When I realized last night that I had a blog due here at Loose Ends, my immediate reaction was a sinking sensation. Not again, I thought, and I can't help wondering if readers don't feel something similar.
How much do readers really want to hear writers rambling on about their aching wrists and their looming deadlines and their pissy feelings about other writers? Surely I'm not the only one who feels a little jaded right about now with the whole blogosphere?
This is not to say that I don't enjoy interacting with my readers and colleagues -- I do. Maybe too much. But is it necessarily a good thing to be so accessible? I'm not sure. Does it take away that authorial mystique? Probably. There is a trade off, of course. Readers feel like they know me better -- and if they like me, that's a good thing. If they don't like me...not so good.
Do I care if everyone likes me? No. Obviously not, or I wouldn't continue to shoot my mouth off. But I do worry that Josh the web personality wil eventually flavor the taste of my fiction for some readers. Because, speaking for myself as a reader, I don't want the distraction of the author's personality. If the author as character is too vivid, I find it's one more obstacle in crossing that suspension-bridge of disbelief.
There are no blogs I visit on a regular basis. Friends blogs, review blogs, publishing news blogs: I check in when a pal is being interviewed or someone asks me look at something, but other than that, I don't have time. Not even for those funny, clever blogs that make me laugh every time I pop in. Not even for the blogs that make me think -- or teach me something. I just don't have the time -- even when I have the inclination. And generally I don't even have the inclination. It's nothing personal. After a few months, let alone a year or so, we've pretty much heard it all. Even from the people we like. Even from the people whose work we love.
Or am I the only one who feels like this? Am I suffering from anti-social feelings right now?
There is also the problem of writers getting too relaxed and being a little too honest with their reading public. Bitching about bad reviews is the least of it. I'm talking about bloggers stupid enough to badmouth their publishers (or publishers denigrating writers) -- or reveal personal and damaging information about themselves and others. Do I want to know about your sex life or legal problems? Probably not. And when you're feeling calmer, you probably don't want me to know about those things either. You surely don't want a prospective employer -- or stalker -- to know about them.
So what do you think about blogging? I think it's here to stay, but how much is too much? What's a good balance? What blogs to you frequent -- and why?
53 comments:
Josh,
As always you make me think, the subject is timely, and you're smarter than the average bear. I have a lot of author pals, as you know, but as a reader/reviewer, when you cross that line into the personal, you lose some of your objectivity and that becomes a problem.
lb
And ironically yours is one of the blogs I most frequent, LB!
At first, I liked the fact that I could chat with my favorite authors, much the same way I feel when I get to meet my fave singers (Mary J Blige next month...squeee). The fame-or infamous- factor, as it were.
How much is too much? The more I chatted with authors, particularly those writing erotic romance, the less I enjoyed their work. Mostly I don't bother to read anymore, although I still purchase their books in support. Going on the theory that people tend to write what they know, the bedroom (bathroom, kitchen floor, etc) scenes are seriously just TMIIIII.
How do blog comments affect your work? Do you feel pressure from us Fanyons, who are very vocal about what we'd like to see in Adrien's future? Have you changed plot points to accomodate those expectations at all? Do you make nice with your friends list because they're the ones buying your books, and you'd like to keep that going...as in, if you stopped blogging, do you think it would hurt your sales?
Oh, and as for blogs I read...I tend to stay away from the emo ones...I already *know* that life sucks sometimes. Buck up, princess!
The ones that are funny or provide industry info about upcoming releases that might interest me I read the most. I have joined some author's Yahell groups and edited my membership status to 'special notices only' so I get important info about release dates, but my inbox isn't deluged with hundreds of emails from the chatty Cathys who apparently don't work or have any other meaningful relationship in their life besides their online 'friends'.
I cannot imagine why. And ditto.
Going on the theory that people tend to write what they know, the bedroom (bathroom, kitchen floor, etc) scenes are seriously just TMIIIII.
