I Can Write A Better Blog Than You (And Other Deceptively Simple Fallacies)

Before I ever wrote a single sentence in my novel, I read hundreds written by other authors. To my embarrassment, I remember thinking on many occasions, "I could write a better novel than this one." Well, one day I decided to back up my words. Even though I did complete the task of writing a novel, I learned that my hubris was so off base.



Now, I applaud the authors who write great stories with the skill of making it look simple. Having gone through the writing process and knowing what's involved, I'm awed by the things that writers go through behind the scenes to breathe life into their book; things that most people will never see. These are the same things that make a daunting task like completing a novel look deceptively simple to people who don't understand what's really involved in bringing a book to market.



The same is true about blogging. Unless someone operates a blog, they cannot really understand what's involved in making daily posts look simple. I am of the opinion that if most bloggers really understood before they started blogging what they would have to do in order to have a successful blog, it would scare them away from blogging in the first place. 



In fact, most things in life work this way. Anything worth doing usually takes a lot more work than what people see when they look at the end results. Those talented enough to make it look easy to the people enjoying the fruit of their labor are people worthy of praise.



I concede that you may be able to write a better blog than me, but if you do, I will have no disillusion of what you did behind the scenes to do it. I will tip my hat to you with the sincere praise that you deserve.



While no one has actually told me that they could publish a better blog than me, having done this for a few years has given me a deeper respect for those who take the first few steps on the journey of being a blogger. Just as I now understand and respect the behind-the-scenes work that every author engages in to bring their book to fruition, so do I respect and understand what every blogger goes through to keep their blog going.



Every reader has the right to criticism a book, a blog, a poem, a song, a painting and anything else that poeple create for public consumption. I really believe that. But we all need to take any criticism with a grain of salt. And as the creator of a blog, a book, or any other creative work, we need to remember that most people will never know what really goes into creating a work. Regardless of what people may say, you have a lot of reasons to hold your head up high for the work you do.





Contest Update:



The winner in yesterday's daily mini-prize package is Peter D Cox. Join with me in congratulating Peter . He won the following prizes:



April 26th

BookBuzzr- 3 Month Author Pro Subscription

Phyllis Zimbler Miller- 8 Social Media Marketing Mistakes

Tony Eldridge- Conducting Effective Twitter Contests PDF Download



Today is day six and we have a great daily prize package in addition to the amazing grand prize package. To enter for a chance to win today's daily prize and the Grand Prize package, visit the official contest page.





Today's daily mini prize package is:



April 27th

Shaila Abdullah- Existing Website Review/ New Website Consultation

Dana Lynn Smith- 10 Steps to Online Networking Success for Authors and Publishers

Tony Eldridge- Conducting Effective Twitter Contests PDF Download

Remember, visit the official contest page to see how easy it is to enter for your chance to win some amazing prizes.



Other News



1. Kat Smith and I will be will be in Richardson, TX. on Saturday, April 30th from 9 am to 1 pm to conduct a workshop entitled, "How To Market Your Book And You." You can register at the Writer's Guild of Texas site. You can also read Kat's guest post last month titled, 20 Tips For Performing Best Selling Interviews. All who attend the workshop will receive my PDF of Conducting Effective Twitter Contests and Kat's The Naked Author, a $35 value.



2. On Monday, I was the guest on Jo- Anne Vandermeulen's Blog Talk Radio show, "Authors Articulating with Jo-Anne Vandermeulen". If you missed the show, you can listen to it on demand anytime. We discussed writing, publishing and marketing tips, packing a lot into this 30 minute program.





 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect , an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests .