Like many of you who are reading this, I love reading blogs. There have been periods lately where I’m quite certain that I’m reading more blogs than books.
A good number of the bloggers I read are writers, and more often than not, I read their books because of their blog rather than the other way around.
Some authors are fabulous bloggers. They interact and respond to comments. They have the knack of writing little pieces about their personal lives that make us laugh and cry along with them. And most importantly, they have an engaging voice that appeals to me.
But in their books, that engaging voice sometimes turns intrusive, jolting me out of what would otherwise be a fine read. I just hate that I suddenly go “Hey, would So-and-so say that?” and then “Of course, So-and-so would. She/he wrote the book!”
Yet, if they didn’t blog, I might never have picked up their books.
Then there are unfair expectations. Do I have unfair expectations of books just because I’ve read the author’s blog? Or at least, different expectations?
There are numerous other reasons why authors (should and) shouldn’t blog.
Like, they should be writing books! I’ll admit, with some of my favorite authors, I feel that way.
Occasionally, something happens that makes me think “Starting a blog is a risky thing for one’s reputation,” and I’m sure everybody can think of examples of that. Many examples in fact.
We usually hear about why authors and wannabe authors should blog, so now it’s the other way around. Why do you think authors should not blog?
No related posts.
I can think of lots of reasons why an author shouldn’t blog… and one of the biggies is one you’ve already said. They should be writing!
That said, it seems imperative in this ‘author as publicity department’ culture, where authors, if they want their book to be noticed, have to do a lot of the publicity work themselves, that they have a blog and use it to cultivate a readership.
However, the line I think I would draw is, an author should not blog if they’ll alienate more readers with their personal crap than they’ll attract.
Great question, May!
That’s a tough one. I’m usually on the side of authors should be bloggers as I too have discovered some great writers through their online musings.
I think it makes it harder for the author to remain invisible in his/her novels. I remember reading John Scalzi’s Agent To The Stars (fiction) and being thrown out of the story because I came across a paragraph that was familar to one of his blog entries (non-fiction).
Because authors often fictionalise their real-life experiences, any kind of repetition between blog and novel can cause bumps in the reading experience of the latter.
[...] http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/2007/09/03/maybe-authors-shouldnt-blog/ [...]
I think authors shouldn’t blog if blogging is, in some way, damaging to their career. As you pointed out, if they’re blogging instead of writing. Or if their blog topics are somehow alienating to their readers. I can’t think of any authors that fit those, but I’m sure they’re out there. I do remember one author whose blog I really enjoyed, and then I read his books. *sigh* What a letdown.
I’m sure it varies from person to person, but if I quit blogging it wouldn’t increase my page output. I can’t write more books than I’m already producing without my head exploding. Nonfiction and short pieces are kind of a mental break for me, and probably help me produce more fiction. In fact, after a break from writing fiction it was my first blog in 2002-2003 which I used to start writing a serial that got me into writing books again.
So I can’t really come up with any compelling reasons not to blog, unless you’re the kind of person who uses up your creative output by blogging instead of finding that writing leads to MORE writing.
After a great deal of soul searching, I recently decided to discontinue blogging, at least on any kind of a regular basis (which I realize defeats the purpose). I gave it my best shot for two years, but I found that while I enjoyed blogging (when I had something to say) it really did siphon off my creative energy for my books. And since ninety percent of visitors to my blog were spambots trying to sell me drugs or payday loans, I wasn’t exactly pulling in the right audience.
But I also think what you say about the danger of not being able to disassociate author-as-blogger from his/her books is very true. I’ve noticed it myself, having recently realized I’ve actually OD’d on one author’s voice, to the point that it’s now difficult for me to read her books. Instead of relishing her work once a year or so, now I’m suffering from a surfeit of it — like quickly growing tired of a favorite dish you used to only eat at Christmas. The specialness is gone.
I certainly understand the pressure for an author to put him/herself “out there” for name recognition purposes, especially these days. Carving out a niche is hard. But the longer I’m in this business, the less convinced I am that we have to sell OURSELVES in order to sell OUR BOOKS. Or at least, that we should. When I tell a story, my aim is to get myself out of the way as much as possible, to let the characters tell their own story. The more a reader has ME in mind as she reads, the harder this is going to be. And the more I hear readers say they really DON’T want to know much about the author for this very reason…
Hmm.
