I’ve been blogging for about a year now. Not because I felt I had all that much really worth blogging about, but because I was guilted into it, truth be told. For months, I’d been hearing from every corner of the romance universe that in this insanely competitive marketplace, writing the best book you can isn’t enough anymore. It’s all about forging that bond with your readers. Blogging, “everybody” said, would get me there.
Fine, fine, fine I muttered, and got me a blog. Not that I really bought into the idea that my success as an author depended on how well I hawked myself, but I finally figured, what did I have to lose by trying? And for the first few months, I discovered I had a lot more to say than I thought I did. Okay, I enjoyed it. Happy now, all ye who gave me grief about being out of the loop?
Except, as I said, it’s been a year. And here’s what I’ve learned:
1. Blogging really is as time-consuming as I feared it would be. A decent entry takes me a good hour or more to compose and edit. Oddly, readers expect me to be funny. Funny ain’t easy. If I blog at least three times a week, that’s three hours I’m not writing. Or reading. Considering how challenging it is for a columnist to churn out a piece three or five times a week (and they get paid for it!), is it even realistic to expect an author trying to juggle family and deadlines to spew out something clever and pithy nearly that often?
2. After a year, I’ve kind of run out of things to say. New stuff, anyway. Really, there’s very little happening on the industry front that warrants daily commentary, let alone in my personal life. Trust me on this.
3. I could say my stats are up by 200%, which sounds impressive. Until you take into account how pathetic they were before. We’re talking 65 or so visitors a day — now, not then. Many of whom are looking for sissy mama’s boys, Prada panties, snake noises, and whether or not Lauren Sanchez is pregnant. Again. And of those 65 visitors, many are the same people checking to see if I’ve updated my blog. Not that I don’t love you all, but if, out of a thousand visitors a month, only a hundred or so are clicking on the Books page. . .hmm. My web addy has been published in my books for years; I sell a fair number of copies of each title. And yet, readers are not exactly stampeding my website. Or my blog.
4. But then, this ties in with what I’m reading all over Cyber Romanceland, which is that – contrary to current Marketing wisdom – most readers are not interested in getting to know the author and hence do not seek out their blogs. They don’t want to be our friends, they just want to read our books. In fact, many readers feel the more they know about an author personally – the more real she becomes to them – the harder it is to separate her from her stories.
Marketing? Are you listening?
5. Except for Big Name Authors, writers’ blogs generally seem to attract other writers more than readers. Many readers, if they visit blogs at all, are more interested in other readers’ musings than authors’.
6. Blogs are like booksignings: The more books you already sell, the more people come to your signings. If you’re a peon, fuggedaboutit.
So. Opinions? Experiences? As a reader, do you prefer reader or author blogs? Has an author’s blog ever influenced you to buy a book (or not)? Or, if you do visit author blogs, are you more likely to visit those of authors whose work you’re already familiar with?
And authors, do you find more writers than readers visit your blog? If you’ve been blogging for a while, are you still finding it easy to come up with something fresh on a regular basis, or is the whole thing feeling more forced than it used to?
Does blogging work as a promotional tool, or should we (authors) not even bother burdening it with that kind of expectation?
No related posts.
As a reader, I visit, and enjoy, both other reader’s blogs (well, and I have my own) and author’s blogs. What I like is learning more about the author, the day-to-day stuff of writing, and a more indepth view of what they are currently working on (struggles, challenges, sucessesses). I’ve also discovered many new-to-me authors because of it.
I think the thing with blogging is that it doesn’t have to be a page long and it doesn’t always have to be funny or dramatic. Jill Shalvis usually shares 1 -2 paragraphs a day and it’s one of my daily visits because it’s quick, usually amusing, insightful, and gives us a small glimpse of the writer’s life while raising a family. Love it.
