Can you believe it's November and another year is drawing to a close? Seems like yesterday I was just procrastinating away my New Year's Resolutions!For my Insecure Writers Support Group post today, I'm going to talk about CHANGE! And not just the pretty leaves or the Fall Back of the clocks this weekend...
I'm talking about a change to my blogging strategy (sounds grown up, right?)I've been blogging for six years now, and just as I treat technology that moves at light speed, I'm finally giving in and doing an update. I'm such a nonconformist. But I do see a need to adjust. When blogging started, it was an outlet to reach other writers and learn and make connections and support each other. These are still part of my blog, but I also don't like repetition. No one does. So it's time to change it up with something new!
A couple of months/posts ago, I asked you all some questions and got some fabulous responses! Since I'm a math person, I tallied it all and made some fancy charts to share the results. I tried it again and I like how it's working out, so that's how I'm going to continue to communicate and contribute to our writing community, with Writer's Life Surveys!
Here is the latest set of data I collected. Writer's Life Survey #2
Reasons for NaNo No's - Don't like rules, Will make my own Nano, November is a crazy month
Reasons for Anthology No's - Fantasy is tough, Can't force a story, My fantasy turned SciFi
Other Descriptions for ridiculous - atrocious, years and years, buried, no end in sight, lucky Kindle has enough memory, like the national debt
Reasons for ebook - allergies, storage space, failing vision
Many of these responses are overlaps - I love how many of us are mult-task writers!
What do you think? Will you join me in my quest for fun writerly data and its interpretation? I have many questions, but in the interest of time and space, I will limit them to 5 per month. And since I manage two blogs, I feel I can cut back on this one and still make it a worthy place to visit.
So here's my new schedule:
- I'll be taking my Writer's Life Survey on the third Wednesdays of the month
- The Results will be posted on the first IWSG Wednesdays along with other updates.
And a parting pic -
Happy Reunion with Elizabeth Seckman & Ashley Chappell-Peeples
at the West Virginia Book Festival
Had an awesome time and sold mucho books!
I hope you enjoyed these results! Next round of questions will be Nov 16. Has your blog evolved??
Sometimes change is necessary. I'm trying to scale back the promo and do more genre fun stuff.
ReplyDeleteOnly two may have said yes to the anthology, but we received a record number of submissions this year!
My blog has evolved. It's a variety of things, which means something for everyone. And just once a week now. It's all I can handle.
We have to evolve to survive. Love to read the stats! Excellent idea.
ReplyDelete"Blogging strategy" does sound very grown-up. :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the surveys and the book launch!
Apparently, blogger won't let me comment on this post. Ugh. This is try # three, but I think the stats sound awesome.
ReplyDeleteI hope my blog has evolved over time; I refuse to make it all about me and my books. I prefer talking about writing and about my blog buddies.
ReplyDeleteBut fantasy was voted on as the genre for the anthology. :P Next year, fantasy and sci-fi will be off the table as genres, so hopefully those who said "no" this year will have an easier time and say "yes" next year. :D
ReplyDeleteChange can be a good thing, so it's not something we should fear.
ReplyDeleteDidn't realize so many people were still into print books, but then in my society, most people read paper and ink.
ReplyDeleteThat eBooks are the top preferred form doesn't surprise me one bit.
ReplyDeleteWhen I started my blog 11 years ago, blogging was new and there were no followers or way to follow. I started posting as my characters and then it shifted over time to publishing and promoting tips.
Change is a part of life. I really like your stats Tara and I'm not a math person. You make them fun and easy to understand. Darn it! You hang out with all the cool folks. Especially Liz. Have a great day Tara.
ReplyDeleteHi Tara ... that's great and I shall enjoy reading your posts and studying the various answers .... give me books with paper any day! Cheer and happy writing .. Hilary
ReplyDeleteI'm giddy over the charts! I love them! ...ooo the evolution question *snicker*
ReplyDeleteMy blog is mostly the same as it has been for the last several years, although I added the Friday Writing Links a year or two ago. And my blog will probably stay that way until I finish my first book. No sense spending time on anything other than writing my book.
ReplyDeleteI do love reading surveys. Keep it up. Please send me a cover shot and blurb to put on my blog near your release date.
ReplyDeleteI love your finesse with those charts! My TBR list looks like yours but I think my preference for print over ebooks might be reversed. Blog evolving? I hope so. Right now, it consists of personal musings as I sort out the transition from part-time to full time writing. I certainly plan to evolve enough to one day to post something like "buy my book!"
ReplyDeleteI tried to ignore the captcha, but it caught me.
ReplyDeleteHmm.
Okay, will repeat what I said before and try again.
1. - Awesome picture - love seeing three awesome authors together!
2. Your graphs rock! Thank you for sharing.
3. Huzzah for Cradle Rock!
4. Yes, my blog has evolved. The first year involved atrociously bad navel-gazing.
I liked all your charts! I am kind of surprised that more prefer ebooks. I prefer hard copies.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think most blogs do evolve over time, especially if you've been doing it a while. I'm not sure what I'm doing with my blog. I don't have a lot of time to do it, and now that my kids are older, there aren't as many funny stories. They also don't really like me blogging about them. If I continue blogging, I may have to do something else.
Charts and stats are good. It's interesting to see what other writers are doing and why. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing with my blog.
ReplyDeleteLove the charts! I'm honestly surprised ebooks are so popular for the Preferred Book Format one. While I adore them, I've come across others who refuse to read 'em because "only print books are real books." Makes me feel less alone for loving ebooks!
ReplyDeleteAlso, best of luck with your new blog schedule! The surveys are going to be such a fun addition. And hard to believe Cradle Rock will be releasing so soon already. Yay, for sure! :)