by Lauren Sapala
In order to be a successful writer in today’s online world there are certain things you have to do.
If you want to get your name out there then you have to play the game in a certain way.
The internet offers limitless possibilities and it is up to you to choose which ones work for you.
One of the statements above is true, and the other two are false. Can you tell which is which? I’ll give you a hint: look for the words “have to.” Whenever you hear the words “have to” your red flag radar should start bleeping at you that something is off.
I’ve talked to five different writers in the past two weeks who have all told me that they “have to” start a blog, even though they don’t want to and they have no interest in it. Every one of these writers also told me that someone else told them this—another writer, an agent, or an article they found online.
Not wanting to do something, but feeling like you “have to” and “should” do that same dreaded thing, is almost guaranteed to lead to chronic procrastination, followed closely by feelings of sinking failure.
This awful concoction of “have to” and “I should” that gets mixed in to almost all online marketing activities for writers is making us crazy. I don’t care who told you that all writers have to blog or how fanatical about it they sounded, but any time someone tells you that you “have to” do something it’s a sure sign that they feel that they have to do things and they are projecting their mindset onto you.
Or, possibly, they just misspoke and what they meant to say was:
I’ve read that blogging is a really helpful and powerful tool for writers.
I myself enjoy blogging and it’s increased my readership.
I feel positive about blogging (for whatever reason) and I’d like to see you give blogging a chance.
Regardless of how it came across, that someone else who offered you that advice probably meant well. However, there are a whole ton of articles out there on the internet telling writers that they have to do about a million different things if they ever want to make it, and they all mean well to a certain extent. The reality is that most writers are left feeling less than, not enough, self-doubting, and panicked that they’re not doing it right and that they will never figure out how to do it right.
The “you have to blog” myth is just one face of the “have to” advice monster that writers deal with on a daily basis.
If you try blogging and find out you hate it, I believe that it’s better to quit blogging altogether and devote that energy to finding something else to do online that you DO like, rather than forcing yourself to do something that you hate week after week.
The internet contains an infinitely vast universe of possibility and potential that is expanding every day. The truth is that no one really knows what things are going to look like in the future or how this whole new publishing/marketing model is going to shake out for writers. What people do know is what seems to be working right now. Blogging happens to be a big thing on that list. But…there are other things that work too.
So, if you truly hate blogging you could try:
Making videos/creating your own Youtube channel
Participating in or creating an online forum
Starting your own Facebook group
Sending out a newsletter with curated links to relevant articles
You could also try blogging—but veer away from traditional blogging techniques. For instance, you could start a group blog with five other writer friends so you don’t have to post as often. Or, you could offer an online advice column. Your writer friends (and your readers) are invited to send you questions and you answer one question a week, so that you don’t have to come up with original ideas or a whole lot of new content.
So many of the writers I talk to on a regular basis tell me that they hate all marketing. It’s a shame because I almost always find that the writer doesn’t actually hate marketing activities. In fact, they usually don’t know enough about the different types of marketing activities to decide that they hate “all marketing.” What’s really going on is that they feel that getting involved in marketing will force them to do a bunch of stuff they just plain don’t want to do. Like blogging.
This is totally understandable. No one wants to do a bunch of stuff that sounds like it sucks and will be a nothing but a chore.
However, once we start moving outside the box of “have to” and “should” different avenues start opening up. Various kinds of opportunities start coming our way. Things that could be possibly categorized as “marketing” actually sound like maybe the teeniest tiniest bit of fun.
The takeaway is to always, always listen to yourself first, no matter what everyone else says you should be doing. And for Pete’s sake don’t force yourself to do something you hate, nothing good ever comes from that.
If you’re a writer who hates to blog, that’s okay. You fully have my permission not to blog.
Now use that reclaimed energy to go do something that will be worthwhile to you, whether that’s filming videos, building a better LinkedIn profile, or figuring out how to offer a webinar.
Of course, you can always put that extra time back into your writing, too.
Guest post contributed by Lauren Sapala. Lauren is a writing coach who specializes in personal growth and artistic development for introverted intuitive writers. She is the author of The INFJ Writer and currently blogs on writing, creativity and personality theory at www.laurensapala.com. She lives in San Francisco.
Thank you for some great advice, and a lot to think about.
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Reblogged this on and commented:
An excellent article and received at a perfect moment for me. How do you feel about blogging…?
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Thanks for sharing!
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Great advice. I’m seriously considering a more old-fashioned/introverted approach to marketing: flyers, using Kindle keywords to their full advantage, advertising through Kindle, etc. I don’t mind blogging, but I HATE the idea of asking my blog/Twitter readers to buy my book.
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So true! I’ve been blogging (I know :P) about the different social media options out there for writers, and how to get started in them.
For VERY low intensity entrances into ‘establishing that social media presence’, I recommend Pinterest or Instagram:
– “Pin” pictures of inspirations for your characters or settings – BONUS: this can be useful for keeping a consistent mental image of these people/places for YOU!
– Or post a picture of your writing work space/snacks/edits/inspirational quotes 1-2 x’s a week, and add a few hashtags.
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Reblogged this on Fantasy Books 411 and commented:
This is a brilliant post, Lauren. I see other writers lecturing their fellows about this. I’ll be honest, it’s what first brought me to blogging alongside my writing. However, as time went on, I found people just like me, who show an unbelievable passion for books. I couldn’t be happier. ^_^
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Thanks for sharing!
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This is a brilliant post, Lauren. I see other writers lecturing their fellows about this. I’ll be honest, it’s what first brought me to blogging alongside my writing. However, as time went on, I found people just like me, who show an unbelievable passion for books. I couldn’t be happier. ^_^
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Thank you for posting this, I needed the encouragement.
I recently started a FB group for introverted women writers and I was in my feelings about it (second guessing is my permanent location, ugh).
I posted the idea to others in my introverts group and many were on board(which gave me the go) but a very scant few have joined(took me back to second guessing).
I was going to delete it but decided to keep it going (you never know who you’re going to inspire, right?)
So I post articles, blog posts, and my thoughts on things, etc to hopefully inspire myself and the few that are on board.
But I’m notorious for “have to” about anything, gotta keep a thesaurus handy to keep procrastination at bay.
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Wonderful advice here, thank you for sharing. Personally I love to blog! I knew I should start one as a way of starting to create a ‘brand’ with me at the centre of my journey during the attempted writing of my debut novel whilst negotiating potholes of procrastination en route. Guess what? I’ve only gone and blogged over 50,000 words since the start of 2018 😱! I started the blog in Oct last year … imagine if those words had been added to my WIP, I’d be almost at ‘THE END’ !!!
But I can’t stop … I’m loving the community vibe I found here and the super followers who support and encourage, and the other writers who I found who inspire me. Like you 🥂
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I’m loving it too. Good for us.
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Reblogged this on Pens of Erdington.
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I felt that way when everyone told me I “had to” have an author page on Facebook. I tried it, hated it, and it was so relieved the day I deleted it.
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Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog.
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Thanks for helping relieve the pressure from some shoulders. I’m sure lots of people hate it. Now that I have the hang of it, four years in, I find that I’ve almost blogged myself a book. That keeps me going. Somehow, I feel free to speak in my own language on the blog, in my silly voice and joke around. It’s mine to do as I wish and it takes the pressure off doing magazine articles that would be cut to pieces and waiting for deadlines and answers. It’s not for everyone certainly but it’s a go for me.
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Reblogged this on The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy and commented:
I’m the worst blogger in the world. I mean, doing something like this. Since my entire book blog is the first draft, it’s more like a reality show called “The Anatomy of a High Fantasy Non-Fan Fiction Novel”. Can’t complain about readers; one blog has 623 readers (each volume has its own blog) and I’ve been told I’d get more if I was on WattPad. I’m going to suck forever, but you don’t have to. 😊
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I don’t have the attention span. Still working on it. ☺️
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You ought to tell the truth. Most writers are introverts who are ashamed of being such. They lie to themselves about who they are, but in truth the only way to produce anything of value is to be isolated and be happy. I believe all writers like to blog and anonymously read the work of others because they are curious and they are nosey.
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Like your thinking! My best wishes…
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So many points I can resonate with. I don’t want to be a celebrated writer myself but would like to build a community for readers, words-aficionados and those who are battling mental health woes through writing. And I don’t have to do things that I don’t like doing to push forward my ‘agenda’. Thanks for your reassurance. 🙂
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I am new to blogging and the most difficult thing I’ve discovered about it so far is having the time to do it consistently. I feel as long as I’m writing and continuing to chip away at my current work in progress, I can take the five minutes or so it takes to make a blog. The problem I’m having is finding an audience for my blog…I suppose this will come in time, but for now, I feel I’m just blogging to myself. Great article.
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Thanks for sharing!
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It’s amazing–when I have a novel in progress, I can stay focused and let nothing get in its way. But when I think I need to update my blog, I can find a million other things to do.
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I can actually co-relate
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Reblogged this on WILDsound Writing and Film Festival Review.
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