Yes, I think you're hitting on something right here -- one reason why I don't like to be too familiar with my favorite authors. For one thing, it's a little depressing when it turns out they're homophobic or cheating on a spouse or have been arrested for child pornography. It destroys that fantasy. And I DO NOT want to picture the author as the main character -- and sometimes you can't stop this from happening. Especially if the blog voice is similar to the character POV voice.
How do blog comments affect your work? Do you feel pressure from us Fanyons, who are very vocal about what we'd like to see in Adrien's future? Have you changed plot points to accomodate those expectations at all?
I haven't -- and that's where the pressure comes in. Knowing that readers might be upset with some of the turns in DOPK did create a feeling of unease -- it's been a relief that mostly readers seem okay with the way things turned out.
Do you make nice with your friends list because they're the ones buying your books, and you'd like to keep that going...as in, if you stopped blogging, do you think it would hurt your sales?
I honestly don't know. I think I picked up additional readers through blogging, but...it's a two-edged sword. I might have lost readers as well.
What I do feel is that it is difficult to now withdraw without seeming to be rejecting that interaction. And I enjoy the interaction, but it is very time consuming -- and very hard on my wrists.
Among existing friends - ie friends you actually know their faces, I think blogging has been a replacement of those "what have I been doing" emails/letters. It's a good way to keep in touch. But of course, they might not be the most interesting reading materials.
For authors... I like the fact that I can "approach" them, maybe ask a question or two (errr... obviously, I've been asking too many already :P), but I prefer to stick to "revelant discussions" about that author's works only. Like you said, it's a fine line.. the level of accessibility and information. And it depends on the readers and authors themselves as well: if an author appears to be a less than lovable person on his blog, would I still read his stories, buy his books? For me, yes. Cos it's not an requirement for me to like the author of my favourite book. But I am not sure everyone thinks like that.
I guess, it's not about too much information, it's what information? *g*
I like the fact that I can "approach" them, maybe ask a question or two (errr... obviously, I've been asking too many already :P), but I prefer to stick to "revelant discussions" about that author's works only.
Now there's something -- I actually enjoy reading an author's blog where they talk about a book that I love or what's in store for the characters. Poppy Z. Brite is a case in point. I love this New Orleans series she does about a pair of cooks, and when I discovered her LJ, I was hoping she would talk about the series,the books, the characters -- but the blog was all her personal stuff. It was interesting, but I quickly got a feel for her and I knew all I needed to know. It didn't turn me off, but there was no reason to keep tuning in if she wasn't going to talk about the books and the writing and the characters. I like her, she's amusing, but I don't need to know everything she thinks about every meal she eats or pill she pops. And I think this is how it is for most of us.
I like the fact that I can "approach" them, maybe ask a question or two (errr... obviously, I've been asking too many already :P)
Like any writer in the world believes you could ask too many questions about their work or think too much about it! *g*
I'm making notes. For future reference.
When you're right you're right. I was, actually, writing a book about that very thing...the harshness of the blog-eat-blog world and the assumptions we make about people based on internet interactions, but it was a little too close to home.
Anyway, twice last week I stepped out on the information highway and walked right over giant sucking potholes, which happens all too frequently for my taste. It seems that since everyone's out there talking all the time you're bound to find yourself saying the wrong thing to the wrong person at the very worst time. And then of course when you do, there's no way to control what everyone else is saying to each other about it.
I think Henry Higgins said it best: stick with your health and the weather, (and no one wants to hear about your health.)
The weather continues fine.
On the other hand, I've made some wonderful friends, real friends, in this strange internet world. But as in all things, one has to be pretty careful.
K. Last comment for now. Off to those RL things...
I do think a lot of the personal stuff is too much. I've never quite understood why people want to know about authors - I mean, authors are generally people who make things up because their own lives are not enormously interesting. I think Ursula LeGuin does it really well. I'm not sure she blogs, but her website is very interesting - full of tips about writing and news about her books and the SF/F fantasy in general. But not so much about herself.
but it was a little too close to home.
This is something we all eventually run into as writers, because all writers, to some extent, are writing what they know. Which means inevitably family and friends become grist for our mills.
