Truth is? I think that blogger is right. I am. My target is to reach readers. But writers are readers... then again, not all readers are writers.... big circle, isn't it?
The argument she makes is if I'm blogging about writing, I'm limiting my reach. I agree to a point. Part of me truly believes there is an inner writer in most readers, however, who would and could benefit from the posts I write on writing. Mind you, I don't post 'how to' segments--at least not very often. I mostly write about my experiences in the process.
But I'm still writing about writing. And am about to start recording a vlog series on writing. So, the question remains--should I stop blogging this way? Am I doing it wrong?
I don't know for sure, but I do know my goals are two fold in writing this blog. One, to entertain and inform and two, gather a following for my work. Fair enough, correct? If that means changing what I blog about... well, I'm willing to give it a go.
But I believe in balance. I have a passion for writing, which means it's likely I'll still be posting my personal experiences here about my work and the industry at large. But I think I'll experiment with some other topics as well--behind the scenes of the actual books rather than the writing of them.
Will it make a difference? I'm hoping you all will tell me. As I progress along this rutted but exciting road, I value the feedback you give into how I'm doing--and why you read my ramblings in the first place.
For now, I'll leave you with a photo of the shoot I did today at Mugisha Enterprises with my friends (and the owners/producers) Renee Laprise and Brian Sharp for the Family Magic trailer (coming so soon I can taste it!) as a trial run of this new and improved blogging me.
Happy Wednesday!
First, that pic rocks and I can't wait to see the trailer!
ReplyDeleteSecond, I want to say that I agree with the blogger. As writers, we seek to reach a wider audience than other writers. Afterall, it's the casual reader that we want to grasp in our clutches, ahem, I mean, with our words. LOL
Justine Musk eloquently put it once that we need to find the road where our readers intersect with our blog...ok it sounded better when she said it, but the point is we find a need in our audience and fill it in hopes that our readers will love us enough to buy our words.
While, as a writer, I love learning from other writers, the blogosphere is overflowing with writer blogs. That's why I ran from that angle. However, I have nothing to teach in that area and you have loads to teach...sooo...
You have to do what feels right to you in the end, anyway:). All the best to the best!
Patti,
ReplyDeleteAs much as I LOVE your writing blogs, and while I am the crossover who is 1: a writer 2: a reader and 3: a reader of YA paranormal and fantasy and thus your HUGEST fan, I have to agree with this writer.
Yes, all writers are likely readers, but are they readers of your genre? And will they buy your books? I struggle with the same thing as my blogs on publishing and writing are the most popular, and I enjoy writing them, but is it really promoting my work?
I like that we have WordOne2Done.com as outlet for our writing and publishing and marketing selves, and I have an outlet with Evolved and Novel Publicity (you might want to see about guest posting with them!) but our personal blogs should target our readers. (In my humble opinion!)
It's not that you can never talk about it, I think that lots of people are interested, it's just probably not going to bring in a lot of relevant readers. What's the magic answer? I don't know. I think some blend of personal (for fans) and loyalty transfer posts that are written to our target demographic but aren't fiction and aren't about writing. This means knowing your reader well and what kinds of things they want to read about.
But no matter what, I'm your biggest fan and will also read what you write :)
Well it's always interesting to try out new things. All the best, Patti. And the picture looks amazing.
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