Saturday, October 18, 2008

All about blogs


I like blogs. They’re like an online newspaper, except geared to issues that I enjoy, and I enjoy being able to contribute something to my own small corner of the blogosphere.

I thought of having a website, but although a friend was kind enough to set up a site for my secret identity, the only way to transfer information from my hard drive to that site was to do something with “ftp”, and that gave me a headache. I confess: I am a computer illiterate. Blogs seemed as though they might be a little less challenging, and so far, this one has been. Write, post, check the Bare Bones Guide to HTML to figure out how to right-justify something, correct a typo. Even I can handle that.

Then there’s content. I like talking about writing (technically, writing about writing), and doing reviews. There are countless blogs which provide information and advice on different aspects of writing and the industry – insider viewpoints from agents like Miss Snark and Kristin Nelson and from editors and editorial assistants (if you haven’t yet read the story of Moonrat’s lunch with an author, check it out). I’d love to find blogs from other people in the industry, though – cover artists, slush pile readers, copyeditors, publicists. Publishing is fascinating.

Blogs from writers are just as much fun to read. I like tips and advice, but funny family stories are a welcome relaxation and make a personal connection between author and readers.

The only kind of blogs I don’t enjoy are those which are difficult to read (e.g. purple text on a black background) or those which are only or mainly about promotion of the author’s books – descriptions of the books, the latest reviews they got, where they can be bought or even the main characters from the books chatting with each other. Promotion is great, but there needs to be another reason for me to read the blog.

So, for my hundredth blog post, here is a post about blogs.

Now, back to writing.

10 comments:

JH said...

This needs a "meta" tag.

Becky Mushko said...

I'm so glad you like "talking about writing" because I have learned so much from your posts. Thank you for sharing your experiences and your ideas with the rest of the blogosphere.

colbymarshall said...

Love to read blogs...but blogs I don't love to read are the ones where the authors post something every other day along the lines of "can't think of anything to post" I just want to say, "So why are you posting, then?!"

Addis said...

Congrats on reaching the century mark.

You got a good thing going here and I enjoy reading your insights into the writing process.

ChristaCarol Jones said...

Hey you! I love that you love blogging about writing, too. You're an inspiration for me to be able to offer wise advice when it comes to this industry. And thanks for your comment, I am ready for whatever is thrown at me! But just because I'm ready doesn't mean I won't stress. Besides, comes naturally with pregnancy hormones, right? ;) Have a great week!

Jewel Allen said...

Happy 100th!

You look much younger than that, btw:-).

I think the most wonderful thing I like about blog-technology is being able to contact practically anyone associated with fiction-writing. I mean, authors! Editors!

It's amazing, really.

Marian Perera said...

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I'm glad you're my readers. :)

Becky - it means a lot to me to get such positive feedback. I didn't start a blog until earlier this year because there's so many good, informational blogs out there from agents, editors and published writers. It felt strange to do the same thing when I wasn't one or the other (yet). But I'm glad I did.

Christa - it's a Zeno's Paradox kind of thing. At each stage of revision, we move that much closer to perfection, but we never actually reach it. And, since writing is never subjective, the definition of "perfection" will vary. :)

Anonymous said...

"A man washing a woman’s hair (as long as she isn’t moaning as though she’s in a shampoo commercial)"

You mean Herbal Essence Shampoo really doesn't grant orgasms? Darn!

Anonymous said...

Oops! My comment was supposed to go under the "Bathing Scene" Post. Looks just a tad out of place here. lol

As for this post- I, too enjoy reading about your writing process. It's always great to hear other writer's experiences in this mad art and business.

Marian Perera said...

Maybe that's why the instructions tell us to "rinse and repeat" - that way we have multiples. :D