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  1. Aardvark

    Aardvark Member

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    Writers' Blog Author Blogs

    Discussion in 'Marketing' started by Aardvark, Jul 17, 2017.

    Hi! Do you read author blogs? If so, what type of content do you look for in one - writing process, personal, other? Do you keep up with some authors frequently, occasionally?

    What do you find uninteresting and not useful from author blogs?

    Thanks!
     
  2. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    I follow only one author's blog, although I've probably read most of Tenderiser's blog posts just by randomly clicking on it.

    The other author is just a really smart, sensitive, insightful guy who says interesting things about writing, publishing, readers, society, and, strangely, board games. I like his books, but I love his blog.
     
  3. Aardvark

    Aardvark Member

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    @BayView Did you intentionally seek out the other author's blog (say, after reading one of his books), or just stumble upon it? I'm so curious about the various functions of author websites, and how much people interact with them.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2017
  4. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    I actually first became aware of him because of guest reviews he did on a major romance review site. Then I think I read some guest blogs from him, maybe? Or... somehow or other became aware of his blogging. And then became aware of his fiction, separately. But I was probably more likely to pick up whichever of his novels I first read because I was already favourably disposed toward him because of the blogs.

    (I should probably note that I think I'm much more likely to form a negative impression of authors because of blogging they do... I can't think of anyone besides this author whose blogging has made me more likely to buy a novel, and I can think of several authors I'm highly unlikely to read because I was turned off by something they blogged.)
     
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  5. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    I follow loads out of courtesy - following back when they follow me. There are only two I actually read, because the authors are funny and don't blog about writing. And there's the answer to your other question: there are a billion authors out there all blogging about the same writing issues time and time again and, unsurprisingly, the billionth hasn't said anything original. And writing processes are a bit like dreams - interesting to the dreamer, but not to anybody else.

    Mind you, I did blog about writing when I first started, mostly because that seemed the logical thing to do. Then I realised:
    a) An author blog should attract readers, not writers, and guess which camp are more interested in writing?
    b) People loved the posts where I blogged about random, non-writing topics.

    So now I don't blog about writing.

    Why you no follow me? :cry:
     
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  6. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Frankly, you're not that funny. :)


    ETA: And, as I said, I end up reading your posts anyway. I just click on your blog when I think about it. I consume Tender-blogs on MY schedule, not YOURS. I READS WHEN I WANTS!
     
  7. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    That's like a knife in my heart. I'm hiding this thread.
     
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  8. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Sorry, @Aardvark - you're pretty new and we're messing up your thread! We aren't really fighting, I promise.

    I think blogging is hard if you're not a natural blogger. @Tenderiser is, and her stuff is great because it feels comfortable and it's chatty and makes people want to read more of her. My blog is crap because I'm not a natural blogger and about all I do is bitch about how much I hate blogging and then post book covers. I'm not really sure what the solution is, other than possibly hiring Tenderiser to blog for me...
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 27, 2017
  9. Aardvark

    Aardvark Member

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    Yes! That's a part of what I've been thinking about. That is, blogs written by authors attracting readers that aren't writers. I'm also interested in how divergent the blog style is to the author's overall novel style (if the author is a novelist). I've also toyed with the following idea: there may be some readers that prefer one medium over the other, but regardless enjoy the consumption of that author's ideas. Same brain, different propagation.

    Ah! This is interesting. When purchasing books, do you think to check for a blog prior to see whether or not it's worth the read?
     
  10. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    No, I wouldn't deliberately do it. But if I've stumbled across something and it's given me a negative impression, I might remember it.
     
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  11. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    I don't follow any, at least not regularly. I look at
    a random blog once in a while, from someone I
    don't know or from someone who makes a big
    deal about a posting on theirs here.

    I keep a blog in irregular fashion, but I only have
    one follower and get about 3-7 views per post.

    I just haven't found anyone I would want to engage
    in following yet. :)
     
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  12. Trish

    Trish Damned if I do and damned if I don't Contributor

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    I tend to only follow blogs about something I'm interested in pursuing (writing, cooking, gardening, whatever). I like the technical aspect. I also like to know how their process works, what they think, why they did what they did and what made them think to try it.
     
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  13. izzybot

    izzybot (unspecified) Contributor

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    I've toyed with the idea of starting up a blog for reviews, because I genuinely really enjoy dissecting and talking about things I've read (and watched/played, but I expect I'd focus on books), but it also kinda seems like a way to upset other writers and essentially make enemies in the genres I want to pursue when I'm too critical or harsh. Can't decide if it'd be a good idea or not.
     
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  14. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    The PR team at my literary agency advised me to only post positive reviews in my genre under my author name. It makes sense to me, so I've stuck to it. But you could use a pseudonym for your reviews if you don't want to restrict yourself, right?
     
