A Journey and a Vehicle!
A friend of mine whom I’ve never met, Emma Newman, has been worrying lately that her blog ain’t what it used to be, and that maybe it won’t ever be the same again. She is concerned that, as her circumstances have changed, as she herself has changed (from being a struggling, unknown, unpublished writer, with powerful yearnings and problems with self-confidence, to being a popular, well-regarded blogger with a publishing contract and a bright future ahead of her) the nature of her blog has failed to keep up.
It made me wonder why I’m not having the same trouble with my own blogs. I began my first blog (Waving Not Drowning) because I wanted to be part of the ‘conversation’ that was happening in the blogsphere. It was fun, I met interesting people, I fearlessly told the world just what I thought. I had a readership barely distinguishable from zero.
Then, a couple of years later, I got the bug to be published. I went to a writer’s workshop and they said, start your own blog and create your brand. So I started a new blog (the one you’re reading, called Graham Storrs because that’s my brand) and did pretty much what Emma did. I agonised about my struggles to find an agent and a publisher, I cheered my successes, I posted my stories. I also found a different set of interesting people. My readership leapt up from just scraping the ground to something like head-height. Not exactly soaring off into the stratosphere but a lot higher than I ever expected (thanks, everyone!)
I kept the two blogs going in parallel and have done so for nearly two full years (my writing blog and my ranting blog, as I like to describe them.) Some months ago, I signed a book deal for my novel, TimeSplash (and now I’ve started yet another blog just for the book!) Obviously, I could no longer write about my struggles to become published. I had to look again at this blog and ask myself what I was doing with it. (Unlike my friend, I don’t do this kind of agonising in public – which is probably a failing on my part.)
The answer, it turned out, was simple. In New Age terms, this blog is about my’ journey’ as a writer, a journey that will never end. In marketing terms, it is also, still, the major vehicle for my brand. The third post I wrote after I got my contract was called “After the End Comes the Beginning” which pretty much sums up how I feel about it. OK, I’ve got that first book contract – the one I’ve wanted all my life – but, to become a writer, I need more. I need a second contract, and a third, fourth and fifth. Unless TimeSplash sells like crazy, which is unlikely I have to admit, it is going to be harder to get that second contract than it was to get the first. Yes, harder. Agents and publishers look at the numbers and they judge you coldly and harshly. So I foresee plenty of writerly angst, a lifetime of ups and downs, and that means tons more to write about.
One of the interesting things Emma said on her post was that she didn’t want to “squander the privilege” of having people visit her blog. I know how she feels. The more your readership grows, the more you feel a responsibility towards all those people, a need to justify their attention. Just switching off the blog and doing something else would feel like a betrayal. Even long periods of silence make you feel guilty. All I can say is, thank heavens for RSS feeds! People don’t have to keep visiting your blog and going away empty-handed. They only come when there’s something happening.
I think the problem is going from writing a blog for yourself, and writing for your readers.
I started by blog for the same reason; a place to chat about my writing. It’s a way to connect with other writers and spout off my opinion, for anyone who cares to listen.
I write all sorts of things; articles, rants, the occasional meme, sometimes just how I’m feeling and how the writing is progressing.
People come to blogs to read about the writer. If my readers didn’t want to hear from me, they wouldn’t come back. And I have a pretty reasonable readership, for an unknown, unpublished writer
Unpublished (for now) maybe, but hardly unknown. You’re definitely making a name for yourself with the e-fiction book club.
It’s true sometimes that people go to a blog to read about the writer, but not just any old writer. Some bloggers capture people’s hearts (like Emma) some are celebrities in another area, some are just outstandingly interesting and entertaining (can’t actually think of one of those who is also popular, though.) But the received wisdom on blogging – and this is definitely borne out by my experience – is that if you don’t focus your blog on something, people are not going to turn up in large numbers.
Interesting article in the paper the other day about the asian blog awards (I think). The nominated Aussies said that Aussie blogs usually had a theme such as food, whereas bloggers from other Asian countries usually blog about whatever is happening in their lives. I prefer to read themed blogs on writing and speculative fiction.
I’m with you on that, Graham. My RSS feed is packed with themed blogs on a variety of topics but very few blogs that are just people talking. Same with my Twitter follows.
Maybe that’s why I’ve never been into Facebook. My daughter loves it (and doesn’t use Twitter). For her and her friends, Facebook has almost completely replaced email. It seems to serve as a conversational focus for tight cliques of friends in a way that Twitter doesn’t (which is probably partly because, if you don’t follow everyone in the world, you get a lot of one-sided conversations on Twitter – a big drawback, I think.)
A common lament! And what happens when you start feeling as if you’ve run out of things to contribute outside your novels?
I guess that, for many people, a writer’s blog is good enough so long as it allows a little peek into their life, and allows the fan to share that life. Not every post has to be about writing, novels, agents and the like (Scalzi and Gaiman being good examples). Sometimes, all a blog needs to do is prove that you’re human.
Ruzkin, how true! (I’m also a Scalzi follower.) I should have no trouble proving I’m human I’ll just
(*&)()^&*^%&*
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Rebooting…
Sorry, just getting to grips with the fact you have three blogs…3! …..Okay, I’m better now.
Just keep on writing whatever you want, Graham, you’re an interesting enough guy for lots folks to want to stop by and see what you’ve got to say.
RSS feeds are an efficient organisational tool for those of us who like to follow a few folk. Your blog is never all about you and navel gazing (“today I used a blue pen, not the black”) so feel confident enough to follow your instincts.
Just don’t stop, I need some sanity to balance my innate anarchy.
terry