It’s a question I ask myself often lately. When I first started my blog way, way back—2000, in fact, though you will not find archives going back that far, because as soon as I sold my first book I deleted blog 1.0, too personal—it was partly out of the frustration of being an unpublished writer with no audience. Now, starting a blog did not get me an audience, at first, but it gave me at least the partial satisfaction of putting my words out there. When blog sites first started adding the comment feature, I remember thinking, “Why would anyone want to do that? If someone is dying to respond to something I wrote, they can email me.” I didn’t get and could not foresee how interactive blogs would become, either the positive sort of connection that would come with it or the negative, reactionary comment culture that would also happen.
Of course I eventually went with the flow, turned on comments, duplicated the blog over at LiveJournal where many YA writers hung out, and began religiously reading my friends page and commenting myself. It was exciting to be part of the greater conversation about writing and the business, and back then, blogs and listservs were really the only way to do that. Now, that conversation has opened up and a lot of it has moved to Twitter. I don’t have time to read and comment on blogs the way I used to, and that seems to have led to fewer comments on mine, or folks do their commenting on Twitter and Facebook where my blog feeds—or commenting has been replaced with sharing, liking, and reTweeting.
Also, maybe because I’m not talking as much about the inner workings of my heart or the writing life as I used to, there is not that much that compels response. Most of my posts these days are links with a few thoughts thrown in, or updates on what I’m doing that readers might want to know about, and of course the ever-necessary work of reminding the world I’m a novelist with novels out that they may wish to purchase so that I can keep having a career. Let’s not forget or pretend to forget about that.
The changes in my blog habits are not accidental. Prior to being published and in the time right after, I was eager to share myself, and very open about my life. It felt natural to share myself; I believe most writers write at least in part to be known and understood. If no one wanted to publish and respond to my book, at least people could know and respond to me. (Are writers generally more in need of approval, attention, affirmation than normal people?) However, after being published, I’ve slowly come to develop a contrary need for privacy and the protection of my inner life.
Once you’re published, your books—as personal as they may be—don’t belong to you anymore the same way that they belonged to you while you were writing them. A piece of yourself also no longer belongs to you. The public person who goes out on tour and to conferences and trade shows is you, and it isn’t you. It belongs to your publisher, to teachers and librarians, to booksellers, readers, fans. Of course it’s great if this person is also authentically you, and I hope it is, and I think it is for me. I am her, it is me, etc. But because of this new layer of energy that comes with being a public person, even on a small scale in this little pond, I’ve gotten a lot more protective of what’s left. (And I understand why writers who are much, much more famous than me may sometimes come across as cold, curt, or unresponsive. If, with my career, I feel this layer of stress and the desire to self-protect, I can’t begin to imagine how it feels for someone dealing with real fame.)
So, what does that leave to blog about? And I mean thoughtful blogs, not the kind of micro-blasts that Twitter is so good at handling. It’s great for keeping readers up to date on Being a Writer stuff, yes. I’ll keep doing that. I could and have blogged about politics but I don’t really enjoy that, in the long run. Same thing with religion, unless it’s more about an aspect of personal faith, but that has started to fall into the “what I want to protect” category. That leaves culture and pop culture, lifestyle, and miscellany, and I’m not sure I have time or desire to add anything useful or interesting about that stuff (that can’t be handled on Twitter) when there is already so much noise. I do like to sometimes write about writing, and interview other authors, and I’ll keep doing that, too.
I would sort of love to go back to the carefree days when I didn’t worry that everything I posted could be seen as: too shallow, too deep, too political, politically unaware, too personal, impersonal, uninformed, over-informed, redundant, name-droppy, not name-droppy enough (i.e. not supportive of my fellow authors), whiny, ego-mad, falsely humble, etc etc etc. Of course, those were the days not very many people were reading my blog so none of it mattered. Maybe it still doesn’t matter. Maybe I’m thinking much too hard about this, as is my habit.
What do you think? If you’ve had a blog for awhile, how has your concept of what it is changed? Do you read and comment on blogs the way you used to? What are some of your favorite blogs…people who you think do it well? How do you see blogging in the future?
42 comments for this post
I don’t. I read only a small fraction of what I once did, and blog on my own blog even less. I think that Twitter & FB have taken up some of the community space that I might have lost otherwise, but I find it hard to find the time to blog with the thoughtfulness that I want to in order to make blogging worthwhile. I always intend on blogging more, but my life gets in the way. And I’m ok with that. Real life trumps virtual everytime.
Sara Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
@Jackie Parker, “Real life trumps virtual everytime.”
You are so sane.
