Are the days of the blog numbered? Or is it that those people I once followed with keen interest have moved on to other more important projects in their lives? I would like to think that is the case because there was a lot of talented and interesting people out there, and I enjoyed following their literary adventures on a day to day basis.
This thought was prompted when I took a scan through the blogs that I followed and found a lot of them hadn't been updated for months, or had disappeared all together. Now, in some ways I'm guilty of apathy towards my blog, and there is a specific reason for it. I started this blog to chronicle my adventures in publishing. Now that was all well and good in the early days when everything about the process was new and fresh and not a little daunting. Yet it feels now that I'm beginning to rehash old thoughts and ideas, and I'm not sure that is what my readers want to read. Either that, or those who once followed my tales and advice have also moved on and are now past the kind of advice that I was able to offer.
Looking back over the last year, I've noticed that many of the blogs I followed, my own included, have become nothing more than marketing devices. Everyone has a book to sell it seems. I don't want my blog to fall into the trap of simply pimping my latest book - although it's obviously somewhere where anyone interested in my writing might come to find information on my latest works - and am in the process of trying to figure out where i want to take my blog next.
OK, I won't be absconding to wordpress (tried it, didn't work out), but over the next few weeks i hope to relaunch my blog so that it's a bit more interesting than "Hey! Here's my latest book". Watch this space....
7 comments:
I have two blogs that I update semi-regularly. One's mainly music and films reviews with some personal stuff, the other is travel. The latter was very busy for a few years when I was backpacking, but now only gets updated when I holiday with the family.
As far as other blogs go, personal ones do seem to be being updated less. The other ones I follow are predominantly work- or IT-related and are constantly being added to.
I think it's author/audience related. Personal stuff is more suited to facebook where people know their friends will read stuff, especially bite-size. It's quicker to microblog than properblog!
On the other hand, you definitely reach your audience without having to pay through the nose if you use a blog/RSS than rely on a facebook Page these days.
I am guilty of failing to check a lot of blogs I used to read on a regular basis. Maybe I will make a New Year Resolution to change that.
Good point Matt. And well worth consideration. Hoping to get back to 'regular' sooner rather than later. When I do, it'll be with your words in mind!
I've been thinking the same. Stuart Neville did a post... 'to blog or not to blog', a while back. Think he concluded not to (though he occasionally does still blog).
However, if you've got something to say about a current topic (like this post!), then maybe that's the time to do it, rather than potentially 'wasting your time' just for the sake of it.
There are some people, you included, who I'll always pop over to see what's going on.
Good post.
Regards,
Col
I think that people are moving on to quicker-fix media Matt, for the very reasons you've highlighted: sales. Promoting a self-published work is easier on Twitter etc than on a blog - you've only got to look at the number of people "following" 50,000 other Indie authors all shouting about their books.
I'm just finishing a "Novel Diary" on my blog, and then I'm moving on. Just too busy now to spend time blogging for the maybe 50 or so people a day who drop by...
I have cropped a lot of blogs from my reader list because they have become so repetitive, banging on about their book and their Kindle reviews ad nauseum! Likewise, I've muted/unfollowed some on Twitter & Facebook for the same reason.
Yes, I realise the need to promote their books but do they not have anything else to say as well?
I'd be more inclined to keep following if they talked about the kind of books they liked to read, or discussed other issues about writing - not just the same old, same old!
But, I shall await your new blog posts with enthusiasm, Matt!
Lots and lots of work with blogs. And folks expect a comment for a comment. Time consuming compared to the zippy feel of Twitter. But I do believe there is more depth to a well-written post.
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