By Marian Perera
The earliest blogs date back to 1995, when dinosaurs stalked the Web, and the word “blog” itself was coined in 1999. Since then, blogs have become increasingly widespread – chances are most of the writers you know will have one. Although a web search for “dangers of blogging” brings up a surprising number of problems, there’s no denying the usefulness of a blog.
Do the pros outweigh the cons, though? I decided to look into that.
Pros of blogging
1. Ideas
My blog is mostly about fantasy writing, so all I need to do is start out with a topic – say, five unusual uses for mushrooms – and my imagination goes into overtime. Under no pressure to write a story, I just let the ideas flow.
2. Writing skills
To gain readership, a blog requires content on a regular basis, so that’s regular writing – which has to be as typo-free and grammatical as possible. I have a habit of writing in long paragraphs, but I learned from blogging that bite-sized pieces go down better than slabs.
3. Promotion
The results of those improved writing skills can be showcased for clients or editors or readers on a blog. They have an idea of what they’ll get when they buy your article or your book.
4. Connection and inclusion
Promotion also occurs through social networking, and a blog is a way to be part of such a network. Writing is usually a solitary activity, whereas blogging lets us be part of a community or make online friends.
5. Returns, financial and otherwise
For most of us, blogging doesn’t generate income – or at least, not significant income – but blogs can make a difference in other ways. I’ve been emailed by writers who thanked me for a post on vanity publishing, and it was great to know I’d given something back to a community which has helped me.
But there’s a reverse side.
Cons of blogging
1. Time sink
My blog takes a time to maintain and update, and I know some writers who have taken leaves of blogging so that they could use the time to work on their writing. It’s possible to compensate – I compose posts on the subway, where I can’t write. In the end, though, that’s often time spent on doing something other than writing.
2. Illusion of writing
And yet blogging can make you feel that you are writing, which can be another problem. Sometimes I have to remind myself that writing about writing isn’t writing. There are many benefits to it, but blog posts are not what publishers will buy.
Blogging is easy compared to writing. Posts are short and don’t have to be as polished as work submitted to publishers. Commenters offer quick acknowledgement and praise, whereas agents rarely do.
It’s a temptation. I don’t always resist.
3. Lower standards
The ease of blogging may lead some writers to take less care with their posts than they would take with their articles or manuscripts. But if I see multiple errors or typos, I’ll assume the writers don’t care about putting their best feet forward. It won’t make me look for anything else they’ve written.
4. Inappropriate disclosure
This would be the danger of using a blog as an online diary. Blogs may have begun that way, but you may not want potential agents to read your diary. Mentioning that a manuscript was rejected eighteen times is unlikely to make an editor reverse the trend.
And using a blog to vent just comes off poorly. Controversy is good – spirited discussions on publishing, such as those on J. A. Konrath’s blog, attract people – but that’s not the same as a writer complaining about a poor review online.
Even if such posts are removed later, the Internet is forever. Our audiences may be larger than we know, and they may also contain people like the writer who called me at my home because he took offence to a post on my blog.
I enjoy blogging and I’m grateful for the blogs which have educated me, helped promote my book and given me a connection with other writers. But the disadvantages are real. And if blogging ever becomes a chore, a problem or a serious distraction of writing, then it’s time to re-evaluate.
Marian Perera's first novel, BEFORE THE STORM, was released earlier this year, and she blogs at Flights of Fantasy when she's not working on a sequel.
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