In Others' WordsIn My Words: Can't Be Bothered to Blog
My first attempt at blogging was The Writing Road. I've always seen my writing career as a journey along a road, complete with bumps and detours and unexpected bends in the road -- hence, the name. I had great fun blogging and eventually invited two other writing friends to blog with me: Roxanne Sherwood and Scoti Domeij. I covered non-fiction. Roxanne covered fiction. And Scoti, our resident researchaholic, covered all sorts of "How did she find out about that?!" topics.
Despite all the fun we had, the blog never took off. Probably because my main focus was on writing blog posts. Period.
While I knew blogging was part of building my platform, I didn't focus on methodically accomplishing that goal. I kinda figured that I'd blog and people would find me.
Shortsighted of me, I admit it.
If you're like me, you've got a To Do list as long as the Great Wall of China. You've got to write. And rewrite. (Multiply by ten. At least.) And edit. And critique other writers' stuff, if you're in a critique group. And work on your talk for whatever group you're speaking to next month. And blog. And tweet. And update your Facebook status. And, oh, yeah . . . shouldn't you be posting comments on everyone else's blogs? (I'm ignoring the "real life" stuff for the sake of word count.)
Here's a bit of trivia for you: There were over 156 million public blogs as of February 2011, according to BlogPulse.
Does it ever feel like you're trying to find time to read and comment on every single one?
Once again, the question needs to be asked: What's a writer to do?
Here's my honest answer: I try.
I retired The Writing Road. The content is still available -- but it is no longer my focus. This blog, In Others' Words, is where I share my love of quotes and my thoughts on writing. I keep my posts brief because, hey, I'm competing with over 156 million other blogs! I also became part of a team of bloggers, MBT Ponderers. Sharing the blog load makes it easier all the way around. And I post on the MBT Special Teams blog -- once again as a team member, not a solo blogger.
Biggest change: I make time to comment on others' blogs.Some favorites: Amy Sorrells, The Writers Alley, Write Strong, Weaving Influence, Jody Hedlund, The Write Conversation ...
Yes, there are more -- and others I haven't discovered yet.
In Your Words: What are your feelings about blogging? Love it? Hate it? Got it under control? Do you have any favorite must-read blogs?
photo by jaylopez/stockxchng.com
Labels: Beth K. Vogt, blogging, In My Words
posted by Beth K. Vogt @ 2:01 AM
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5 Comments:
Love it.
How cool that you mentioned the Alley.
Pretty sure I'd blog if I only ever had one reader, but I'm glad I have more than that.
~ Wendy
Sometimes I have a To Be Read (TBR) pile of blogs, almost like a TBR pile of books. My husband wonders why I have a gazillion links open . . . and then I'm always wondering, "What should I blog about? What's my take on what's being talked about?"
I sometimes feel that my blog isn't what it should be in terms of a career platform. But humor for wome is just part of who I am, even if it doesn't have much to do with the paranormal romance I write. So I'll just keep putting it out there until a re-focus presents itself, as it did for you. I really enjoy In Others' Words, btw.
Your blog is a must-read for me, E. Did I mention that in my blog? I should have! I read it and post it to my FB page and tweet it and run up and down the street telling neighbors to read your latest post . . . (only a mild exaggeration . . .)
And, while your blog isn't about paranormal romance, your blog does give us a glimpse of you--another facet of your personality.
This is a great post i am totally agreed with you yes every blogger is the director of the blog and i really enjoyed it and i love great wall of china.
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