Who do you write for?
I guess that title should be more correctly written: “For whom do you write?” but that sounds too stuffy.
It is a question I don’t think I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about. Do I write for some nebulous person who happens to be a conglomerate of many readers? Do I write to satisfy the editor of a magazine so my story or article will be published? Do I write for the readers of this blog who regularly leave comments?
I’m not really sure.
One thing I am certain about, however, is that I definitely write for myself. The satisfaction I derive from the creative process is worth the many long hours at the keyboard. I also like the warm glow I get when a piece works, or a story turns out far beyond my expectations. Coming back to something I wrote decades ago and getting a glimpse of a younger me, wow – that’s worth it.
It is almost trite to say, because it has been said so many times by some many writers, but I really HAVE to write. Not being able to write is like not being able to breathe. It is so much a part of who I am.
A recent article by Liz Strauss on Successful Blog has made me rethink this issue. Perhaps there is one person who is more important than me when it comes to my readers.
Link:
- Writing for that one most important reader: that curious, clever, intelligent individual.
- Successful Blog – Liz Strauss writes about many interesting topics.
What do you expect from blogging?
When I first started blogging I didn’t really know what to expect. My first expectation, I guess was that it should complement my writing for the print media. I had several novels and picture books for children in draft form, I had a significant body of poetry and short stories ready for magazines and there were several other writing ideas I though worth pursuing.
I had heard that some money could be made through blogging but didn’t know what this involved, or what it took to get even a modest income. My learning curve over the last eight months has been steep. I now have a much more realistic idea of what it takes to be a successful blogger.
How you define success is an individual thing:
- it could mean significant income,
- it could mean huge traffic to your site,
- it could mean developing a loyal readership,
- it could mean developing a small but dedicated community of readers
- it could mean providing a service to readers who access your site
- it could mean all of the above – and more.
Many first time bloggers expect instant success with a big income. The reality is harsh. It takes effort, perseverance, discipline, a business sense and above all, time. In today’s instant society, these are not high on some people’s priority list of desirable qualities.
To read an excellent article explaining this better than I can go to Darren Rowse’s article here:
How to generate content on your blog
Since starting this blog earlier this year I have tried hard to maintain a minimum of one post per day. In that I have usually succeeded, with only a few missed days. Then there have been a few days where I have posted several articles on the one day. Overall, my aim is to post at least once a day with an article of useful content. Only my readers can judge if I have succeeded.
Darren Rowse on ProBlogger has recently posted an article listing a series of articles from his extensive archives. In this series he argues that quality articles, while very important, are generally not enough for the site to be successful (translate: generate income). Bloggers must be concentrating on quantity as well. I guess this is one argument that could go on forever.
In my limited experience, getting out one article a day is stretching me because I am trying to do this for three blogs simultaneously. (Check out my Birding blog here and my Travel Blog here.) On top of that, I am trying to work on several novels and picture books for children, write short stories and poetry for a range of magazines, do a writing course AND have a life. Demanding and challenging.
It all takes discipline, perseverance and commitment. I think I have a good mix of these qualities.
To read Darren’s articles click on the link below:
- How to generate high quantities of content for your blogs – links to 7 articles on this topic.
How to find readers for your blog
When you start out blogging for the first time the expectation of some bloggers is that thousands of people will come flocking to your blog to read your words of wisdom.
This is not the norm.
Yes it can happen, but it’s rare. My experience is that even after eight months of blogging on this blog I am averaging about 75 visitors a day. Hello everyone!
My birding blog is doing considerably better averaging over 130 visitors a day, but that has been going for over a year now. It takes hard work, consistent posting and good content, among other things, to generate good traffic. Time is also relevant; few blogs are overnight successes.
Darren Rowse on ProBlogger has featured several articles in recent days where he has compiled a series of articles from his archives. They are well worth reading because they include many useful and proven hints on how to improve your blog and generate traffic and a loyal readership.
Link:
- 34 Tips for finding readers for you blog – this is a series of 4 articles.
On spelling and grammar
I am not a good speller.
I know it’s a weakness in my writing and something I have to be eternally vigilant about. I think this weakness comes from three sources:
- Lack of confidence at spelling as a child. A classic example: in my final year of primary (elementary) schooling, I had a total mental blank during a test as to how to spell “who.” (Stop laughing; this is serious.) I ended up having a go: “hoo.” I was mortified. What if I was having a very early onset of Alzheimer’s? At age 12?
- A fear of making mistakes. That goes for many aspects of my life.
- Correcting so many pieces of writing over my many years as a teacher of emerging writers in my classes at school – to the point where I sometimes wondered just how some words were actually spelled.
A dictionary is my constant companion. I work hard at getting the correct spelling. I know I make mistakes, but I try to spell correctly.
I struggle with correct grammar.
Another weakness.
I would like to say that this is also the result of so many years of hearing and reading the woeful attempts at the use of the English language made by the young students in my classes. If language abuse was a reportable crime I’d have hundreds of names of potential candidates on my Word Crimes list.
I work hard at getting my writing as grammatically correct as possible. I know I make mistakes, but I try to write correctly.
Many Bloggers cannot use the English Language
I am astounded by the vast numbers of bloggers who cannot seem to spell basic words, nor can they string together more than two words in constructing a comprehensible sentence. Most, with a little effort, could make their writing far more accessible and interesting by following a few basic rules.
Related articles:
For an excellent, comprehensive article about correct grammar check out
- Top Ten Grammar Errors that Haunt Web Pages written by Robin Nobles.