Blogging is freaking difficult. What should you say? Will you be interesting? Are you words being heard or are you just shouting into space? Add writing a writerly sort of blog and you have trouble.

Here are a few of my deep thoughts on the subject:

• Don’t make every other post a promo.

Why? Constant promos can make a blog, well, just listen to author Imogen Howson: “If a blog is all promos, either for the blogger’s books or for all her friends’ books, I simply don’t read it because it’s totally boring. But I do like to know when the author has a new book releasing, or when she’s just got a contract, or that sort of thing. And I do want a blurb, cover art, and the link to buy her book if I decide I like the look of it.” Ouch! You never want a blog to be boring. If you are doing promos then you might want to do what she says and slap up the blurb and the cover art. I read promos, but I tend to skim promos if every entry seems to be one. I’m not the only one. I made a poll on Romance Divas and almost two-thirds polled admitted to skimming promos. If you are going to do it then make it a big post of promos and don’t do it regularly. Also they ought to be promos that are relevant to your blog. If you love paranormals then why have a bunch of promos for inspirations? Thats not what your readers are looking for. Unless the inspirations are about vampires who find Jesus or Buddha or whatever deity. That way your blog stays interesting and you don’t sound like an infomercial.

• Update regularly.

Why? Because if people think that you aren’t going to be blogging then they won’t come to your blog. Common sense, no?

• Make backup blog entries.

Why? So, when time becomes an issue and you can’t spare a minute to blogging then you can just post one of your pre-written blogs and keep on schedule. Though, you have to make sure that they aren’t topical ones. If you write a blog post on some recent news event then you ought to put it to the presses as soon as possible or else you’ll have people wondering why you wrote such a touching tribute to a late celebrity about three months after their death.

• Be coherent.

Why? You want people to understand what you are saying, right? Then why would you write like this: i LuV dis nu authr. Sh is soooooooooo!!!! great!!!! evey1 commont on meh blooooooggge? The translation is that I love this new author, she is so great, everyone comment on my blog. No one says that you have to be perfect, but we got to understand what you are saying, babes.

• Be yourself.

Why? Because a blog that is oozing with personality is a memorable blog. That keeps them coming back for more. Its like crack, I tell you, crack! It doesn’t matter if you are snarky, funny, serious, or morbid. Just be yourself and you will find that people will want to read you.

• Go to other blogs.

Why? If you want people to read you then you have to read others. Find other people with similar interests and comment on their blogs. I’m not saying that you should comment with stuff like, ‘Wow, great post. GO TO MY BLOG NOW!’ I’m saying that you ought to read around, link to people, and comment a lot. You’ll find some interesting people out there who will inspire you in your own blogging and your life.

• Have fun.

Why? If you don’t enjoy blogging then don’t. Everyone can tell if you don’t like to. We can tell from infrequent postings, whining about posting, and short posts about the weather. Unless its a tornado and you have just posted that a cow has come zooming by your window. That’s pretty interesting.

Those are my deep thoughts. Take them. Leave them. Whatever. I’m, by no means, a great blogger, but I have read enough fantastic bloggers to know what they are like and they do all the things that I have listed above. You don’t have to take my advice, but if you aren’t reading other blogs, only blogging sporadically, hate blogging, or are posting in tongues, and when you do post you post promos then don’t be surprised that you don’t have people commenting.

Happy blogging!

The Mists of Avalon:
Squeeeeee! This book was great. The view of King Arthur and his knights from the view of the women around them was an inspired idea. The prose was lush, and I didn’t feel like a word on any of the 876 pages was wasted. Everyone had flaws so that neither Mograine or Gwenhwyfar seemed like perfect people. In fact, Gwenhwyfar got on my nerves a little bit. Mograine’s plans sort of had me wanting to smack her upside the head. It seemed very well researched, and that is always a good sign. If you haven’t read it, do so.

Nylon Magazine (March issue):
Scrunchies are back… I’m just going to be too hipster for that trend. Also, Pete Wentz, not that cool. Sorry.

Party Monster:
This book was so much darker than the movie. There was so much interesting stuff in the book that didn’t make it too the movie. James St. James had one hell of a voice. I got this book in one day and finished it in four hours because I was sucked into the story so much. Too bad I had a midterm the next day and didn’t study as much as I should have. Well, I had dancing crackheads in chicken costumes running through my head. That makes it a little hard to focus on Latin American trade politics.

Complicated Women - Women in Pre-Code Hollywood:
This book was a love letter to Norma Shearer and, while I could see how some would find that annoying, I thought that was the best anchor to the whole tale. Norma Shearer was an little known innovator who brought the darker, raunchier, and more realistic and sympathetic stories for women into mainstream Hollywood movies… And the public loved it. Its just a great read with a gossip yet historical voice that really makes the early 30s seem like yesterday.

Heidi Klum’s Body of Knowledge: 8 Rules of Model Behavior (to Help You Take Off on the Runway of Life) :
I read this in like an hour and a half in the university bookstore. It was pretty uninteresting. It had the same old-same old self help shit, but Heidi and her ghost writer have a pretty preppy voice that makes the celebrity self help guide seem a little fresher. The pictures of Heidi were nice. If your in the bookstore, I wouldn’t say buy it, but it wouldn’t hurt to look at it.

I read all this and I still haven’t finished Pulse from Cobblestone Press or Nature Rising or Love Me Tender. *le sigh*