Writer vs. Blogger
Are you a writer? Are you a blogger? Is it possible to be both professionally?
Yes would be the natural answer to that. But if you’re a blogger, does that automatically make you a writer? Can you balance both, or would you rather pick just one?
In this guest post, Bob Betzen explores his thoughts on the blogging world and the writing world, and whether or not one is better than the other.
My Excellent Writing Adventures
Bob Betzen
Radical Avenue
I’ve been so confused lately. Am I a blogger? Am I a writer? Am I a writer? Am I a blogger? I’m pretty sure I’m a little of both, but if I call myself a bloggerwriter I might get flamed. Seeking enlightenment, I decided to travel to Tibet. Oh yeah, I can’t afford that. So I went to a writers’ conference instead.
First, let me provide a little background. I wrote a book proposal long before I started blogging. I also signed up for the conference about the same time I started blogging. Then over the past several months I’ve developed a new hobby: collecting rejection letters. Apparently I need a little help.
I would call the writers conference a very positive experience. It taught me a lot about developing my craft and gave me insights into the book publishing industry. I sometimes sense a bit of friction between writers and bloggers. And although I’m guessing that some published authors see us as second class citizens, no one told me that directly. I was the only person at the conference referring to myself openly as a blogger. However several of the attendees have their own websites. They just don’t update them on a regular basis. In general people were quite friendly and curious about the blogging world.
Blogging has several advantages over attempting to get a book published. The biggest upside is that as a blogger I can bypass all of the traditional gatekeepers and speak directly to my audience. By gatekeepers, I’m referring to agents, editors and publishers. It’s very frustrating to spend months on a book proposal or manuscript and have it dismissed by someone who probably only read the first paragraph. I’m not blaming agents and publishers; they get thousands of unsolicited proposals a year. As a blogger, I’ve got my work in front of lots of people every day. And while I may not get many comments, if my readership grows or remains stable, I know that I have generated some interest.
Writing for publication has advantages as well. You can work at your own pace. There is no pressure to post every day, and no need to stay current with the latest comings and goings. Also if you get an agent or publisher, you’ve got someone actively engaged in selling your work.
Writing is a lonely profession. I’ve spent hours at my desk carefully preparing proposals, only to get depressed wondering if anyone will ever read them. As a blogger I feel more connected. I can go online at any time and correspond with my colleagues at 451 Press. All in all I’m a happy blogger. Now if I could only find my way back to my own blog…
August 20th, 2007 at 8:52 am
I don’t have any experience with the publishing industry, but decided to comment because this is close to something I considered blogging about, myself, this morning. I spent some time writing, this weekend, and it nearly killed my capacity to update my blog. For me, “writing” (and by that, I mean traditional creative writing) and blogging are two completely different things, and they require two completely different mind-sets. Blogging is like talking to your friends, albeit with fewer expletives. Writing becomes an almost-meditative state, due to the focus required. It’s very difficult to leave that meditative state and immediately jump back into the conversational flow of blogging.
August 22nd, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Sam - I definitely agree. I spend a lot of time blogging, so if I want to write, I need to set a time to look through my notes, get all of the blogging stuff out of my head, and then just write.
They are two different approaches, styles, and efforts.