Where do we draw the line? Is everyone and everything in our life fair game? Certainly there are those who feel that way. But I can see why those around them might feel a little hurt, a little angry, a little betrayed.
I have a family member who has a sister-in-law who wrote a self-help book detailing the abuses of her childhood as part of her inspirational story. The book came as a shock to her family, who had no idea a) she was going to share personal family details (names changed to protect the guilty) with the public, and b) that she considered herself abused.
She's still hurt -- and bewildered -- that she's no longer invited to Christmas.
I've never quite understood why people want to know about authors - I mean, authors are generally people who make things up because their own lives are not enormously interesting.
I know! For God's sake. We spend our lives cooped up in our offices making up stories. How interesting and important could our lives be? If we have importance, it's only through the stories we tell.
I rarely comment on these things, but I will here because its something I agree with... I think it's too much.
I don't want to know what an author looks like or their personal life. I don't really want to talk about the "art" of writing. I just want to find out about their work, extra bits about the work, reviews of their work, and what's coming up in their writing. Everything else can be handled in a separate personal blog for friends and family.
But that's me. I'm antisocial in real life, and I guess on the internet too.
Well, I draw the line where people feel hurt, angry and betrayed, hopefully, long before that. If I couldn't find a way to work around that, I wouldn't let it see the light of day, and after all, it's only words... I've got a billion of them, but people, even people you hardly know, are sometimes more important. What is grist, anyway, the stuff you grind? or the stuff you grind with...
My husbands ex-wife, too, wrote that self-help book for abuse survivors...(not about him, bien sur) I don't know how that's working out for her, I personally never needed to read it.
Your readers and colleagues certainly seem for the most part to really enjoy the interactions with you. It doesn't appear to me that you have much distance as an author from your readers, but you're very generous with your fans.
In my opinion, your personality does come across vividly in your commentary. But I don't think most readers have a problem separating an author's voice from the voices of his or her characters. Blogging is such a very different kind of writing from genre fiction that keeping the two differentiated just isn't an issue for me.
I make a sharp distinction between public personality and private personality. Some of who the writer is can come across, but you control the information you give out. And you do get the chance to go back and edit or clarify.
Indeed, I think you can do too much, and get too involved, and that can lead to the inevitable Authors Behaving Badly scenario.
This is one thing I think I've found my google feedreader useful for. I can read blog posts but not necessarily get weighed down in the comments unless I make that extra set of clicks to get there.
I tend not to stick around long on the too personal author blogs (which differ for me from the actual personal blogs I have on my list). I do like to hear they have the same human issues as everyone else, but I don't want to know the nitty gritty - I'm there for the BOOKS not the author... not that makes a whole lot of sense, does it?
But that's me. I'm antisocial in real life, and I guess on the internet too.
I think many writers are! We mostly live inside our brains -- especially when we are well and truly writing inside The Zone.
I'm there for the BOOKS not the author... not that makes a whole lot of sense, does it?
It makes perfect sense to me. I often feel a little initial curiosity about the writer, but it's quickly satisfied, and then I don't need anything more.
Whereas if the author is going to discuss plans for the characters or talk about the new book -- behind the scene stuff is always interesting to me. Assuming I like the work to start with.
What is grist, anyway, the stuff you grind? or the stuff you grind with...
I always thought it was the stuff you grind up. Isn't the wheel or the grinder the modus operandi?
I'm a serial lurker, so just sticking my head out for a mo. One of the interesting points here is how the author comes across on their blog. I think Josh comes across as an intelligent man with interesting things to say. I like reading your live journal and will often follow your links to where you are guest blogging. However, some authors don't come over that well, and it does affect how I view their books. I can think of one author who was guest blogging on a site I was reading. She came across like a cross between a 13 year old squealy girl and a sex crazed nymphomaniac! I had read one of her books previously and was considering buying another. I decided not to bother after reading that blog as I just couldn't get that image out of my head. OK back in my hole...
