Is Having a Blog Worth It?

Salve! Welcome to all my new readers! Glad to have you here! Today I want to talk about my thoughts on whether having a blog is ‘worth it.’

I admit – I saw this question on Twitter earlier today and had a desire to respond in longer form. I’ve never really considered how much blogging has become a part of who I am as an author and as a person.

The way I see it, there are three good reasons to have a blog.

1st – Blogging allows you freedom to do what you want. Want to write about your pet tarantula? Sure, go ahead! Want to do random interviews with that character that’s in that one scene in the first novel you ever wrote? Why not? Personally, I’ve experimented with writing poetry, D&D Characters and Narratives, and even just blabbered about teaching and school. Your blog can be as narrow or as broadly focused as you want, and it can stretch your horizons.

2nd – It makes you a more consistent writer. I go through these phases of writing thousands of words in a week to barely writing a few hundred in a month. Blogging helps to break some of that writer’s block and lets you push yourself to try new things. It can also help inspire you to keep on track with your own writing – especially during NaNoWriMo or Steampunk September.

3rd – It builds an audience and helps you keep it. Obviously no writer is so prolific that they’re able to put out books every month. Well, okay, I’m not that prolific, but with blogging, I can be! I’ve also been lucky enough to watch my blog readership grow slowly over the years, but some of my best articles are several years old, including the venerable “50 Ways to Kill a Character” that provides TONS of viewers to the blog. Does that translate into book sales or subscribers to the blog? Not always, but even one or two people exploring the rest of the blog and taking a chance on Brass Legionnaire is a win.

So overall, I think a blog is a great thing – a place to explore your own writing style, a place to promote yourself and build an audience, and a place to become a more consistent (and better!) writer.

What do you think? Are blogs still worth it in the era of Social Media?