Francis Berger
  • Blog
  • My Work

Change in Focus

2/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
I began this blog as part of a rather unoriginal and weak "marketing strategy" for my self-published novel The City of Earthly Desire.  Possessing no real experience or talent in marketing and advertising and having no desire to dump thousands of dollars into a risky campaign that might never bear fruit, I generally followed the online marketing methods suggested by others. 

After a year of dabbling with book blog tours, review solicitations, book sites, author pages, and this blog, I have come to the realization that, for the most part, these activities do little to increase awareness of writers and their works.  Sure, there are some who have succeeded, but for the vast majority of authors looking for a little recognition, these pursuits and strategies are a waste of time. 

I was skeptical about my chances of getting noticed right from the start; the world has been flooded by an unimaginable deluge of self-published books and aspiring writers.  Regardless, I wanted to give a couple of things a try for the sake of experience and chance.  Well, I gained the experience and took the chance, and that's that.  I have not participated in any active marketing for months and I doubt I will do much in the future.  In terms of gaining recognition, I have decided the only way for me to get any is through more traditional means; therefore, I am focusing my energy on trying to get someone "on the inside" to take notice of my book. (Fat chance.)

In light of all of this, I began to question the purpose and existence of this blog which, on average, receives about two hits a day.  My initial impulse was to abandon it.  Because I viewed it as part of a "marketing strategy", I constrained the blog to bookish topics
and my lame experiences as a self-published writer.  I purposely kept the focus of the blog narrow, the tone politically neutral,  and I avoided issues I truly cared about for fear of isolating, insulting, or alienating potential readers.  My posts were inconsistent and monochrome to say the least.  After a while I realized how counterproductive and contradictory the blog was in terms of a marketing tool: Here!  Read some really bland, poorly written posts that I hope will encourage you to read my exciting, well-written novel! 

So, what to do?  I have decided to continue this blog by shifting its focus away from being a marketing tool to being more of a venue for my thoughts and opinions regarding topics that are important to me as a writer and as a human being.  An open journal, more or less. From now on I will treat this blog as a means to keep the expressive juices flowing by focusing on issues and ideas I think important or intriguing.  I imagine the posts will invariably range from rough little rants to polished essays. 

Whatever happens, I am certain this change will inspire me to become a more creative and more consistent blogger in the future.



0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Blog and Comments

    Blog posts tend to be spontaneous, unpolished, first draft entries ranging from the insightful and periodically profound to the poorly-argued and occasionally disparaging.
     

    Comments are moderated. Anonymous comments are never published (please use your name or a pseudonym). 

    Emails welcome:

    f er en c ber g er (at) h otm   ail (dot) co m
    Blogs/Sites I Read
    Bruce Charlton's Notions
    Meeting the Masters
    From The Narrow Desert
    Synlogos ✞ Aggregator
    New World Island  
    New World Island YouTube
    ​Steeple Tea
    Berdyaev.com
    Adam Piggott
    Fourth Gospel Blog
    The Orthosphere
    Junior Ganymede

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012

    Picture
    A free PDF is also available in My Work. 
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.