I make a sharp distinction between public personality and private personality. Some of who the writer is can come across, but you control the information you give out. And you do get the chance to go back and edit or clarify.
This is where I think many bloggers make the mistake. (Or maybe they do it deliberately to gain attention?) Salacious personal details, legal woes, and fights with colleagues, employers (including but not exclusive to publishers)...do you really want to leave your journal lying open in a public library?
I mean revealing your horrible taste in music and movies is probably bad enough.
She came across like a cross between a 13 year old squealy girl and a sex crazed nymphomaniac! I had read one of her books previously and was considering buying another. I decided not to bother after reading that blog as I just couldn't get that image out of my head.
Thank you for that thought. It is a danger -- and it ties into the idea of creating a web personna. If you are going to promote and "appear" on line, you're going to develop a voice, a presence, and you need to give some thought about that. Are you going to be racy and sexy and be known for chatting about your vagina...because speaking for myself...I don't want to go there.
Really.
Are you going to be the informational broadcast system blogger. That's fine -- someone has to do that.
Are you going to wear the cloak of invisibility and try and play all sides and never have an opinion on anything?
Sometimes people just start blogging...just talking without giving it a lot of thought. That's what I did, and slowly I refined what I wanted to talk about. It's a learn as I go process.
I love blogging with certain Authors, mostly about their books, but some have wonderful ideas and humor. They are crazy in a creative way. I like that! I mainly go to two or three blogs, and it is because I like the author's books. Before, blogs, I used to write to authors through their publishers if I liked a book. This gives me the opportunity to let an author know how entertained I am with their work.
If you don't mind blogging, then I'm quite happy reading your blog posts.
To tell you the truth, I usually find the comments to my posts more interesting than my posts themselves -- and some of the best discussions arise through the input of readers, so that's one of the main values of blogging as I see it.
I used to write to authors through their publishers if I liked a book. This gives me the opportunity to let an author know how entertained I am with their work.
That's certainly one of the big plusses for authors -- getting that immediate reader feedback. Good or bad, you know your work reached someone -- and an author's blog is often the venue by which readers reach you.
Ha! And here I was going to do a blog (and probably will when I get out of edits) on being careful what on-line persona you develop. Because you need to stay consistent with it. People feel betrayed if they think they know you and discover that on-line person starts doing or acting differently than they expect.
For God's sake. We spend our lives cooped up in our offices making up stories. How interesting and important could our lives be?
After thinking about it a bit more, I think the fascination with authors for me is their brains. They see the world in colors and characters I could never imagine, and I want to get even the slightest glimpse of that alternate universe. People like you and TA Chase and Sean Michaels...what I wouldn't give to be able to live in your head for a day. Wow.
I am not interested in any author personally. I don't want to know bowel movements and everyday woes. There's a disconnected fantasy world here. Don't fuck it up by discussing your personal problems, which I care nothing about *g*
Ha! And here I was going to do a blog (and probably will when I get out of edits) on being careful what on-line persona you develop. Because you need to stay consistent with it. People feel betrayed if they think they know you and discover that on-line person starts doing or acting differently than they expect.
This can be everything from suddenly launching into political rants (always a danger around election times), suddenly starting to write in a new genre, or abruptly withdrawing from online interaction. Yes! Absolutely. Once you've created that web presence...staying "in character" becomes part of the writing gig.
Which is why you don't want to develop an online personality too different from your own. If you're really not the bubbly, perky type, best not to start off on that foot.
After thinking about it a bit more, I think the fascination with authors for me is their brains. They see the world in colors and characters I could never imagine, and I want to get even the slightest glimpse of that alternate universe. People like you and TA Chase and Sean Michaels...what I wouldn't give to be able to live in your head for a day. Wow.
Be Very Afraid.
No, but seriously, this ties back to my own wish to get a glimpse at the behind the scenes of the authors I enjoy. Like...a coda to my favorite novels or stories. Or if something puzzles me in a character or I'm afraid the author is going to kill someone off -- those are things I look for in an author's blog. The insiders view.
