It’s Morales Week at A. Victoria Mixon, Editor, with Ollin Morales of {Courage 2 Create}. Ollin is another Top 10 Blogger for Writers, an aspiring novelist recording the progress of writing his first novel. He’s young, he’s passionate, he’s writing.
And today he’s talking about the online writing community.
GUEST POST BY OLLIN MORALES
Blogging totally sucks, right?
I mean, you’ve been blogging for months (maybe years) and you’ve only managed to attract a handful of readers (your sister and your cat). You have little to no comments on your posts, and you feel like you’re being swallowed up by all the other writing blogs on the Internet that look, sound, and smell JUST like yours.
Worst of all, your blog is hogging all your free time, time you should be spending on your writing career or—HELLO!?—your novel.
After all, your novel was the entire reason you started this writing blog in the first place. You wanted this blog to be a platform for your novel, a way to spotlight your talents and your abilities, a way to be discovered and maybe—was it wishful thinking?—a way to land a book contract.
But, instead of making you rich and famous, your blog is starting to make YOU its slave, and all that slaving away is getting you nowhere.
Where’s your new book contract? Where’s your Oscar-nominated screenplay? Why aren’t you the next Julie Powell or Diablo Cody already?
Reality is sinking in, and all those dreams you once had for your blog now seem so. . .impossible.
You’ve made the decision. It’s done. You’re over it. You’re ditching your writing blog—for good.
Okay. Go ahead. Ditch your blog.
But before you do—
Do you realize you’re ditching more than a blog? Do you realize you’re ditching a community of fellow writers, friends, supporters, colleagues, and potential business partners? Do you realize you’re ditching an opportunity to influence popular thought and opinion, a chance to fundamentally change people’s lives?
Did you ever think that there could be far better reasons to keep your writing blog that are MORE convincing than the promise of fame or fortune?
Have I got your attention now?
Good. Now that I’ve prevented you from making a big mistake, it’s important you know there are four great reasons you shouldn’t ditch your writing blog, reasons far more convincing than shady promises of fame and fortune:
4. You have a place to develop supportive friendships with other writers.
Writing is a lonely art. You spend most of the time at your writing desk staring at the same frakking computer screen all day, daydreaming about skipping in meadows underneath the sun.
The truth is writing has never been a team effort—that is, until blogging came along.
Today your new writer friends are just a click away, and let me tell you: you need their love and support. You need them to get you through the rough patches where no other living soul can possibly understand just how hard it is to follow your calling and write a book from scratch. You need them to get real with you. Most importantly, you need them to keep your sanity.
Don’t ditch you blog—you’re ditching a group of supportive friends.
3. You ALREADY have an effective “writer platform.”
Without a writing blog, you no longer have the opportunity to put yourself out there and get noticed, and that’s really where the “fame” might come, if it does at all—not by waiting around for other people to notice your writing blog, but by actively engaging in the conversations of other bloggers and by putting yourself in the position to GET NOTICED.
Having a writing blog is really not about increasing your chances of getting discovered—it’s about having a platform to increase your chances of getting discovered.
Don’t ditch your blog—you’re ditching a free 21st-century megaphone that reaches every corner of the world.
2. You have the opportunity to influence popular thought and opinion.
If you keep that 21st-century megaphone handy, eventually a few people start to listen to you.
If you have something meaningful and important to say, then before long you’re no longer the reader adding to the conversation—you’re the blogger CREATING the conversation. Everyone goes to your blog to participate in that conversation, and readers credit you as the blogger who began the debate spreading like wildfire throughout the blogosphere.
As you influence popular thought and opinion by contributing more positive and constructive ideas to the world, you become part of a process far more valuable than fame or fortune: transforming the zeitgeist.
Don’t ditch your blog—you’re ditching the opportunity to transform how the whole world thinks.
1. You have the chance to fundamentally change people’s lives.
I get e-mails nearly every day from readers who tell me my blog has influenced them in a profound way. They have been moved to write, to improve their writing careers, to be themselves, to take risks, to love themselves more, and to live a great life.
