Hello, again. It’s Suz. And guess what? My post will have absolutely nothing to do with any of these things:
1. Sex
2. Love
3. Romance
4. Edgy YA
But just mentioning them might have this pop up in a few searches. Haha Okay, seriously. Blogging/Vlogging-How important do you think it is for authors to maintain a blog? There are websites of course, which can be costly. But when you go to your favorite author's blog, what type of information or other fun stuff are you looking for?
Is a blog where you can learn more personal information about the author, or would you prefer to just read book related material? Please, those who have one, share.
Me? I like to read about:
1. Sex
2. Love
3. Romance
4. Edgy YA
HAHA. Love you!
-Suzanne Young
.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Name: Andrew Carmichael
Name: Vanessa Concannon
Name: Trish Doller
Name: Bethany Griffin
Name: Amanda K. Morgan
Name: Hannah Moskowitz Esq. (I have no idea what esq. means, but I like it.)
Name: Sage
Name: Sasha Vivelo
Name: Sophie Wereley
Name: Suzanne Young
12 comments:
Oh, Suz. :)
I don't keep a personal blog. If I'm ever at the point in my career where someone asks for a website, I believe I'll point them right here. I'm more than proud of this blog, and I think it's valuable to have so many viewpoints here in one spot.
What I like:
1. funny personal stuff
2. book related stuff
3. Q&A
Okay, so I really like a little bit of everything. Honestly though, I don't think I could ever maintain a blog. I'm to lazy and would go into fits of panic over what to write about. My plan when the time comes: get a website.
Oh, and I like everything but stupid press-release stuff. I can find that anywhere.
I like a mix of book-related stuff and personal stuff. Kinda like it's nice to get to know the author, but I came because of the novels, so that's probably what I'm looking for. Some authors also blog about the writing process, and I think that's lots of fun (even though of course, we already have experience with the writing process ;) )
Having a website is pretty much essential. Having a blog should be. I'm not really down with blogs supplementing websites, though--websites aren't that costly and are probably one of the best investments you could make as an author. And group blogs supplementing an author website or blog is also not my cup of tea. When I'm looking for specific information I don't want to wade through a community blog full of authors, I'm only looking for one. I think it's really important to carve out a space that is about you and targeted to people who want to know more about you.
Lots of authors aren't into the blogging thing because it's really time consuming (it's true, it's a lot of work to maintain an interactive online presence) but with new platforms like tumblr, which demand less of both blogger and reader, there's really no excuse to not dip your toes in to some extent. Not having a blog is almost like cutting off your nose to spite your face--why block yourself off from potential readers? Many readers are going to find you online before they find you in the bookstore and lots of them will base their interest in your work with what you put out online. If you're putting nothing out there, what's going to entice them?
I want reach as many readers as I can so I'm always interested in my maximizing my web presence. What do I want out of an author blog? A mix. I'm looking for a sense of person, I'm always down for publishing tidbits and news. I think it's important important important for authors to remember that there is a difference between getting personal and being personable. Oversharing makes me cringe. Platforms like livejournal tend to give a false sense of security and intimacy. Meg Cabot is a fabulous example of a perfect author blog. If they could all be like hers, the internet would be a beautiful place.
YAY! Courtney's returned. :) On websites, if an author can do it themselves, it might not be too expensive, but hiring a webdesigner can be. (Thanks brother David)
I, too, cringe at overinformation. I was joking about wanting sex on a blog. I have plenty of other places to look first. ;) I want funny stuff. If a blog is not funny, I DON'T READ IT. I also like to know what the author is up to, new projects, tours, stuff like that.
I think blogging/vlogging can be really important. It forges connections between authors and can really market an author pre-publication (not to mention after). I can't tell you what amazing connections I've made thanks to my first Vlog. Within in DAY of it, no less. On a website, I like to see a good balance of info about the author and about the books. :)
Hopefully not too important, since I only remember to update it once a week.
Generally what I like in a blog:
Needs to be funny
Sometimes stories
Bullets: easy formatting.
But generally, I just like to know that there's a real human behind all that paper.
I like blogs where the author says stuff about themselves, their lives, random things, etc. Stuff about their books is good, too, but if it's all about books I think I'd stop reading. Mostly because I'll buy the book, most likely, and I don't want to read lots of it before hand or...well, I'm not sure what.
Great topic!! I'm with Andrew, if a blog is all about the author's books rather than his or her life, I don't read it very often. I'm all for updates about books and such, but funny stories and insight into the author is much more fun to read. If I'm already on the author's site, then I've probably already read their books and like them. If not, then funny posts about themselves are more likely to sell me on their writing - I can get a book description on Amazon, after all.
I like a combo.. A little of this, a little of that.. :)
All of the blogs on my blogroll, save one, are writing blogs, whether personal author websites, agent websites or blogs like this.
I experimented early on with reading blogs just for fun or just about people's days but thanks to my OCD, I get a little nuts with checking them systematically so when it was taking me hours to check blogs that weren't about anything, I decided I was wasting my time. Even if I like the person, they have a great voice, great sense of humor, if all they're providing is their day to day life, or little more, I don't see a point in reading it. I'm also not a fan of reality TV and I think the two play together.
I seek out blogs for a specific purpose.
As for authors having blogs, I've seen agents reiterate that it's not important until you're published. If you have nothing to build an audience for, then there isn't much of a point in wasting valuable writing time building an audience. It's working backwards, really. A band doesn't really have fans before they cut their first song, do they?
If you want to then that's your prerogative but it's not necessary until you actually have something to promote (i.e., yourself). Unless you have tens of thousands of hits on your blog a day (or more), it's not going to make a different preemtively in the publishing world.
Post a Comment