Perhaps you're feeling this way, Josh, because you've been caught up in a big ol' promotional whirlwind for a while, and if anything can take the bloom off the online-socializing rose, it's those damned whirlwinds. I'm in the midst of one right now.
Love the interaction with readers and fellow authors . . . but, yeah, it's exhausting. My cleverness and originality buttons start just start getting stuck. Thay may explain why I'm here. Got any cleverness and originality to spare?
I usually visit my favorite blogs late at night, when my brain stops humming and starts sputtering. Continuing to write becomes an exercise in futility after that point, but my mind hasn't yet wound down enough to allow for sleep. Once in a while I blow off my bazoo at a blog if its subject piques my interest -- cathartic, in a perverse way. For the most part, though, I just read.
Personal stuff? Nah. I rarely dole it out and even more rarely take it in. Unless, of course, it's exceptionally juicy. ;-)
That may also explain why I can't hit the right keys worth a f**k.
Perhaps you're feeling this way, Josh, because you've been caught up in a big ol' promotional whirlwind for a while, and if anything can take the bloom off the online-socializing rose, it's those damned whirlwinds. I'm in the midst of one right now.
That could be. I do indeed feel "talked out." And the deadlines continue to pile, even as a couple of projects have been pushed to next year.
I'm normally not much in the fan obsession business and its kind of funny and weird to see me in this position now, therefore I'm happy to reflect the situation. I read everything I could find in the Internet and checked the blogs to find information about you as a writer and person. Because at first I could not get enough of you. I posted a couple of things where I thought afterwards „TMI“ and „that sounds like I'm nuts“. That leads to the problem that I'm not sure anymore what kind of info is 'ok' to post and what is simply something I write to impress and therefore is completely rubbish. Its like rainbow press, a bid obsession – and to impress someone you are impressed by. I suck if I try something like this. I was always very very happy to get a reply from you - like a bath in your glory (told you its weird). I know for sure that I would hate it if someone tries this with me. Its a waist of time for the receiver. But joy for me, I'm not in your shoes. Unfortunately writers are forced to rely on their readers and could therefore not always tell them to get lost - they will be watched closely by their fans. I guess to be a famous writers you need to be patient and friendly but firm to avoid to much fanvampires. For my part I prefer honest and sharp people who say what's in their mind even if I do not agree or like what they are thinking. Too much agreement is boring. And yep I'm sure a real fan wants to know everything you have to say.
I was always very very happy to get a reply from you - like a bath in your glory (told you its weird). I know for sure that I would hate it if someone tries this with me. Its a waist of time for the receiver.
I'll tell you straight up, talking to readers is never a waste of time or a problem for me. It's flattering that readers bother to respond to what I write. Period.
This isn't to say that it's not time-consuming to respond -- and sometimes actually physically painful -- but it's not something I resent. I feel grateful anyone gives a damn.
But there is a downside, of course. If you post your thoughts and opinions, someone will most certainly disagree with you -- and sometimes it will get unpleasant for all involved. Do these run- ins -- these proofs that we are all human and have our weaknesses -- do us any good career-wise? I don't know.
I don't know that everything has to come back to our writing careers; I'm just throwing thoughts out there.
Thanks for yours, by the way.
The internet also comes with the distinct possibility that you'll run into a disagreement other people are having, like entering a room and saying I like rocky road ice cream without knowing all the people are there for a marshmallow related funeral. (Now, even that, I'm second guessing, having already changed it from nuts, I'm thinking, gee, I hope no one reading this knows someone who died from marshmallows.) It's so easy to have a disagreement about things people absolutely, fundamentally agree on.
If I'm talking to someone face to face, I can be reasonably certain to make myself understood. Out here? Yeesh.
But there is a downside, of course. If you post your thoughts and opinions, someone will most certainly disagree with you -- and sometimes it will get unpleasant for all involved. Do these run- ins -- these proofs that we are all human and have our weaknesses -- do us any good career-wise? I don't know.
I don't know that everything has to come back to our writing careers; I'm just throwing thoughts out there.
