Monday, November 28, 2011

It's Cyber Monday, which means you should all be online, right?

Oh, you're here. Good. I have a question for you.

I've been struggling with this blogging thing lately. And I'm going to be honest with you-- my attention has been seeping elsewhere. Twitter, mostly, because I can read it a lot faster than I can read blog posts... but I think part of the reason is that I just feel disconnected. I don't know what you want to read anymore, if you even read blogs...  I mean, some people are following us, obviously, but I don't know how many of them actually bother with reading us.

So help me out! What are your favorite elements of the blogs you DO read? Do you like contests? Reviews? Writerly advice? Humor? Nothing writing related at all?

Help me re-connect, friends!

6 comments:

Rick Daley said...

I'm still here, mostly lurking though.

If the site is writing-centric, then I expect posts about writing. On my blog, I hardly ever talk about writing, it's mostly kids / parenting and general smart-assery. And I've been really bad about posting regularly.

I attribute most of that to the fact that I have a book out, though, and the bulk of my efforts are going toward promoting it. It's an origins-of-Santa Christmas book...cool and action-y, like Santa Begins. Check it out if you have a chance!

Linda G. said...

My favorite blog posts are usually relatively short, amusing (if not downright funny), and invite easy comments. If they can teach me something while entertaining me, so much the better.

I like contests, but if they entail multiple steps I usually skip them -- I make the rounds to a lot of blogs, so time is a factor. :)

Gary Corby said...

I'm here! As to what sort of stuff to write...there are a zillion blogs out there about writing as a generic subject. I'd suggest avoiding unless there's something specific to say about your particular book.

It's a paradox that the more specific you get, the more likely people are to be interested. ("Use of POV in the Capybara Murder Mysteries")

I do like the zoo news! But then, you know that. And book stuff of course.

Adam Heine said...

Be you. And be funny, that's always good.

I tend to click on posts that are:
* Written by people I like (like you!).
* Funny.
* Ranty (though too much of this and I start to get bored/annoyed).
* Encouraging.
* Geeky or have statistics.
* Has some useful tip I hadn't heard before.

I tend to skip posts that:
* Are very long.
* Are on some writing tip that I feel like I know (or have read many times) already.
* Are generic.

And keep in mind that I make this snap decision based on a combination of the blog and the headline.

For example, I almost always click onto this blog cuz I like you guys (and I can usually tell who the author is each day because you all put your voice into your post titles), while the QueryTracker blog has to promise something pretty useful in the headline, because I know posts there are typically not funny/geeky.

L. T. Host said...

Rick! I'm so excited about your new book! I am totally ordering that tomorrow so I can read it before Christmas-- it sounds amazing! Thanks for lurking, and stepping out of Lurkville to chime in :)

Linda-- No wonder we get along. Those are all my favorite things, too!

Gary-- I so need to write that blog post. And, uh, finish that book... *ahem

Adam-- Wow. Thanks for the organized, bulleted list! That's really awesome and much appreciated :)(P.S.-- right back atcha, sir)

Rick Daley said...

LT- Thanks for your support! I hope you like it, the reviews have been very positive so far. Let me know what you think...

Now back to lurking (and writing, and marketing...)