Author Blog Challenge post 1
When I was younger I never thought about being a blogger. For a start it didn’t exist and also we are only allowed to want to be things that are respected. An author is one thing or a journalist but a blogger!?! Not so noble.
A lot of people see blogging as the porn of the literary industry. The barrier to entry is low both in quality of writing and cost, you self edit and some is so bad that you find yourself wincing and turning it off. And yet like so many porn stars some bloggers yearn to be taken seriously. Their dream is to write that big hit blog where people look beyond their Tits and Ass to the content beneath Let’s be clear, if you are selling something well then selling something else is a hard sell. (excuse the pun)
My name is Chelsea Black and I guess therefore I am my a porn actress than BAFTA nominated. Reading my blog you might think an actual one. But no, I wish because they get paid. Instead I blog for the love of writing as it doesn’t pay me a thing. I share my views on everything from dating, to Samantha Brick to a random TV programme like Sex Lies and Rinsing Guys. That was a 4 part special.
It is harder to gain respect as a blogger. People see a mediocre book that is 80,000 words as a major accomplishment but a daily blog with 80,000 page views a month isn’t anything to brag about these days as it says little about the content. Advertisers only want to hear from you when you’re getting a million page views which, given how much porn, sorry blogging, is out there makes it hard to stand out on your writing ability alone, right?
But this isn’t a rant about the unfairness of it all. I love to blog. I love writing between 250 and 1500 words of my own views without having to consider the censoring attitude of some editor. I feel they would be more concerned with the market and my ability to SELL. I wrote and self-published a book of my blogs just to be able to add the respectability of being called an author but I’m still just a blogger with aspirations of being a writer. That’s not a bad thing. I realised that without the discipline of having to write regularly I may never ever have finished a whole body of work. I’ve learned how to perform in front of an audience and still enjoy what I do.
So as I begin to embrace my new job, because it is a job that it’s voluntary with no pay, I start to think….there are decent porn stars out there. It’s just about believing in your acting abilities no matter how you perform and knowing that maybe one day you’ll be one of the few that crosses over into mainstream. Or not.
© Chelsea Black
Chelsea,
Interesting take on blogging – provocative, but befitting metaphor.
It’s so true that people will enthuse about an 80k book of mediocre quality, yet scorn at a blog with superior content because it’s not a ‘proper’ book.
Dee
To me a book is like a marathon for many. They’re just glad they’ve finished it no matter their time. The newness of blogging means that it’s not yet as credible to many. But, give it time 🙂