Comments on Newsflash not: Success in blogging is not about writing

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i read your blog with interest...
blogit.com is definitely another world. i am not sure what i thought i would find here, but hey!...what an interesting place. there are prima donnas, fiefdoms, alliances of fiefdoms, heroes and scallywags, etc., etc.,...i love it! i feel like i'm inside a developing novel! i love to write and, clicks are nice... but i would not love the writing any more than i do now if i were amassing great numbers of clicks.

posted by muser on April 26, 2005 at 1:06 PM | link to this | reply

(I tried for all fragemntary sentences but failed!)

posted by majroj on April 19, 2005 at 9:13 PM | link to this | reply

Flashbacks to 2003...

The Great "Is Blogging Writing?" Question.

It can be. Just as "Writing" can mean "Authorship". Or "Hack Writing". Or "Copy Writing". Or "Corresponding".

Blogit's forte for writers of all sorts is furnishing an environment for people to share experience/attitude/gossip. Like the Algonquin Roundtable, not a hell of a lot gets accomplished here despite whatever the participants do elsewhere.

As it gets bigger, the partyers can go off in their little corner while others, well, write.

posted by majroj on April 19, 2005 at 9:04 PM | link to this | reply

Cassandra, thanks.

posted by Azur on April 18, 2005 at 3:30 PM | link to this | reply

DarrkeThoughts,. If only we had the challenge of fitting in the book signings!
thank you for your wonderful long comment

posted by Azur on April 18, 2005 at 3:29 PM | link to this | reply

tigerprincess, it flatters my intellect ;-) when people read and discuss my work

posted by Azur on April 18, 2005 at 3:27 PM | link to this | reply

Monogamy. yes the self-promoters do need to back up with content

posted by Azur on April 18, 2005 at 3:26 PM | link to this | reply

It is about self promotion but the content keeps people coming back.  I've noticed that the harder tyou promote the less people want to read you because you are only interested in you and it shows through.

posted by Monogamy on April 18, 2005 at 9:17 AM | link to this | reply

I totally agree. It is about self-promotion. But I like reading all sorts of posts here. :-)

posted by Ca88andra on April 18, 2005 at 2:19 AM | link to this | reply

It's always nice to get a click that actually discusses your work instead of just fluff, but some of us that have the untreated kind of ADD have a hard time picking apart a post. j/k. I liked your post. I honestly didn't see anything you could improve on.

posted by tigerprincess on April 17, 2005 at 8:51 PM | link to this | reply

It's hard to strike a balance between promotion and writing.  I think that is something that must plauge a lot of writers.  My favorite, George RR Martin, has been working on book 4 of a series forever (well, 3 or 4 years anyway).  I can't help but wonder about the distractions of appearances and book signings, etc.  Would he get the book out faster without them?  I've never read an author because of the promotions (except J.K.Rowling, but that was also after my kid got really into the books...not just the TV appearances.) 

Most are either the cover art and description when I see them in the bookstore, or word of mouth from people who like the same kind of books in general.

I suppose that amounts to headlines and comments here.  Either someone leaves me a comment and I find them because I want to know who said that...or they have a headline that catches my eye and gets me to click (and probably read) their post.

posted by DarrkeThoughts on April 17, 2005 at 7:44 PM | link to this | reply

Frankenkitty, I am not surprised that you have other prioroities. I wish I could say something which could help. Thinking of you

posted by Azur on April 17, 2005 at 5:46 PM | link to this | reply

I'm not much of a
competitive blogger. I just don't have the energy, you know, with all the crap going on. I'm laying low. Take care :)

posted by Flumpystalls3000 on April 17, 2005 at 4:24 PM | link to this | reply

Ms N Dependence, grading can have a big impact on a person

posted by Azur on April 17, 2005 at 4:16 PM | link to this | reply

That should be 'is not'
Crimminy!

posted by Transcendental_Child on April 17, 2005 at 2:25 PM | link to this | reply

You're welcome MayB

And if what is somewhat alluded to here as a promise is true - then when one of our blogs that are not meant to be about blogs or writing - ergo blogs that are in other categories -are tapped into by unsuspecting clickers - they might just find themselves turning into readers when they realize they are reading a writer. OMG! I just made myself dizzy reading this back to myself.

Still grading these research papers - getting delirious now.

posted by Transcendental_Child on April 17, 2005 at 2:25 PM | link to this | reply

Thamk you Ms N Dependence. The clickers have their uses but the READERS are the true reward for me. It is same difference as in fishing--between getting a bite or reeling in a big catch.

posted by Azur on April 17, 2005 at 2:19 PM | link to this | reply

MayB
Consider yourself promoted - I am adding you to my list of blogs and people. So whether someone is my clicker or my reader - they will see that I read you. And you are so right in what you say. I am a writer - not a self-promoter. My hope is that my abilities and my talent will eventually bring readers to me - while the clickers bring a few dimes here and there.

posted by Transcendental_Child on April 17, 2005 at 2:13 PM | link to this | reply

Mayb
Somehow style and substance have to coincide, marketing has become synonymous with shallow and false.    Talion has some good points, people see through shameless self-promotion and flitting.  What I like about Blogit is that is social and interactive as well as deeper and informative.  It's got it's drawbacks, and rants are part of them. (I rant, too, when I want to get something off my chest).   

posted by Blanche. on April 17, 2005 at 2:10 PM | link to this | reply

I agree about the deceptive headlines Talion. At the moment it is all I can do to post and interact with my readers. I only want to go so far in promotion just to get the ball rolling. Naively perhaps I want the work to speak for itself. It matters to me that it delivers what it promises and adds value

posted by Azur on April 17, 2005 at 2:10 PM | link to this | reply

CarolynMoe, you have your own distinctive style of self-promotion and writing and everything

posted by Azur on April 17, 2005 at 2:06 PM | link to this | reply

At the moment, I'm shamelessly promoting Kooka Lives' Fiction blog because I honestly think it's wonderful...  But I'm tired of clicking his silly post - I'm sure it'll "sell" on its own backwardly sophisticated merit. 

As for me, my "Fiction At Its Finest" posts are typically "off the wall," brief, food-for-thought, types of easy reads.  Perhaps they give the reader a break from the old routine, but I don't find myself "promoting" them.  I return comments in kind and try to read people unknown to me.  Beyond that, I'm usually "underwater" with my writing. 

posted by cmoe on April 17, 2005 at 2:04 PM | link to this | reply

MayB
If I have one flaw as a blogger, it's my inability to self-promote. The catchy, attention-grabbing headlines often seem deceptive to me, a practice I refuse to participate in. I have more on my mind than angry bitter rants that everyone can easily identify with, and flitting about from post to post, commenting in hopes of garnering readers seems hollow and insincere. Whether I have too much integrity, I'm too full of myself, or both, it holds me back around here. It doesn't bother me in the least.   

posted by Talion on April 17, 2005 at 1:57 PM | link to this | reply