Obviously, not everyone will agree with me. And of course, for those authors who adore blogging, who don’t find it intrusive or creatively sapping, then it’s the way to go. But FOR ME, after giving it the old college try, the pitfalls still outweighed the benefits.
Only goes to show, what drains one writer only energizes another!
I think someone who doesn’t really want to blog but does it because the agent suggested it, should better not blog.
One of my peeves is too much personal stuff. I don’t like blogs (and LJs where that is more common) that go on about crappy love life, insecurities and other emo stuff, and never have anything else. Too much politics turns me off as well.
I’m not comfortable with sharing personal things at all, and I bet I’m not alone. If you don’t want to tell stories about yourself, you’ll have to find other topics for a blog: writing related themes, history, or a hobby.
Regular posting is important, imho. It doesn’t mean daily, once every week is fine, too, as long as the readers know there will be a post on say, every Monday or Tuesday. Announcing a hiatus in regular schedules helps to keep readers, as does answering comments, though I understand some writers are too busy esp. if they have a popular blog and get lots of comments.
The main rule: Blogging should be fun and if it ceases to be fun, don’t do it.
I can’t think of one good reason why they shouldn’t. They get fed up with being locked away from the outside world and getting a little interraction from other writers is vital.
It’s nice to get interraction from readers too – at this stage of my career but I would be terrified if I got the same sort of reaction that George Martin got for example.
They can’t be writing books 24/7 and they deserve the down time, plus you learn a lot from them.
More blogging, I say.
I don’t think authors should blog if they are just doing it because they feel forced to. I agree with Gabriele… If it’s not fun, why do it?
For me, blogging and blog-hopping are the closest things I have to water cooler conversations. I’ve met some great people via blogs and those interactions have become more important than any PR I might get from blogging.
I have a real problem figuring out what to talk about on the writing blog. I don’t want to whine when the writing’s not going well. Talking about my successes is all very well, but I feel like I should have more content than that. My personal life is…personal.
Perhaps I’m one of those writers who shouldn’t blog!
Donna and Karen, I personally agree with Charlene on the “Writers should be writing and not blogging” issue. It’s not going to make me write any faster just because I don’t blog, because it’s like blogging uses one side of my brain, and writing fiction uses another.
Regarding the alienation issue: most people don’t realise how far is too far, and I think that the genre you write in makes a difference. To draw an analogy, a romance writer who talks about her sex life would be frowned upon, but for an erotica writer? The lines are different.
Gabriele, I agree. I’m quite sure I don’t want to hear whining (something I’m admittedly guilty of on my own blogs). But I think the line when it comes to personal stuff is the line between good stuff and bad stuff. Sure, I want to hear about your daughter getting married, but I don’t think I’d want to hear about her getting divorced. And you’re absolutely right.
Erastes, I understand why you feel that way. I met every single one of my writing friends online, and most I may never meet in person. Blogging is a very effective way for me to keep in touch with all of them. I just thought it’d make a good blogging topic.
B.E., the letdown’s happened to me more than once, which was one of the catalysts for this post.
Melissa, if you’re thinking about it in terms of PR, then maybe the question for you should be ‘is this the most effective use of the time I have for PR?’
Teresa, I think you need to find the balance yourself if you do choose to blog. One solution would be to blog once a week instead of every day, because then you wouldn’t need so many blog topics, or to share a blog with someone else. There are other things you can talk about. Hobbies and such, like Gabriele said.
May,
it’s the amount of whining. A little post about uncooperative characters and sucky edits will be understood, but I’ve ssen LJs where if it’s not the writing, it’s the boyfriend, or the backstabbing colleague, or the cat, or …. Since I’m a very practical person, I’m tempted to say, kick the boyfriend out of your life, tell the colleague to shut up and get the cat a litter box.
Teresa,
try to find something that connects to your books (what hobbies do your heroines have, or how do you research those pesky details), other books you like, that sort of thing. I have lots of history on my blog, and since I write historical fiction, it’s geared towards people interested in history because those will be the ones who might buy my books if I get published. I also have the luck to be a decent photographer, and pics always attract readers.
You need to look around a bit; I’m sure you’ll find topics to blog about.
Oh, and if you don’t have topics, your blog buddies can always tag you for those memes that keep going around.
I get tagged all the time. 
Gabriele, I understand, because I can’t stand those blogs either. I’m learning that sometimes, it’s okay not to blog–I’ve been blogging every day for so long, I feel guilty when I don’t. LOL. Would that I felt guilty if I didn’t write every day!
