How To Avoid Becoming Another Boring Writer's Blog

Writers serious about publication are urged to blog. But once we start, we often don’t know WHAT TO BLOG ABOUT. We struggle to find our BLOGGING FOCUS. We flounder to discover our BLOGGING VOICE (or identity, as my agent Rachelle Gardner put it so well in a recent post: What's Your Blog Identity?).

Because we’re confused, many of us end up mimicking what the majority of other writer-bloggers are doing. Since most writers blog about “writing” and dish out “writing advice,” new bloggers end up making writing the focus of their blogs too.

After all, if it’s working for others, why not do the same thing? If writing a post about Twitter mistakes or how to land an agent seems to draw readers to a blog, then why not try it too? Why not write about the things that attract readers, even if the subject has already been covered in a dozen ways in a dozen places?

Thus cyberland sees a steady stream of new writing-related blogs that add to the already over-saturated market. Yes, the industry is indeed filled with more writing blogs than a person could ever read.

So, what should a writer do? Should we steer clear of blogging about writing simply because there are already so many other blogs covering the same stuff?

As I’ve struggled to find my blogging focus and identity, I’ve realized that the primary reason I started blogging was to give public voice to the writer inside me. I wanted a place where I could “talk” about writing and the many struggles that accompany it. And I have the feeling many other writers feel the same way.

Because we’re passionate about writing and books, those topics naturally becomes the FOCUS of our blogs. We enjoy, even need, the outlet to discuss this important aspect of our lives. (As a side note, I think non-fiction writers should attempt to center their blogs around the topics of their books.)

But how can we stand out from the thousands of other writing blogs out there? How do we keep our blog posts from being a re-hashed, boring version of what someone else is doing? Here are just a few of my ideas:

1. Find our unique blogging voice.

Letting our uniqueness come through takes time and practice. We can try writing different ways—funny, inspiring, poetic, sassy, mother-like, or serious. When we experiment, over time we begin to see what we like best and what resonates with readers most.

2. Tell our own story.

We’re all so different, in such varying circumstances and situations. None of our writing journeys are the same. We should share about our writing experiences from our completely unique perspective with our gifted story-telling abilities.

3. Be creative.

We writers are creative-types, aren’t we? Does everyone need to have bullet points, numbered outlines, or bold sub-headings like good-old organized me? Or can we take information and display it in a variety of different and creative ways?

4. Let our passion show through.

The posts I enjoy writing the most are usually the ones that get the most comments. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. Readers can sense when we’re invested. As I plan out my posts, I try to think of topics that are burning inside me, things important to me, issues I’d like to discuss with others.

5. Write with the reader in mind.

Write for ourselves from the heart, but write for our readers from the head. We want our readers to “get” something every time they visit our blogs—wisdom, inspiration, encouragement, insight—something.

We can use the above principles to not only make our blogs stand out, but to also make our books stand out. With the millions of books out there, we have to work hard at writing in our unique voices, becoming good story-tellers, being creative, letting our passion fill the page, and writing with the reader in mind.

So, yes, there are thousands of blogs, the same way there are thousands of books competing for reader’s attention. And we just have to do the hard work of learning to stand out—with both our blogs and books.

What do you think? Are there too many writing-related blogs? Do you think it’s possible to have a blog that stands out (no matter the focus)? And if so, what other tips do you have?

Ten Twitter Blunders Writers Make

Writers everywhere are flocking to Twitter. In some ways it’s become the water cooler of the writing world where we can hang out, chat with like-minded writers, meet new friends, celebrate good news, and keep tabs on industry happenings.

While there aren’t any hard, fast rules for using Twitter, there are some blunders that might hinder our effectiveness, especially if we’re hoping to use it as way to broaden our web presence.

Here are ten top blunders that I see writers making on Twitter, and since I’m not a Twitter guru, please chime in with your thoughts!

1. Over-chatting. We should be aware of how long we’re carrying on our conversations with others. If we’re starting to clog up the twitter stream with a lot of @’s to the same person, then perhaps we should send them an email or carry on our conversation via direct messages.

2. Not interacting enough with others. Some people over-chat, and then some don’t chat at all. Remember twitter is a social media. If we’re relying too much on scheduled tweets, posting only links, or tossing out a tweet and then disappearing, we’re not maximizing twitter’s potential.

3. Not responding back to tweets or direct messages. I admit, I can’t always keep up with responding to everyone who sends me a tweet. And granted there are times when direct responses just aren’t necessary. But if we’re only having one-sided conversations, then we’re missing out on relationship-building that can help us long term.

4. Forming cliques. Of course everyone is going to have a closer group of friends. That’s only natural. But if we want to broaden our web presence, then we have to make an effort to meet and interact with new people. Using hashtags like #amwriting #litchat #yalitchat #followfriday #writers can help us meet other writers.

5. Bordering on unprofessional. If we’re using Twitter for purely personal reasons without a thought to how it might help our writing career, then I suppose we can say and do whatever we want. But if Twitter is part of our writing platform, then we should be unique and let our voices shine through, but show some discretion in what we share. Also, our twitter name should be the one we plan to have on our published books. And we should make sure we put "writer" somewhere in our bio.

