You may have noticed I’ve been offering less original writing these last six months. On Thursdays you’ve been getting extracts, gleaned from my own reading on the writing craft. I transcribe them myself.
This was spurred by my very busy year (personally and professionally) … and by an email.
Some months ago one of my subscribers contacted me. “Your blog is great,” she wrote. “But it comes too often. I feel overwhelmed by it. I don’t want to unsubscribe but I might have to.” In a subsequent exchange, she admitted she knew that conventional wisdom suggests blogging more often to gain readership; she blogs herself.
OK. Hmm. I blog three times a week, and have done so since 2011.
Still, life is nothing if not change … perhaps I’d missed the memo about the new conventional wisdom? I asked my Facebook friends (many of whom are authors, just as the reader in question is) about it, and while some did suggest I slow down, the overwhelming majority of the responders were pleased with the frequency of my blogging. A close friend (also an author) wrote:
I’m pretty sure if someone told me to write fewer books, I’d laugh in her face. I understand that a blog is a different animal, but just because a person doesn’t have time to consume an art doesn’t mean an artist should stop creating. (Emphasis mine.)
Nonetheless, I took the email as a sign. I was tired, I needed to slow down, and the change to quoted material on Thursdays was my solution. I’ve been very specifically careful in these posts to credit the author and the publisher of the book, just as I am careful to cite and link my sources in my Saturday posts. (Indeed, in any and all posts.) WordPress shows a block quote very differently from the rest of the blog template (you can see one above this paragraph, and below it), and I always put the quoted material in a block quote. Visually, I believe it’s unmistakable.
And yet just last week I had another reader (an editor) say this to me in an email:
More often than not I would reach the end of one of your blog posts only to discover it had been reposted by you and actually written by someone else. Often I wouldn’t notice who the author was before I finished reading, and during the whole post I would assume I was reading your personal thoughts and experiences.
This gave me pause.
So let me clarify something right now: I never, ever repost anyone else’s blog, unless it is clearly identified as a guest post.
And then it occurred to me that perhaps newer readers don’t know what I’m doing here. Perhaps it’s time for me to review, eh? Let’s try that.
When I started to blog, I posted once a week on Mondays. I found I had more to say, though—particularly when there was news in the book biz. (It happens!) So I added a Thursday post. Then a friend who’s an experienced blogger told me three times per week was the magic number (which I’d read elsewhere), so I added Saturdays. And, in fact, my readership did increase with the addition of Thursdays and Saturdays.
The latter are always “Short Saturdays”: an introduction to an article I’ve read that says everything just right—it’s so insightful that I have nothing meaningful to add. I introduce it, quote a little piece of it, then link to the article.
Occasionally I run a guest post (the last was in late December 2014), but I introduce them as such. In every case, a reader should be able to tell what I’m up to without having to guess. I’ve been working in the intellectual property business for twenty-five years now, and it’s personally important to me to give credit where credit is due other writers.
I should also add that I blog about books and authors, writing and editing, words and language, and sometimes about the publishing industry. I do write about craft (you can see a list of pertinent posts here) but I believe with all my heart that a writer who wants to grow needs more than just posts about the writing craft.
What do you think? I still have lots of articles I want to write, and I hope my transcriptions are encouraging you to investigate books you might not have read, though I don’t plan to transcribe indefinitely. Leave me a comment if you have an opinion. I’ll still do what I feel like doing. 🙂
Tweet: Just because someone doesn’t have time to consume an art doesn’t mean an artist should stop creating.
Tweet: A writer who wants to grow needs more than just posts about the writing craft.
Tweet: What do you think? More—or less—posts?
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
A Wizard of Oz moment! Toto has pulled away the curtain!
Personally, I like ‘your’ posts better than the transcriptions; not that the latter are uninteresting, but your insights are very valuable to me, and to the writing community (and, yes, I do recognize that your selection of transcriptions does deliver those insights as well).
The “don’t blog so much” email you mentioned puzzles me. I follow many blogs; I try to at least open them in email to get an idea of what the writer’s saying, but I’ve never been overwhelmed by them. It’s my choice to read the post, open the email, or delete unread; but to ask the WRITER to slow down seems somewhere on the far side of weird.
I blog thrice weekly (sometime there’s one extra post, if I’m up to it) and I almost never use other material, but that’s a function of my subject matter.
But whatever you do, I’ll keep reading, because I like you.
Thank you, Andrew!
The good news is *I* like my posts better than the transcriptions too. I’m definitely working to get back to that.
Have to say – given that I have been following you for what must have been a good 2-3 years now maybe longer I class myself as one of your major long term and more importantly, old skool fans – you know I don’t comment here often – but I do always read your posts. I did notice, as it happens. AND I have been patiently waiting the return of the Jamie I know and love. Whilst the transcriptions are nice, they aren’t you. They aren’t the reason I followed you, I followed you, because you’re hilarious, and rant, and brutal with your honesty in a way I want and need in my life. I miss Jamie. No offence to whoever it was that emailed you, but that is more a reflection on their ability or inability to manage time rather than a reflection on the amount u should blog. Don’t listen to anyone else. I adore your blogs, but I do wish you would bring Jamie back…. <3
Hahaha. I am working on bringing the old Jamie up to full speed. 🙂
And thank you!
Too bad for that reader. If she feels overwhelmed, she doesn’t have to read, right? I get the feeling – it has happened to me in busy seasons. But that’s MY problem, not my favorite bloggers’ problem. I always read your own writing and I read many of the quoted pieces, as well. And I find them very clearly marked. You do good work here, Jamie. Helpful and true, honest and funny. Keep ’em coming, okay?
Thank you so much, Diana. 🙂
Having re-blogged my own posts from time to time because of busy seasons, I quite understand your temporary change of pace. And I still read your posts AND transcriptions, because I learn, grow, and improve my craft. I’ve never found anything off-putting or misleading–you’re always quite clear in attribution.
Keep the thoughts coming, friend, and thanks for asking our input! 🙂
Thank you! xox
I find that when I open an update from your blog in my email account, the formatting isn’t there in the short paragraph to show whether it’s your writing or a transcription. It’s only when I click through to your website and see the piece is in italics that I know it’s a transcribed article from another writer. The transcriptions are really interesting but I do prefer the blog posts that come directly from yourself. Your insight is invaluable – like Diana says above, keep them coming!
Ah, of course—the email isn’t formatted (and I have no control over that). But I did have them switched from full text to just a piece of the text, so you HAVE to go to the website. Heh heh. 🙂
Thanks for your encouragement, Susie!
I don’t think it matters what we think; you are writing what you need to write, and some of it will connect, some won’t; some who love your blog might not have time to read every one (ahem, hello) but will be happy to read when she has the chance! 🙂
xoxox 🙂
Your correspondent needs to manage and curate her own life, not your blogging. I prefer your original writing and thoughts, but I do like learning of favorite sites, books, experts, authors, of people I follow, so Short Saturdays and Excerpt Thursdays are still a treat. You should do what works for you. As for the clarity of credit, it is always clear you are quoting in the post, but the preview in my email does not show enough formatting to retain that richness.
Thanks so much for these good words! I shall soldier on! 🙂
I love your blog posts. I often have a question about writing and return to your site to see what you’ve written about the craft of writing. Sometimes I don’t have time to read a post immediately, but I can always go back when I have time. You don’t owe us anything, anything and I’m grateful for all you’ve shared.
Thank you SO much, Shelia!
You can do whatever the hell you like, as long as you keep posting great stuff–whether it’s your own or someone else’s.
You made my day. 🙂
Thank you!