Quite a few writers have asked me … why are you blogging? Are you getting paid for it? (They ask me that knowing that in the 16 years I have been a freelancer writer, I have never written for free.) I have always been a champion for the rights of writers, have always closely guarded my copyright and have always believed that we should be paid for each and every commercial use of our work. But unfortunately, the world of publishing is rapidly changing and I have had to change the way I do business and change the focus of my work. It is becoming nearly impossible to make a good living exclusively from periodical work.
So to answer the question, no I am not getting paid to blog. (Perhaps someday I will monetize the site, but at this point, that is not important to me.) What blogging does for me is release a myriad of creative juices that had not previously found an outlet. I began blogging in late February, and since then, I already have 2 books that are within me and dying to get out. I have been fortunate to find a publisher for the first idea on the first try. The second one may take more of an effort, but is an equally great idea, so wish me luck.
I think that every writer should have a blog, and for that matter … anyone in business or anyone with a cause they are promoting. Blogging is free and it can reach a wide audience if you have your blog linked to other bloggers and sites.
To learn more about blogging, I took on the suggestion of a friend (thanks, Laura!) and signed on to the 31-day blog challenge run by
Darren Rowse, the owner of ProBlogger.net Darren is a successful blogger who is sharing his expertise with interested parties at no cost. I’d highly recommend taking this online tutorial.
As well, another blogger who really seems to know the ropes is David Risley.
http://www.davidrisley.com
David knows the answer to pretty much any blogging related question and offers a free e-newsletter to keep you up to date with blogging and new media trends.
Tagged as:
blogging,
blogs,
the writing life,
writers
About Doreen Pendgracs
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Lots of people blog without making money from it. I am with you on this; there are several books in the works in part because of blogging, though of course finding time to do it is always the trick. (both the blogging and the writing of books.) But all things come with time. Or so I tell myself.
You’re so right, Jodi. It’s always a balancing act to get it all in. But the benefits of blogging to the creative process are so well worth it.