It is hard to describe, but trust me when I say this: receiving e-mails and messages from readers saying my blog has fundamentally changed their lives is worth far more than all the money and fame in the world.
When this starts to happen to you and your blog, it means you, as a blogger, are not just widely known—you’re useful. (That’s the difference between a Paris Hilton and an Einstein). You’re not just a success—you’re an agent for positive change. (That’s the difference between a Justin Bieber and a Martin Luther King, Jr.). You’re not just rich in money—but rich in love, passion, and purpose. (That’s the difference between a Kim Kardashian and a Gandhi). You don’t just infuse the world with wonder—you infuse it with meaning and vibrancy. (That’s the difference between a Stephanie Meyer and a James Baldwin).
Don’t ditch your blog—you’re ditching a revolution.
much love,
Ollin
What other “overlooked” benefits of blogging have YOU uncovered? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Ollin Morales is a writer and a blogger. {Courage 2 Create} chronicles the author’s journey as he writes his first novel. His blog gives writing advice, as well as strategies to deal with life’s toughest challenges, and he offers blogging and writing consultation services designed to help writers and artists build better platforms for their work. He can be followed on Twitter.
UPDATE: My server, GoDaddy, has crashed & burned, making it difficult to leave comments, so if you’ve tried to leave a comment for Ollin and had trouble please try again in a bit. I’m sorry! My sys admin is on the phone with GoDaddy this very minute. And I know Ollin is looking forward to hearing from you.
Thanks for this post Ollin…
It’s not that you gave me information I didn’t already know.
It’s that you gave it in a way that made me rethink what I know 🙂
I added your blog to my Blogroll…
Hey Alexander!
That’s was what I was hoping for!
I read many writing blogs, and consistently I will read writers say they want to ditch their blogs, or that they have trouble sticking to them. I know they are not really serious, and that they know the benefits, but I wanted to say it in the way that just drove it home for them. So I’m glad I succeeded in that!
You make great points, Ollin. I never expected to find so much encouragement and great advice from blogging, but the community of writers I’ve find is amazing.
Isn’t it? I find the encouragement from other writers a MUST. If that was the only reason to keep your writing blog, that really would be enough.
Shamefully, I’ve already all but ditched my blog. But I do agree that I shouldn’t give it up all together.
Looking forward to a polished manuscript pointing it’s finger at me and saying “Okay, good. Now get back to that ghost town you call a blog!”
You can always switch to only one post a week, or shorten your posts to only 500 words. Some writers have been told to post every day. That is way too much. I think a good number is twice a week, and one of those could be a guest post! So there are ways to make it work with your book, I’m writing a fiction novel myself, and I make it work. You can, too.
Even if it means you have to cut out TV all together.
OIlin’s right—every day is WAY too much. I can’t possibly read that much on every blog I follow, much less write it.
I’ve also found that posting less often gives readers a chance to comment more. If you keep the cycle spinning too fast, you’re likely to throw some people off to centrifugal force.
Yeah. . .even if you have to cut out TV all together. 🙂
ok, I Look for Ms. Mixon’s blog EVERY DAY. ha ha … I’m one to talk huh?
Here’s my thing right now: First, I’m a mom. FIVE kids ages 16-2. Second, writer. yes, I know that sounds crazy for a married girl – luckily husband is cool with that. Third, wife. That’s just for now. I’m trying so desperately to finish this MS and feel like any break (from all of my duties), has to be on reading. It keeps my brain sharp. I watch ONE TV show a week (V on ABC, I’m obsessed!) and that’s it! Everything else is gone – General Hospital used to be a good house cleaning companion – not anymore. If I’m lucky, it’ll be on when I’m doing my work out (have to).
But, my intentions are to eventually figure out some sort of schedule for my blog. I think more than not having time for it right now – I don’t feel I’m qualified to write what I want to write about. I’m not sure people would care what I am up to … *shruggs* I’ll figure it out I suppose …
Try one post a week, 500 words. You can do that. And replace “V” with an hour in the blogosphere commenting on other blogs and racking up a readership.
I also recommend below to maybe write all your posts before hand. Say you have a day off, and you crank out 4 posts. That keeps you set for a week! Then just schedule them to come out when you need them to, and that should help give you some more free time.
