I am taking two weeks off—I won’t be back in the saddle until September 4, the day after the U.S. Labor Day holiday. On that day, I will post my September Biznology newsletter and get back into the blogging groove again. This seemed a good time for my to reflect on what blogging has meant to me.
I started with a monthly e-mail newsletter a few years back and later started blogging. At first, I would never have to announce that I was taking a break from blogging, because there were so many days between posts. It’s just this year that I’ve begun to post daily and thus need to explain an extended absence.
I’ve always enjoyed writing the newsletter and there are time when that longer form still feels right to me when I am exploring an idea, but I have found more and more that I have moved to where most bloggers seem to eventually go—shorter, more frequent posts. My newsletter helps me write, but I find the blog helps me listen also—I frequently learn from the comments left.
And the regular writing has also helped in other ways. The new book I have coming out next month was worked out in large measure through my blog. Readers of my blog won’t feel as though they’ve seen my book already, but they will notice some ideas that seem familiar, and several stories that they first heard on my blog. I really appreciate people’s feedback on my ideas—it made my book better.
I know not every author works this way. In fact, I actually got the advice that I should “take a break” from my blog in the few months before my book appears, because some believe that books sell less when the author blogs—the theory is that readers already feel like they know what a blogger will have to say.
But I felt like it’s worthwhile for me to keep talking. I have lots of stuff in the book that I have never blogged about, and I have many things I am writing about now that aren’t in the book—perhaps they’ll be in my next book (God willing).
So this seems like a great time for me to thank you, my most loyal readers. I appreciate the fact that you take the time to read what I have to say and to comment on it. I’m going to take a couple of weeks to hang out with my wife and my four kids and come back recharged. See you in September.
