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why blog
Miss Snark is a literary agent who keeps a weblog. It's an interesting read, with many insights into the business end of publishing. She also answers questions from her readers, as in this case about weblogs: Should a novelist start a blog?
Her opinion: no. Novelists should be revising and not blogging.
So I was thinking about this and trying to come up with a list of reasons why authors (or aspiring authors) might benefit from keeping a weblog. It's a bit of a spin on the old question why do you write? -- which has a million answers, many of them the height of snark, such as: Because I can.
This is my (partial) list of reasons a published author might want to keep a weblog. Which (if any) of them is valid, that's something I can't answer, but it is an interesting question.
Marketing/exposure. Given the saturated marketplace and the lack of money/ideas in how to promote new novels, a weblog seems like a fairly cheap and painless way to find potential readers.
Communication. Many readers like to know about the person behind the books they're reading. Reaching out to them through a weblog is like holding an open house. You invite them in for a while, have a short discussion, learn something about each other. And hopefully the weblog keeps them interested in the pause between novels.
Brainstorming. Some people explore ideas best in writing, and profit from feedback.
Politics. Writers are just as political as anyother group of humans. The drive to divide into groups and set up fences and gates is really strong. Once a kingdom is established, it must be defended. Literary rivalries used to take place in letters to the editor or in salons. Now they blossom on the internet.
Solitary Madness. Those who write full time from home have two choices: write, or let yourself get caught up in the household. And as any writer knows, when things are not going well the idea of cleaning the bathroom becomes oddly appealing. The internet -- weblogs, chatrooms, discussion boards -- provide a watercooler-like escape for writers that has nothing to do with cleaning solvents. I try to imagine writing from home twenty years ago when it was just the typewriter, the telephone, and the blank page. How terrifying.
Exhibitionism. Writers have egos, of course. Sometimes big ones.
Dropping Knowledge.* Some writers like to share what they know, or feel obliged to do so in the spirit of wider communication.
Procrastination. Of course. But here's a newsflash: a writer who needs to procrastinate (and I use this word on purpose) will procrastinate, with or without a weblog or the internet.
I probably could come up with more -- if you have others, please speak up, because I think this is an interesting topic. Or maybe it's only interesting to me. Or maybe it's no more interesting than contemplating your own navel, but at any rate, I've opened up this discussion, I dare you to join in.
Before stopping I want to say that in my own case, I don't have big expectations as far as this weblog's ability to boost sales or widen exposure. I think the internet is still too small a universe for that. In my case, it's primarily solitary madness, procrastination, and the compulsion to share. Of course, if somebody could prove to me that this weblog is repsonsible for selling a million copies of my next novel, I'd gladly add marketing to that list. Either way, I'll stick around doing this as long as it seems useful.
*Dropping Knowledge (the website) has a stated goal:
Dropping knowledge means dropping the assumption that we know all the answers. It means questioning the conventional wisdom. It means figuring out which questions are the most important to ask, sharing answers and then challenging those answers. We call the practice of asking questions and sharing wisdom, dropping knowledge.
Final note: I would have posted a comment on Miss Snark's weblog directly, but you have to have a blogger identity to do that, and I don't.
October 21, 2005 01:49 PM
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Comments
Ah yes, the typical criticism of "you would be better off spending your time doing work related to your profession than blogging." This is the backlash that keeps so many people blogging anonymously, I think. Or at least, not sharing their blog with the people at work.
Interestingly, I think some of your points apply to more than just novelists who blog, and I can certainly relate to them.
I think Because I Can (i.e. an extra creative outlet) and Solitary Madness are my key reasons for keeping a weblog. Funny though, because it isn't like I work from home. I think it has more to do with moving frequently and losing touch with friends who I only contact by phone or an annual email correspondence. For me, blogging has brought me in contact with people who share similar intests and values, regardless of their physical location.
And as someone who is extroverted, that communication with people in the outside world actually brings me energy to do my 'regular work'. I find that I am often rejuvenated. Usually, I am cheered up. Finally, it reminds me to not get caught up in my own little world.
Posted by: Danielle at October 22, 2005 08:58 AM
Danielle, that is an interesting point. Making connections to like minded people is the great power of weblogging, and in the internet in general.
Of course, it also makes it easier for the nuts to find each other. But why shouldn't they be happy too, really. As long as happy doesn't mean exterminating everybody else.
Posted by: sara at October 22, 2005 02:35 PM
I blog out of a combination of solitary madness and procrastination. As far as I am concerned, writing a 100 word blog post on my cat* is better than writing nothing at all. I still have to construct sentences. I still have to convey meaning and emotion. Richard Herring (a stand up comedian and writer) calls his blog his "warm up" - a way of getting him to the keyboard and writing before getting down to the real work of the day.
*it seems to me that since writers are more likely to have cats, and bloggers also tend towards writing about cats, a writer who blogs is doomed to end up writing about their cats a lot.
Posted by: Mags at October 30, 2005 01:34 AM