Will Your Blog Bring You Fortune and Fame?

Last Friday's "Speak Out" by Pat Wahler called "Got Blog?" discussed this phenomenon and why writers should blog. I blog, you blog, a-they blog; she blog, he blog, a-we blog! (Are you hearing a Cyndi Lauper song in your head like I am? I hope so, or you may think I've lost it a bit.)

I also just finished the remarkably funny and insightful book, Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell. Did you know that she started her writing career with a blog and a really cool cooking project where she decided to cook every one of Julia Child's 524 recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year? Instead of just doing this insane cooking project, she blogged about it. And now she has book deals and movie deals and over 600 comments on some of her blog posts. Can you imagine?

I was thinking about her success and of course, wishing I could have some brilliant, life-changing idea to blog about, but I don't. But I can learn from her and her blogging experience, so here are some conclusions I came to:

• You need your friends' and families' support and comments at the beginning of your blogging experience. I have a blog. I get comments every once in a while from a stranger,but not often. But no matter who it is, I love it when one of my friends or family members goes on my blog and leaves an encouraging comment. It does make me feel good--like someone is reading my work. Julie Powell did not start with getting hundreds of comments on her blog. She started with a few friends and family members offering encouragement for her Project. So, tell your loved ones about your blog, tell them to leave comments, and you should leave comments on other people's blogs and posts. It's as exciting as it used to be when you were a teenager and came running home to see your answering machine light blinking and hoping that it was that cute boy in your third hour class.
• Your blog needs a focus, a unique slant, and sometimes new ideas. There are thousands of writers starting blogs every day, and a lot of them are about writing, about the struggles, about the characters in their books, about why they aren't writing, and so on. This is okay, but will it get you Amy Adams and Meryl Streep in the movie about your life? Probably not. I really want to some day be a Big. Children's. Author. I would also like to take my shtick around to schools to talk to kids and teachers about my Big Belief in using children's books to teach reading and writing skills. My blog should definitely have something to do with this, but hundreds of blogs review children's books. So, I tried to do something a little different by reviewing children's books AND always providing three activities that go with the book for parents, home schoolers, and educators. I have a lot of people tell me they love my site, and I have even made a few bucks from Amazon sales. But my site is a year old and not taking off like I want it to, so I plan to try something new, starting next week. Doesn't this just want to make you rush over to my blog and check it out--RIGHT NOW?? :) (Or at least make a note on your calendar to check out my blog on Monday, August 17??)

I have several more points, which I am inspired with this morning, but as all us bloggers know, bleaders (love this Julie-Powell-term for blog readers) don't like long posts, so I'll say, "To Be Continued. . ." when I blog next for The Muffin.

Until then--happy blogging!

Margo Dill

www.margodill.com