Blog vs. "Q&A" Group

[Anna]

I don't really have time to blog, but I would like a central place where I could place excerpts from essays I've written that appear on various websites. I would also like to answer questions. So, I was thinking that I could start a "Q&A with Anna Olswanger" group, as opposed to using the Goodreads software to start a blog.

Does anybody have thoughts about this? Would it be better to have a blog where I could post excerpts and people could post comments/questions and I could respond, or better to have a "Q&A" group where I could post an "excerpt" and also answer questions.

Thanks for any advice.

[Julie]

Hi Anna
Here are my thoughts.

I just checked out the Q&A guidelines for goodreads it sounds quite ideal for what you are proposing. Goodreads actualy helps you promote the group, and it looks like a fairly simple set up process and the upkeep is basically just posting articles and answering questions.

Blogs are great but they can become an entity in themselves. If you want a long term strategy where you gain a following as a way to promote your agency including your submissions policy, what is hot at the moment etc, as well as your own personal books then investing in a blog is a great idea. There are also professional blogging companies that can help you set it up incorporating all your social medial sites so that you draw traffic and direct it all back to your blog.

For what you have proposed above I think a blog will be a great deal of extra work. A good blog takes time to generate a following and then in order to keep traffic arriving at your blog you have to keep peoples attention by posting frequently.

A simple blog like mine actually doesn't take much to upkeep and the set up through blogger was pretty easy, but my aim was not to garner a large following. I just wanted to document my journey and to be able to interact with other bloggers etc.

Best of luck with whatever you decide, cheers Julie

[Anna]

So, if I were to create a blog, is there any downside to using the Goodreads software and having the blog hosted on this site, as opposed to using some of the other independent software packages like Wordpress or Blogger?

Thanks.

[Julie]

Hi Anna
I am not at all familiar with the Goodreads blog software.
Blogger is pretty simple, but I know from my travels in the blogging world, many Authors have Wordpress blogs. I believe they have more options and seem more comprehensive for management of subscribers comments. Cheers Julie

[Rebecca]

As a Blogger blogger, I agree that Wordpress seems better :p

Not sure if a GR blog is visible outside GR.

[Cheryl]

I don't read any author blogs (but then, I don't read any blogs, period). When I want to know more about an author and what's up in their writing world than what is on the GR author profile, I look for a dedicated website - ie AnnaOlswanger.com. If I don't find that, I might look for a GR Group. I didn't even know GR had internal (?) blogs.

But then, I'm probably not your target audience for this Q&A business, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.