Balance
I've been thinking about this quite a bit recently myself. Some of it is my own version of "spring fever" that I seem to get this time of year re. my blog. Same time last year I considered shutting it down.
I've also felt like I've been struggling not to repeat myself.
But mostly it's a matter of balance. I have a big project due June 1, except I'll be in Denver for a meeting hosted by one of my long-time clients, so I really need to get this project done the week before. And, unfortunately, I'm waiting for CMS (Medicare & Medicaid) to cough up a ton of data we've paid for that I can't complete this project without, so I expect the whole thing to be done in a near-panic close to the end. I'm doing what I can ahead of time, but it's tough. And I've got other big projects and small ones due, too, including the 4th Derek Stillwater novel. And I'm pulling together marketing things for the July publication of THE SERPENT'S KISS.
No, I'm not quitting the blog. But I am, I think, going to post less often. At the moment the plan is for Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
An even bigger time-killer for me is commenting on other people's blogs, then obsessively checking back every hour or two to see if anyone's commented on my comments. Some of this obsessive-compulsive tendency is what makes me successful as a writer; some of it also comes from working alone and finding human contact via e-mail and blogs. So with any luck I'll get a grip on that, too.
It's all a matter of balance, I think. I like the blog and I like checking out other blogs, but I've got work to do, and it seems to me I can do more of it if I get this blog-thing under control. I'm also all-too-aware that if I trim back on the blogging, I might use that time to write another novel that doesn't involve Derek Stillwater. But at the moment all my time and energy is aimed at Derek's 4th book, the promotion for the 2nd book, and my writing business.
So, I'll see you on Wednesday.
Cheers,
Mark Terry
posted by Mark Terry at 6:08 AM
9 Comments:
You could always just complain about the weather every day...Oh wait...that's my thing!
Blogs and other forms of electronic publishing/communication can really eat up ideas at a fantastic rate. I began to repeat myself quite a long time ago. I haven't noticed that you've got particularly repetitive.
I suspect the best use for blogs is as journals/diaries or to chat or to point out interesting things you've spotted on the web. I'm sure some people have a new idea for a blog entry every day but not me. Also, as you say, commenting and checking gets out of control. I've slowed down some and I'm not sure whether it would be best to set myself certain days to blog, to absolutely limit what I do, but do it on a schedule?
I enjoy your blog but, frankly, I ditched reading most other mystery/writing blogs because how much does anyone want to read about the same thing? I'll read a few I enjoy but not all of them
Low 50s, sunny, gale-force winds. Just got back from walking Frodo, dodging rolling, rattling, bumping garbage cans the entire way.
Frankly, I'm amazed that you've been able to sustain near-daily blog posts for this long.
When MJ Rose asked if I'd be interested in contributing an advertising column on Buzz, Balls & Hype, my initial reaction was to do it once a week... and then I self checked (full-time job, daily commute, 6-month-old baby, editing novel, barely enough time to keep up with 'Lost') and offered to do it every other week.
And since then, I've been glad that I get that break between columns.
So I can't imagine feeling under the gun to churn out a new missive every day.
Don't worry, at 3x week, we'll still be dropping by to see what's up in the world of M.Terry and a wind-blown Frodo.
You have seemed to keep up an impressive and exhaustive rate of blogging. It doesn't really bother me when the bloggers I read only post once in awhile. I still check in with Alex Sokoloff and she only posts once every few weeks. Just do what you gotta do.
Seems like most of your readers are writers, too so the dilemma of 24 hours in a day not being enough is understood.
Did you know you can subscribe to the feeds of the comments as well as to the posts? (Not every blog offers this.) Since I started using a feed reader (I use Thunderbird, so all my email accounts and blogs and most of my comments are "under one roof."), I can read double the blogs in half the time.
There are also comment tracking thingamabobs. (I often find the discussion more interesting than the posts!) The three big ones (Commentful, CoComments, and co.mments) are compared here.
Not that I'm asking you to blog more! We can always use ways to do things quicker, in our society!
I enjoy your blog, but totally understand the need for balance. If you discover the secret, please share!
Gee, and this is the first blog I check each day because you usually post such interesting stuff. Then I go to GR Brownes, then Konrath's and work my way through Parrish, Dystel's, Agent Obscura's and a few others. But I so understand business before pleasure. And deadlines. So do your thing, get the important stuff done and we'll catch ya when you come back. Your stuff is worth the wait.
:)
Jeannie
Go write books, Mark. That's what you're supposed to do. If you have any time left, throw up a post on your blog now and then. We'll still come around.
We're all going through the same pains. Blogs are becoming a burden. When you start one, you feel pressured (self-induced) to maintain it. Then you feel as if you must make your normal round to visit your friends every day. I have to keep reminding myself that my priority is the "real" writing, then all the other stuff. Take a break, pal, we know how to get hold of you. I can just drop in for dinner. When's pizza night?
I understand the need to cut back. I've been slowing down a bit on my own blog.
But Monday, Wednesday, Friday seems like a LOT to me.
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