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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Blogging: the Ugly Truth

by Chautona Havig · 5 Comments

You know what? There’s a lot out there about “how to blog.”  I didn’t read much of it when I started.  Someone made a blog for me, and well, I started writing.  I didn’t read how to appeal to readers and all that stuff.  I just wrote what was burning on my heart that day.  Sometimes it was something silly like a funny story about one of my kids, and other times it was a rant about something that convicted me.

I blogged that way for a long time.  I liked it.  It’s “me.”  Slowly, some of it morphed into a combination soapbox and personal journal.  That was fun too.  I liked having reminders to do things and of things I’ve already done.  That was cool as well.

I was never the “popular girl” and I never really wanted that title.  Whether someone liked me frankly didn’t matter.  I can thank moving a lot as a kid and having parents who drilled into me that the only opinions that mattered were those of your closest family (parents/husband etc.) and God’s.

So, I don’t know what made me start reading about blogging.  I think maybe it was when I started searching for ways to market my books.  I’m not sure, but that’s my guess.  You see, when you write books and publish them, you really do want someone to read them.  People can’t find them unless they hear about them.  Blogging shows up in Google searches thanks to the lovely addition of tags, and voila.  People find you and love you and buy your books.  Simple, right?

You know what?  That’s not me.  I read all about how to make sure you have your SEO right (I never did it), how to have a consistent blogging schedule (and I pretty much did that but not totally), how to respond to your commenters (I already did that if I had anything to add), and how to encourage them to comment.

That one was easy.  “To get people to comment, ask a question.  They’ll know you want their input, and they’ll respond to that kind of interaction.”  For some idiotic reason, I fell for it.  I dutifully put questions at the end of many of my blog posts.

Guess what?  The same people who commented before kept commenting, but now I extorted answers that they probably didn’t want to bother with but were too polite to ignore.  I want to take a moment right now and thank all those who did that.  And now I want to apologize.  I am so sorry.  Note:  From here on out, if there’s a question anywhere in my blog post that isn’t obviously rhetorical, I really, really want to know the answer (even if it’s just one so you can get another entry into a giveaway).  I also promise never to pull that kind of nonsense on you again.  Please forgive me.

So, for the record, I’m done blogging “the right way.”  I’m doing it my way (Ugh, I sound like Old Blue Eyes!).  I will blog when I have something to say, about whatever I want to say, and I won’t try to get people to interact with me.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love comments.  I’m not above being glad to know that people really do read what I post.  I want to know what you think of it.  I write books because I have a story to tell.  I write blog posts because I have something to say.

I just refuse to try to fit into a mold that wasn’t designed for me anymore.  I’m Chautona the writer. I write about what inspires, irritates, amuses, and intrigues me.  I don’t write because it’s Tuesday and I’m supposed to write about puppies and rainbows on Tuesdays.  I refuse to do Wordless Wednesdays unless I happen to have a picture on a Wednesday that happens to be something I am dying to share.  I won’t do it.

What I will do is go back to being me.  I hope that the “real” me is good enough.  If not, well, at least I’m not churning out worthless drivel because the stupid blog schedule says that I’m supposed to write about “Faith in Fiction” because it’s Sunday.

You know, I made one of those this week.  I kid you not.  I read some blog somewhere that really inspired me to be consistent and post about my passions.  So, I considered what kinds of things I like to talk about, broke it up into seven days, and I even wrote two weeks worth of blogs on that schedule.  They are all scheduled for posting on their neatly appropriate days.  When I’m done posting this, I’m going to go delete all but one or two of them.  Yes.  Yes I am.

Some folks will wonder if I don’t care about marketing my books anymore.  Well, I do care.  I care a lot.  I  will write if no one ever reads it.  I would do it because the stories are there–the platforms are there.  I have something to say, and I want to say it…even if no one is listening.  However, just because I write regardless of an audience doesn’t mean that I don’t want to get my material into the hands of those who will enjoy it.

So, I’m going to ask my readers to do me a favor.  If you see a blog post you like, please comment.  Let me know that it really did hit home somehow. Share it on Facebook or email it to a friend. If you read a book that you liked, please go over to Amazon and post a review. Share it on Facebook or review it on your blog. If you hated it, well, send me an email.  Tell me why.  I can take it.  I want to know.

