Being a writer used to be about sitting at a desk with a notepad and pen, or perhaps a typewriter, thinking of interesting words and phrases and paragraphs, and either writing them down or typing them up. Then tearing up the pages and starting over. And hopefully coming up with something wonderful in the end.And then the computer entered the world and writing changed. Well, it became less of a workout for one's arms and more a matter of getting down all those wonderful ideas and playing with them and reworking them until they made sense.
As someone who never learned to type properly in spite of several
attempts, I expect my output would be about a quarter of what it is if I'd had to type everything out using a regular typewriter. Just the thought of trying to create all those perfect pages of my two mysteries, one of which underwent 17 drafts, makes me feel very faint.So as far as I'm concerned, the move to computers was a wonderful thing, even though it took away some of the mystery and romance of being a writer.
But now, we're looking at another change. Instead of just sitting here putting in words, I'm learning about jpgs and gifs and pngs, power point and video streaming, RFF feeds and tracking.... It's not enough just to write words these days.You need a multi-media presntation. You need a blog as well as a website. Or maybe just a blogsite. And then there are teleseminars and webinars and-- Ouch! I don't know that my brain can take much more.
But it will have to. Because I also need to know about marketing - what works and what doesn't. I need to know my target audience. And if I have more than one target audience, I need to streamline my message for each audience.
So this week, I've been working on 8 (Yes, 8!) blogsites. Each one hopefully appropriate for its theme.
comingofagenovels.com - for teens, their parents, youth leaders, and teachers
manziukandryan.com - for fans of classic mysteries
bluecollarwriter.com - for anyone who wants to know my opinion on anything
njlindquist.com - for people looking for speakers
hotapplecider.ca - for anyone looking for encouragement
releasethecreativeyou.com - for anyone who is struggling with being able to follow his or her dreams
writewithexcellence.com - for writers or aspiring writers
joyequipping.com - for Christians who feel stifled or frustrated
No, none of the sites are completed. There are hours of work still ahead of me as I add content, fine-tune, and double-check to make sure everything works.And true, I haven't had time to do much of the old-fashioned kind of writing. But, the funny thing is I do feel kind of good about what I'm creating. It's just a different form of writing.
And on the side, I've been thinking hard about what I want to write. Hopefully as soon as my blogsites are all functioning, I'll be able to do some more work on my many writing projects, and upload them, either as blogs, with some appropriate pictures, and maybe a little music; perhaps as ebooks or audio; possibly in teleseminar format; even as part of a WEB TV program.... The options are truly staggering these days. The ability to choose a format to suit each type of writing is at our fingertips if we're open to learning.
And one of my key rules for sucess as a writer is "Never stop learning."
N. J.
bluecollarwriter.com
5 comments:
Thanks, Nancy, for your blog about different writing. It encouraged me. I, too, am working a lot on current forms of marketing and feeling a little guilty about spending less time on my actual writing and so much time on working out some new strategies. Well, onward and upward! Again, thanks for your timely words.
Judith Lawrence
it can be overwhelming, the variety of choices and the need to make some decisions and do the work or be left in the dust.
That's an impressive number of blogs for your distinct audiences. I know that, even as you work on them, you are still writing in your head and making writing decisions.
Your last sentence is right on! Never stop learning!
Happy blog juggling! It's a big time investment, but it's worth it.
About how writing has changed, I saw the movie Julie and Julia last night, and it was so weird to see the Julia Child character sit at an old typewriter and do triple carbon copies of her pages. Some change is good...
Oh my - and I thought I was bad with my multi-blogs. Now I feel much better.
I find the internet with its possibility of quick feedback has really eroded my patience for writing and submitting the 'old' way. I'm wondering if that's a bad thing - or good - or neutral. One thing I do know - earning money this new way is a challenge. I also know it's a GOOD thing we don't depend on my earnings from writing to eat, or we'd be very slim!!
N.J.,
You've been very busy. I love the polished look of a blog and I always feel a sense of accomplishment when I hit publish and can see my post. Keep learning, yes this is something that we should all do.
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