Bill Conrad's Blog - Posts Tagged "blogging"
Why I Blog
Well, this is getting kind of silly. I’m now writing about 1 blog a week. The intent of all this blogging is to create buzz and hopefully, this will lead to more book sales. The problem is that this approach isn’t working. The last 5 blogs I wrote got a total of 2 views on Goodreads. Both views were on my blog about writing an intimate scene. It’s clearly understandable why people would be drawn to read that blog.
So why keep it up? As I write this, I am kind of wondering myself. My only answer is that I write blogs in the hopes that my diligent effort will eventually work. Einstein described crazy as, “doing the same thing, over and over, and expecting a different result.” So very true. As I ponder blogging while sitting in front of a lonely computer, I realize that I probably blog more because it’s a creative outlet. But that isn’t the entire truth. For most tasks that I set for myself, I do my best to see them through. Blogging is an essential book marketing tool. To that end, I will keep blogging until I admit that my experiment with being an author has completely failed. Hmm… Is that going to be the subject of my last blog?
Or is it that I just like writing about writing? Writing is something that I’m trying to get better at and blogging is one form of the process. As I write these blogs, there is a certain freedom and enjoyment. It is nice to have a mini story arc that has instant closure. I can just take a subject and go without consequence. I also like to write about the writing process. I like the connection to other writers in this very direct way. I suppose that is why artists go to art museums and musicians go to concerts. In general, I do find writing fun and with some luck, it will eventually pay a few bills. I guess, my short answer is that I blog because I like to write.
Is there another reason I am blogging? Do I want to send some message out? Perhaps take down a few people? Matt and Trey described South Park as “a bullhorn to yell at the world” and they utilize South Park to call out arrogant people doing stupid things. I respect that attitude, and I would really like a blog to do just that, but this blog is not the forum for sending out big negative waves to change society. Why? The main reason is that I don’t like to be that negative blog guy. That person who never has anything positive to write about.
Then there are the readers who I intend to attract to perhaps making a book purchase. The people attracted to reading waves of thoughts aren’t going to want to read my books because my they aren’t full of negatives. Then there is the basic Karma. These words can be read by anybody and they probably will be stored on hard drives for all eternality. I want to be remembered for something good.
If I did choose to blog a bunch of negative thoughts (to those bad people who desperately deserve to be hurt by my negative words) it’s likely that I would have a minor amount of success. The result might hurt the very people that anger me. I have never even met these people and my negative words would make a few people sad. That approach is just not me. I’m more of a positive/logical feedback person. Hey, please stop making bad decisions and here is why. In life, people respond better to positive feedback.
Did I ever want to make my negative or controversial voice known? Sure. Like everybody, I have strong opinions. I see the world, my country, state, city and even my block all slowly going in the wrong direction. If I were to yell about all my negative concepts and describe solutions, these rants would contain the same topics of discussion that are popular on conservative talk radio. Granted, I have it in my head that my opinions are better and I can solve all the world’s problems… Yeah, I’m smart enough to know that reality would prove otherwise.
At first, it was difficult to blog and take the time to come up with new ideas. I felt a lot of pressure to be great. When I got over this initial apprehension, it turned out that I really do like to blog and this is a strange new way to communicate. In general, I do find writing fun and with some luck, it will eventually pay a few bills.
There is still a lot of ground that I would like to cover in my blogs. For example, where I see my writing going, what my next books are going to be about and what books I like to read. My future blogs hold a lot of possibilities. I’m not sure how long I can keep this up. The problem is that I have got to get something going that generates some interest in my books. Otherwise, this experiment in writing will have to come to an end. For now, I’m happy to be a nobody author writing about writing all while knowing that not many people are reading my words.
So why keep it up? As I write this, I am kind of wondering myself. My only answer is that I write blogs in the hopes that my diligent effort will eventually work. Einstein described crazy as, “doing the same thing, over and over, and expecting a different result.” So very true. As I ponder blogging while sitting in front of a lonely computer, I realize that I probably blog more because it’s a creative outlet. But that isn’t the entire truth. For most tasks that I set for myself, I do my best to see them through. Blogging is an essential book marketing tool. To that end, I will keep blogging until I admit that my experiment with being an author has completely failed. Hmm… Is that going to be the subject of my last blog?