Oops. Meant to say: “That keeps you set for a MONTH!”
Way to go me for making so many errors and typos on an EDITOR’S blog.
Replace V?! The Horror! I love that show!
But I’ve actually considered doing a bunch together and saving them to bust out once or twice a week, and I do have some written already – but they are so way out there in topic – and unfinished – and potentially a little TMI about my controversial thoughts :), that I never post any.
Thank you for the encouragement, and I promise to try.
You’re just saying that, Ollin, because you know perfectly well that you caught a typo I made in your own post just this morning.
Typos are like mice in the house—they get away from everyone.
This is so true. I haven’t been blogging for long (maybe a month or two) and just by putting it out on Facebook and Twitter, I’ve got a handful of followers and have already gotten great comments about my writing and blogs. I love blogging. I find when it’s hard to work on my novels or write anything else, I still have my blogs to keep me writing so the dry spells between writing don’t happen anymore. You’re totally right- it’s not necessarily about getting famous. Writing gives you a voice that not many people have in our world and by both blogging and writing you reach people in so many ways!
Oh, and it is oh so necessary during those dry spells. My readers have gotten me through some visions downers. And when my readers are down–guess what? I help them up again, the way they helped me. Its a virtuous cycle that is priceless!
I totally understand! Dry spells are enough to drive a writer to a mental asylum. We have this strange need to always have to write. I always thought blogging was the stereotype of some weirdo in his parent’s basement in his PJs all day making an attempt to be a wanna be journalist/writer. I was sorrowfully wrong. Writers have this amazing outlet with blogs to speak thoughts that expand beyond novels and short stories. It gives a sort of behind the scenes look at their writing experience to their readers, a special interaction.
I probably would never have started blogging had I not recognized the necessity of an author platform. But blogging has definitely developed into a reward system of its own, completely separate from any marketing it’s able to accomplish. It opens up a whole new world of people and ideas to interact with. I’ve been blessed by it as much, and probably more, than any of my readers have been able to be blessed by sharing my experiences through my blog.
You’re at the same place I am K.M.–your blog is actually influencing your readers in a deep way! Your posts improve peoples writing every day, and I’m sure that’s a great feeling.
Hang in there everyone, one day you’ll get where me, K.M., and Victoria are and you’ll be influencing your readers–and we can all tell you that the feeling is priceless.
Ollin, just followed you from Tice’s blog and am subscribing. I need your voice in my head. Everything you say is true. I love blogging…I started in March and it has evolved from egocentric thoughts to advocacy for women and young girls, and I love what I do. I have an agent who is submitting my book to publishers, and I can rest easy blogging. I almost gave up and my family makes me feel guilty because I get no money coming in with blogging — NONE — and it does deter me from publishing articles in mags and fulfilling my goal of writing two hours a day — but this is time management problems, not the blogging. I’m glad I followed you — because what you say is true. I have met great people blogging.
Do it for the love of it, and for the reasons I mentioned above, and the truth is — the money and fame will come anyway. That’s the secret it seems, as soon as you stop trying to make a buck or become famous, it happens!
I’m actually making money through my blog now and I’m getting quite popular, but the reason WHY that is, is that I always put my readers first and tried to influence their lives in a positive way.
So don’t think about the money right now, focus on being you and creating great content for your readers.
Yup. What you said.
I might not update the ol’ blog all that often nowadays (busy writing, natch), but it sure is great to keep it going, even in a desultory manner, for those times when you’ve announcements to make or thoughts that just won’t go away.
Well said, good sir.
Thank you, sir.
I recommend a one, two times a week schedule. You don’t want to spend more than two weeks away from you blog, however. As I say on my blog, you don’t to send the message that you are unreliable.
Consistency is a HUGE part of becoming a serious blogger.
Well, this was interesting timing. I always love it when I stumble onto a blog about an issue I’m currently dealing with. Been tempted to throw away my blog altogether these days, but last night decided not to. Then, when I woke up and found myself still trafficless, I began to question how smart it was to keep this up. Like you said, it takes up all my free time. Writing time, really.
