Professional Blogger--has a nice ring to it

I was at a party on Saturday night, visiting with friends who'd thought I'd fallen off the Earth. It had been a while. I realize I hadn't kept anyone up to date; some of these folks knew I'd left corporate life in January, but they only had a vague sense of what I was doing.

One friend introduced me to someone this way: "This is Jory. She's, like, into the blogging thing."

I felt like a bit of a fraud. Sure, I consult with companies in areas surrounding social media; I co-founded BlogHer for Chrissakes! But, alas, can you call me a blogger?

Not judging by my performance over the past year. I'm an essayist, memoirist, writer. I talk about ad revenues on blogs, cover bloggers in magazine stories, and attend parties with people who have bloody fingertips from being ripped away from their computers for two hours. I hang with a crowd that has to say, before telling me anything private--"This is not for blogging, 'kay?" I went on a business trip recently with Susan Mernit; jetlagged after the first day I crashed early for the night. Before she retired, she squeezed in a blog. Cripes! She's in Hawaii this week and I see she's still blogging!

And let's not forget the critical second half of blogging--reading blogs! I have a personal distaste for self-proclaimed bloggers who write but don't read blogs. That ain't blogging, in my book, that's advertising, or free associating. Web 1.0 in drag.

I have friends whose brains are like RSS readers--they practically chime every two minutes as more info enters their consciousness. There's Elisa Camahort--Google's fiercest competitor she's so freaking encyclopedic. When she's not writing one of her nine blogs, she's reading everything said and done on a blog. Ditto for Lisa Stone, who has an extensive database of the coolest chicas in the Blogosphere. Funny, they both make rent.

So then what gives with me, huh? Why am I always so pressed for time to crank out copy? I've had a bevy of excuses that I don't think work so well anymore:

1. The Depleted Writer excuse: I have article deadlines, book proposals, and essays to write. My brain can only create so much coherent copy.

2. The Mouths to Feed Excuse: I use this one a lot--though I don't have any kids. I mean, there's b-friend, but he manages to eat without me. So then, I guess it's just my mouth and my rent that I need to accommodate.

3. I write long--You try writing like that 10 times a week!

4. I'm not just going to make-up crap to get copy out there: Now this one has some validity. I'm personally not a huge fan of reading people's raw thoughts in real time. While I don't like the blogs that I read to be highly processed, I do like them to have a point, or to be based on something. Relevance, I realize, is subjective.

5. Blogging every day isn't realistic. Maybe. maybe not.

Still, some catharses have come to me as of late, which makes me re-think my original reasoning for each excuse.

1. Writers write--a lot! While they sometimes get blocks, they express as a means of living. If I get depleted of stuff to write, well then what kind of a writer am I?

2. This excuse is common with anyone who is reconfiguing their time portfolio to include work they love. We always make the Faustian bargain: Once I get more money to do what I love, I will. And then, once I've earned my millions and never have to worry about money EVER AGAIN, I'll start doing only what I love.

This is a misguided train of thought, the faulty logic of a bet hedger. Outcomes require action and intention. If you intend for something to happen, you must act toward that intention in order to make it a reality. By doing other things, we are setting other outcomes into action, despite where our intentions may be.

Bills must be paid, but ask yourself (fine, I'll start with me): How do you want your life to look? What can you give up to make this happen?

3. Yes I write long. But every day doesn't need to be an opus--though when I get going it's tough to stop. I suppose it wouldn't kill me to write less than 1,000 words some days.

4. I didn't write for five years for this reason. I figured, why write if there's nothing inspiring me to write? I found out something interesting when I stopped writing: Nothing was interesting. And when I started writing again things became interesting again. Perhaps if I shoot for writing every day I will find something interesting to write about every day.

5. Blogging every day isn't realistic, but so wasn't quitting my job, putting on a conference with 3 1/2 months of lead time, basically, everything I've done in '05. Why start getting realistic now?

So, here's my New Year's Resolution two weeks early, and my pledge for '06: I will blog every day. And I won't hate myself when I don't.

That sounds fair.

Comments

[genevieve]

What kind of writer are you, Jory? Well, just for starters - discerning, pithy, one of those wonderfully immediate communicators who picks something interesting up and doesn't waste a moment taking us on a trip with her. If there are gaps between your posts, so what? Keeps people hanging out for the quality!!
Me, I'm doing the less is more approach this year - because I've gone and started another blog, now, haven't I. And we all have those moments when we get peeved because the words won't FLOW. So please don't hate yourself during the all important downtime. Who knows 'what dreams may come'...

[Stacie]

Jory-
Your posts have a high level of quality. I strive for one "quality" post a week and fall short on that. Don't sell yourself short by thinking that you aren't blogging enough. What you have is fantastic.

[Joy Des Jardins]

This is something we've talked about recently, haven't we? Honestly Jor, you blogging more frequently would be a DREAM to me. Okay, that may be a typical "Mom" thing to say, but I really am very objective about this. I love what you write! I so look forward to reading your posts...it doesn't matter if you write everyday, a couple of times a week or once a week. And, anyone who reads your stuff on a regular basis, probably would agree. My personal preference would be more frequently, if that's possible...and realistic. -Mom

[Marilyn]

It's such a personal thing, isn't it? I guess I've always viewed your blog as sort of an adjunct to your freelance worklife, so figured that's why you post less frequently, but make each post very meaningful. Whereas I can feel free to post mundane crap and throw in the occasional 'post with a point.' Only thing is, whenever there's a brief run of 'point posts,' then I feel like I "should" come up with one of those and sometimes the well's empty, especially after a day spent at a mindless job. So I try to mix it up--the meaningful and the mundane--while posting ALMOST every day, but cutting myself a break if I don't. 'Cause lord knows, just reading my Bloglines feeds takes a huge amount of time! But in all honesty, after two+ years of blogging, when people ask what I do, I'm so tempted to say "I blog"...since the job is just something to pay the rent...blogging is the fuel that drives me.

[jen]

Jory, if you do write daily I'll look forward to that as I check your blog almost daily. But if you don't because it might compromise the quality of what you do post then that will be fine too.

I find it hard sometimes to think of stuff to write, then other times I'm so overflowing with ideas I never get them all down. I've started keeping a notebook with these ideas but work's been so busy lately......

[Felix Gerena]

A wonderful post, Jory. I have really enjoyed reading it.

[Troy Worman]

Super post!

You already know I love you, so I'm not going to draw this out waxing on about how wonderful you are.

Thanks for sharing.

Now, I am going to take your copy over to my place and butcher it.

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