(More) Mistakes That Writers Make
On today’s edition: mistakes writers make with their blogs.
If you’re a regular follower of this blog, then you know I’m a big fan of doling out unsolicited advice. Which has come with some of its own negative consequences, which in turn seem to be the price of having an opinion about anything in this country. On the whole, most of us seem to like yes men; and prioritize their ass kissing above the genuine care embodied in some well thought out advice. People who aren’t invested in your success don’t bother to correct you.
One of my favorite pieces of advice to give and, oddly, one of the more controversial is to design (or pay someone else to design) a decent website and keep it updated. A lot of writers tell me that’s “not how they work” or the blog post isn’t a form they’re interested in pursuing, writing-wise. Then they turn around and ask me how to sell books. Or they ask me how I’ve sold so many books. Which reminds me a lot of the response I get when people ask me how I lost the weight. I work out, I tell them, and I restrict what I eat. Not to expensive packets of protein powder, or the latest fad diet, but to healthy things free of refined sugar. Like hummus. They’re invariably disappointed, not because I gave them advice that isn’t valuable but because I gave them advice they didn’t want. Nobody wants to hear “I worked hard,” when it comes to weight loss; just like nobody wants to hear “leave your comfort zone” when it comes to writing.
To get results you haven’t gotten before, you have to take action you haven’t taken before.
It’s as simple as that.
I’ve been wrong before. Back when I was a lawyer, I didn’t win every case. I’ve been with my husband for about a decade now–we got together young–and my years of being married have also taught me a great deal about how wrong I can be. And, too, about how useful it is to recognize when you are wrong. You succeed more in the end by recognizing when you’ve made a mistake, learning from that mistake, and moving on than you do from woodenly refusing to admit that you’re capable of fault because your pride won’t let you.
And the fact is, when it comes to writing a blog, a lot of people are–in my opinion–doing a lot of things wrong. And by people I mean writer people and by wrong I mean they’re approaching the exercise in such a way that it’s not serving them. This should be obvious, but it’s not, so I’m going to spell it out: the purpose of your blog is to sell prospective readers on your writing.
The three biggest issues I have, when I read (some) other writers’ blogs, are these:
Bad writing.
Formulaic, repetitive content.
Nothing personal.
Let’s discuss these in turn, shall we?
So many blog posts I discover are unclear, hard to follow or, indeed, actually impossible to follow. They drone on and on without really saying anything; by the end, if I can make it that far, I have absolutely no friggin’ clue what the author was trying to tell me. This is not a good thing. As a prospective reader, it makes me dread your book. If you can’t tell me, cogently and coherently, about something as simple as what you think about your sales rank on Amazon, then why am I going to trust you to spin a real story?
Which brings me to my second point about bad writing. A negative post here and there is fine. But if literally all you have in your repertoire is bashing other writers, then I’m going to wonder if you actually have a voice. Are you writing because there’s a story inside you that simply needs to get out, or are you writing because you think it’s a quick way to make a buck? Most aspiring writers seem to think that writing is a quick path to riches. It isn’t. Neither is writing easier than, say, going to college, going to law school, securing a job at a law firm and actually practicing law. Trust me, I know. If you want, or for whatever reason need to bash other writers, then confine that to your journal. Your website is your public face. This is where you put your best foot forward; where you tell me, and the rest of the world, who you are and what you’re about. If who you are is comparing yourself to other people, then–whatever your true intentions, or however you perceive yourself–you come across like a troll.
Don’t tell me what’s wrong with the prose of writers who are more successful than you. Don’t dwell on their comparatively larger bank accounts. There really is more to life than comparing yourself to other people.
And, as a writer, at some point you simply have to face the fact that they may be more successful than you because they have something original to say and you don’t. You can’t prove how original you are by telling people, I’m so original. You can only do it by actually being original. And insulting your prospective fans’ poor taste isn’t going to make friends and influence people. Yes, my favorite novel is Ulysses. But I also love Richard Laymon and Stephenie Meyer. They’re both fantastic storytellers, and I’m confident enough–and educated enough–to take a good story where I find it. Thinking that the only “real storytelling” out there is found between the pages of a New York Times book review is letting someone else do your thinking for you. It’s a rookie mistake.
Which brings me to my second issue: formulaic content. Why are you writing, if you have nothing to say? Being a writer means being in tune with the world around you. If the world around you bores you, and the people in it bore you, then you probably shouldn’t try to write professionally. Writing is about connecting with other people. And not connecting them to you, but connecting them to your characters through you. Which means understanding how people tick, which means caring how people tick.
You have to remember that prospective readers are judging you. Come across like a Johnny One Note, and that’s what people are going to assume is in your books. I can’t tell you how many websites seem to consist of content mainly related to the idea of my book is the best, buy my book. Well yes, that’s nice, but…why? People don’t simply drop their hard-earned cash because you tell them to. There’s something like fifteen million books for sale on Amazon right now; are any of those authors saying, don’t buy my book, it’s terrible?
Yes, tell people about your books–but really tell them about your books. What your books are about, and why they should care. Provide excerpts. Discuss your creative process–from concept formation to publishing and everything in between. Solicit feedback from your readership. Pay attention to which posts are most popular, and write to trend. I didn’t intend, when I started this blog, to write so much about the actual nuts and bolts of writing but the demand was huge. Which, of course, led to my writing a book on writing.
And learn from the feedback you get–both on your website and through your sales ranks. Not every book you write is going to be equally popular. Yes, you’re writing for you, and still write those books, but at the same time be honest with yourself about your goals. If your goal is to be a commercial success, then you need to focus on playing to your strengths. Your strengths, here, being determined by your readership–or lack thereof. As a storyteller, your job is to captivate the attention of your readership–not reeducate them about what they “should” like.
Finally, tell me about yourself. Who are you, apart from your writing, and why should I care? Knowing something about you helps me to connect with you on a deeper level which, in turn, might be the deciding factor in whether I try your book.