One suggestion might be if you decide to continue blogging is to join with a group of other authors so it’s not so overwhelming. Vamps and Scamps have about 6-7 authors, the Plotmonkeys have 4 authors, Squawks has, what, 5 or 6? Then there’s running with Quills, Brava authors, Allure authors….the list is endless.
That being said, I love blogs, and I hope you find something that works for you
I am one of those that tends to shy away from author blogs. I don’t want to much of the curtain ripped away. I prefer to think of authors as the great Oz. I was thinking of the Romantic Times in the 80s when it would feature full page spread of some author’s glamorous estate. That image stayed with me so long . . . well, until I got on the internet.
But overall, I like it when authors blog about their books. I like to know the inspiration for their books. When their next book is coming out and what their backlist is. If they have “out scenes” or “second epilogues” great, but not required.
The more I know about the author, I think the harder I have separating reality from the fiction. I.e., I was on the Jenny Crusie list since its inception but overtime, her online posting voice began to “talk” in her books. I could hear her in Min and many of her heroine. I had to unsubscribe because I was ruining my own reading experience.
Nice article, Karen … although I had to re-read that second sentence ’cause the first time I read quilted into it and thought “Whoa! Kinky … in a surreal Martha Stewart kinda way.”
I’ve been blogging for a while, but I don’t considering it the type of column-writing blogging that other authors (and readers) attempt. I promo blog. *shrug* I do it because it’s faster to promo blog than it is to update my website … and blogs have those cool feeds that my site does not.
However, the most enjoyable author blogs I’ve read are those where the author is also a reader & doesn’t just toot his/her own horn all the time. (Note to self: Toot someone else’s horn occasionally. Okay, now that WAS kinky.
)
I enjoy both types. It’s neat to see what other writers are up to, but reader sites offer great insight and variety.
You’re so right about making time to blog. Trying to keep up with mine reminds me of a child who wanted a pet and now has to accept the responsibility:
Have you fed your blog today?
Nooo.
Don’t you think you should?
I guess.
Have you walked your blog today?
Nooo.
Don’t you think you should?
*shrug*
I find more writers than readers visit my blog…at least it seems so. Few people make comments, so its hard to tell.
What I do find is that its a good spot for me to give down and dirty information about upcoming books, about troubles I’m having with recalcitrant heroes (or heroines!), or about the daily life of a writer. But you’re right, Karen, there’s only so many times you can write about the same topics before you start repeating yourself.
So why keep one? Because, for all the trouble it is, I’m the eternal optimist. SOMEday I’m going to get more that 35 hits. SOMEday I’m going to be more than a mid-list author who writes fringe stories (hey, who says that fringe can’t someday get to be whole cloth!). SOMEday I’ll have a ton of readers/authors/publishers who visit my blog and I want to make sure what they find is worthwhile.
Good topic, Karen!
Diana Hunter
From the comments, it seems like mostly writers visit my blog. But I get more than 200 hits a day, and more like 6-10 comments, so I don’t know who the lurkers are. Probably a lot of writers, though too, since I hear from a few readers who read my blog and they say most of it goes over their heads.
It doesn’t bother me though, since my blog really is for other writers (else I woudn’t do so much talk about craft issues). Also, I don’t know any writers who aren’t also avid, avid readers.
I started my blog in March 2005 and have seen readership grow from a handful to an average of 350-500 a day. Occasionally, I’ve hit 700,800 or even 1000 hits on a single day. Although most of the people who comment are friends and most of them are also writers, I know I have a good number of non-writer blog visitors. Some of them are romance readers, some read other genres and found me because I’m on someone’s blog roll or left a comment at their blog, others found my blog because of its references to the Florida Keys, etc.
I rarely blog about writing or the industry. I’ll blog about any topic that flips into my brain, whether it’s baseball, baking or something bizarre that happened in the Keys. I’m not always funny, but I do my best to entertain, even when I’m serious.
I still think blogging is a helpful marketing tool. I also still enjoy doing the posts, and that’s important, too.
