More and more I’ve been discovering a growing trend with blogs penned by multiple authors. I think this is a great idea, and it serves a variety of purposes:
1. It takes the pressure off! You don’t have to blog daily—meaning you don’t have to come up with a topic daily and you don’t have to actually write a little spiel every day. So…
2. It saves precious writing time while still keeping you visible as an author.
3. It’s cross-promotional. You get together a group of authors like you, writing in the same general genre, and you play off one another. You pull in readers for each other and announce each others’ successes.
4. It’s a way to prevent putting a question out there for potential readers and then staring at that ‘0 comments’ field. Your blog mates can help you save face.
5. It’s a sense of community, and readers want to be involved. It looks as if the authors are having fun, and they probably are!
I’d like to do a group blog, but I don’t really feel as if I’m in the same situation as anyone. Most authors published by a major house shy away from aligning themselves with a self-published author. And most self-published authors are not romance authors. Besides, romance doesn’t lend itself to self-publishing in that readers are expecting to pay the standard mass-market price (which isn’t very cost-effective for a self-publisher), competition is fierce, and books easily get lost in the shuffle. So for now, I’m goin’ it alone.
Some fun group blogs I’ve encountered:
Squawk Radio
Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills
Risky Regencies
Literary Chicks
Dishing With the Divas
Let me know if you find any more good ones…
Friday, May 19, 2006
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2 comments:
I frequent the Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills with a regularity (which I saw you noted). BUT, the thing I've noticed is, they're each apparently assigned a day to blog. And it would appear that they have to, no matter what. Shane, who should have been out doing honeymoon things, posted a blog from her hotel while on her honeymoon. To me that's more pressure than going it alone.
Not to mention - having been a part of a multiple contributor blog at one time - it's like finding the right critique partner, if you pick the wrong one, it can be miserable for you. The blog I participated in was a group of non-published authors but I think the concept is the same. It may have its benefits but it's not something I'd jump back into without a lot of thought.
Hi Lucy,
Having a single day that you have to post doesn't seem too problematic to me. You could easily write your posts ahead of time and even have someone post them for you if you wanted.
But as to choosing the right blogging pals...I can see how that might get a little tricky. Like a group signing, tour, or workshop might be. Personalities would have to mesh somewhat.
Still...I like the idea as a reader and (in principle) as an author.
Alyssa
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