Isn't this one reason why we post our thoughts and opinions, not only to get confirmation and praises but also to get different views and inputs from others? Especially if they disagree, this is what shows a way to new thoughts. I'm aware that not everyone likes to feel misunderstood (including myself sometimes) but why not use this knowledge to our own purpose. So called weaknesses are the real strength if we can figure out what they have to tell us. Its just a point of view.
From what I saw in your blogs you do have a certain ability to use words in a very diplomatic way especially when you're confronted with criticism. I think humor is a big plus when dealing with people. But in the end, no one can make everything right for everyone. And I don't think that a career will crush because of a couple of unhappy readers. Ok, not counting unhappy publishers..
Here's a way I can explain it:
A family friend was the brother to the wife in the famous magician couple the Pendragons, so we got to see their shows a lot and I constantly saw them on television shows. They are some of the best magical illusionists in the world. Well, I got to meet them, became good friends, and got to be an assistant when they performed locally.
It was possibly the coolest thing ever to even TALK to them, nevermind actually befriending them. I was very excited.
But now that I know how all their tricks work, having worked them and put them together, it isn't magic to me anymore. I lost that mystery and mystique.
I guess that's how I feel about getting to know authors. It's the coolest thing in the world, but then you lose something else the process. Does that make sense?
-KT
I don't look at very many author blogs. Not for time reasons - though I don't really have a lot of that anyway - but because I don't want to have my reading spoiled for me. If I get to know the author as a person, I know for certain that I will lose complete objectivity as a reader. I've learned personal things about writers I loved and then been unable to ever read them again because I can't dissociate negative impressions of the person from the texts they produce. And that's a shame.
It's also the reason I refuse to review authors I know more than casually. There aren't that many, but I can't trust that I'm going to be objective and I don't think my friends want me blowing smoke up their skirt. It's better for me as a reader to know only surface stuff at most, but the vast majority of people - not just writers - do not have the ability to self-censor. Blogs especially promote intimacy, and if they're going to blog often, sooner or later, I'll bet they go mining for more personal stories.
Now saying that...getting the occasional thank you letter from an author because of something I've written (either a review or an email I've sent to most likely tell them how wonderful I think their stories are) makes my whole day. Sometimes an entire week if the kids are acting up, lol. *That* sense of connect with an author is amazing because it tells me s/he cares about their readers. That might be a big ol' lie and it's just a PR thing to keep readers happy, but darn it, I'm going to believe I might have made them smile. :)
I guess that's how I feel about getting to know authors. It's the coolest thing in the world, but then you lose something else the process. Does that make sense?
Yes. It does. Which I guess sort of ties into losing that authorial mystique or distance, but it's also about losing that suspension of disbelief for the work itself. If readers know too much about the process, too much insider info about the behind the scenes stuff...that does probably spoil some of the magic. Then again I find that stuff fascinating, so who knows.
I'd say the trade off is worth it but there are so few stories and authors that create that magical state for me -- it's worth protecting the forcefield. *g*
It's so easy to have a disagreement about things people absolutely, fundamentally agree on.
If there's one thing my internet interactions have taught me, it's there are absolutely no absolutes. I mean...pick a topic that seems self-evident, and you will find at least one person who disagrees -- vehemently.
You cannot please all the people all the time. Whether with the books we write or the opinions we express.
If I'm talking to someone face to face, I can be reasonably certain to make myself understood. Out here? Yeesh.
Now there's the truth. Most of these internet fracas(es?) would be likely resolved within a few minutes of simple face to face dialog.
From what I saw in your blogs you do have a certain ability to use words in a very diplomatic way especially when you're confronted with criticism. I think humor is a big plus when dealing with people. But in the end, no one can make everything right for everyone. And I don't think that a career will crush because of a couple of unhappy readers. Ok, not counting unhappy publishers..
Even unhappy publishers don't have the power to crush anyone's writing career -- although one always tries to avoid making one's publishers unhappy.