This starts a new era for me in blogging.  I’m going back to the basics.  I will be true to me as a person and as a writer, and I hope as a Christian.

Now, time to do some blog-post-ectomies.

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Comments

  1. Rebekah says

    May 9, 2012 at 10:03 pm

    I love your blogs, Mrs. Havig! This was a great post too and a good reminder.

    I still have my Wednesdays set for book reviews… but that’s because I want to limit myself to one book review a week, and not have them completely flooding my blog. Otherwise, this was a good reminder of why I’ve avoided a “mold” for blogging in the past. 😀

    To the KING be all the glory!
    Rebekah

    Reply
  2. Texanne says

    May 8, 2012 at 5:53 pm

    Hi, Chautona–

    Just jumped over here from Holly’s forum, and boy! am I glad I did. This is all so wonderful.

    Just so you know, I’m having the same argument with myself that you are: how much of a carnival barker to be in order to sell books.

    I’m coming up with: close to zero. There has to be a less tacky, less fake way to go about this process.

    Keep us posted on what you come up with.

    PS: I loved your story, “The Card.” We are having Family Drama about an elderly relative around here lately. It’s wrenching, and I always fail the “meek” test when it comes to dealing with bullies. Keep writing from your heart–it’s the best source you have.

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      May 8, 2012 at 7:45 pm

      Hey, Texanne! I feel your pain. Carnival barker– great description.

      I decided that I’d rather sell 10000 books with my self-respect intact than to fight and push to sell 20000 books and hate myself in the end.

      Thanks for encouragement on “The Card.” I think I like it. I think.

      Reply
  3. Jo says

    May 7, 2012 at 9:45 pm

    I love that you wrote this, thank you. I have been going back and forth between wanting to market my blog and become “bigger”… with just wanting to be me, writing what I like to write, what I want to write, and when I damn well feel like writing it.

    Being me feel so much righter.

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      May 7, 2012 at 10:01 pm

      but is it so much “righter” or so much “writer?”

      😉

      Reply

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Episode 264: A Chat with Romance Author, Sarah Monzon
byChautona Havig

Finally getting a chance to chat with Sarah Monzon was a total delight, and learning all about her latest release, All’s Fair in Love and Christmas was equally awesome.  My copy is here and waiting for me to dive into the battle of the celebrations!  EEEP! Listen in to see what that even means!

Note: I sound like I’m underwater. We heard it during our interview, but I couldn’t make it behave and couldn’t fix it. Sorry!

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

How Does an Intense Christmas Competition Lead to Love?

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas has so much going for it that I don’t know where to start! Fun mom who made our heroine’s childhood Christmases an international delight without ever leaving home?  Check!  Social anxiety adding to the stress of competing for a promotion?  Check?  Romcom hilarity?  Check, check?  And add to all that Sarah’s wonderful writing and delightful characterization?  I’m all in.

We also chatted about why she chose to write about a woman with social anxiety, her preferred reading methods, and some of my favorite books by her. For a refresher, those are The Isaac Project, 12 Days of Snowmen, and Book Nerds & Boyfriends (a collection of three novellas).

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas by Sarah Monzon

Two workplace rivals. One festive competition. And a romance that upends it all.

Every December two things are guaranteed for graphic designer Mackenzie Graham–Christmas celebrations and the annual promotion at her workplace. Those two things are by no means mutually exclusive. In fact, the better an employee is at harnessing the Christmas spirit, the more likely they’ll win the new job. With her social anxiety, Mackenzie never thought she’d be a contender in her company’s holiday competition, so how exactly has she found herself dueling her workplace crush with wrapping paper tubes and using tinsel as her weapon of choice for a much-needed raise?

Jeremy Fletcher’s life is meticulously planned out, including how to win this year’s promotion at work. Not only will the new position fulfill some of his career goals, but as a single guardian to his twin niece and nephew, he needs the salary increase to support his family. Jeremy has barely noticed Mackenzie Graham around the office, but now that she’s his rival, he can’t stop thinking about her. Her quirkiness intrigues him, and he’s afraid that if he can’t get his head on straight, the promotion isn’t the only thing he’ll end up losing to Mackenzie.

“Inspirational rom-com readers are going to love this one.”–BETHANY TURNER, bestselling author of The Do-Over

You can learn more about Sarah on her WEBSITE.  Also follow her on BookBub and GoodReads.

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