What I've Been Up To - Part II

Over the past couple of months, as I've been doing less writing and blogging, I've been focusing my creative energy elsewhere. One of the weird things about pregnancy (at least in my case) has been an inability to sleep enough to not be tired anytime, but an inability to be awake enough to do anything which requires a significant amount of my brain (like writing).

So, I turned my attention to crafts which require only that I focus on what I'm doing and follow instructions rather than requiring the invention of new worlds, character motivations, or plots. What came of that was 1 completely finished and one nearly completed Christmas stocking. The completed stocking is for my (as of yet, unborn) daughter. The second, nearly complete one is for my husband and should be done before Christmas. The third one, the not-yet-started one, is mine.

My original plan was to complete all three before baby is born, but due to some complications, she needs to come early. Which means that I probably won't be able to finish (or even start) the last stocking by Christmas. My first thought upon realizing this: "And so this is how it begins...my daughter and husband will always have everything, and I will have nothing."

The words sound a bit bleak though if you don't read them with a hint of sarcasm and a smile. And realize that I was actually thinking of my own Mom when I thought this. Because that's exactly how it was growing up - she made sure that my sister and I had everything, then came her husband, and when we were all taken care of, it was finally her turn. Only, there often wasn't time for her. But somehow, she never seemed to mind. She was just so happy (honestly, genuinely happy, people!) to see everyone else taken care of and happy.

This morning I'm headed to the hospital and, if I'm lucky, I'll get to meet my own daughter by the end of the day. I couldn't be more excited!!!

On that note, I'll be taking a break from the blogosphere, email, and Twitter - no internet in the hospital anyways ;) - so please excuse me if I fail to respond to any messages for awhile. But, I'll be back, probably before you know it. Happy writing everyone and I hope all you NaNoWriMo-ers out there win!!!!

What I've Been Up to - Part 1

I've been completely neglecting this blog and now it's time to finally own up to it. Over the past few months, my priorities have shifted, and blogging took a serious hit. I only wish I'd realized what was happening and let my readers know to expect a break. But I didn't. And I'm sorry!

So now that that's out of the way, I thought I'd share a bit with you about the things I have been doing :)


The biggest, most time-consuming, new addition to my activity list has been this - growing a baby girl!

Being pregnant might not seem like an "activity" or something that requires time, but it is. At least for me. It's meant a huge shift where sleeping enough and eating well are prioritized. Gone are the days of drinking a strong cup of coffee to stay up late and finish that extra chapter or blog post or throwing a frozen pizza into the oven rather than preparing something fresh for dinner in order to maximize writing time. These are the days of afternoon naps and caffeine-free tea. And then there are the doctor's appointments, pregnancy exercise classes, nursery preparation, researching and buying the perfect stroller/car seat/etc., and paperwork to do!

Obviously, writing and blogging are things which need to be prioritized, too, otherwise there would always be an excuse getting in the way, preventing them from happening. And I've seen plenty of writers keep on a regular writing/blogging/interacting on social media schedule through a pregnancy and into their baby's first year without a hitch. I'm in honest awe of these ladies!

For me though, that just hasn't been possible. We're not all built the same way, and I haven't had the energy these amazing writers seem to possess. And since I don't have that energy, it's not worth prioritizing writing or blogging just for the sake of it. At this point in my writing career, I don't have any contractual obligations or deadlines, and so I've allowed writing/blogging to step down a rung on the ladder of priorities. I'll only be pregnant with my daughter once, and I won't stress myself out with self-imposed writing/blogging deadlines just because.

P.s. The baby girl is due on November 23rd - I'm almost there!

What do you think? Is there anything you other writers have let or would let take priority over the writing time you've carved out for yourself? What about the non-writers out there? Is there any particular activity you've worked to prioritize (blogging, crafting, reading, etc.)? Could you ever imagine shifting that priority back down?

Should Writers Blog about Writing?

In case any of you writers out there don't know about it, WriteOnCon - a free online conference for writers (focused on YA, MG, and PBs) is going on right now!! It's awesome and full of lots of great opportunities to get feedback on queries/first pages from fellow writers/authors AND from ninja agents.

Yesterday, the below vlog on using social media was posted as part of the conference.



And one piece of advice for writers was to blog (yay! doing that already), but to blog about something other than writing (oh...crap). Meredith advised writers to blog about something else they are passionate about.