Sara Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 8:37 am
@Jackie Parker, Upon reflection I’ve re-considered the “real life” vs. “virtual” aspect of what you said. For better or for worse, the virtual is part of the real, at least in terms of managing my career and being connected with readers, and wonderful people like yourself…
Jackie Parker Reply:
March 23rd, 2010 at 2:01 pm
@Sara, I can’t deny that I have made real life connections that have enriched my life because of blogging, and I am still rather in the process of figuring out how to be true to RL and maintain what of VL has become real. Right now, Twitter & FB are where I’m finding a semblance of that balance. But, at the same time, they don’t really allow me to have the big mouth I had.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this. What the blog has that the other sites don’t is the content is yours. If you host it yourself, and own the domain name, then no one can take that from you. Where, twitter could shut its doors tomorrow and you’d lose your followers, LJ could have a glitch and you’d lose everything you said there–or facebook could become obsolete and all that fanning you did would be for naught.
We, as writers especially, have to remember that content is king, and our personal blogs and websites are the only types of online content we really truly own.
Sara Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
@Jamie Harrington, Great points. That is what I love about my blog and web site, and why I don’t even ASK my publisher to kick in for the cost of design or maintenance or anything. Just as I treasure my privacy, I also treasure control, and this is one of the few things I totally control. (Though I do self-censor, as I mentioned, and I don’t love that…)
Jamie Harrington Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
@Sara, yeah, that’s a really good point though… I do censor myself a LOT more than I used to on my blog, where sometimes on twitter I am not as likely to do so–just because it’s quick and I know it will be off my front twitter page in a short time.
So interesting! I’ve only had my blog for 1&1/2 years, but already I see myself posting less and reading other blogs less. Why? Twitter. I feel connected to a community of writers there in “real time.”
As far as my writing goes, I’m getting ready for submission on my first YA ms. (Nervous!) It’ll be interesting to see where I am with my blog a year from now.
Sara Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
@Debra L. Schubert, I have to say, I really love Twitter and think it’s better at doing a lot of the things we wanted blogs to do back in the day…
Good luck with your book!
It seems everything is being replaced with something quicker. Facebook messages replaced personal email, Twitter replaced blogging, and sharing/liking/retweeting has replaced actual comments. Maybe it’s me being cynical, but in this way, I think blogging might actually escape the riff raff entirely and return to its roots. That is, quiet, personal, and perhaps with smaller readerships.
Sara Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
@Sarah, I like to think there’s a good chance you’re right about where things are headed. On the other extreme, so many blogs are being commercialized and turning into “revenue streams”…
Sara, I think there’s one thing that keeps me from commenting on your blog, though I read it religiously… intimidation. Not to make you feel weird and/or squishy, but you ARE a writer I absolutely admire, whose books I admire, who… well, for some reason it feels more okay to @reply on Twitter than to comment on a blog of a writer I admire that much.
Feel weird and squishy yet?
Anyway, that’s a reason I tend to be silent on many author blogs. That’s just me though.
As for blogging itself… I’m in the midst of shifting over from having what I thought was a private blog about my writing struggles to having one book out and realizing it’s not private anymore and I’m not a struggling writer anymore. I decided to put my full name on it after much indecision. But I’ve deleted many old posts. I made mistakes at the beginning of the transition, being too honest, and ending up facing consequences for that, and I do worry about what I’m saying and how I’m saying it often.
I’ve kept the blog–though it’s separate from my author site–because, simply, I like it. I like blogging about my writing process. What I don’t like is promoting myself as an “author”–I’m not used to that yet, and when the time comes when my YA is out 2011, I may need to rethink everything about what I’m doing online. All that said, reading this post is very illuminating for me. Thank you.
As for authors’ blogs I love, I think Courtney Summers handles the balance of blogging about her writing and promoting herself (and authors she likes, not just saying that because she had me on there) really well: http://courtneysummers.ca
Joëlle Anthony has a great blog: http://joelleanthony.com/
As does Lisa Shroeder: http://lisa-schroeder.blogspot.com/
Those are a few of my favorites. Always inspiring.
But, as you know, I adore Twitter! I, personally, want to keep up with both… but when I was finishing up my manuscript this winter + promoting my other book I got behind on blog commenting and I couldn’t catch up. When you’re busy, how can you possibly keep up with blogs? You can’t. But you can with Twitter.
Sara Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
@nova, It’s funny – I can understand being intimidated and have felt likewise, but can’t grasp it as it pertains to ME.
I like it, too, and will keep doing it. But also totally agree about the time factor, the balance factor, and how great Twitter is for instant connection. Also, on Twitter, I never feel like I have to back and read a week’s worth of someone’s tweets if I’ve been away. With blogs I feel the backlog.
Thanks for the recs, too.
Lisa Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
@nova,
Don’t be scared of Sara. She’s actually very nice – one of my “oldest” online buddies and a fun RL human, too.
L.K.
Sara, WORD. I have nothing to add to what you’ve said, because you’ve said it all, I agree with it all, and you’ve said it so well.