I’ve always kept a journal of one type or another, so doing a blog isn’t a big deal for me–but then I’m not trying too hard to be insightful or anything! I do talk about my home life and my writing. I don’t really see it as a marketing tool but as a way to connect with other romance writers. I live in a small town in Wyoming so finding people who know what I am talking about is difficult.There are about 20 blogs I read every time they update. I love those that update frequently.
Blog for yourself and your friends. I’ve got a livejournal – well, _two_ livejournals, one for current work/personal and one for more theoretical writing discussions as beyond_elechan (which is the abbreviated title of my first novel). The writing blog gets maybe two or three comments and maybe ten readers, but that’s ok, because I can point people at it. The other one has maybe twenty or thirty regular readers who’ll comment, and a bunch of irregular ones – most of them friends and cyberfriends.
I never run out of things to say. The beyond_elechan articles can take an hour or two to write, but they’re useful *for me* – I often use them to work out technical issues and disect books from a writer’s point of view; and that helps my own writing; blogging about it is a motivation to _do_my_homework_.
The other is my personal blog and not written for a readership – I write what I like, in as much depth as I like, and it might be a couple of links I don’t want to lose, or an observation; it might be a lengthy rant about _something_ or something cute my horse did – and I find that I *want* to engage with that community rather than seeing it as a chore.
I have to admit that livejournal is making it easy for people to find blogs they’re interested in and network with people who make intelligent comments; the main problem with blogs and websites is that there are so many of them out there that it’s often difficult to find them.
Great article Karen!
As I sit on the To Blog or Not to Blog fence, it’s good to hear the unvarnished truth – that it doesn’t instantly turn writers into bestsellers. I also thought Jane’s comment was interesting about JC.
The problem is all writers have voice. It’s the voice that distinguishes the writing. Why you love a particular author. So it’s not surprising that you would hear JC in her heroines and sometimes heros if you read her blog regularly.
Harrison Ford once said the reason he didn’t give interviews is because the more you knew about him personally, the more you would see him and not the character he was playing. People don’t want to know Harrison. They want to believe in Indiana.
I think blogging is only a useful marketing tool if you enjoy it. Otherwise, really, what’s the point?
And while I’m a writer, I’m also a reader. I can’t even think of the last book I bought by someone who doesn’t have a blog I read – and that includes print and electronic.
For me, if I knew for a fact that my blog sold me zero books, I’d still do it just because I enjoy it.
Now if other people stopped commenting – then I’d have to rethink things.
Blogging is fun, although at times, it feels like a responsiblity. After all, my posts should represent who I am, right?
Well, somedays, I’m not sure who I am.
Mostly, I try to be interesting, occasionally informative, and fun.
I always tell people, if you don’t enjoy blogging, don’t do it. I like it. I blog M-F, and don’t usually spend more than 10 minutes writing the blog. It’s freeverse. Whatever comes to mind. I get an average of 200 visitors per day (mostly other writers). I once had a pic of Brad Pitt up that jacked my visit count up to 3000 per day (thanks to Google images). That was fun. Sort of.
Luisa — Maybe I should’ve titled this entry WALKING THE BLOG!
Everybody else — general responses. I haven’t had breakfast yet and can hardly hear myself think over the growling stomach.
I think blogging comes less naturally to those of us who are NOT journal or diary keepers. So I tend to approach it as I would any other writing assignment. . .which means some days (many days?) I’m really not in the mood. When I AM in the mood, when the words just spill out without my having to go in after them with searchlights and a pack of dogs, I love it. That, unfortunately, doesn’t happen too often.
And I stand in awe of y’all who get hundreds of visitors a day. I do wonder, though — in light of my Lauren Sanchez seekers, et. al. — how many hits are random? After all, any word or phrase can bring visitors, but are they there for YOU, or because you happened to mention, say, electric ovens? Or Brad Pitt?
Hmmm…maybe I should talk about Johnny Depp more often?
Ok, I JUST started a group blog (like yesterday). It’s been “in the works” since Atlanta. I think anything that gets your name out and about so that a reader might say “Yeah, I recognize that name.” when they see my book can only be to the good (plus I love blogs).
Well, I figure if 3000 people arrive searching for Brad Pitt, at least one or two of them might be intrigued by my website in other ways. I removed most of my “hot guy” images to get a better feel of actual traffic, so I think it’s fairly consistent now. Checking my keyword analysis…looks like somebody googled my name, so that’s good… also “theories about Lost”, “vin diesel”, and “barbie cummings blog” — whatever that means.
Great post!
I don’t blog for promo, I blog for me. I like to write about stuff.
I don’t know who comes to my blog, or keep track of my hits.
I don’t link my author site to my blog, (although I link from by blog to my author stuff). I want to give folks who’re just interested in my books and not me, not to be exposed to my blog. However if they visit my blog, it has the side-effect of having links to my books, etc.
I’m still published. I’m working on improving the craft. That’s about it.
Thinking about promo gives me a headache. But the time is coming when I’m going to have to get up and hustle and do the do. Comes with staying published.
The question as far as Internet promo is how many readers are out there to influence? Amazon has been shown to sell paltry numbers of books for individual authors. So all this online effort . . . for what?
Anybody got the numbers?
If Live Journal has a tool for tracking hits, I’ve yet to find it. I have no idea how many people have read my journal. I do know that when I wondered whether plimsole shoes were loafers or had laces someone posted an answer within hours.
I started my blog when I discovered many writers I admired and several editors I was stalking had blogs. As more wore in lj than any other single community, I set up shop there as well. I had intended my blog to contain pithy essays on politics, faith, family and other Issues Of Our Time in addition to writing, but it’s mostly about writing. Because I’m mostly writing — or supposed to be writing — when I’m at the keyboard.
I never intended my blog to be a marketing tool. What I was looking for was community, interaction with readers, editors, and other writers. Let’s face it, writing consists mostly of sitting, alone, curled around your keyboard like a cocktail shrimp while muttering to yourself, resolving to fix typos later, and typing like a mad thing. A sense of community is useful to me. I read other writers’ blogs to see how they write — often coming away bemused — and editor’s blogs to gain a better understanding of the marketplace. My blog may have scenes from my life or observations of the world around me, but mostly I write about writing and how I write in case anyone is interested.
Because I know readers tend to seek out what they know and what they know they like, as an unknown I would be surprised if anyone from here or the other places I visit ever come read my blog. Which is okay. I spend a lot of time in other forums — like this one — to learn from what others are doing and saying. I’m more likely to comment here than I am to post in my own blog. (Since I catch up with topics every few days I’m often commenting on things no one else is reading anymore.) You’re more likely to know what I’m thinking from my comments in other people’s venues than from my own Live Journal entries. Though y’all are welcome to drop by any time.
Karen,
I think you may have been the victim of the usual misinformation that circulates about web marketing. It’s true that a year or two ago, the mainstream media got hold of blogging, and many people felt like it was the new paradigm for reaching customers/audiences/readers in the post-advertising age (meaning, now that advertisers can no longer count on the three major TV networks and 10 big magazines to reach their customers). The market has become fragmented into lots of tiny niches and if you want to reach customers in a targeted way, you have to find out where they’re hanging out and put your messages there. But of course, the more targeted you are, the tinier and tinier your audience.
Everyone wants to have the next big viral marketing success — the kind where word of mouth propagates exponentially on the web and sends you millions of hits. But this kind of thing is hard to do on purpose and even more difficult to sustain. As soon as the next one comes along, you’re old news.
Blogging as a marketing tool is best if you need to rank high in natural search because the search engines prefer fresh content to a static site. Next, it can generate income if you’re doing affiliate marketing (Google or Amazon ads, for example) — but you still have to get eyeballs to your site with stellar content.