Teresa, I’ll attack you with memes too if you want. I usually pretend I didn’t see that I got attacked. And then there are the weekly ones like Thursday Thirteen. One thing that helped me was to have a schedule. I did links on Wednesdays and weekends, then a Thursday Thirteen or a Tuesday To-Do list (because I’m a little mad, they had to alliterate) and on Mondays it might be Monday Madness (basically a free-for-all update about little ole me).
[...] I’m just here to point you to my RTB post. [...]
Or Friday Snippets which gets a growing list of participants these days.
I sometimes ignore a meme, too, but there are some where I can’t. One of these days I’ll come up with a particularly evil one and tag all the people who keep tagging me. Mwuahaha
Excellent advice all. I like the community generated by daily blog posting, but writing every day definitely drains a bit of my creative energy that could have been funneled into my current WIP. To address this, I’ve started writing my blog entries for the week ahead of time and scheduling them to publish each day. I don’t work on my WIP on Sundays as a rule anyway and the writing on my blog has improved as well.
Gabriele, I can think of someone who NEEDs to be tagged for that meme. LOL.
Kate, I believe that’s what Paperback Writer does and I’m working on that myself–I used to blog for a week in advance, but I just stopped, sadly. But I plan to quit blogging every day this month anyway, because it’s still a lot of work.
I started writing in the Dark Ages, before the internet
. I was talking recently with another friend who started writing at about the same time about how wonderful the internet is for allowing writers to interact with readers and other writers (when we started you pretty much only saw writers at writers’ meetings and conferences and heard from readers’ through snail mail). While I often enjoy the solitutde of being a writer, I love the way the internet makes that life a bit less isolated. I’ve been blogging once a week since I redesigned my website in June, and I really enjoy it. I don’t think it takes away from writing time, because as someone else said it seems to use a different part of my brain. I like to blog about books and movies that have influenced me or research topics, so that’s often quite creatively stimulating, as are the letters between my characters (the Fraser Correspondence) I post every week. I think my blogging voice is fairly different from my writing voice (maybe it’s easier with historicals?), though perhaps I can’t tell. And I enjoy reading other writers’ blogs, so I don’t really see a downside, as long as writers don’t feel compelled to blog if they aren’t enjoying it. Good topic!
if I quit blogging it wouldn’t increase my page output.
Agreed. But it would keep my mind focused on the story, living in that world rather than thinking of what I’d read on a blog, etc. I know that because it’s exactly what happens when I take blogging breaks for deadlines!
So I can’t help wonder what would happen if I gave it up completely. Would I be so completely into the book that I’d find even more nuances and depth that my splintered brain is too distracted to notice?
Whether authors should blog, I suppose depends on the reason why they do.
I’m a reader and except for a few rare exceptions, I don’t read author blogs. There are a couple of reasons why. Not meaning this in a negative way at all, but I’m much more interested in the product they put out that their actual selves. I think that may sound harsh and I don’t mean it to, but I can’t think of another way to put it. Speaking for myself, if they are looking to gain me as a reader, their website is what I concentrate a lot more on. On their website I’m more likely to read small slices of their life.
Another reason I don’t read many is I don’t want to know about that much about their private lives; I don’t want it influencing how I see their finished product. So if an author blogs to get my attention, well their wasting their time.
But……
If an author is blogging to connect with other authors, I’m all for that. I’m a reader and I blog to connect with other readers. I don’t have many RL friends who read romance so blogging is my chance to talk romance books with other readers. I would think writing is very isolating, so if an author is finding friends and a sense of community with other authors, than I think it can be a vital thing for them.
Acck I hate making spelling mistakes!! That should be ‘they’re wasting their time’.
And adding – but that’s me. I don’t speak for other readers and I’m sure many feel the complete opposite of me:grin:
Authors shouldn’t blog if they don’t have something to say or pass on. If they don’t feel it. It shouldn’t be a have to, it should be a “OMG I have to share this…” They should be just as excited to connect to readers through their blog as they are to connect to readers through their stories.
Authors should not blog to attack people, especially their readers (and never to say things, oh, like “If you don’t like my work you just must not get it intellectually.”
But blogs do help. I have tried and liked 3 new authors because of their blogs. I’ve bumped up other books to a higher priority because I read a blog or an excerpt, and I’ve tried and not liked works by a few bloggers, but it did result in sales.
