They're OUT THERE...Power Blogging.

Several editors and agents I've talked to have said that they have no interest in reading a single unnecessary word on the computer. They prefer hard-copy for their leisure reading and won't do any fun-time reading on the computer because they are sick of the thing.

Okay, then, I didn't have to be careful.** I could mention Hilary and Briana (who has stopped by come to think of it) and Emily--and all those professsssional types wouldn't see a word of it.

I reasoned that the only people reading my blog who don't post are my brother-in-law [hi, Andrew!] my neighbor [yo, L!] my pal from high school [eb! dude!] my Frederick friend ['sup Leslie? Thanks for the coupon]. And then the people who do post--most of them are returning the visits I make to their blogs. It's coffee hour with the neighbors, usually with unspiked coffee even. Come as you are, no need for stilettos. Amiable's enough and those authors who use the blog to sell themselves are fooling themselves, poor punkins.

And then Miss Snark goes and talks about cruising blogs. Six people sold books using the mighty power of their wit and depth and cool shit as showcased in their blogs. Daaaamn.

Doug compares blogging to stand-up comedy.

Uh oh. Nuh uh.

If I'm supposed to be clever here, that spells the end of this little venture into blogdom. Dammit, I thought the funny ones were the ones who could sell advertising. Spotlights schmotlights.

_________________


** I'm not worried about doocing myself but how about this...Leave a note if you're:
1. someone who's going to affect my future career
and/or
2. reading this blog.
...and I promise I'll stop snarking about you. Sorry, George Bush, you're not eligible for this offer.

Comments

  1. I'm here! Thanks for the shout. I'm here a lot, but if you snark on me, I'll only come back for more.

    Gotta go make guacamole.

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  2. I talked to a savvy book promo person and she said that blogging is way overrated lately as far as a promotional tool because everybody jumped on the bandwagon. There's so many out there and few getting enough traffic to matter--the number she said was 20K hits a day. Oy.

    Think how inherently exhibitionistic blogging is. Look at me, read my words, pay attention to me! It's a step-down from a web cam.

    But uh, that's what we authors do with words--we spew them obsessively and put them out there for public consumption, freaky-deeks that we are.

    Personally, I'm in it for the self-expression and general hubris.

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  3. Urban legend. Miss Snark is just screwing with you.

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  4. You haven't snarked on me yet. (At least, not that I've seen.)

    And no, that wasn't an invitation to do so.

    (Also, to answer your question left in my Blog some time ago, yes, the novella was for the EC-Sept.30-deadline-Anthology. Now that I know I'm up against you, Ms. Thang, I'm royally scrod.)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:39 PM

    Hey, I'm here -- and if you can't say anything nice, come sit by me. :smile:

    While I do know someone who got a book deal via her Live Journal, that was a different situation than most of us; she was a reservist stationed in Iraq and was blogging about some incredible things. Most of us, I don't think it's going to happen.

    Of course, given the way Murphy's Law works, the moment you say something that's going to piss some editor or agent off, that is the moment said editor or agent will come strolling by.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous12:24 AM

    Hmmm, bloggers I know of who got book deals via their blogs:

    - Martha of The Random Muse

    - Whatserface of The Washingtonienne

    - Maddox of The The Best Page in the Universe

    OK, the last isn't really a blog in the usual sense of the term. But he got his book deal because of his website.

    Does Jen of Jennsylvania count?

    These aren't this season, though. Um, question: what the hell does "this season" mean? Damn, that's vague. I wonder who Miss Snark was talking about....

    ReplyDelete
  7. Present.
    Hmm I won't say I began blogging to get published. But I did have my published career in mind certainly. I wanted a presence online, and being that the very thought of creating a website is a) beyond me, b) makes me want to curl in a corner sucking my thumb, and c) what the hell would I fill a website with? Blogging was the way to go.

    Oddly enough, once I got the hang of it, my blog became less and less about the writing and (as Monica mentioned) more about me and expressing myself. And Day-um I'm having fun.

    It's second only to blog whoring and posting on others blogs.

    X

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous8:45 AM

    Hi Kate :)

    You have mail!

    Briana

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous9:05 AM

    Kate,

    I stumbled upon your site by a post left on my own (www.missjlo.com). I find your writing style very inspiring and I look forward to reading a book. As I work on getting my own book published, thank you for sharing your thoughts on who you are and just the daily adventures of a fellow writer. Blessings to you! Jackee (AKA Miss J.L.O.)

    ReplyDelete
  10. interesting posts, y'all. Thanks for taking the trouble to write.

    Too bad there's no way to write a guide to blogs--the genre's too damn fluid.

    I have a lineup I have to visit every morning, or the day doesn't start out right. It's like the comix page. Must read Doonesbury. Must visit SBTB. (Must avoid Family Circus....hmmm. Must avoid Hannity?)

    It would be cool to know exactly which bloggers got published because of their blogs. Should put details like that in Publisher's Lunch.

    Oh, thanks Briana for showing us that sometimes you pesky editors do stop in.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous3:25 PM

    Belle De Jour, who is apparently a London call girl, got a book deal on the strength of her blog!

    Far fewer juicy details in my blog... But I don't blog with any eye to getting a book deal. I just do it because I like it! :)

    Take care...

    Love

    Wendy

    ReplyDelete
  12. Did you know that you have both Haloscan and Blogger comments enabled? No wonder there are two different places that say comments! Tricky!

    Now my question, why do you have them both enabled?

    ReplyDelete
  13. ummm... cause Else does it and Else is cool?

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  14. I do it because I added Haloscan on a whim about a year ago, then lost all my Blogger comments, then pleaded with someone to help me put them back, then got them back. Then I did a survey about which kind people liked better, and it was about even, and I couldn't remember how to take Haloscan off anyway without messing everything up, plus I'm wishy-washy and thought, why not give people a choice?

    Now Blogger comments have gotten so much better I'd like to take Haloscan off, but then I saw you have both enabled on your new blog, so I thought, hey, Kate's doing it, it must be cool now!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Avoid Family Cirus? I'm living for the day when the Dysfunctional Family Circus goes back online. (You can find cheap knockoffs through Google, but the site I found was racist & not terribly funny.)

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  16. AMY,
    what's going on? You getting any anwers?

    ReplyDelete
  17. LMAO - well I stop by once a week so I guess I'm here.

    Don't think I can do much for your career though - sorry hon.

    ReplyDelete

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