This advice is something I heard a week or two ago from an agent on Twitter, too and hearing it reconfirmed made me panic a bit. And then, I started to feel a bit upset, overwhelmed even.

I mean, I understand the idea behind the advice - a blog on writing is going to speak to other writers and other writers aren't necessarily going to be a novel's/author's fan base - and I totally appreciate industry professionals actually taking the time to share their knowledge and tips with aspiring authors and writers out there.

It's just, this time, it felt personal - I suppose that's because it pokes a hot iron right into an insecurity of mine. What if I don't have what it takes to be the super writer/blogger/promoter/human being the publishing world seems to expect me to be?

Blog about one of my other passions?! Am I suppose to have time for other things that I'm as passionate about as I am about writing/reading/critiquing/Beta-ing? Because honestly, I would have to give up my day job, my family, my friends, this blog, and all the side hobbies I wouldn't blog about, but which I still enjoy (ex. reading other people's blogs, interacting on Twitter, going to the movies, watching Breaking Bad, snuggling with my cat, baking the occasional pie) to make room for another serious passion. And that is not something I am willing to do.

As soon as I finished freaking out on that level and came to terms with the idea that I am not going to quit blogging about writing, I thought about what this blog means to me and why I feel so strongly about it being a good choice for me.

Being an active part of the writing community already takes up more of my life than I had intended it to - not that I'm upset about that :) And I really can't imagine what this journey would be like without all the writing friends I've made along the way - which I probably wouldn't have been able to do without this blog. So, for me, the benefit of blogging about writing has been so HUGE, I just can't imagine advising fledgling writers to forego the experience. I've learned and grown so much as a writer through blogging about writing - I wonder  where I'd be, and how long it would take to get to where I am now, without it.

So, for me, at this point in my writing journey, I don't feel the need to stop blogging about writing and start blogging about something else. I'm comfortable with my choice, though it may go against current advice from people who know this industry better than I do. And that's because I know ME better than they do - and without all the amazing support of the writing community this blog makes me a part of, who knows if I'd still be writing with the intent to be published one day?

So what about you? What do you think about Meredith's advice? Do you have a writing blog? Or more than one blog?

T is for Traffic (Blog Traffic)

We've all read about or heard about the importance of building a platform, long before a writer gets published. And the most effective way to reach an audience seems to be through blogging. But what are agents looking for in a writer's blog?

From what I can tell, most agents just want reassurance that the writer is able to speak to an audience and generate interest since this will be important for marketing once a manuscript does sell to a publisher. And more importantly, a writer's blog is like a test-run and a way to get practice before everything gets too serious. That way, the blog will be a well-oiled machine and the writer will be an effective blogger by the time it's important.

Of course, an established blog with a lot of followers and high traffic is going to be more appealing to an agent than a new blog with a handful of followers, irregular posts, and low traffic, right? So, how important is blog traffic? And can having a poorly-maintained blog or a blog with a low follower/traffic count negatively affect a writer's chances of getting picked up by an agent? Probably. I mean, if I were an agent, a neglected blog would set off warning alarms and I'd likely take that into consideration before signing a new writer.

What is considered "high traffic"? According to Restless Writers, agents won't be particularly impressed by a blog unless it's getting 60,000+ hits per month. That being said, I don't think anyone expects the average writer's blog to hit those kind of numbers. The way I understand it, having a blog with a reasonable following and traffic rate is expected and basically puts the writer onto the playing field. It would take extraordinary blog success (ex. 60,000+ hits a month) for the blog to positively influence the agent's decision regarding whether or not to offer representation, or extraordinary failure (maybe one or two followers and irregular, irrelevant posts with 10 hits or less a month*) to negatively influence the agent's decision.

*I have no idea what the lower limits of blog traffic/followers are actually considered to be.

For more information on the different ways agents measure social media (and how you can check out your social media influence before you start querying), check out this article: 7 Ways Agents Measure Social Media

And if you are a writer who still hasn't started a blog, check out these links on the importance of starting one:
6 Compelling Reasons Why Authors Need to Blog
Why Twitter and Facebook aren't Enough
Why Authors Need a Blog
Why Writers Need Social Media

Are you aware of your social media score? And have you done (or do you plan to do) anything specific to intentionally increase traffic to your blog prior to querying?