I’ve been doing a lot of surfing lately. Surfing blogs, that is. Writer’s blogs. They are as varied as the people writing them, and some of them quite entertaining and delightful. Even the color and theme choices show the authors personality and that’s a good thing. Because after all, one of the reasons for a writer’s blog is to allow prospective readers to get a feel for the person behind the writing.
But shouldn’t a blog also reflect the writer’s professionalism? Just as a book signing or speaker appearance is a public forum, so are blogs – and they reflect on the writer. Anyone, even a young, computer savvy child could read a blog.
Some author’s blogs contain long rants full of explicit sex terms and cuss words, and sometimes even vicious name calling. IMO, those personal rants are better left to the locked diary or journal you keep beside the bed. I recommend blowing off the head full of steam there, and then write your more professional and well thought out argument/statement on your Blog. Or at least open another blog under an alias and spew there, where your identity remains anonymous.
Let’s suppose you’re really ticked about a subject and you dash off a rant about the subject of love scenes, complete with expletives and explicit sexual terms, click to publish, and breathe a sigh of relief. That felt GREAT! Wonderful, in fact. But what if your mother or child read it – now are you as confident you want it on the web? You say, yes, they know I’m just blowing off steam. Okay, I’ll buy that. After all, your family knows you best. But what if it’s a prospective buyer, come to your site for the first time? Is that the first impression you want to give? What about an editor, just checking out the various methods you’ve listed for promotions. Or maybe an agent Googled you, looking for more information as to whether you’re the type of person they’d want to represent. What kind of impression do you think they’re forming of you? I don’t know about most people, but I’d be cringing.
I write romance, and I’m working toward becoming a stronger writer, regardless of what genre I write in. I won’t say that you’ll never see the occasional mild cuss word in my blog, because writing can be an extremely frustrating profession at times. But I’ll try to find a more expressive way to show you how I feel about a subject.
This is my personal opinion, and you may not agree. That’s okay. Variety is the spice of life. Blog until your heart is content in whatever manner you choose. Just remember, you never know who might be reading, and first impressions are next to impossible to dispel.
CAROL BURNSIDE / ANNIE RAYBURN 