. The story went on about how much time American workers spend each day blogging instead of doing their job, which is an issue that comes up from time to time at my office every time their is a discussion about allowing the customer service reps access to the internet. As a manager, I have to lead by example, so I no longer blog at work. In addition to my own blog, I post here from time to time and check out several other individual blogs on a daily basis. I do not have the time to update my own blog more than once a week, but I expect that will change once I retire from the workforce in December of next year.
Should have been “there is a discussion”, not “their” — 4:45am is too early to blog!
Hi Edie! I try to stop by Magical Musings weekly. Blogging is WAY too addictive. but it’s fun and I learn a lot.
Oooo, Candice, I’ll check out your Star Wars blog.
Kelly, you hit on something important: unique. It’s hard to be different because there are so many blogs out there. I think it’s pretty much just like what editors want — the same, but different.
Anne I think the Internet in the work place thing has been an issue for a long time, even before blogging. Games, surfing, etc. I do think bloggers are a bit of news hounds, but not in the traditional sense.
LOL Allison… I’m a pretty out there fan……. you’ve been warned.