BLOGGUS INTERRUPTUS: My series on “writing” is on hiatus for 2 days so that I may use this blog to reflect on this past year’s 180 blogs and begin my new blog year with humor. “Writing” will resume soon. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
BLOG REFLECTIONS
My Experience. Are you kidding me? Who would ever thought I would be measuring time in blogs. Since my 2 incredible daughters (Corinne & Marissa) persuaded me to start blogging exactly 1 year ago, I’ve learned a lot. Blogging has been an amazing experience. It has motivated, inspired, cajoled, and, sometimes, even pinned me up against the wall in a half-Nelson to write. Thinking in 200–400-word chunks is different from 2000–5000-word articles and 50,000–100,000-word books. A blog seems manageable and attainable.
The Alternatives. The article and book alternatives are considerably more formidable and, at times, seem to be more within the realm of Don Quixote’s “Impossible Dream.” That’s why they mean so much on our vitae. It’s kind of difficult to harpoon a windmill on a horse; in fact, it’s nearly impossible to even find a windmill nearby these days. Where do they hide them? Maybe Sancho will know.
If I were still at Johns Hopkins or, for that matter, any other research university, the unrefereed, “unpublished” blog would be regarded as a meaningless waste of time (as opposed to a meaningful waste of time) in the context of annual productivity and faculty evaluations for annual review and promotion and tenure. Why bother? There’s no academic pay-off. If you want to blog, you do so for other reasons, and, in addition to everything else. Not so in the corporate or other worlds beyond academia.
My Niche. As I embarked on my journey into “Blog World,” I knew that few of my colleagues in the academic community read blogs and almost none writes them or comments on them, perhaps, for the reasons above. Over the past year, that was confirmed week after week, with the exception of a few spikes of interest in particular blogs or blog series. With a constantly increasing bombardment of job and family responsibilities pounding on academicians, it seems that the priority, time, and interest for my blogs, at least, remain relatively low. To attract a following in the thousands is unrealistic. That may not be the case for other writers’ blogs.
Fortunately, my niche has expanded slightly beyond the ivory tower to include writers, K–12 teachers, healthcare, corporate, IT, software, training, and coaching professionals from a bunch of countries, and students. You never know who may find value in what you write until you test the World Wide Focus Group (WWFG)! I did not expect that expansion and will intentionally consider that audience in future blogs.
What’s Next? A vacation. Haha. As year 2 begins, after this “writing” series is over, I will continue to search for topics that can
(1) provide you with important information at a glance, such as the Web 1.0–3.0 series,
(2) offer guidance that might take what you’re doing professionally or personally to the next level, such as writing and publishing, and
(3) make you chuckle and, maybe even, laugh out loud with my twisted brand of humor.
However, I really, really could use your help. REALLY! I would appreciate suggestions for topics and jokes and feedback on what’s working or not working in my blogs. I want each blog to be meaningful and valuable to you in ways that other resources are not. Let me know your thoughts. (NOTE: Of course, I will still continue to write articles, some of which may grow out my blog series, and try to finish my 14th book.)
In that spirit, tomorrow I will begin this next blog year with a totally meaningless and valueless Top 10 list. See you then.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
TOP 10 SECRET TIPS:
8. WRITE FOR A NICHE. You can’t write for everybody. Well, maybe some people can, but most can’t. It’s best to carve out a piece of your own territory, turf, piece of the rock, and put yourself in good hands with Allstate. I bet you have an itch to know your niche. Pick a niche (derived from the French words, “enrique iglesias,” meaning literally, “your retina’s detached”).
Key Questions. Answer these questions:
- Who is interested in your writing?
- Who cares about what you have to contribute?
- What definable group do you know well enough that could benefit from your work?
- What is your demographic?
- What do they read and need?
- Could you put yourself in there jobs and see their professional worlds through their detached retinas?
Define Your Niche. Clearly define your readership or audience. Draft a profile of what they look like, for example, 30–80 year-old, male and female, all ethnic, semi- to fully-pretentious university professors. YIIIKES! That a tough group!
Target Your Writing. Write specifically for your audience and think about your niche in what you write and how you write it. Your writing must connect with that group. It drives your writing by providing the focus, direction, purpose, and style. Custom tailor your writing (and humor) to fit your target readership. Within the above example group, your writing will be very different for researchers, teachers, general practitioners, and clinicians.Take careful aim to tantalize, captivate, and dazzle those readers with your writing gifts and messages that they will improve their professional lives.
My next blog will consider Tip 7: how you determine WHAT to write. What's your purpose and intended outcome?
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
WHY WRITING?
I receive occasional requests from junior faculty and students, usually on my LinkedIn professional network, for tips on writing and publishing. It seems everybody has to write, especially professsionals in all fields. No one can escape. Writing-wise, it’s kinda like “No Professional Left Behind!.” People are talking less and texting and typing on social media networks more than at any time previously. They’re writing more, but not necessarily at a high level of quality.
Just about everybody (meaning, colleagues) I talk to about writing has problems writing. Most are not satisfied with the quality and/or quantity of what they write. They feel they can produce more and always do it better. But it’s tough to do.
There are buckets of books, online writing groups (academic and nonacademic), workshops, and other resources that can help you in your writing quest. So why do I need to throw my blog into the writing ring? Because I know you love my metaphors and I might be able to contribute some new tidbit of advice that might shoot your writing to levels beyond your wildest imagination, or maybe not. I thought I’d give it a whirl, plus, my blogs are free and occasionally funny. The other options are neither.
WHAT THIS BLOG DOES NOT COVER
If you’re interested in publishing pointers, fawgettaboutit. Two previous blog series dealt with writing and publishing for professional journals (4/22—5/9/10) and books (9/18—10/5/09). This blog is also not about grammar and mechanics. Spelchek and copy editors do a great job with that.
WHAT THIS BLOG COVERS
It’s about strategies to improve the quality and quantity of what you write professionally, but also personally. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a research, theoretical model, lit review, historical, commentary, or even murder mystery piece, OR a blog, e-mail, social media comment, article, chapter, or book. These are generic suggestions that work, I think.
TOP 10 SECRET TIPS PREVIEW
Here’s the list that will be addressed in the next few blogs:
10. WRITE EVERYDAY
9. WRITE EVERYWHERE YOU CAN
8. WRITE FOR A NICHE
7. WRITE WITH A PURPOSE AND OUTCOME IN MIND
6. WRITE ON TOPICS ABOUT WHICH YOU ARE PASSIONATE
5. ADOPT A MENTOR OR COACH TO REVIEW DRAFTS
4. THINK DRAFT
3. PROOFREAD THOROUGHLY
2. MINIMIZE DISTRACTIONS AND INTERRUPTIONS
1. FIND AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER OR WRITING GROUP
Read any, all, or none of the upcoming blogs on these tips. If you just get 1 or 2 ideas from this series, it will have been a total waste of my time. I’m shooting for 3. Let me know my hit rate and any comments or suggestions, as usual. My next blog will examine how to WRITE EVERYDAY.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