Yeah, I don't see internet squabbles or unpopular opinions destroying writers -- or vice versa. I think long term patterns of behavior maybe have some effect -- although I've heard many horror stories about really famous authors, and the stories seem to be consistent, yet the authors stay firmly entrenched in bestsellerdom...
I mean the number one important thing to readers is surely the books we write? As charming as I may find someone personally, if their work doesn't do anything for me, the wittiest blog in the world won't persuade me to read them --beyond once.
*That* sense of connect with an author is amazing because it tells me s/he cares about their readers. That might be a big ol' lie and it's just a PR thing to keep readers happy, but darn it, I'm going to believe I might have made them smile. :)
That's an easy one -- it's one of the perks of the job: answering reader mail. I mean, does anyone honestly object to being told someone appreciated their work? And how hard is it to say thank you?
I can see the danger for reviewers -- forming friendships with authors. If you take your reviewing seriously, it's going to be necessary to keep that distance. But there are people who I prefer to have as friends even if I do lose their reviews -- as much as I value good reviews (and I do). Sometimes it's the inevitable progression of knowing someone long enough that you simply begin to be friendly. Because anything else is an unnatural strain.
This is a bit off topic, but I will never tell a friend I don't like a work unless I am specifically asked for an honest opinion or a critique. Because there is a different line there -- a social line -- with friends. And despite having written a book on writing, I don't see it as my job to go around and point out to my friends what I feel they're doing wrong. I imagine it's the kind of thing reviewers run into as well.
You know, to answer your question of what blogs do people frequent and why...I use a feed reader so I subscribe to a lot of blogs, but most of it I "mark as read" and don't ever really read. I skim, if that. The only blogs and feeds I read regularly are those of my favorite news columnists. I do, however, have quite a few of my favorite fiction author blogs in my reader, but most of the time I skip the updates. I guess in thinking about it, the author blogs I find more interesting and am more likely to read are the ones that mix professional with what I think of as superficially personal. There's only so many blog posts I can read about writing before they get tedious, and although I do not (not!) want to read about an author's sex life or even political ranting, I do enjoy posts where an author may talk about some event they attended or a movie they saw, etc. I guess it allows me to feel like I'm getting an "inside" look, but it protects both myself and the author.
I think one of the really appealing parts of reading an author's blog is that, at least to me, it feels like there is a certain amount of candidness. I know I'm not reading words that went through editors before I read them. I know this isn't a fiction author, but for example, one of my favorite news columnists just posted a blog about the bombing of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad and said he's going to try and plan a trip to Pakistan to get some on the ground coverage because it feels increasingly "on the brink." I don't know as he'd be that candid in his column--or if it would even warrant a column--and being allowed his first reaction without the usual vetting feels very special to me as a reader. Obviously fiction authors are a bit different, but there it still seems important, and special even, when an author is being candid about their work or their writing. Also, being allowed the opportunity to comment and receive a response from the author can have its own special importance.
Having said that, though, I don't want to read about the business of writing and reviews and interviews that all say the same thing. There's not much point to that, in my opinion, because if you've read one, you've read them all. I may check in every once and a while, but I wouldn't read that author's blog regularly.
I guess what I'm trying to say is there can be too much in an author's blog because I don't want to know all about their personal lives, but there can be too little, too.
Did any of that make sense? That's probably why I don't blog.
I go to blogs for the same reason I go to bars. Good blogs are very much like good bars. I go to them to see people I know and talk about stuff me and the other guests all agree about and relax and feel a sense of belonging.
So I think a blogger is, in effect the host of his or her own little meeting place where he or she runs a conversation club, about a specific topic. The better the host, for me, the better the blog.
I suppose it could also be compared to having your own talk show.
I'm not interested in blogs that are just advertising for a person's products, even if that person is an author and the products are books. The blogger, for me, must show some spark of genuine non-promotional interactivity. Otherwise, the blog is just one long, dull commercial.