Brilliant and true. Thank you.
Sara Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
@Robin Brande, Thanks, Robin.
My publisher told me to start a blog. So I did last year. I’ve floundered trying to find something I felt comfortable sharing. I used to be very active on local bulletin boards (remember those days?) but felt lost on the new internet. I end up sharing weekly posts about the woes and joys of being newly published and weekly recipes.
Thank you for an insightful essay on blogging. I think you’re right that FB and Twitter have taken over much of what blogging used to be. I wonder what social media will pop up next and replace them?
Sara Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
@Jaleta Clegg, I think a lot of writers wind up in your position – someone at their publisher said, “Start a blog.” Sometimes you figure it out, like you did, but some people never find a groove, and then feel like failures and like it’s going to be mean the end of their careers.
When people ask me, I advise them either find a way to do it that works for them (like once a week, or on a particular topic), or don’t do it. No one wants it hanging over their head like homework…writers already have enough of that.
Jaleta Clegg Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
@Sara, It still feels like homework some weeks. It’s all advertising in one way or another, some of it is just more interesting to read.
I have NO problem commenting on anybody’s site…
For me, blogging is a chore. I’m not the type who plots out what I’m going to say, etc. However, I have fell into a bit of a niche with some of my online friends. I’m one of the few who has successfully navigated the query process and I was more than happy to share that with them. At some point in the near future, I’m going on submission. My hope (obviously) is to continue to blog about what happens en route to publication.
After that, I’m not sure what will come of my blogging. I’m not sure how you blog for a book reading audience.
Sara Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
@Bryan Bliss, I don’t think of my blog readers as the same people as my book readers. I mean, I know there is overlap, but I definitely don’t blog with a “teen reader” in mind, nor do I expect everyone who reads my blog has read my books. I’ve always known that about my blog. Some writers really connect their blogs to their books, or gear their blog audience to their book audience. I do think you kind of have to decide early on which it’s going to be.
You raise some excellent questions. I’ve been blogging for five years and am still loving the interaction with commenters, but then I think my blog tends to draw more on my mom self (and my reader self) than my author self. I do blog about things connected to my own books, but by far the majority of my posts are kid stories or stuff about what I’m reading, what they’re reading.
So for now I’m still loving it and the back-and-forth with readers still feels vibrant. But I can see that as my children get older, and I am writing about them less (because I am very protective of my older kids’ privacy), my blog content will necessarily change. I suppose there will always be books to talk about, though.
Sara Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
@Melissa Wiley, Yes, thank God for books!
I’ve actually come back to my blog after almost a year hiatus. I write differently when I know someone might read it. I was involved in an amazing bloggy community which fell by the wayside for a bunch of reasons, including, yes, the addition of FaceBook and Twitter. But I don’t think the blog is dead. Chris Brogan writes about this a lot, on, yes, his blog.
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/my-love-for-blogging/
I read somewhere today that Technorati says that each blog averages around 6 readers. That actually sounds about right. I imagine that your blog and Chris Brogan’s blog and other authors have many more than that, but I love that blogging can be this cottage industry of creativity that doesn’t have to win awards to be a very important part of someone’s reading or writing day.
And how do you blog for the book reading audience? By talking about books! Sara, I love how you have done videos about your book tours, or about doing the audio version of your book.
xo,
suzi w.
Sara Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
@Suzi W., Thanks for link to Chris’s blog. And, I do love that I can do WHATEVER I WANT with my blog, including videos, which have been very fun for me, too.
Interestingly, I’ve been pondering this question myself for some time. When I first started blogging (only last fall, but it seems longer somehow) I just wrote for me, because I knew no one was reading it. There’s a certain liberty in that.
Then I started getting followers, a nice managable amount say 20-30, and I’d read their blogs and comment, and they’d read mine and comment, and it felt like a real community.
Then we all started to get a lot more followers, a hundred or more. How do you stay connected to that many people? read and comment regularly on that many blogs? It’s impossible.
And the people I’d enjoyed blogger community with at the beginning, well, I hardly really “see” them anymore.
And now that I’m agented with submissions coming soon, I’m wondering how that will change my blogging habits. I don’t want to just be blogging about all my successes all the time. (hoping that I have success) I want to be interesting and relevant to all my readers. And then I find, as I read other blogger friends, that they’re already saying everything I would have said or could say. I don’t want to be redundant or a copycat.
Anyway, I don’t have a conclusion. I’m trying to work it out. Thanks for the post. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one.
Oh, and I forgot to comment on the privacy thing. I totally understand that even though I don’t have “fans” yet. I’m pre-empting in a way, even, because I decided not to write under my legal name. I want to blow the trumpet about my career as a writer, and public figure. Not so much about my personal life.
Sara Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
@Elle Strauss, But then how will the people from your past who thought you’d never amount to anything KNOW you have become a famous author???