As you’ve already realized, it’s easy to draw readers to your blog if you’re already an established best-seller. “Stephen King” has got to be a popular search term, therefore his blog will be a popular destination. But even Stephen King’s blog probably doesn’t convert a lot of non-buyers into buyers of his books. But what if he gave away signed copies of his books on his website? That might attract more readers and get one of this books into the hands of someone who hadn’t read him before. You’ve got to think of ways to create buzz.
Of course, that requires even more time than you’re currently putting in. It’s the law of marketing. You can either spend a lot of money, or you can spent a lot of time.
Karen, if you’re not having fun with your blog, you’re doing it all wrong.
I had so much to say on this topic that I have addressed your six points on my own blog:
Blogging for fun and profit
I think my initial blog audience was mostly writers, but now it seems to skew heavily toward readers. I recently did a LiveJournal poll about what readers most wanted to see in my blog, and I was really surprised that the most requested topic — favored by nearly 100 percent of those who responded — was me as a person. The next most requested topic was background info on the books. Publishing information and writing craft discussion were farther down the list.
I do know of several people who found my books via my blog rather than the other way around.
Blogging is also a wonderful procrastination tactic.
I like to call it my warm-up exercise.
Karen–
You took the words right out of my mouth! My experience almost EXACTLY mirrors yours, although I only blog 1x/week because I knew I couldn’t deal with the added stress of a daily blog. I blog about what’s going on with me and also about great new authors and books. I enjoy it, but I consider it a marketing tool and I’d be afraid not to do it because I’d think it was a missed opportunity.
Great topic.
Ann
I like to blog. Of course I’m not consistent but I try.
WALKING THE BLOG!
*laugh*
Yes! The title speaks to me, telling me of a story where the character both loves and appreciates the responsibility before them (plus there’s a hint of tension: walking the blog/walking the plank
.
Karen, you’re absolutely right. Unless you’re blogging about politics or technology, you cannot expect to become the type of A lister that can blog about having the sniffles and sell hundreds of books in the effort. B and C listers simply do not get blog groupies.
Becoming an A lister is a mysterious event. Some of the commenters here have been blessed with the blog fairy and have no idea how lucky they are and instead take all the credit.
I was once on Blogger’s Blogs of Note and had 4000 visitors on the first day, 900 per day thereafter. I had 50-80 comments per post. I was in blogging Nirvana. Then after a few weeks I fell off the list and all my readers went away. Some stayed, but they slowly drifted away over time. I’m now at 70 visitors a day and I’m lucky when they leave comments. My writing hasn’t changed. My readers did. They’re fickle. They’re busy. They have lives. And the entire blogosphere has exploded by millions of blogs this year. That’s a lot of competition.
So I don’t blog for my readers. I blog for me. If you don’t get anything out of blogging and it’s just taking you away from things you’d rather be doing, you’re better off using the blog as a news page.
Karen, I looked at my blog stats and a full 40% of people found me through the popular Google game of typing your name and a verb. Hence, they found me through “Ann says”.
Only 7% were actually looking for me.
However, the other 53% were looking for topics I wrote about in my blog–everything from skincare to WWII bomber nose art! Yes, I am nothing if not ecclectic *gg*. And the stats showed that enough spent quite some time there surfing.
But the point is, I built it and they came. It’s exposure. Maybe one person bought a book. But then they tell another, and so on.
Most of the time I enjoy it. It *is* a PITA at times, though.
My advice would be to take breaks when you need to. I do, all the time. When I reopen they return! It’s like magic. Have I mentioned how much I love the Internet??