But there is, I believe, a line between personal and private that good hosts can tread. Just as guests at a person's house should stay in the living room and not nose through the medicine cabinet, or "accidentally" find themselves rifling through their host's underwear drawer, guests on a blog should be genteel to their queries. Likewise, bloggers should not trot out their sex toys and prescriptions for their guests perusal (unless it's a blog specifically devoted to prescription sex toys.)
In other words, I don't think the current quandries with blogs are the fault of technology or anonymity so much as I feel that modern manners have not had the chance to catch up to or establish a set of ground rules to identify what is a faux pas when hosting or visiting a blog. (Does that make sense?)
But however you feel about connectedness, the fact is that it's pretty amazing that we can all be having this conversation at all. Think how lonely it was to be an author before the internet existed. Outside of huge metropolitan cities, it was pretty easy to feel like the Only Writer in The World. That's the positive that blogs have brought us. Not fans, not money, but being able to find and speak to each other.
Now if we could only stay out of each other's medicine chests.
I know I'm not reading words that went through editors before I read them. I know this isn't a fiction author, but for example, one of my favorite news columnists just posted a blog about the bombing of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad and said he's going to try and plan a trip to Pakistan to get some on the ground coverage because it feels increasingly "on the brink." I don't know as he'd be that candid in his column--or if it would even warrant a column--and being allowed his first reaction without the usual vetting feels very special to me as a reader.
Yes, I can see the appeal of this. It's almost like listening into the unguarded conversations of people who interest us. Yeah...interesting. Good point.
In other words, I don't think the current quandries with blogs are the fault of technology or anonymity so much as I feel that modern manners have not had the chance to catch up to or establish a set of ground rules to identify what is a faux pas when hosting or visiting a blog. (Does that make sense?)
Very much so. I don't know if its the Age of Information or what, but there is a strange sense of...almost entitlement that some people have, a sense that they have a right to know...everything. And what utter nonsense this is.
You hear this argument from the publishers of celebrity magazines -- the justification for crass invasion of privacy based on the Public Wants to Know.
What a strange notion. The price of admission entitles one to a movie, a concert, a book...nothing more.
But however you feel about connectedness, the fact is that it's pretty amazing that we can all be having this conversation at all. Think how lonely it was to be an author before the internet existed. Outside of huge metropolitan cities, it was pretty easy to feel like the Only Writer in The World. That's the positive that blogs have brought us. Not fans, not money, but being able to find and speak to each other.
This is how many of us get lured into blogging, list discussions, etc. Writing is a lonely business. And occasionally we need more than the voices in our heads for company.
And of course I've made genuine friends through these web dialogs. Which maybe more than anything is what makes it all worth it.
"Very much so. I don't know if its the Age of Information or what, but there is a strange sense of...almost entitlement that some people have, a sense that they have a right to know...everything."
Weirder than that even are their partners the people who want to reveal everything, who turn themselves inside out on reality TV. I confess I have no insight into either of these psychological states. My experience of life just hasn't taken me to that area of the mind much.
There was an article about the superconnectednss of a musician and his blog readers that addressed these same subjects. I can't remember the musician's name but a good searcher could probably locate it. And I'm not sure it's necessary to find anyway because the reporter came to pretty much the same conclusion as you: it's a new world and it's got it's pros and cons.
LB - I agree. It is difficult to maintain that objectivity.
Fantastically interesting post and discussion.
It certainly gives us all something to ponder. Turn back the clocks a few decades and put blog technology in the hands of Hemingway or even Bing Crosby. I doubt we would have liked them as much... though I do believe the general public can separate personal feelings from literary views. But who knows?
I find myself having enough trouble keeping up on posts on my own blog so I tend to neglect other blogs for months. Still, I do my best to bite my tongue and avoid ranting about petty things or opinionated subjects. Sometimes, I think if everyone were really inside my head, I would be exiled.
And that's not a good beginning when you haven't even been signed on to a publisher yet.
Yet I think blogs aren't always read religiously by everyone. People take whatever dose they can handle and leave the rest be. Nonetheless, the best thing to bear in mind is this: never write anything you wouldn't want to say publicly.
I guess that's why I try to stick with humor. It's a lot safer, usually.
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