Jamie Harrington Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
@Sara, HAHA I love this.
Elle Strauss Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
@Sara, I guess I’m assuming no one thought I’d never amount to anything
The ones I care about know my nickname.
I hear you, Sara. My blog has really become a very structured spot (mostly around Cover Stories that other authors tell) and I think that’s why readers come back to it. They know that feature is there, and I still enjoy doing it, so it has purpose for me.
I’ve never been a personal blogger, so it’s always an outward thing.
Sara Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 8:40 am
@Melissa, I think your blog is a great example of “find your thing and do it well and consistently.” Your blog is never in the midst of an identity crisis – you know what it’s about.
Wow, Sara, someone came to my blog yesterday and asked me if I’d seen yours. It seems we were sort of on the same page, at least in our introspection about blogging and how the online community has changed.
Anyway, I actually prefer blogging and Facebook over Twitter. I’ve found that when I’m on Twitter too much, I have difficulty concentrating, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because I have everybody’s noise (which is really their Feed) in my head. It’s just too much for me sometimes, and I end up feeling like an overstimulated child. Add to that the pressure to be “on” for long stretches, and it’s safe to say that it’s not my favorite venue.
I feel like blogging (and even Facebook to a degree) allows me to interact when I’m really feeling at my best, and I can put something out there at that moment in time and go away. Twitter has really become more of a giant chat room, and I feel rude leaving people hanging in the middle of a conversation, which means I often get stuck there longer than I intended.
But of everything you’ve said here (and it’s ALL so true), this is the thing I identify with most;
“I would sort of love to go back to the carefree days when I didn’t worry that everything I posted could be seen as: too shallow, too deep, too political, politically unaware, too personal, impersonal, uninformed, over-informed, redundant, name-droppy, not name-droppy enough (i.e. not supportive of my fellow authors), whiny, ego-mad, falsely humble, etc etc etc.”
Yes.
<3
MZ
Sara Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 8:42 am
@Michelle Zink, Haha – “overstimulated child” is a great description of it, yes. But sometimes it’s fun to be a little bit overstimulated – it injects some excitement into what is otherwise a pretty staid work lifestyle. I know what you mean about feeling rude, but I’ve learned to get over that. Twitter is very much a jump-in, jump-out conversation.
I’m going to try not to think so hard/worry so much about that stuff in the paragraph you quote. We’ll see…
Sara Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 8:46 am
@Michelle Zink, P.S. Everyone, here is the link to Michelle’s post on same: http://michellezinkbooks.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/blogging-the-blogosphere/
I’ve never commented much on blogs. I think I’m a part of the group of blog readers who just enjoy reading them. I hope all of you bloggers know we’re out there, waiting for your next post.
Sara Reply:
March 21st, 2010 at 1:33 pm
@Lindsay Roylance, Thanks – I know I should know that by now – most people I meet who say they read my blog tell me that they never comment. It seems like commenters represent a pretty small % of readers…
Well, I’m not a writer so I can’t really comment from that perspective, but I still love blogging the best out of all of these things. I enjoy Twitter and facebook and the many other ways to connect, but I actually do read blogs to either get to know others better or be challenged in my thinking. And there’s something about the space a blog provides a person to write about their life that is much more than what twitter offers, I think.
I do understand the need for privacy, though. It can actually become a little bit tempting to blog everything at times, so there are parts of my life I try not to ever talk about on my blog. After all, in many cases the blog to reader relationships is very one sided–as I’m sure the author to reader relationship can be, too.
Sara Reply:
March 23rd, 2010 at 1:54 pm
@Amy @ My Friend Amy, The temptation to get personal is what kind of fascinates me. When I’m feeling that, I wonder what it’s about and what kind of connection I’m looking for that I’m not getting elsewhere? It’s interesting.
Sara –
I loved this entry. SFE. So Flipping Eloquent.
Finally — I think I’ve said this to you before — when all is said and done, the world will remember you for your books far more than it will remember you for your blogging, the same way the world remembers A FAREWELL TO ARMS far more than the Hemingway correspondence. (No comparison between you and the Bearded Fisherman intended!).
I sometimes wonder if we writers have a limited but unknown number of words in our brains, like the limited but unknown number of beats allocated by the Almighty to our hearts.
We need to think carefully about where to allocate them, ourselves. Which is what this entry did for me.
Sara Reply:
March 23rd, 2010 at 11:53 pm
@Jeff Gottesfeld, Good points.
(I do want the world to remember that I exist BETWEEN books so that when the next one comes, it is still listening…)
Sara, I’ve been struggling with what the heck to do with my blog and I went to yours for inspiration…and found this! Well… I am glad I am not alone. Though I still wish I could either climb aboard the blog horse and ride or find the courage to turn off the lights entirely.