Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m seriously stressed out about this blogging thing. It’s not that I don’t want to do it—no, no, quite the opposite— but I never expected it to be so complicated. I mean, I write every day. I’m an author, for God’s sake. My new book Positively Beautiful is coming out March 3rd (that’s my plug—evidently I’m supposed to have one, so here it is) and my agent liked it, my editor liked it, and some really generous reviewers are saying nice things about it. So evidently I can write, but by the time I read through fifty sites on how to blog I wanted to curl up into the fetal position and cry whhhaaaa!
How do I want to start this? Why would I want to start this? Well, mainly because it seems like nowadays most authors do it. No, Mom, if all my author friends jumped off a cliff, I wouldn’t follow, but if all my author friends were jumping off a cliff in Greece and landing safely in a pool of crystal clear water and then told me what fun it was—well, then. That’s different. I love learning more about the authors of my favorite books. I love reading about Sarah Desson’s dog Roxy and her fascination with GMA, and yes, I’m a nerdfighter. I want to know how Laina Taylor gets her hair that awesome pink color. Inquiring minds what to know.
But there are so many things to think about! Consider:
1. I’m supposed to have a message, a niche, a brand. Sounds like a fancy way of say I’m secretly brain-glomming you into buying my books.
(subliminal message break: buy Wendy Mills’s book, buy Wendy Mills’s book. And quit smoking).
I’m not going to lie, that would be really cool, but I would feel like a cheesy used car salesman if that was the only reason I was writing. I like writing. I like interacting with readers, not only of my books, but of any books. Readers are the coolest people around.
2. I have to decide what to talk about. Wendy’s epiphany an hour ago: “Oh, I know! I’ll write about how I’m trying to decide what to write about.” And that’s how you do it, folks. Wait. It’s not? Sheesh. Back to square one. I must, I must, I must write a post. I have a lot to say. Ask my family. But is anything I have to say worth putting in a blog? Pressure. So much pressure!
3. I’m supposed to provide value to my reader. You guys are supposed to be getting something out of this. Umm…. I’ll leave that up to you. Be kind.
4. And above all, Jane Friedman, who is a Goddess of Digital Media, says don’t pursue blogging unless you are COMMITTED. Gulp. That’s a lot of pressure. I like to write, sure I do, but what will I say? (See number two). And what if I don’t have time, or forget to write a post every week? Will I be able to live with myself? This is a woman who feels guilty when she forgets to check the mailbox every day and waters her orchards every single Saturday. Without fail.
You see my problem. Blogging is intimidating. But popular blogger Anne R. Allen says “Blogs are friendly.” I like that. I can be friendly. I can. Unless I’m standing behind Clueless Dude at Starbucks who doesn’t know the difference between tall and venti, in which case not so much. Then I can be very unfriendly in a totally silent, passive-aggressive way.
So, here it is. My first-ever blog post. I still don’t know anything about plug-ins, analytics or WP Smush it (what?) but I’ve had fun, which I guess counts for something.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
How do I want to start this? Why would I want to start this? Well, mainly because it seems like nowadays most authors do it. No, Mom, if all my author friends jumped off a cliff, I wouldn’t follow, but if all my author friends were jumping off a cliff in Greece and landing safely in a pool of crystal clear water and then told me what fun it was—well, then. That’s different. I love learning more about the authors of my favorite books. I love reading about Sarah Desson’s dog Roxy and her fascination with GMA, and yes, I’m a nerdfighter. I want to know how Laina Taylor gets her hair that awesome pink color. Inquiring minds what to know.
But there are so many things to think about! Consider:
1. I’m supposed to have a message, a niche, a brand. Sounds like a fancy way of say I’m secretly brain-glomming you into buying my books.
(subliminal message break: buy Wendy Mills’s book, buy Wendy Mills’s book. And quit smoking).
I’m not going to lie, that would be really cool, but I would feel like a cheesy used car salesman if that was the only reason I was writing. I like writing. I like interacting with readers, not only of my books, but of any books. Readers are the coolest people around.
2. I have to decide what to talk about. Wendy’s epiphany an hour ago: “Oh, I know! I’ll write about how I’m trying to decide what to write about.” And that’s how you do it, folks. Wait. It’s not? Sheesh. Back to square one. I must, I must, I must write a post. I have a lot to say. Ask my family. But is anything I have to say worth putting in a blog? Pressure. So much pressure!
3. I’m supposed to provide value to my reader. You guys are supposed to be getting something out of this. Umm…. I’ll leave that up to you. Be kind.
4. And above all, Jane Friedman, who is a Goddess of Digital Media, says don’t pursue blogging unless you are COMMITTED. Gulp. That’s a lot of pressure. I like to write, sure I do, but what will I say? (See number two). And what if I don’t have time, or forget to write a post every week? Will I be able to live with myself? This is a woman who feels guilty when she forgets to check the mailbox every day and waters her orchards every single Saturday. Without fail.
You see my problem. Blogging is intimidating. But popular blogger Anne R. Allen says “Blogs are friendly.” I like that. I can be friendly. I can. Unless I’m standing behind Clueless Dude at Starbucks who doesn’t know the difference between tall and venti, in which case not so much. Then I can be very unfriendly in a totally silent, passive-aggressive way.
So, here it is. My first-ever blog post. I still don’t know anything about plug-ins, analytics or WP Smush it (what?) but I’ve had fun, which I guess counts for something.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.