There’s a lot of pressure now for writers to have an active social media life. You need to blog, tweet, pin, reblog, and “like” things. It’s necessary for your career as a writer, people say. You need to have an online presence.
Okay, maybe that’s true. You don’t want people to Google you and come up with nothing. You want people to be able to find information on your writing, maybe how to contact you, etc. But what does that mean for how much work you should be doing on your social media platform?
Roni Loren has a great post up about if blogging is worth the time/effort and what you can expect to get out of it. In very short, blogging generally won’t make you sell a gazillion books, but it’s a wonderful way to connect with other writers and/or readers who already like your work. One part I liked in particular:
“Having a blog just to have one is worse than not having one at all. If you’re not somewhat focused in your content and you aren’t giving the reader a takeaway, no one is going to stick around except your mom and a handful of others who are writing about Random Randomness…Do it because you enjoy connecting with people, don’t do it because you think it’s going to vault you up the bestseller list.”
Blogging is work. It requires upkeep and, even if you’re not blogging every day, you want to set up some kind of schedule for yourself. I hate seeing people’s blogs that only list a post every couple of months. And maybe part of that problem is not knowing who you’re trying to reach. Writing for a void can be disheartening.
If this isn’t your first time at my blog, you’re probably aware that I blog a lot. (If this is your first time, here, howdy!) Mostly it’s because I find things online that I like to share. It’s way easier than emailing each person I think might be interested in whatever I’ve found, and it has the potential to connect me with other people who like the same kind of things. I rarely post about my life because I don’t think that would be as interesting. It would end up feeling more like a chore.
So even if you need to have some kind of blog, don’t think that it has to be any one way. Find what works for you, and remember to keep it fun. If it’s not fun, it’s just something else to stress about that won’t necessarily get people to like your fiction. Blogging is its own thing, and can be really fun. Just don’t think of it as a make or break for your career.
(image: JISC)
Very interesting! I’m not a writer, per se, and I don’t tend to think of my blog as a way of getting my name “out there,” but…it is! It’s on my resume, and as such, it’s content that I produce, and that I’m proud of, so I might as well own it, while having fun with it. I love your blog!
That’s so funny–I definitely think of you as a writer, in large part due to how well your blog is put together. And thanks for the blog love! The feeling is quite mutual. 🙂
Nice post, and very true. It’s strange really how people say ‘you *have* to have one of these’. It’s almost like walking through the internet with a personal shopper who throws a Twitter account, Facebook page, Blog etc etc into your arms. I think there’s no point in doing any of those things if you don’t know why, or what to do.
Also I have to agree with ‘I hate seeing people’s blogs that only list a post every couple of months’. Also, going one step further, I find it annoying when posts start with ‘Well, I haven’t posted for ages so I guess I ought to really’. If you don’t have enthusiasm for your own blog, how can you expect other people to?
I mostly blog as a way to vent frustrations at work and my personal life. Occassionally, I might stumble upon a topic that would interest a lot more people. It’s just my personal thing right now and I love it!