To Blog Or Not to Blog Is an Easy Question

And a very positive answer is given by Craig McGinty at FreelanceWritingTips. "How often do you have an article idea that you think will interest readers, but is unfortunately not commissioned by a newspaper or magazine?" he asks and goes on to show exactly how you can use the skills, talents and ideas that occasionally seem not to be needed.

To the great piece written by Craig I can only add my personal regret that, in spite of substantial changes in how we perceive and deal with information, there is still such thing as the blue print, which you are expected to follow no matter whether you're trying to enter the mainstream media or the online world. The blue print on this occasion has got nothing to do with technical or style guidelines for submitting articles (which I think should exist), but with such thing as accommodating the audience's interest. The problem is, the perception of the audience may be entirely majoritarian. This majoritarian perception seems often to fit precisely into the Ancient Roman "panem et circenses" (literally bread and circuses). As a result, a huge array of skills and ideas you may have is gathering dust or gradually fading away because the "majority" doesn't require them. Or so we're told.

Some time ago I read another piece about a blogger being admitted to the NUJ which sparked some controversy. There is still much objection to the citizen journalism and to blogging, as one of its channels. But the very reason so many professionals have been turning to blogging and/or print-on-demand is because they may have very valid views and very important projects which are not recognised as such. I can only testify that it is very disheartening indeed to come up with an idea and to realise that it won't be used. The more ideas like that you've got the more you feel that you don't want to let them wither. And one day, instead of banging on the doors (followed by banging your head against the wall and wondering exactly why you can't sense that "audience"'s interest), you just sail on your own. Strangely, but more often than not it turns out to be a success.

Last but not least, making business from online publishing (or print-on-demand, for that matter) saves one from more than just an editorial rejection. Siobham Curham tells Writers' Forum (#78 February 2008) about her up-and-down experience with various ways of publishing a book. After being fairly successful with the major publishing houses, she was eventually forced to think of self-publishing a book, which was an enlightening experience - and a very profitable one, as well. This is very similar to what Craig admits in his article, when speaking of one particular post on his excellent ThisFrenchLife: "I know this one piece has earned more that I could have gained from trying to sell it to a features editor".

What is interesting is that, as Craig notes, ThisFrenchLife is an online magazine: "...it has regular features, analytical tools so I can track how readers find the site and I often test new advertising sources, just like you would do if overseeing a paper-based publication".

To sum up, there is much food for thought (which is what always happen when a pro is speaking), so follow through to Linda Jones's website to read more.