Becoming a Blogger

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I’ve wanted to have a “successful blog” for years. And I’ve wanted to be a successful writer for even longer.

I don’t know what that means, really. I mean, what exactly defines “success” in the blogging world? Is it the number of subscribers? The quality of the content? The consistency of the content? The engagement of readers?

I suspect it’s some mix of all of the above.

Colleagues told me I was brave for leaving full-time employment. Some even said they wish they were brave enough to do it themselves. But I don’t really feel brave. Most people assumed that I was leaving to pursue photography full-time and I just let them assume. Sometimes I even said that was what I was going to do. It was easier than explaining 1. I didn’t really have a clue what I was going to do and 2. I did know…or, perhaps more accurately, hoped and prayed…that I was also going to write. Brave? I don’t think so. I can’t even admit what I’m doing (or not doing, as it were).

Writing is (has been) a secret of mine. It’s not something I’ve shared with many people. Partly because it’s personal and partly because I’m afraid that people will laugh or roll their eyes or scoff at the thought of me being a Writer.

Jeff Goins says if you write, you’re a writer. And, I suppose he’s not wrong. I mean, technically, yes. One who writes is referred to as a writer. 

But I don’t feel like a Writer.

Not in the capital “W” noun sense of the word. I feel like a Writer in the same way someone who sings feels like a Singer. Being a writer and being a Writer are two different things. At least in my mind. I mean, I’ve been playing the violin for over twenty years. I started taking photographs in high school and I have studied or worked in the accounting and finance field off and on for more than a decade. I have varying degrees of talent and experience in each of those areas.

But do you know how long it took me to identify myself as a Violinist, Photographer or Accountant? Do you know how often I still struggle with identifying myself as any of those things? I often feel more like I’m just playing at being each of those things rather than actually succeeding at them. And now I’m doing the same with writing, in general, and blogging more specifically. Two things I’ve only, at best, had a handful of years of practice doing and, at worst, have little-to-no talent in accomplishing.

Yea, but…

But, I do want to write and I do want to blog. And I want to be known as a Writer and Blogger.

So.

How do I do that? Where do I start?

To be honest, these are not new questions I’m asking. I’ve been asking these questions off and on for several years now. I’ve even made steps toward answering them a couple of different times, having various blogs over the years (none of which were successful).

And I’m realizing that, inevitably, I always run up against the same problem with becoming successful:

I don’t write.

Odd, huh?

A writer who doesn’t write. A blogger who doesn’t blog. That’s a problem. Because the most fundamental aspect of being a successful Blogger is that you have to blog. Of all the things I don’t know about successful blogging, that is the one thing I do know. And it’s honestly the one that scares me the most because blogging entails writing. And successful blogging entails writing words that matter. Well and often.

And I’m not convinced I have the ability to write quality, compelling content consistently.

I might be able to conquer one, maybe two, of those attributes with each post. But all three? Regularly? Well, if history is the best predictor of future behavior, then I am almost certainly doomed to fail. But, even if I don’t, even if I am able to write well and often, who decides whether or not the content is compelling?

I may feel like I have something to say. I may even get around to saying it regularly. But what if no one cares to read it? What if no one likes it? What if, when it’s all boiled down, what I have to say…isn’t really much of anything at all. Nothing new anyway. Nothing that adds value to the conversation(s) of the world. Nothing that matters.

*Swallow*

Not Giving Up

I can’t give up, though. Not yet.

I don’t feel like I’ve given this (or the photography) thing a fair shot. Ever. It’s always been an afterthought. After school. After work. After life.

But, now, I have the chance at it being a forethought. I still need and want the Lord and His leading of my life to be the focus of my thoughts but, maybe, for the first time ever, photography and blogging – or blogtography, as I’ve started calling it – can be a focus.

I’m not really sure how to be successful with either one of these dreams. But I’m immersing myself in the wisdom of those who’ve gone before me and others who are in the same boat as me picking up tips, tricks and tidbits to help me along the way.

Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll confidently identify myself as a Blogtographer. Part Blogger, part Photographer. All me.

How about you?

Do you want to be a successful Blogger, too? If so, maybe you should join the 30-Day Blogging Blastoff course I’m participating in!*

*I’ll be writing a full post on this course at some point but, for now, suffice it to say I’m learning more than I ever thought possible about not just creating a successful blog but also monetizing it!