Or is it that I just like writing about writing? Writing is something that I’m trying to get better at and blogging is one form of the process. As I write these blogs, there is a certain freedom and enjoyment. It is nice to have a mini story arc that has instant closure. I can just take a subject and go without consequence. I also like to write about the writing process. I like the connection to other writers in this very direct way. I suppose that is why artists go to art museums and musicians go to concerts. In general, I do find writing fun and with some luck, it will eventually pay a few bills. I guess, my short answer is that I blog because I like to write.
Is there another reason I am blogging? Do I want to send some message out? Perhaps take down a few people? Matt and Trey described South Park as “a bullhorn to yell at the world” and they utilize South Park to call out arrogant people doing stupid things. I respect that attitude, and I would really like a blog to do just that, but this blog is not the forum for sending out big negative waves to change society. Why? The main reason is that I don’t like to be that negative blog guy. That person who never has anything positive to write about.
Then there are the readers who I intend to attract to perhaps making a book purchase. The people attracted to reading waves of thoughts aren’t going to want to read my books because my they aren’t full of negatives. Then there is the basic Karma. These words can be read by anybody and they probably will be stored on hard drives for all eternality. I want to be remembered for something good.
If I did choose to blog a bunch of negative thoughts (to those bad people who desperately deserve to be hurt by my negative words) it’s likely that I would have a minor amount of success. The result might hurt the very people that anger me. I have never even met these people and my negative words would make a few people sad. That approach is just not me. I’m more of a positive/logical feedback person. Hey, please stop making bad decisions and here is why. In life, people respond better to positive feedback.
Did I ever want to make my negative or controversial voice known? Sure. Like everybody, I have strong opinions. I see the world, my country, state, city and even my block all slowly going in the wrong direction. If I were to yell about all my negative concepts and describe solutions, these rants would contain the same topics of discussion that are popular on conservative talk radio. Granted, I have it in my head that my opinions are better and I can solve all the world’s problems… Yeah, I’m smart enough to know that reality would prove otherwise.
At first, it was difficult to blog and take the time to come up with new ideas. I felt a lot of pressure to be great. When I got over this initial apprehension, it turned out that I really do like to blog and this is a strange new way to communicate. In general, I do find writing fun and with some luck, it will eventually pay a few bills.
There is still a lot of ground that I would like to cover in my blogs. For example, where I see my writing going, what my next books are going to be about and what books I like to read. My future blogs hold a lot of possibilities. I’m not sure how long I can keep this up. The problem is that I have got to get something going that generates some interest in my books. Otherwise, this experiment in writing will have to come to an end. For now, I’m happy to be a nobody author writing about writing all while knowing that not many people are reading my words.
It’s Difficult Keeping Things Strait
Right now, I am self-editing three books, finalizing an outline for another book, working with editors on a book, thinking about five sequels and send out a weekly blog. To make matters worse, the more I write, the more (fictional) facts are created. On top of that, self-editing adds, changes and deletes facts. All of which are spread over three “franchises” with different writing styles, plots and characters. How do I keep the confusion to a minimum and prevent mistakes? Well…
The short answer is that I rely heavily on my memory. This is not a great answer. My next lines of defense include self-editing, my beta reader and as the last catch, professional editing. In addition, I use a book outline and character biography.
Keeping all of these thoughts together is difficult and there have been problems. A good example of a minor issue is referring to a man as “her.” Readers hate such obvious typos. They feel like they wasted their money. I have also uncovered major errors like deleting a paragraph and duplicating sentences. Very scary.
Continuity problems are harder to uncover. Recently, an editor pointed out a plot issue with a sinking ship. “All the lights went out.” Ten paragraphs later, “They watched the deck lights go underwater.” Oops. At best, a friendly reader will get confused or annoyed. An unfriendly reader will leave a bad review or even demand a refund. Yikes!
What is an author to do? They must try their best to understand their own failings and spend lots of time making sure everything is perfect. Should I be doing more? Some sort of structured fact/logic/grammar check? Develop a big list of facts? Set up a self-editing schedule? A writer can go crazy endlessly checking their work.
Over the years, my approach has changed. I now make four targeted self-editing checks. For example, one pass will only check grammar. However. when I look back at my first book, I cringe over the many errors that slipped through the process. Fortunately, they are related to bad flow and storytelling style. So far, I have not found any logic, plot, continuity or major grammar errors. Big relief.
