How often should you update a blog? Three different sources I came across this week had three different answers. Every day. Once a week. At least twice a month. A friend of mine follows over 100 blogs and finds it hard to keep up if they’re the Centrum types (one-a-day). Another friend won’t read a blog that’s not kept daily. We may disagree on numbers, but the constant here is the pressure to produce. Pressure is what turned prehistoric ferns to coal and the occasional diamond. So it’s a good thing right? It also, in a lot of cases, just hardened layers of sediment into plain old rock. But rock also has its uses. I guess we just have to ask ourselves once in a while are we creating a blog or a clog?
I keep thinking about Professor Robert Thompson’s comments about universities becoming deputies of twitter and facebook. Since everybody is on these social networks, the rest of everybody feels the need to get on them. With Indie publishing, it’s the same concept. Got a book? Get a blog as part of establishing a platform. So we’ve got lots of platforms to dive off of, but not enough pools. For Konrath and Hocking, blogs are a big part of their success, but does that mean that any success automatically depends on a blog? It would be interesting to see some studies, some hard numbers about correlations.
It’s all about finding a balance. Writing a book and keeping a blog use different muscles, and require different habits. I find it invigorating and a little scary to switch between the two. The one is about writing and writing and revising, revising, and revising then subjecting it all to review by other writing professionals. Blogging is more spontaneous, performing without a net. To mix metaphors here, novels are round tumbled gems with the edges worn off. Blogs aren’t as polished, but you just might find a diamond or two in the rough.
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