Published by deborah.woehr on 03 Apr 2006 at 06:27 pm
Shooting an Idea By You
I treated myself to a visit at the bookstore on Friday, using the guise of buying a present for my oldest’s friend, who had a birthday. Naturally, I came home with two books, in addition to his gift card.
Best of Blogs is a neat little compendium of the most popular bloggers in a wide variety of topics, including writer’s blogs. I’d heard of most of these blogs, but there were a couple I hadn’t heard about, such as Alex Ross and House of Mirth.
Naturally, I wanted to hear what the Amazon.com reviewers had to say. There are only two reviews, and it is the second one that got me my gears spinning like mad.
Quoted from an Amazon Reviewer:
In any given area, the suggested blogs in the book are of course only a tiny sampling. Albeit these are usually the most frequented blogs. Take popular music. For news on it, only 4 blogs are given. But the authors readily concede that much more could be done. An entire book’s worth on each topic. Still and hopefully, this book will suffice to get you oriented in the blogosphere.
Back in December (before the blog anthology was even thought of) I set out to find as many quality writer’s blogs as I could, only to get discouraged. My research skills have improved since then. So far, I’ve catalogued 85 blogs in 12 categories (compared to the book’s measley 4) related to writing and books. That was on Friday, and I’ve just scratched the surface.
These are quality blogs, not the typical (like mine) that I found on Blog Explosion. At this time, I’m compiling a directory of these blogs for my own pleasure (my sidebar is only so big). Would you be interested in a book like this?
Scot Herrick on 03 Apr 2006 at 9:23 pm #
I went looking for writing blogs. I didn’t find many. I check out the blogrolls of those I visit and check those. But I find little on writing for the love of writing or that with a viewpoint.
The romance writers have a good following, however, and they seem to tap into their audience/fans. The rest? Not so much.
I’d love to see a book about about it.
For that matter - with more experience and publication - I’d love to be included in it.
It’s tough to find a writer’s blog with a consistent point of view.
Except Ms. Snark. (I don’t know how to put in the URL)
Thanks for the blog. I like it a lot.
Scot
Karen Lee Field on 04 Apr 2006 at 12:20 am #
I follow blogrolls too, and I agree with Scott that many of the “writer’s blogs” rarely talk about writing, which is a shame.
As for buying a book with links in it to quality blogs - no. I wouldn’t pay for that. I’d download a free ebook and have a look through it, but I definitely wouldn’t buy such a book.
It’s just a matter of searching for them. You found them, we can find them.
Sorry.
Have you thoughts of doing a links page instead, or, if you can find a plugin or the right software, a links directory to add to your website. (Actually, that’s what I thought Writers Alliance was, but it seems to gone away from that now. Since the move to Wordpress, it doesn’t feel the same to me and I rarely visit that site anymore, whereas I used to visit everyday and follow the links on an unknown adventure.)
Michaelm on 04 Apr 2006 at 2:54 am #
Deb-
I think I’m with Karen on this one. I would be interested in thumbing through such a book but would prefer a downloadable pdf that I could look through and click on.
I had to laugh when you said you came out with two books for you. I do the same damn thing. I’ve got a bad book jones.
As far as the review goes, most of them suck, as do the reviewers. I almost never agree with it and tend to do what I want anyway.
~m
Melly on 04 Apr 2006 at 6:57 am #
While I myself may not buy a book like that (for the simple reason I rarely buy anything that isn’t fiction), the book you mention in your post is a proof that people do buy things like that.
The question is if writing is a large enough market for a book like that, but considering the success of some of the books on writing, it might just work. Those buying writing books, might also be interested in a book about quality writing blogs.
fredcq on 04 Apr 2006 at 9:16 am #
The problem that I see with a book that is essentially a blog directory is that the info would be out of date within months of publication. Too many good blogs seem to be coming and going these days. There are at least 4 that I used to visit that are gone and I’ve only been blogging since Oct. 2005.
deborah.woehr on 04 Apr 2006 at 10:57 am #
This is some great feedback. Thank you.
I was talking to my grandmother on Sunday about the anthology, and she didn’t know what a blog was. Many people have heard of the term, but have no idea what it is. The market is growing, but it is still very small.
Melly: Thanks for the tip. I’ll have to send a query to the Writer’s Digest Book Club and see if they would be interested.
Karen: I’ve been trying to find good directory software, with no luck. I haven’t given up, though.
Michael: I’m a total bookfiend.
It doesn’t matter what genre it is, as long as it can hold my attention. I’ll consider making this a free ebook. If anything, I can add this to my resume.
Fred: You made a good point. The blogosphere does have a high turnover rate. The directory would have to be updated each year to be worth anything.
fredcq on 04 Apr 2006 at 3:19 pm #
If you did an ebook, you can provide quick updates to your customers. This might make it appealing for the reader but it would be work for you.
deborah.woehr on 04 Apr 2006 at 5:21 pm #
Yes, on both counts. The question on my mind is how often I should update it, bi-yearly or annually. That’s something I need to think about, too.