But you know, I’ve actually come to comment on and find great posts like this encouraging tidbit. I already knew this about blogging, but it came at the right time. That’s the best part about community.
Methinks I’ll stick around for a while longer.
Hey Elisa,
My readers will often tell me that I read their minds, haha. The truth is I just listen to you. I also have become an EXPERT and being a beginner. I know what it’s like having a blog when it wasn’t popular and successful, and I know there were times when I was ready to ditch my blog – and at the time promises of fame and fortune were just not cutting it. The truth is, it will take you A LONG time to get to that point if you do, the important to remember is there a lot of great benefits to blogging in the meantime.
Ollin, thanks for giving me four more great reasons to keep trucking as my blog goes through a little house-cleaning/re-evalution. I think it’s also important to discover what content works best for you and to find balance with the rest of your writing, which is the tricky part for me.
Looking forward to exploring your blog!
Karri,
Yes balance is key. As I said above. Keep to a 1 to 2 posts a week schedule. That second post can be a guest post. You can also write several posts before hand and have them scheduled just so you can keep up the consistency.
The more consistent you are the more readers you get, the less consistent you are the less readers you get.
Thank you Ollin for the great post.
I decided that I would only post once a week due to family, writing, and busy life commitments. Blogging is my weekly chore (but I love the research part of it.)
Right at the beginning (2 years ago) I knew nothing about websites, blogging, social media. So I decided to be honest and say I am learning and I know nothing.
Every week as I found a great link or a thought provoking article written on someones else’s blog I would share it.
Now I am known as the Go To person in my writing community in my country….this has happened by pure accident….and I still only blog once a week….
Ollin is right. You can never know how your words and your links help others, you can only put them out there. It was a huge surprise to me the first time someone asked my opinion……(frankly, it’s still a huge surprise…) When I got quoted I felt like a fraud…Today I had a prominent writer in my community state on facebook that she loved me….for the links that I find and comment about…I’m blushing…I haven’t published a tenth of what this writer has but she see’s my blog as a source of knowledge and inspiration….this is the only reason I keep blogging….because when you get your first follower you have to, you don’t want to let anybody down. It keeps you chugging away…and in the end your own writing benefits…
Regards from New Zealand.
maureen
What a wonderful story Marueen!
And exactly the kind of story everyone here needed to hear. When you focus on being yourself, and creating useful and great content, the success happens anyway. To paraphrase Einstein: stop chasing success, and focus on being useful.
I love writing my blog – it gives me the instant gratification I can’t get from writing a novel!
The feedback I get on my blog (mostly through Twitter or Facebook, never the blog itself for some reason) is what keeps me trucking along with my writing most days.
And you just never know what might come of it! Gotta be in it to win it, as they say (whoever they are!).
Yes, that moral support is so valuable, especially for the beginning author! I’m glad you are still trucking along!
First of all, I love that you used the word, “frakking” (BSG fan, perhaps?) because I use that word all the time in my posts for emphasis.
Your post was inspiring and a reminder why I blog. Thank you for restoring my faith in this platform and for being you.
Cheers!
I started to use that BSG word and my fans loved it, so I keep using it. I first I was hesitant because I thought people would think I was making obscure references-not everyone knows BSG. But turns out my fans love the show, too. I think writers just love shows with great writing, so no wonder we all like it.
I’m glad you found the post helpful. That was a sweet comment.
Hi Ollin! I’m late to this party, but hopefully there are still a few crumbs left over on the food table. ; )
Victoria sent me over here to read your article. She had a guest post on Judy Dunn’s blog (http://catseyewriter.com/2011/03/22/storytelling-for-business-bloggers/), and we started talking in the comments about blogs-as-parables — and about how much blogs can affect thought, motivation, and culture.
I think your ideas on revolution through blogging are spot-on. Ideas have always been a driving force of the human spirit. Thanks to the Internet, ideas now spread worldwide faster than at any time in history. A blogging butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, and that blog post sets off a revolutionary storm in Europe.
I’m using my blog as an author platform, reaching readers all over the world. If not for my blog, I would never have connected with these fantastic people. I couldn’t abandon my blog if I wanted to. ; )