I found Lynn Viehl through her blog and now I have hives if I don’t get my daily PBW update. Some authors I wish would post more often, but I agree, there are some I just don’t read any more. Too much “Buy This!” promo stuff and not enough real life. However, I do agree, TMI can scare me off, too!
As for me, I do enjoy blogging. I try to mix it up and not talk about the same old thing all the time. I have a pretty regular schedule with the Thursday Thirteen and Friday Snippets memes. There are days, though, where I stare at the Delete Blog button….
I try to blog about subjects with wide appeal – events or issues that many people can relate to. I really enjoy ‘talking’ to readers and writers from all over the world.
We discover traits in common, we learn and grow with each other, and support each other when we hit rough patches. That’s not to say that I whine on my blog — rather I try to keep my experiences as positive as possible.
It’s a refreshing and new experience for me. I don’t feel pressured to post every day, thus my writing and editing doesn’t suffer. When I think of a great subject to post about, I just stick a Post-It to my laptop to remind me.
I also keep my current release visible at all times, plus info about my pet portraits down the side. So it’s a good marketing tool for me.
Tracy, I think you’re right about your blogging voice being different from your writing voice because you write historicals. I typically have this problem when the book’s in first person and/or contemporary.
Alison, I cannot decide whether I’d rather read more, better books from you…or read your blog.
Regular bits of goodness as opposed to irregular chunks of it…
Kristie, see, I’m the other way around. I don’t typically read reader/reviewer blogs. But I do understand, because I’ve stopped reading authors because of what they said on blogs.
Michelle, everybody has something to say. It’s how they say it that makes/breaks their blog, IMHO. As to the rest of what you said, one would think that certain authors ought to know better, but they just don’t.
Joely, we can start our very own PBW fan club, though I’ve already had one rejection for the post of Prez. *g* I see some blogs where all the author’s once every couple of months posts are “my book is out! buy it now!” and I’m thinking, that’s for your newsletter! I am preparing to hit the delete button in a year or so myself, so I understand.
Sandra, I think some writers/authors don’t realise that if all they talk about is writing or publishing, then they are marketing to other writers/authors, not readers. Not to mention that it’s probably been said before and said better too. But the connections we make…absolutely well worth the time we spend blogging and reading blogs!
I think some writers/authors don’t realise that if all they talk about is writing or publishing, then they are marketing to other writers/authors, not readers. Not to mention that it’s probably been said before and said better too
OUCH!
I think writers should stop blogging when they start repeating themselves. I’m approaching that point right now, or maybe I passed it long ago, since I’ve been blogging about writing almost every day for way too many years. But my rationale for continuing is that I started the blog to inspire other unpublished writers, thinking I’d follow my dream, all the ups and downs, and then finally, when I got a book published, that would be the end of the story. I am almost there, although not quite in the way I imagined. So I’m already thinking, hmmmm, a website change will be in order soon. I also blog about books, since I’m a fanatic reader, so I won’t quit blogging completely. Just about the writing process. Probably. Soon.
Bernita, it wasn’t directed at anybody in particular, honest! But it is one of the reasons why I never talk about writing any more, and all my ‘industry’ posts are links more than anything else.
Cindy, I think what you’ve said is why I’m seriously thinking about quitting blogging. But it is hard to quit, isn’t it?
I have a Live Journal though contrary to what someone said, I never blog about my love life. I agree that blogs that are serving as emotional sounding boards are unwise. Painful to read, in some cases. I don’t think anyone should use a blog in lieu of therapy — or actually talking to the real people involved to reach some resolution. (One exception to that just came to mind. A friend of mine lost her daughter and shared her journey through grief with her readers. That was not only theraputic for her, it helped a lot of other people, too.)
I began my lj at the advice of another writer as a way to interact with readers and other writers (and get over the feeling of working in complete isolation). I’ve found it to be a very effective tool for this.
Of course, once one begins a journal there’s what amounts to a requirement to read other writers’ blogs. And then interesting readers’ blogs. This actually led to a few online relationships — I have one or two regulars I drop in on routinely and whom I can count on to visit me. (One of my regular whistle stops has been RtB in the past and will be again, but I’ve been doing less wandering about online than I once did.)
A writer I admire said once that he uses his blog as a marketing tool. He tries to write at least one interesting thing on his blog every day — something to keep people coming back. I decided to emulate him — on about my 100th straight day of posting something which I hope folks find interesting.