What big techniques to have I learned? The most important discovery is to begin writing/editing with a clear mindset. I have seen huge errors resulting from the wrong perspective. Secondly, I discovered outlines. As an example, using an outline, I uncovered a fundamental plot problem. It would have been a disaster if I began writing and later discovered the issue.
Are there any mental techniques to be a better writer? If they exist, I have yet to learn about them. Presently my mind is a jumble of thoughts during the writing/editing process. However, I have learned one technique. Before I begin reading/editing, I read over the previous few paragraphs to get a feel for the flow and style.
My mind often struggles to remember all my invented facts. Even remembering all my blogs is difficult. It’s not all bad news. I like the challenge and I see improvements. Or did I just invent that fact? Human minds provide a false sense of security. Wait a minute. Who said that?
The short answer is that I rely heavily on my memory. This is not a great answer. My next lines of defense include self-editing, my beta reader and as the last catch, professional editing. In addition, I use a book outline and character biography.
Keeping all of these thoughts together is difficult and there have been problems. A good example of a minor issue is referring to a man as “her.” Readers hate such obvious typos. They feel like they wasted their money. I have also uncovered major errors like deleting a paragraph and duplicating sentences. Very scary.
Continuity problems are harder to uncover. Recently, an editor pointed out a plot issue with a sinking ship. “All the lights went out.” Ten paragraphs later, “They watched the deck lights go underwater.” Oops. At best, a friendly reader will get confused or annoyed. An unfriendly reader will leave a bad review or even demand a refund. Yikes!
What is an author to do? They must try their best to understand their own failings and spend lots of time making sure everything is perfect. Should I be doing more? Some sort of structured fact/logic/grammar check? Develop a big list of facts? Set up a self-editing schedule? A writer can go crazy endlessly checking their work.
Over the years, my approach has changed. I now make four targeted self-editing checks. For example, one pass will only check grammar. However. when I look back at my first book, I cringe over the many errors that slipped through the process. Fortunately, they are related to bad flow and storytelling style. So far, I have not found any logic, plot, continuity or major grammar errors. Big relief.
What big techniques to have I learned? The most important discovery is to begin writing/editing with a clear mindset. I have seen huge errors resulting from the wrong perspective. Secondly, I discovered outlines. As an example, using an outline, I uncovered a fundamental plot problem. It would have been a disaster if I began writing and later discovered the issue.
Are there any mental techniques to be a better writer? If they exist, I have yet to learn about them. Presently my mind is a jumble of thoughts during the writing/editing process. However, I have learned one technique. Before I begin reading/editing, I read over the previous few paragraphs to get a feel for the flow and style.
My mind often struggles to remember all my invented facts. Even remembering all my blogs is difficult. It’s not all bad news. I like the challenge and I see improvements. Or did I just invent that fact? Human minds provide a false sense of security. Wait a minute. Who said that?
An Important Blog Topic
I have the goal of creating a multi-part blog about how women are poorly portrayed in media. This seems like a reasonable goal. Why not jump right in? Well… This is an important topic and a controversial topic. Does this mean the topic is too difficult to write about? I have given this topic a lot of thought and know exactly how it should be written. Hmm. It seems like I am avoiding the real issue.
In writing this blog, I took some time to think about the subject and identified two obstacles. The first is that I have been waiting until I had enough writing skills to properly tackle this issue. The second reason is a little more complex. I have been preparing for so long that I would have covered all the important topics. Hmm. The human mind is indeed strange.
How should I solve this problem? The obvious answer is to set a date. Fine. I will make this a subject for my next three blogs. Done! Well… I already set a few “hard dates” and they flew by. I even wrote an outline.
Should I disregard the topic? Should I apply more effort? Break it up into stages? Start a new outline? Hmm. I know how my mind works. One day I will get upset (probably by watching another movie where women are mistreated) and start writing.
Perhaps writing this blog will shame me into starting this task. Blogging solved writing issues in my past. If you recall my blog that dealt with writer's block:
http://interviewingimmortality.com/bl...
Will this blog effort rouse up my inner drive? Perhaps. Or is it best to best to procrastinate even longer? It seems like a lazy way to end a blog.