  15. izzybot

    izzybot (unspecified) Contributor

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    Yeah, just not doing anything that might get me in trouble would probably be the best strategy, but I'd feel a bit fake having a blog that's only positive reviews when I love to complain about shit. I thought about having a 'nice' review blog associated with my author name, and a more honest one that's not to pacify my overblown sense of integrity, but ... well it seems like too much effort :rolleyes:
     
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  16. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    I follow @Tenderiser's blog, and also Charles Stross. Tenderiser doesn't blog very regularly, but she's pretty funny when she does. Stross I follow as a reader and a political animal; he's very smart and on top of current affairs. Strangely enough, I tend to skip his posts about writing, although I enjoy his Laundry Files series tremendously, his writing about writing doesn't do much for me.

    I used to read John Scalzi's blog until Redshirts came out. Suffice it to say that when he's writing about political and social issues, I think he's brilliant, but when he's writing to pay the bills (or talking about his own writing), he's pretty insufferably smug.

    That may come back to haunt me at some point in the future, but only if I'm lucky enough to progress to where I come to his attention, so I'm going to hit that little pastel button now.
     
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  17. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Okay, FINE. I'm following Tenderiser now.

    Against my better judgement.

    I hope you're all happy. You've taken the beautiful fluttering butterfly of my interest and locked it in an iron cage of notifications and scheduling. I will now be interested in Tenderiser on Tenderiser's schedule. Because everything always has to be about Tenderiser.

    Humpf. I'm going back to bed.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2017
  18. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Also... really, Tenderiser? You've been attacked by bulls/oxen weighing up to 2 000 kg? Really? Unless "up to" is code for "substantially less than", I think you're stretching it, given that the world's largest bull weighs only 1 887 kg. (source? The redoubtable skynews.com... http://www.skynews.com.au/culture/offbeat/2016/01/10/world-s-largest-bull-found-in-china.html)

    So you tell me, Tenderiser. Were the bulls attacking you some sort of mysterious alien breed that shatter current world records? Or was this another one of your vicious, horrible lies?

    Now. Aren't you glad I'm following you? Aren't you looking forward to future lie-detection on a regularly scheduled basis?
     
  19. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Oh, look. Britain's largest bull, who weight 3 500 lbs. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1090895/Pictured-Field-Marshall-biggest-bull-Britain-stands-6ft-5ins-tall-weighs-BMW.html) That's 1590 kg, Tenderiser.

    I guess you'd better get in touch with the Daily Mail, Tenderiser, and let them know they've been had. There are, in fact, multiple attack bulls weighing significantly more than this poor beast, and they're roaming the green fields of Tenderiser land. The papers must be alerted.

    (Sweet Jesus, please let me sleep! Insomnia is NOT working for me!)

    ETA: Although... the Daily Mail reports that the Field Marshall, the country's largest bull, is so large partly because he's been neutered... which seems to suggest he is not, in fact, a bull... is it possible that the Daily Mail is not quite the bastion of fact-checking and reliability that I have been led to believe it is?
     
  20. Mumble Bee

    Mumble Bee Keep writing. Contributor

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    $5 says @BayView wakes up tomorrow and doesn't remember posting any of this.
     
  21. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    I wish.
     
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  22. Mumble Bee

    Mumble Bee Keep writing. Contributor

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    I think it'd be pretty cool. Like you wake up and don't remember what you did, but can somehow recall interesting facts about bull weight averages in different regions.
     
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  23. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    I think I may write a blog post about the geniuses who made "ton" = 2 000 lbs and "tonne" = 1 000 kg. It just seems like a recipe for confusion about how much bulls weigh...

    ETA: So a one ton bull weighs 909 kg, while a one tonne bull weighs 2 200 lbs? Have I got this right? And when oh when will Imperial measurements die the horrible death they so richly deserve? And when will my brain stop spinning about stupid stuff?

    ETA2: Brain still spinning. Apologies to the OP who was probably looking for an interesting and informative post about improving one's visibility through the practice of blogging. But more importantly... part of the confusion is that one ton (200o lbs) and one tonne (2 200 lbs) are actually so close to each other, weight wise. So we get used to using them interchangeably in casual speech. But then we try to de-ton them and bring them back to lbs/kgs and everything goes wacky. Alternatively, Tenderiser has been exposed to a secret, mutant strain of enormous cattle. Which does fit in with her cryptozoology interests...
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2017
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  24. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    That would actually explain a lot about some of the unsource-able trivia I have bouncing around in my brain...
     
  25. Mumble Bee

    Mumble Bee Keep writing. Contributor

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    Alright, to steer this thread back on track, and maybe keep from scaring @Aardvark away from this site forever:

    Because I'm not the best at doing what I'm told, I listen to a YouTube channel on writing called "Terrible writing advice" and try to do the opposite of what the channel says. The channel only hits on giant over arching ideas, tropes, and the like, but I still find it interesting. Here's an episode for reference.

     
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