Comments on: Dear writer, please don't stop blogging

By: Why writers should blog: it’s not personal, it’s business « WordCount – Freelancing in the Digital Age

Sun, 31 May 2009 19:54:06 +0000

[...] So there’s a solid business case to be made for freelance writers spending time becoming a better blogger. In 2009, blogging is a skill every writer has to know. [...]

By: Write Effective Web Copy, Rejection as a Freelance Writer and More | Top SEO Writing Services

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:41:24 +0000

[...] Dear writer, please don’t stop blogging – There are many reasons why most—if not all—writers should have a blog. [...]

By: Kerry Dexter

Kerry Dexter — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:52:51 +0000

I gave some thought as to how to establish focus, too. My field is a rather small niche anyway — folk, Irish, and Scots music — but I also decided to include material about creative practice and thoughts about being a musician, for several of the reasons you’ve noted above. The mix of that with reviews, reported stories, and photo essays has helped Music Road convey a distinct voice and presence, and also led to some good links.

By: Monica Shaw

Monica Shaw — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:57:21 +0000

Great post. My blog (smarterfitter.com) is a labor of love. I love it because I can write whatever I want, however I want. It’s such a relief, especially after writing for clients all day.

By: Walter L. Johnson II

Walter L. Johnson II — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:06:16 +0000

I’ve become a veteran of sorts in the blogging world. No, it hasn’t always been easy, but if you do it long enough, you’ll eventually learn a lot of skills that will be vital in this digital age. Any other thoughts?

By: Michelle Rafter

Michelle Rafter — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:03:40 +0000

Great question Joanne. When I started WordCount I knew I wanted to blog about writing and specifically about freelancing but it probably took another month or two before I realized what I was most interested in was how the rise of online media was affecting the freelance business and decided to make that my primary topic. That helped distinguish this blog from a lot of other freelance blogs.

Over time I’ve discovered other blogs on similar topics – and since the newspaper and magazine businesses have imploded since I started blogging there are lots of ex-newspaper reporters and editors out there blogging about ditigal media. But they don’t have the freelance perspective that this one does.

The topic of freelancing in the age of digital media still leaves a lot of leeway on what I write about so I never run out of things to write about – in fact I have about 50 posts in some stage of being written right now, though some of them might never see the light of day. And i think it’s OK to go off topic some of the time.

Hope that helps.

Michelle

By: Joanne Mason

Joanne Mason — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:38:33 +0000

Great post!

I go back and forth on blogging. I like the idea, but every time I’ve started, I get frustrated, stop enjoying it, and take the blog down. Part of me thinks that this might be because I’m selecting the wrong topic. But it seems like there are so many similar blogs out there – how do you differentiate yourself, topic-wise?