*gg*
Here are some numbers to show you why it is so difficult to obtain A lister status without being blessed by the blog fairy. According to Sifry of Technorati, the blogosphere doubles every six months, with 35 million blogs being tracked by Technorati as of April 2006. They see 50,000 posts a day. There is a definite power curve at work here for A listers who stay on top with the rest of us scrabbling for scraps. See http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000432.html
I write about overcoming AD/HD and Depression with attitude and humor. It’s a niche audience if ever there was one. I have about 500 visitors a week, 2000 a month. I consider that a success and am happy with it. Nobody clicks on the google ads. Nobody donates money. Nobody buys my stuff over at Cafepress. But I touch their lives while I hone my craft.
I’ve decided to continue blogging until January 1st. Then I’ll decide if I continue. Reader comments are down and that’s what I live for. Besides, I haven’t finished my blasted novel yet and I may never get around to it if I blog all the time.
I started blogging, hoping it would encourage me to write every day. After a while I ran out of things to say, so I started doing interviews. They are fun. When I have something to say, I’ll post.
You run your blog, post when you want to.
I have another blog for my erotica, for promotion … I rarely update it. It’s BORING. My spyscribbler blog is strictly non-promo blog, and it’s fun for me!
I’m with Emma. The spice of a blog is the comments of the visitors. Not only for what they say, but I enjoy stopping by their blog. If no one else contributed to the conversation, I’d stop talking, LOL.
They work for me and my readers are mostly my readers and not other writers, though some of them do write. I’ve written about 400,000 words since January 1, 2005. My output for my novel writing and non-fiction is UP. I use a digital tape recorder and create my posts while I commute to my day job, then use a transcription program. No time wasted. I started blogging as a healing journal after my divorce and I’ve yet to run out of insights (a lot of healing was needed!!!). When the epiphanies dry up, I’ll quit but I don’t see that happening and I really hope it doesn’t. Because of the nature of my blog, I’m turning it into blog-books and working on “workbooks” to go along with my process. I don’t expect to make money of money off of it and I don’t care–this is part of my spiritual work, the words are already done, and many of my readers tell me my raw truths have changed their lives. And that’s what it’s all about for me:eek:
Loving the comments — and grateful to have finally come up with a topic that provoked so much discussion!
I just wanted to add, though, that, since I launched my blog as an experiment more than anything, I’m not at all whining about the results (or lack thereof). Purely objective reporting here, on that front. I do understand if I perhaps approached the blogging differently, I might have more readers/people leaving comments. And I may continue to tinker with it, when/if I have time and energy (life’s thrown not one, but two major monkey wrenches into the works these past few months, which has made things like keeping a blog going seem very trivial in comparison.
).
But I agree with those who’ve said it’s best to blog only if you enjoy doing it. It’s not, IMO, about turning oneself inside out in order to come up with new/exciting/noteworthy topics to blog about. If the process isn’t organic, then what’s the point? When I’ve got something to say, I love having the outlet; when I don’t, and common wisdom says the readers you have will understandbly move on if you don’t keep throwing them bones, then it gets to be another chore. That part of it, I don’t love.
I still think, as a promotional tool, bloggins is kind of iffy. At least it is for me — everyone’s mileage will vary, obviously. But at least it’s a lot cheaper than taking out an ad, and a lot less boring than sitting in a mall bookstore, directing people to the bathroom?
I am one of the readers who if I like an author I find his/her website/blog and find out more about them. Not their personal lives but more about their writing, future books, etc.
I also love to read reader blogs. It helps me pick out future books and gives me a great laugh.
I’ve found a number of new writers and books since I joined blogland in May last year. So, there’s some effect as marketing tool.
The majority of my readers are other aspiring writers. My blog is mostly about my writing and about history (I write historical fiction), very seldom about anything personal. I don’t run out of topics because I can always come up with history tidbits and pictures. I know my readers love the pics of German landscapes and historical sites, and I’m a decent photographer. Having some sort of regular feature seems to attract readers and gives you ideas what to blog about.
I won’t change the way I blog should I get published. I think a blog should be something a writer cares about and wants to do, not seen as promotional tool alone.