In writing this blog, I took some time to think about the subject and identified two obstacles. The first is that I have been waiting until I had enough writing skills to properly tackle this issue. The second reason is a little more complex. I have been preparing for so long that I would have covered all the important topics. Hmm. The human mind is indeed strange.
How should I solve this problem? The obvious answer is to set a date. Fine. I will make this a subject for my next three blogs. Done! Well… I already set a few “hard dates” and they flew by. I even wrote an outline.
Should I disregard the topic? Should I apply more effort? Break it up into stages? Start a new outline? Hmm. I know how my mind works. One day I will get upset (probably by watching another movie where women are mistreated) and start writing.
Perhaps writing this blog will shame me into starting this task. Blogging solved writing issues in my past. If you recall my blog that dealt with writer's block:
http://interviewingimmortality.com/bl...
Will this blog effort rouse up my inner drive? Perhaps. Or is it best to best to procrastinate even longer? It seems like a lazy way to end a blog.
It’s Difficult to Be an Author
In his most famous speech, JFK said, “We do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard.” I always liked that quote, and I went into writing fully aware of the uphill battle. My biggest concern was poor grammar and spelling. Plus, negative criticism has always been brutal. Yet, I completely missed the mark and have even coined the difficulty.
“Successful authors spend 99% of their time marketing and 1% on other tasks.” Wait a moment. Publishers are supposed to take care of that trivial effort. Nope. Traditional publishing is a dying industry that only supports niche authors. And surprise! Traditional publishers cannot promote their best authors.
For myself, there was no choice but to self-publish. I knew online sites like Amazon would do their best to promote my glorious work. After all, it is in their best interest to promote. Yeah, about that…
After I put my book on Amazon, nothing happened. Even a Google search could not find my book a month later. To make matters worse, an Amazon search yielded “Interviewing for Immortality,” which is a strange self-help book.
This was a harsh reality, and I had to shift my focus to marketing. It has been a long struggle to make some inroads, including blogging, begging for reviews, a website, contacting people, Goodreads posts, my Facebook page, research, and trying new ideas.
Yet, I still have not entirely accepted my 99% goal. (It is not really a goal, but something to strive for.) Presently, I spend 60% of my time self-editing, 30% marketing, and 10% writing. Of the time I spend writing, the majority is spent blogging, a marketing activity. However, I consider this effort to be “writing practice.”
Why is marketing so difficult and time-consuming? I do not have a marketing background and cannot locate a service to help. Many services will take your money. Unfortunately, they are all glorified spam generators. The world has enough spam. Ask them to prove their “return on investment.” None of them can justify the effectiveness of their service.
My only option is to innovate and slog through my existing marketing plan. Yet, I maintain hope. With the right attitude and effort, I will be successful. So, there is a substantial upside. More blogs for my four dedicated readers!
“Successful authors spend 99% of their time marketing and 1% on other tasks.” Wait a moment. Publishers are supposed to take care of that trivial effort. Nope. Traditional publishing is a dying industry that only supports niche authors. And surprise! Traditional publishers cannot promote their best authors.
For myself, there was no choice but to self-publish. I knew online sites like Amazon would do their best to promote my glorious work. After all, it is in their best interest to promote. Yeah, about that…
After I put my book on Amazon, nothing happened. Even a Google search could not find my book a month later. To make matters worse, an Amazon search yielded “Interviewing for Immortality,” which is a strange self-help book.
This was a harsh reality, and I had to shift my focus to marketing. It has been a long struggle to make some inroads, including blogging, begging for reviews, a website, contacting people, Goodreads posts, my Facebook page, research, and trying new ideas.
Yet, I still have not entirely accepted my 99% goal. (It is not really a goal, but something to strive for.) Presently, I spend 60% of my time self-editing, 30% marketing, and 10% writing. Of the time I spend writing, the majority is spent blogging, a marketing activity. However, I consider this effort to be “writing practice.”
Why is marketing so difficult and time-consuming? I do not have a marketing background and cannot locate a service to help. Many services will take your money. Unfortunately, they are all glorified spam generators. The world has enough spam. Ask them to prove their “return on investment.” None of them can justify the effectiveness of their service.
My only option is to innovate and slog through my existing marketing plan. Yet, I maintain hope. With the right attitude and effort, I will be successful. So, there is a substantial upside. More blogs for my four dedicated readers!