Between my day job and my writing, however, I did not have much free time for reading blogs, much less thinking of something interesting to say. (And I’ll admit, I’m not always that interesting.) So I made myself a deal. The Live Journal would be the last thing I wrote at the end of my writing session. No writing? No journal entry. Somedays — like my birthday — I only wrote for an hour before church, but I rewarded myself with a quick journal entry. (Two, if you count the one where I posted the menu from my birthday dinner.)(Like I said, some entries are more interesting than others.)
So. Live Journal as antidote for isolation, way to interact with people I will never meet in the flesh, maybe market myself, and reward for doing my daily stint at the keyboard? Yeah, I think those are all good reasons for blogging.
Kevin, I think there’s a difference if you’re blogging as Jane Smith, Author, as opposed to just plain old Jane Smith. Because if Jane Smith, Author, scares away a blog reader, she’s scaring away an audience. Whereas with plain old Jane Smith, no big deal.
I can’t help but wonder if those author-bloggers who put marketing down as one of the more minor reasons why they blog end up as the more successful bloggers.
I think that (daily) blogs should be a communal project and not just the individual (thank you romancingtheblog). I came upon this opinion when I went to read an author’s blog and the poor woman had nothing better to write about than CLEANING OUT HER PURSE! That’s right. She gave a list of items in her purse and then asked her audience to do the same thing. If you are that hard up for subjects, then maybe a daily blog just isn’t for you.
I think it’s up to the person whether she should blog or not. Although if she blogs about cleaning up her purse …
But I don’t have a problem reading a manuscript after reading the blogs. I’m able to separate the blogger from the author.
KeVin, I didn’t mean to imply that all LJs are about personal stuff, there are a lot that aren’t; I’ve only noticed that the option to friend-lock posts seems to further personal posts more than a blog. I have a LJ account to read and comment on other LJs and I usually friend back when asked, and that way some of those crappy love life /work /mother /cat journals
have found their way into my reading filter. Those posts are almost always friend-locked, even if the friend list has 300 members. 
Morgan, well, I think it depends on the blogger, to be honest. Some can make the most mundane sound interesting and funny (hat tip to Jill Shalvis).
Edie, you read my blog. I do blog about things like that.
And maybe it’s because you read fewer blogs than I do.
Gabriele, I’ve noticed that on LJ myself, because I kinda feel like I’m the only person on LJ who doesn’t f-lock posts.
As an author, blogging seems to be one of those “have to” things, along with websites (which is definitely have to), and now book videos. I have tried to blog, well, a little. For me, it’s not only a matter of time, but content. I’m not going to talk about my family, for instance. And heck, that leaves out a lot of my life. So it means putting a lot of creativity into my musings and day-to-day foibles.
I thought it was interesting about readers noticing the author’s voice in their books because of their blogs. I do know that having met a few authors whose personalities rubbed me the wrong way, I have no desire to read their books. It’s nothing spiteful, just a non interest. So I’m sure if your personality hits someone the wrong way in your blog, you could lose readers, too.
I’ve read one paranormal author’s blog and seeing comments speculating about her personal life (threesomes!) made me shy away from blogging. I don’t write erotica, mind you, but I get my share of prison mail. =:0
Cheers,
Tina Wainscott
http://www.tinawainscott
Suspense, Romance, Thrills and Chills!
Tina, that’s exactly why I brought this up: that it’s like a blog is every author’s must-have accessory!
And there is a problem with those authors who come across as all ‘nice-nice.’ They just aren’t interesting, and if I don’t stick with your blog, then chances are, I’m not going to pick up your books either. Conversely, if you don’t have a blog, then your book pretty much automatically goes on my wish list if I like the blurb.
I’m not saying that controversy is required for a blogger to be interesting, but a little controversy livens things up a bit sometimes. (I just know this is going to come back and bite me on the ass.)
[...] My RTB post. I think this one has the second-longest comment threads of my posts there so far. I thought this one was going to bomb too, actually. [...]
I like the splintered brain phrase, Alison. Definitely often feel that way, and I think it affects readers, too. I find I’m often pulled in too many directions by snippets of information to sink into books they way I used to.
But I enjoy blogging, and enjoy the contact with readers which is a lot of fun, so…
I just dragged some unpublished writing friends into the blogdom…now I am all frightened!