Great post, Karen! I recently joined the blogging world and I’m trying to figure out the exact relationship I want to have to it. I haven’t committed to blogging every day. But I try to post a couple of times a week. I have no idea how it will help my sales. We’ll see. Thanks for the thought provoking post.
I blog about writing because it fascinates me. One learns a lot from comments and opinions.
I’m approaching 1 year and am really debating dropping the whole thing. I have less than 5 faithful readers (thanks, y’all), yet I don’t think it’s because my writing stinks or my thoughts are silly. There’s just so many blogs out there to read, and if you have just 5 minutes, do you read Miss Snark, or little Miss nobody who can’t even get up a regular posting schedule. (Bernita continues to amaze me at how she can post interesting stuff every day!)
I didn’t get into blogging for marketing value (obviously, since I have nothing to market), but to be part of the writing community. But I think I would be more a part of that community if I used my blogging time to actually work on my books rather than crane my brain for some witty post that will attract click-happy passerbys.
As for reading authors’ blogs, it works both ways. I’m now very interested in Holly Lisle’s stuff because of her websites. But at the same time I’ve discovered a few authors I now refuse to read because of things they’ve said on blogs. So it can cut both ways.
And now I’ve spent 20 minutes commenting on this blog when I could have been writing on my own, or doing background research, or (Heaven forbid) actually doing house work.
Sigh.
I’m a reader and a writer. I have a blog. No one reads it but I haven’t really cemented my theme or updated it on a regular basis. It’s a work in progress.
As a reader, I hear about new author’s, often by references to their blogs. I check them out and usually hop their websites, which I bookmark. I always read the author’s bio and booklist. If there are features that are particularly interesting about their blog, I’ll put in on my daily blogmail. Otherwise, I probably will visit infrequently.
As a writer, I have blogs of other authors that I visit frequently because they offer useful writing tips and references. Or, because they blog about their publication journey/experiences. This I find interesting and I read this regularly. So it depends on the blogger’s focus.
Some blogs, which have interesting commentary on the world in which we live, from the writer’s viewpoint, are worth a read. The ones I don’t like are when the blogger shares their daily minutiae. I have my own.
As I was trying to come up with a topic for tomorrow’s blog in today’s shower, I found myself thinking about exactly the issues everybody’s mentioned here. Over at The Lipstick Chronicles, we get a lot of business–so much so that we’ve heeded public demand to be sure we have new, quality content up every day. A real challenge.
What I didn’t expect from the blogging experience is that my writing has improved. Blogging gives a writer an immediate reader response–unlike books that take months to get from computer to book stores. And the daily back-and-forth between my blog sisters and me has had more impact on the quality of my writing than 25 years of editorial input or fan mail.
Check us out: http://www.thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com
No one reads my blog, but it’s okay. Every month I print out the entries and put them in a binder. When I get old and decrepit, my son can read the entries and know that at one time his mom had something to say…and had a life outside of the nursing home.
Josie, that’s a good idea! I started blogging about a year ago because EVERYONE said a writer needed to have a blog. I was afraid I wouldn’t have a lot to say, but I usually do. I enjoy blogging because I can write non-fiction for a little while each day and exercise I different set of writing muscles.
My next hurdle is MySpace – because now EVERYONE says a writer must have a MySpace account. That’s all I need, is something else to worry about updating.
I agree with those that said if you aren’t in some way enjoying the blogging process, then it doesn’t work for you. As with so many musts-you have to choose the ones that work for you regardless of their effect.
I am an avid reader so I am always looking for new authors to try (to save me from bugging those on my list – why haven’t you written anything new yet?). Blogs are one way I have discovered new authors to check out.
I’m a reader and very rarely visit author blogs. And more bad news for the writers I’m afraid. Whatever I read on an authors blog would never have any impact on whether I buy their books or not. Their website or other online behaviour whether good or bad – possibly, but blog – never.