I’m trying something new.
Okay, new to me.
Well, maybe not new to me, but new-ish.
Actually, now that I think about it, it’s more old than new.
*waves hands* Forget everything I just said.
Here it is: I’m going back to blogging.
(Wow, I really built that up, didn’t I?)
I started this blog as a way to keep myself writing while I was in the depths of querying and revising. This blog was to be my creative space, my opportunity to write little mini-essays to include in my newsletter that would give my readers a little something, an amuse-bouche if you will, a soupçon of content each month.
Except. I really, really, re-he-he-heeeeeally dreaded writing those posts. They felt like homework. And like homework, I put them off and put them off and only wrote them when the last minute had come—and sometimes gone—and the looming deadline was too much to bear any longer.
Author’s Note: the one exception to this doom and gloom was my series of author interviews. I loved doing those! I don’t really consider those as part of this whole rant because I didn’t have to write them, only around them.
So I stopped. I switched tactics and focused on my newsletter, which, in addition to being a) shorter and b) monthly, was a lot more fun. I also spent more time on Instagram and Facebook, which allowed me to meet and chat with more authors and readers, and is generally more full of funny cat videos.
Now, however, traditional social media engagement is down, and readers are flocking to Substack, Many of my friends and writer role models are switching their newsletters and blogs to this platform. It’s got longer writing pieces, you can interact in the comments section, and you can find new accounts through the “suggestions” page.
Part of me thinks I should do it. Follow the crowd and go for it. It seems like a easy win-win on the surface.
And yet… I hesitate. And this is why:
1) It’s still social media. And social media is fickle. As Heidi Klum will tell you… one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out. As in fashion, so goes social media.
I know that Substack is different because creators actually own their lists of subscribers, which is not the case in those Meta-owned platforms. But really, am I serving myself best by trading one social media method for another? I already find social media a bit overwhelming and I balk at the idea of starting from scratch again. Especially just a few months out from the launch of my next book. Book marketing is a visual business, and I am not willing to give that up, nor do I have the energy to commit to keeping up both. I applaud authors that do. It’s a me thing. I’ve got a high school senior and menopausal insomnia. I’m tired, y’all.
2) My other rationale harkens back to my professional organizing days. One of the major tenants of keeping things organized is the idea of consolidating and keeping like with like. If I spread my author brand out over different mediums, then I’m diluting my messaging and surrendering a level of control. I would rather keep like with like and house as much of my information as I can here, on my website. After all, every author is a small business, and an author website is our storefront.
So I’m coming back to blogging. But this time around it’s going to be more organic, casual. More like a check in. Like we’ve run into each other at the grocery store and are catching up in line.( How are you, by the way? How are you doing?) And I’m going to write about things I like to write about, rather than what I think makes for the “Best Content” (ew, I just threw up in my mouth a little). That means I’m going to talk about books I like, movies and TV I watch, 80s memories, and yes, when i feel like it, I’ll talk about writing. Oh, and probably my cats sometimes.
I’m not saying I’ll never move over to Substack (although if I do, I promise never to use the paid subscriber feature. That seems so unfriendly to me. If you want to pay to read what I write, buy my books).
So that’s it. That’s my news. Or my olds, if you want. No big speech, I’m not nailing it to any doors, I’m just going to try it and see what happens. I' hope you’ll follow along.
Thanks for listening. And, really, how ARE you?
xoxo, Jo