Thursday, May 19, 2005

blogging the author

Being a writer who both blogs and publishes has lots of tensions.
: If I write stuff and it’s months before it’s published, has my thinking moved on?
: If I write stuff on my blog, will people rip it off before it is published?
: If I write stuff on my blog, will people read the book and think, “Oh, read that before”?
: If I write stuff on my blog, will people comment and nuance and enhance my thinking? This is great, but will they then sue the book/publisher/me for how their thoughts have shaped my thoughts.
Such are some of the tensions of being caught between two medium.

At the same time, I’m currently experiencing some real joy being between two mediums. I set up a separate out of bounds church book blog. It’s a bit tricky because I can’t totally separate the two. After all, the emergentkiwi is the author of The out of bounds church? book. But I didn’t want this blog becoming choked by my book stuff, or seeming like an info-mercial. And I wanted a book blog rather than a book website, because a quick surf showed me book websites with forums that are broken, with information that is out of date and with very little author presence.

So I responded to a review yesterday and this comment appeared; PS- I love that I get to interact with the author of a book I’ve read! The ability to discuss it makes the book even more exciting. It’s a thrill for them. And its also a thrill for me because it sharpens my writing and thinking, if there is a next time.

Now perhaps, this is just because I’m a “little” author and have only a “little” bit of feedback. (And yes, I still have not responded yet to all the emails and comments I have received.) Who knows. That’s the future. For today, I’m enjoying the way that a book blog allows a book to become more of a conversation.

Posted by steve at 11:49 AM

6 Comments

  1. If the outofbounds blog evolves into a “stuff I’ve written” blog (maybe organized by careful use of categories) then the possibility for generating interplay between published works, demonstrating how ideas and themes run through them all, showing how an idea matures over time etc. comes into play. And allows others to show you links you might never had seen.

    Also allows for cross-marketing. 🙂

    Possibly an opportunity to see how articles that you’d had published somewhere and had the provision for further re-publication could be woven back in against the books etc.

    Comment by Stephen Garner — May 19, 2005 @ 3:52 pm

  2. Steve, I share the same concerns as I ponder the start of a blog — do I only discuss things I’ve only written, or ‘let it go’? Do I care if I’m ripped off? The same goes for classes — do I podcast the classes, offer the notes, and people pay only when the want the degree — i.e. knowledge is free (MIT)?? Lots of new questions…

    I will continue to follow your insights in this regard.

    Happy to have met you (again) and I’m glad we’ll be working together in the future…
    Ryan

    Comment by Ryan Bolger — May 19, 2005 @ 6:23 pm

  3. Stephen
    sort of like “form criticism” — I don’t seriously think there are people that lonely in the world.
    Q. What is your hobby?
    A. “Oh, I’m a Taylor trainspotter, I study how Taylor’s work matures over time.” 🙂

    Comment by steve — May 19, 2005 @ 9:30 pm

  4. Ryan
    its a tough one. i was blogging before i got published, so it is like a problem that has slowly evolved. Wheras for you, you have about to be published and now what do you do.

    Whatever you do, please don’t litter the web with a site about the book that is full of broken forums and looks like the author hasn’t done any dusting for many a year.:)

    steve

    Comment by steve — May 19, 2005 @ 9:32 pm

  5. Erk, found out. Where’s my anorak?

    Comment by StephenG — May 20, 2005 @ 8:26 am

  6. this is my first venture in the world of blogging. I hope I am writing to Steve Taylor at Solomon’s Porch. About the comment at your door on Sunday morning “I pray for you…” How encouraging that someone is actually praying for you daily that you would be the best teacher of God’s word that you and the Holy Spirit can make you and that someone so much wants to hear God’s Word!”

    You and your church are a huge encouragement to the evangelical church world! Thank you for stepping out in faith and being a real church in a cutlure that is so in need of God’s truth presented in an authentic Biblical way. God’s blessing to you and your church.

    Comment by Dru — May 27, 2005 @ 5:43 am

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