Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: Blogging Ain't Easy!

Blogging takes a lot of time and work.

I don't wanna be one of those 'poor me, blogging is so difficult' bloggers, because at the end of the day, if I didn't love it, I could find plenty of other ways to spend my time.

But bloggers do a whole lot more than you might think.

To get the pedantic labelling-terminology out the way:

I'm a blogger.

I'm a writer.

I'm a content creator.

All of these things are equally true. Bloggers are writers, because we write. Writers and bloggers are both content creators because we create content.

And honestly? Everything bleeds into everything else in this life, dearest nerdlets - especially when it comes to creativity.

Ignore those false boundaries between terms, they don't matter here 😉😅

'But what is this work that bloggers do?'

I'm glad you asked, dearest nerdlets!

(...I know you didn't actually ask, it's a structural device.)

Here's the blogging tasks I do in a typical week -

Planning:

• planning what posts I'm going to write (regular series + others)

• collecting trailers, links, and other things to talk about in my Comics Wrap-Up posts

• deciding what fic I'm going to recommend for my Friday Fics Fix posts (I read typically 10-30 pieces of fanfiction a week for this.)

• deciding what topic to cover in Nerd Church

• deciding what I'm going to post on Medium, whether I'm cross-posting or writing new content, etc.

• research of topics (if required)

• making notes (I should probably make more notes... it would probably help in the long-run. Although... my notes tend to be random AF. Lol.)

Creating:

• outlining (for me, this is usually a) the stuff I know I'm gonna forget to mention otherwise and b) mapping out the formatting (e.g. where I'm putting the image/s, the questions, the other posts I'm going to link to, etc.))

• writing (- so much work being done by that little word)

• editing my post drafts (and trying to figure out WTF I was saying, half the time)

• making graphics, choosing images, and embedding gifs (this takes a lot longer than you'd think; other bloggers can back me up on this!)

• more formatting

• even more formatting (seriously, most of my life is formatting at this point, although I don't blame you if you don't believe me - it takes a lot of effort for things to look effortless)

• scheduling the finished post (- which usually happens the night before it's due to go live, because I am a walking disaster area)

Promoting/Socials:

• making social media posts to promote my posts (which sounds simple until you actually have to... you know... make them, and then you realise how much work it is.)

• making more social media posts and scheduling them

• yet more making/scheduling

• interacting with other people on social media

• replying to people who have mentioned me in Tweets (yes, I'm still calling it Twitter)

• replying to comments on my blog

• commenting on other blogger's posts (I am so behind on this)

• replying to comments on my Medium posts (so behind...)

• commenting on other writers' Medium posts (yep, behind...)

That is... when I look at it like that, it's a lot.

And that's very much a typical week - some weeks might have less tasks, but most of the time it's more.

...and blogging isn't the only thing in my life. I have other work (gotta get that cash somehow,) I have caring responsibilities, I have the ridiculousness that is adulting in general.

And getting the work/life/blog/adulting/global-domination balance right?

It's kinda tricksy.

...I'm sure I don't get it right most of the time, to be honest - but I try! My tendency is to overwork, so I've been working (*sigh* the irony,) on, y'know, NOT doing that for quite a long time now.

The stereotype, then, that creating art and/or media on the internet is 'easy'?

That stereotype can get in the bin. All the way.

I'm sure it applies to someone, somewhere - content farms, for example, who don't care about the quality so much as hitting all the keywords and pumping it out en masse, sometimes via AI - but for most of us?

This requires passion, y'know?

And not the flashy kind of passion that burns out so quickly. 

Blogging, writing, creating things - whatever the thing - needs that kind of passion that Just. Won't. Quit.

You had a bad day? OK, happens. We'll pick it up again tomorrow.

You've been blogging for almost nine years with limited pay-off? You can quit if you want - but we all know that's not what you want. We all know that's not what you're gonna do.

(...There's a reason so many blogs and YouTube channels are languishing out there, abandoned after a few short months or a year or two.)

No-one ever had to persevere when the going was easy.

And art needs plenty of perseverence.

Not matter what kind of art it is.

Are you a blogger? How long have you been blogging?

Do you agree that it's a lot of work?

Talk to me! 😊💬

You can follow me on Twitter @CeeDoraReads, on Pinterest, and on Dora Reads @ BlogLovin. For more ways to support me, check out the Support Me page

Related Reading:

• Nerd Church - Is This A Book Blog, Though?

• Nerd Church - The Writer Diaries: I Just Wanna Write Something Beautiful

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