Here's the [link] to it.
It makes a lot of sense. And I found myself guilty of it, to an extent. I will get onto that thought pattern then I try to squash it down. Like when I decided to make a blog. I wanted it to become popular, for people to want me to post daily about stuff they could probably care less about. I wanted people to love my writing through this. But as I was searching through other writing blogs, I noticed that hardly none of them have any comments on them or have barely any followers. So I decided that that didn't matter. What will matter is when (if) I get popular and as part of the deal I have to have a blog. This is my blog. I'll be ahead of the game! Go me!
Her post links to a post Nathan Bransford made, and I like what she had to say about it. Bransford's post is nice, but what got me on hers was this:
It's like we define our success based on how many followers we have on Twitter, or how many hits we get on our material, and if we get X number of followers and Y number of people pay attention to our online presence, then tada! We're successful. But it shouldn't be that way.I like that. It not only makes me feel less crazy for thinking that way, but makes me feel better for trying to squash it down.
I guess, a bit reason I'm posting this, and what she said, is because one of the first thoughts that went through my head was how my dad seems to be viewing it that way, in a sense. He sends me texts about how many hits his blog has gotten. I knew he wants it to be a popular blog but... I wonder how bad that could turn out if it doesn't take off. I don't know, just the way I see it.
I'm happy to just be actually keeping up with this and having the few people who look at it, look at it.
OK, so this wasn't so much about writing directly, but who cares? It's my blog. This clicked in my brain and I wanted to share it. Now go read her post cause it sounds SO much better than mine!
Laters!
Posts
I understand what you're saying, but I text about my hits just because I'm kinda proud of them. Yes, I want to have my blog be successful, but only as an aid to my writing career. In all actuality, what I expect is that the blog won't be very successful until I get published, if even then, and then people will maybe get curious about who I am and what I have to say. I won't be disappointed if hundreds of people don't follow me. I'd much rather have hundreds of people buy my books.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I have a blog as part of my writer's platform, so I would like it to get attention. That's why every time I post an entry I go over to Facebook and let everyone know. It's just part of my publicity. If I can get noticed online, maybe it'll give me a better chance of getting noticed for publication.
So it's not so much a popularity contest as it is a publicity campaign. Your comments (and those of Qzie) were thoughtful, though.
Gil
In my defense, I was half dead when I wrote that. Not really thinking clearly.
ReplyDeleteGil- more power to ya! :) I just meant that we shouldn't be like, "I would be happy/successful if I got # hits" and such. That's all.
Also, Jesimarie, thank you so much for the link and thoughtful response! :D I'm glad you were able to make sense of my post.
I (shamelessly) keep a Twitter and blog for motivation and procrastination reasons (probably more of the latter). It is nice to be able to look at other people's blogs and just stay motivated and excited to keep going. That's what makes it fun. I don't care if I get one or a million and one followers on my social networks, though it can be helpful to have a large following/fanbase if you want people to be aware of your books.
ReplyDeleteQzie - I liked what you said in your post, even if you were half dead when you wrote that :P
ReplyDeleteKnuxchan - If you've got books out, I can see wanting/needing a big following, but if you're (in the broad use of 'you' not singular 'you') like the most of us, wanting the big numbers could damper your mood. I agree with using blogs to stay motivated though.