These are my thoughts on various trends that have me rolling my eyes, raising my eyebrows and in general wondering about the state of book blogging. I’ve discussed readathons, giveaways, blog hops, rules and reasons to start blogging, followers, comments, overdoing guest blogging, and reviewing.
I was sitting in a conference at work one day, one which was trying to teach me all about becoming a better manager and dealing with difficult employees, and I was struck by this idea of improving oneself. There are literally millions of how-to books out there, as well as employer-sponsored training, that are designed to help one improve one’s work skills. In fact, at most places of business, attending such training is all but mandatory. Now, jump to one’s personal life. Do we, or do we not, also strive to improve outside of work? We attend classes, seek out lessons, and practice, practice, practice to improve in whatever area we want – cooking, exercise, rock climbing. Is this because we are driven to get better or because of the lure of a challenge?
A few weeks ago, I discussed the importance of having a well-written blog and being professional in everything written. Writing well is a skill that takes time and practice to learn. Then I started thinking, even if a large majority of bloggers never hope to/ plan to/ expect to make any money from blogging, should we or should we not approach blogging in a similar fashion as we do other passions? If I want to be a better cook, I will take cooking lessons and will practice at home with my family as my guinea pigs. Do I owe it to myself and to my readers to work on improving my writing skills as well? Better yet, if I hope to portray myself as a professional writing hobbyist, can I do this without working on improving my writing? Even if it is just a hobby, does it not necessitate the same drive to improve as in other areas of our lives? If it does not, why not? Why is blogging “just a hobby” but rock-climbing or running is not? Is there such a thing as just a hobby?
I ask this because I do feel that bloggers get a bum rap some times. Everyone from Mommy bloggers to book bloggers to fashion bloggers and beyond are stereotypically viewed as somewhat anti-social, shy people who feel their words are important and feel the need to share them with the Interwebz. In spite of their popularity and power to influence the masses, I feel that certain people still view blogs as whims or delusions of grandeur. It is almost as if no one expects a blogger to strive to improve, and I cannot help but feel that poorly written blogs only perpetuate this stereotype.
I throw these thoughts out there because it is something with which I have wrestled for quite some time now. Having never considered myself a writer, it was an epiphany for me to realize that even though I am not published in the traditional sense, through blogging successfully for almost three years now I really am one. Don’t get me wrong; I have no desire to write a novel of any sort. I just want to put forth the best blog posts that I can. Yet blogging is the one area of my life that I have ignored when it comes to self-improvement. Is this fair? Is this a good representation of who I am, especially when I strive to improve in everything else I do? If I do hope to improve my writing skills, is writing posts enough? Are there other exercises I should be doing?
What do you think?
I can see your point. I know that the main attraction to blogs is the personal reactions and non-professional reviews. However, don't you think that the so-called professional reviewers may do better if they were to embrace their bias as well? For me, no one can review anything and not include their preconceived ideas and experiences. Wouldn't their reviews mean more if they were to acknowledge them every once in a while? What makes them the professionals and us bloggers the non-professionals?
LOL! Maybe I am psychic?!? 😉
I think writing on a blog or website is intensely personal, which is why we tend not to think of ourselves as writers. That isn't to say that writing a novel or for a published media outlet is not also personal but those writing "exercises" are done with an audience in mind. For those of us writing on blogs, most of us will never obtain the same fame and widespread readership as a published author. This, to me, is the key difference in mindset. Does that make our work any less important or official? I still struggle with this idea.
Thanks, Teresa! I still do not consider myself a writer and am not certain what it would take for me to change my mind. I'll admit that I would love to get to Lisa's level too. I just do not know if I have the time or energy to get there.
It has gotten so that I state that I have a website rather than a blog and that I write rather than I blog. Isn't that insane?
I understand that writing in and of itself is a writing exercise for improvement. I struggle writing sometimes. I feel like I use the same words and phrases repeatedly. I guess it is time that I start paying closer attention and really work at writing well!
Wow. I am so impressed. I wish we could all have such experiences. I do get what you are saying though. Thanks for sharing your story; I am definitely inspired!
I agree with your post in essence, but I also worry about it as well. I believe it is important that bloggers work on their writing skills, but also, I read blogs for reviews because they are not professional. The blogs I enjoy most are written in their own voice, embracing their biases as a reader. I worry that some bloggers may think that to write like a professional, they need to pull themselves out of the blogs. When I write a review, I try not to just write about the book, but my experience with the book. I write why I decided to read it. I spend time not just admitting my biases but reveling in them. I think it's important for bloggers to allow their readers to get to know them, and understand why I may love a novel that you may hate.
When I look for a "professional" review, I rarely concern myself with who it writing the piece, I just want to know about the book. When I am reading a blog review, I am trying to get to know the blogger and the book.
My recent post Audiobook Review: Shella by Andrew Vachss
Very interesting post Michelle! I think you are right, blogging is an area where we need to work on improving our skills just like anything else we do, if we do it seriously. But even just writing continually is a form of self-improvement. My current posts are leagues better than my first ones! (Just take my word, please don't go back and view them. heh).
I've also never considered myself a writer and have zero desire to write a novel. Nonfiction maybe some day if I actually have anything to write about. For me it's just reviewing and chatting with others. But just doing that all the time is a way of improving the general writing skills too!
First of all, I do think blogging gets a bad rap. It drives me nuts!!! I think blogging is more of a way for people to find like-minded individuals to discuss areas of mututal interest … like books! I do think that the very nature of blogging (frequent posts, long time span) do end up improving your writing just by the fact that the more you write, the better (theoretically at least) you get. Of course, I often find myself feeling like I'm out of stuff to write about or feeling burnt out. But then the inspiration comes back and it can be a magical thing.
My recent post Review: The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist