It’s the first Wednesday of the month and time for a new posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. If you’re looking for my A-Z post, check out the main blog page.
I’m skipping this month’s optional question – again!
I love folklore. I love researching it. I love finding out how it’s used in modern culture. I especially love twisting it to fit my writing (see: Origin of the Fae).
But, it takes a lot of time to create a folklore post. Which means that I cannot do one or two posts about folklore a month – it interrupts the flow of writing fiction too much (I find something interesting and travel down a rabbit hole only to emerge weeks later, no fiction done, only research).
Blogging, though, has started to lose its appeal. I know that it’s the best way to network, be seen and have a solid online presence, but it has started to feel like work.
Last April, I combined blogging and folklore and had loads of fun. I also connected with like-minded people who didn’t disappear into the void after April. So I did it again this year. But without the gravy.
James Wedmore encourages entrepreneurs to work smarter, not harder. This translates to doing something once and be able to re-use it multiple times.
Yes, the modern culture aspect of my folklore posts is gravy (or fat?), but I didn’t mess with that aspect of the folklore post as it usually gives me interesting ideas. But I stopped doing sketches. It takes a lot of time, I prefer not turning a relaxing hobby into a deadline-driven job, and I can’t re-use it in any way (I’m no Picasso and definitely no Rembrandt).
The Origin of the Fae gets shared 1) in the post of the faery I’m talking about, 2) on my Origin of the Fae page, 3) on Wattpad, 4) on Pinterest and in 5) free books like “Stories on Scrolls” to build brand awareness.
Links to the appropriate folklore blogposts are also shared in all the places above, blogposts about my books featuring said fae, and on Twitter.
At least it feels good and seems to work.
I have thought about starting a podcast about the “folklore in a nutshell by Ronel” pieces in these folklore posts. But would that work as a marketing/branding tool or only as a vanity project? Please share your thoughts on this in the comments! And remember to check out the awesome guest post about podcasting I had on my blog in February.
I know James said not to feel guilty about taking time off, to see it as work, but I still struggle with the concept. Reminding myself that it is what successful entrepreneurs (authorpreneurs!) do, will help me stay away from my study in June.
I’ll probably work on some sewing projects and listen to some soothing rock (classic, progressive, hard – doesn’t really matter). Hopefully Eskom won’t cut the power just for fun – or just because they can – and ruin my vacation mood, or worse, burn out my sewing machine. (Yes, loadshedding is scheduled and real. So is cable-theft and goofing around.)
I hope these changes I’ve made will grow my author business.
What are your thoughts? Has your blogging style changed? What do you do to market your brand? Any advice you’d like to share?
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I so agree that you should do what you love and that things will work out. Blogging is work, but you really connect with people so much more than other social media avenues. I’ve heard it’s a lot of work to do a podcast, and there are a lot of podcasts and YouTube videos for people to watch already, so you might consider it. One way to make blogging feel like less work is to limit it to once or twice a week. I don’t blog more than that most weeks because it’s work and there just aren’t enough people reading blogs anymore.
Thanks, Natalie. I’ve already cut down on the frequency of posts and it feels a lot better 🙂
Hi,
I like the quotes you have posted. They are very encouraging.
Also about blogging, I know many writers are doing it and they blog three or four times a week.
That is good for them but not for me. I don’t blog often.
Wishing you all the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
Thanks, Pat 🙂 I like listening to James when I need some encouragement.
Sounds like you’re making a wise, conscious choice to make the best use of blogging for your own goals. I hope you enjoy your holiday–complete with electricity!
Blogging is work, and I’ve opted out of challenges like the A-Z group, though it was fun for me the first time through. I started blogging when I turned 50 as a way to explore this new phase of life, find inspiration for living it well, and connect with women doing the same. My focus changed when I started writing fiction for publication, and has narrowed still more as I found success (a tiny bit) in romance. Now I blog about the writing life, my books, books I’ve loved, topics that appear in/inspire my stories, and I host guest authors. I may eventually drop blogging altogether, but for now the occasional piece of creative non-fiction is a good writing exercise for me.
Thanks, Sadira 🙂 I hear you about changing focus — and I think hosting guest authors might be a good way to still blog regularly but without the work of thinking up the post!