This topic is one that has been giving me a lot of pause for thought recently. I subscribe to a lot of blogs. I get an email telling me every time a post comes through, and I really want to read them. I don’t just subscribe to a blog for no reason. However, when these emails come through, I read but a select few. This needs to change.
I am aware of the importance of reading blogs. I am a big believer in the saying ´You have to be a reader to be a writer’ It therefore goes without saying that in order to be a good, and effective blogger, you need to read other people´s blogs. Obviously, the two theories are not mutually exclusive. One can blog about anything, that is part of the beauty of it. However, to be a writer, one must, in the modern-day also be a blogger. This is especially imperative with regards to Independent Writers. We few, we few we happy few we band of nut-jobs. We undertake everything on our own, and so need to be, not just the wearer of many hats, but the master of all trades that these items of headwear represent.
As a result, I need to make sure that I visit more blogs in the coming months. Not that there is a time limit in terms of duration. Really, I should just say that I need to pick up the pace effective immediately.
I should start reading more blogs, especially the ones I subscribe to. I should leave more comments. Why? Not because it is good for me, or for spreading my name… oh wait, it is… but I do it because it is a sign of recognition. You are letting the writer know that you have read their post, that you appreciate their effort.
The other thing is, it doesn’t just do to visit the same ten blogs each week and leave comments. Sure people will see your name, but after a while the well of new visitors will begin to dry-up. Migrant traffic will keep the bottom damp but that is it. It is vital to ensure that you visit different blogs. You don’t have to subscribe, just pop along and read a post of two.
#Hashtag searches on Twitter are a great place to start. I would recommend #ROW80 if you are looking for some writerly conversation and a general sense of literary companionship, #Amwriting for general writing themed articles, or #MyWana for a range of topics that can provide not only great reading, but also create friendships and result in very entertaining (and occasionally random) conversations.
Facebook is another tool. There are so many groups out there, you can easily find a few that have topics that interest you. Join them, or give them a browse and you will soon find a new world of blog posts opening up before your eyes.
The one thing I have always been bad at, is searching for blogs. A good old Google search on a subject that you enjoy is all it takes. Yet, for some reason I always forget about it. That being said, as I am making an effort to improve, I have already bookmarked a number of posts I intend to read.
What i have done, and may possibly work for you too, is to combine things. I am interested in getting more traffic to this site, in increasing sales of my novel Highway to Hell (which is now just 99 cents… oh that was shameless) and also about a secret project I am working on. Well, lo and behold, there are literally thousands of blog posts out there that meet or at least hold the promise of meeting my requirements.
This gets me reading blogs, and commenting of course, it expands my online social circle and also helps me move forwards in other areas.
So tell me, other than this incredible source of information and entertainment, are you a good blog visitor? Do you click the links that blogs offer, or do you just read the information on the page in front of you?
Official Site of Alex Laybourne - Author 
I think I’m a linker. If an article or post interests me for whatever reason and is well written I tend to be curious about what else it/the author may have to offer. So off I go, clicking all the way 🙂
9/10 I end up somewhere else and discover something useful that I would not have known how to google for. A good example of this is StoryBox, the writing software I now use. I remember getting so frustrated with Word after yet another crash that I started googling for writing tools but of course I had no idea what the correct terminology was. Nonetheless after about 1/2 an hour of determined clicking as I tracked down leads I ended up on the yWriter site. Tried that one but it wasn’t quite what I wanted so I went looking for reviews of yWriter. One reviewer mentioned StoryBox and posted a link. And voila! One happy camper.
Phew…that was the long way around but yes, I’m a great believer in following links 😀
Thanks for commenting Andrea.
The is certainly an interesting point with the whole progression of thought and links. I actually have a post planned for tomorrow that develops it even further.
I downloaded ywriter to use for my upcoming novel, but mainly because it was free and had some good reviews. I’ve never really heard of storybox. Now I am definitely going to have to check it out.
lol I love StoryBox and have a done a review of it on my blog under Writing I think. I’m not getting a kick back from the developer I just like the app. 😀 From memory you can try it for ever and a day but you’ll get little reminders to buy. Mark – the developer – is a writer too so if you like it maybe buy it one day.
I have grabbed my free copy and can’t wait to see what it is all about. If I like it, I will certain look to buy a copy.
Yay! Just remember – it’s all modular so you can display as much or as little as you want but it will all still be there in the background if you need something not currently displayed. Enjoy!
I am an unpublished (due only to my first novel being unfinished) writer and therefore I am quite selfish and needy. I have no time and am completely unorganised with the little time I have, which I fill with looking after my kids(a lot), partner(a little) and home (a bit) and working and writing….I’ve also started painting again after much encouragement from the other half. The selfish, neediness means I can’t, until I’m published and rich and can pay others to select fabulous stuff and read to me, find any time to dedicate to others writings unless I feel I may benefit a little… by this I mean get inspired to keep writing by enjoying others thoughts and musings so much that I feel compelled to keep going. That’s why I don’t read or comment enough on others blogs. http://theinvisiblewomanuk.blogspot.com is my neglected blog. When I started it, it felt like I had my own magazine and I was loyal and ferociously enthusiastic, to the point of obsession but alack alas, it has dwindled recently….and horrifyingly all my fans seem to be able to muddle along quite happily without it!
The gits.
I hear you on that one Deb. My life is a nonstop hectic blur at times. With three kids (soon to be 4) running around and the eldest is only 5, a full time job (8.5 hours a day) and a 90 minute all around commute each day, added to helping out around the house, grocery shopping, working on my novel(s) reading and promoting my published work, blog reading is often something that got left by the wayside. Today, my first day back at work after easter for example has totally removed all blog reading opportunities for me. Not to mention my daughter was awake at 5.15, which is normally my ‘me’ time. That glorious hour between 5 and 6 am.
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to leave a comment on my blog. I feel honored.
I’m new to blogging and find reading blogs a daunting venture because it’s so time-consuming. How does one find interesting/helpful blogs to read without spending so many hours looking?
I am sure that there is a trick to it, but sadly, I do not know it. If you happen to figure it out please let me know 🙂
Hi, Alex. I have to sort through so many blog posts each week. I couldn’t possibly read each and every one. I try and jump on the few that spark an interest each day, and also try and make a point to visit when I know I haven’t been to that blogger’s site in weeks. I’m hoping that by touching base with all of my ‘net pals periodically along one or more of the social sites that we’ll all stay connected.
Now, finding time to write…that’s another question entirely.
-Jimmy