6. Not following people back. About once a week, I make a point of following people back. If someone is obviously using twitter as spam, then I don’t. But I always try to follow everyone who is legitimate. I personally don’t see any reason why we would limit our following, especially with the ease of creating lists and organizing followers via Tweetdeck and other applications.

7. Sending auto-direct messages to new followers. They’re cold, impersonal, and totally defeat the purpose of twitter. I never respond to auto-mated messages. However, if someone makes a point of sending me a personal direct message, I will usually try to interact back.

8. Using twitter as a billboard. I’ve noticed that published authors tend to do this the most. They hop on Twitter primarily when they have a book signing to announce, a new book to promote, or an interview to share. Or they use twitter to feed links from their blog or facebook, and that’s it. Those authors are essentially spamming and doing themselves more harm than good.

9. Focusing too much on self. Yes, it’s okay to post links to our own blog posts. And yes, it’s okay to share personal information. But if that’s all we do, then we’re missing out on one of the great things about Twitter—the opportunity to genuinely encourage, support, and promote other writers.

10. Using inconsistently. No, we don’t need to be on twitter all day, every day. But again, to get the full benefit, we need to make a point of jumping into the tweet stream on a somewhat regular basis. If we don’t have anything to say, then we can always respond to the tweets of others, ask questions, or retweet interesting links.

Those are some of the blunders I’ve noticed. What about you? If you’re not on Twitter, what’s holding you back from the water-cooler? And if you are hanging out there, what other blunders have you noticed? What kinds of blunders bother you the most?

3 Blogging Blunders

I’m not a blogging expert. And I’m certainly not a social media guru. But I have been blogging long enough that I’ve learned a few things about what can help make blogging successful.

Over the past year, my readership has steadily increased. And one of the factors that has played a role in the increase has to do with presentation. When a writer who’s serious about publication sets up a blog or website, in a sense, they’re hanging out a sign and saying, “open for business.” And as in any type of business, how we present ourselves is important. (Read this post: Maintaining a Professional Blog.)

A blog acts as a writer’s online “office.” It’s open to the public, to literally anyone in the world who wants to stop by. Our offices should reflect us—everything from the color we paint the walls to the pictures and decorations we set out. Sometimes, we can even decorate our cyber office in a way that reflects our writing style or voice. A great example is suspense writer, Brandilyn Collin's blog. The colors, headers, and font all work together to give an aura of suspense.

No matter how we choose to set up our offices, we want them to be inviting places—orderly, easy to read and navigate, and well-maintained. In other words, we want people to be able to stop by our offices, have a great experience, and ultimately desire to come back.

Since I’ve recently blogged about some of the positive things we can do to attract readers and generate more traffic to our blogs, I thought instead, I’d mention a few blogging blunders—things that may be detrimental to our online writing “business.” As with everything I write in my blog posts, I'm merely sharing my opinions. Everyone has the right to blog the way they want. There aren’t any hard fast rules about blogging—that’s one of the beauties of it.

With that said, if we hope to present ourselves as growing professionals in the writing industry, then we should think twice before doing the following:

Blunder #1: Not having our name clearly visible.

Occasionally, I visit writer blogs and I can’t find the blogger’s name anywhere. I’m not sure why some writers choose to avoid displaying their names. But those of us serious about publication have to get serious about having our names out there. If we’re too afraid to put it on our blogs, how will we cope with having it on our books?

It’s never too early to promote our names—on our blogs, in the comments we leave, with our twitter username, etc. The more places the better. From the start, we should use the name that we’ll put on our books. We should display it in the header of our blogs, and if not there, then it should be somewhere at the top of our blogs where everyone can see it right away.

Blunder #2: Not having our contact information easily accessible.

Yes, there are spammers. And yes, there are privacy issues involved in revealing our email addresses. But again, those of us serious about publication need to get used to the idea of having an email address that’s readily available—especially for future readers. We won’t be able to hide after publication, so why hide at all?

And what if an agent, editor, or other industry professional wanted to contact us? It’s been known to happen! What if they couldn’t find an email address?

Individuals and businesses who hope to succeed need to make themselves accessible. I have a Contact tab at the top of my blog. Listing our email address can suffice also. To avoid most spammers, we should spell out our emails. For example, whenever I put my email address on my blog I write it as: jodyhedlund (at) jodyhedlund (dot) com. Anyone wishing to contact me would fill in the area in parenthesis with the symbols.

Blunder #3: Focusing too much on ourselves.

I like blogs that are personal, especially when the writer shares about their experiences in their unique voice. But I like it even better when I come away after reading it challenged or changed in some way. In other words, I think there’s a difference between those who write to serve primarily themselves and those who write for their readers too.

If we’re only thinking about ourselves, it’s going to show. I’m not an advocate of posting large chunks of our stories within blog posts as a way to get critiques or to get noticed. I’m also not a fan of making a big deal of how many followers we have or don’t have. We're better to exude quiet confidence rather than chance coming across as desperate. If we’re hoping to present ourselves as professionals, then our “shop talk” is best left to the privacy of those closest to us.

So those are some of my opinions! What are yours? Are there other blogging blunders that you would add to the list? Or do you think we should do what we want in blogging and not worry about what anyone else thinks?