It’s hard enough maintaining a blog. And then you have this…
Last month, literary agent Chip MacGregor announced he was done blogging. In his (now second-to-the) last post All Good Things Must Come to an End, he writes
Time to hang it up.
I’ve said what I have to say… I’m going to wrap it up. I feel like I’ve said plenty, I’m starting to go over some of the same material, and I need to just go focus on the authors I have the privilege of representing. So I’ll blog once more, to say good-bye, but then I’m done. I’m going to fold up my tent, cash in my soup ladle, hand over my keys, and all those other overdone metaphors for wrapping it up.
No more blog posts. No more bad poetry. No more whining about dopey queries and stupid ideas. No more offending the faithful. Time to spend my words on something else… I’m done. It’s been fun.
Chip
Ooookay.
After all the advice us writers get about building platforms, social networking, and maintaining a web presence, and then to see another agent bite the dust, it’s disheartening. Mind you, it’s hard to blame Chip. Maintaining a blog is not easy. Heck, my life would be a lot simpler without this one. Which is all the more reason Chip’s defection smarts.
However, it was Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson, whose comment on Chip’s post that got me thinking. Hyatt wrote:
I would humbly beseech you to reconsider. You have made a difference. You ARE making a difference. You need to blog, Chip.
You may think you are repeating yourself, but you are not. You are getting first-hand experience building a platform—something that is invaluable in terms of passing it on to your clients.
It is also a way for you to sort out your best thinking and share it with the world. I ALWAYS read your blog, and you will leave a big hole if you stop. Get a good night’s rest—take a break if you must—but don’t quit. Ignore the Resistance!
Man, this is what I love about the internet!
Chip feels he’s said what he has to say. Hyatt implores him to keep saying it. Chip implies he’s wasting his words. Yet Hyatt values those words. Chip thinks his time would be better spent elsewhere. However, Hyatt benefits from that time. “You need to blog, Chip.”
What struck me about this, besides sharing Hyatt’s overall sentiment, was that second paragraph:
You are getting first-hand experience building a platform—something that is invaluable in terms of passing it on to your clients.
Hearing this from anyone other than Michael Hyatt would be funny. And a little embarrassing. I mean, if I told Chip MacGregor he should keep blogging because he was “getting first-hand experience building a platform,” the snark would rain down. But the fact that it was voiced by one the biggest names in Christian publishing, changes everything.
Hyatt’s comment indirectly illuminates one of the reasons we writers like to read agent blogs — and it’s not just for industry info. We like to see literary agents in the trenches alongside of us, leading by example. Yes, agent bloggers keep us abreast of the industry buzz. But they also flesh out the type of professionalism they expect of their clients (and potential clients). Blogs help us watch as literary agents “sort out [their] best thinking,” process trends, grapple with changes, interact with queries, network, build a platform, grow. And pass that on to their clients.
Yet so many industry bloggers have come and gone. Dave Long. Miss Snark. Nathan Bransford. Which makes Chip’s abrupt farewell even more discouraging.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not inferring that all agents should blog, or that their professional lives aren’t incredibly hectic. After five-and-a-half years of blogging, 2-3 posts a week, I can totally appreciate when someone feels the need to hang it up. Believe me. But that also makes me appreciate those bloggers who continue to grind it out.
- We keep talking, even though we repeat ourselves.
- We keep blogging, even though our time might be better spent elsewhere.
- We keep posting, even when our readers go on hiatus.
Maybe all I’m really saying is that blogging is a lot harder than the average person thinks. Just ask Chip MacGregor.
I just found out about him, and now he quits! I am DASHED!
It is, Mike. Who among us hasn’t wondered if we should just quit? Day after day. Eventually year after year. Of course we get repetitive. And we do wonder if anybody cares. All I can say is I’ve met some wonderful friends via blogging–you included–so I doubt I’ll stop anytime soon regardless of platform, social networking, etcetera.
I certainly understand, and I’m on the fence. I mean, I’ve never been an agent before, and don’t intend to do so, but all I’ve ever heard is how incredibly busy they are. But that isn’t really the issue at stake, because what it boils down to is anyone should prioritize what they are doing, and how much it is helping or benefiting them.
When it comes to running a business, which both an author and an agent are a self-employed business unless you’re an agent working for an agency, the goal of the individual in that situation is to accomplish certain things, and what they do should support that in some way. One only has so much time, and there are countless things one can do to support a goal, so they have to prioritize.
In terms of first orders of business, why would an agent need to create a platform? Hyatt offers one reason, to gain the experience. It sounds like Chip has already gained that first-hand experience. My guess is that Chip doesn’t feel like further blogging is going to give him much more in that department. The main reason to have a platform is to generate business. If I am to believe agents own words, they have more manuscripts than they can possibly go over pouring in every day.
That’s the reason you don’t see that many ads for agents. It would be a waste of money for the most part because they already have all the work they can possibly handle.
If his goal starting out was to simply help the poor author to understand the business, that is a cool goal. But not one which factors directly, and if indirectly, very little, into the bottom line of what his business is about. It is possible he might discover some author on his blog, but that is a long shot. It is not a good forum for that kind of contact.
Writers, however, like yourself and me, benefit from that platform building because many of us don’t have “more work than we can handle,” or in our terms, more sales than we can handle. We always need to be in the business of reaching new readers. So blogging does aid in a more direct way the goals of the writer, and many agents and publishers will expect an author to be doing such things.
Hyatt I recall did a blog post about why he blogs. A lot of it as I remember was related to not only providing a “face” to an otherwise giant company to the general public and potential writers, but also to keep his own organization focused on goals and leadership points, which he focuses a lot on. Neither of those will apply to most agents unless they head a giant agent firm with a slew of agents, and then their post probably wouldn’t be primarily toward writers only, but subjects related to the business and goals of their agency.
IOW, I always wondered why an agent would blog. Sure, it can be a good resource for the writer, but aside from an agent trying to break into the field and needs authors to submit manuscripts to them, there is little it will do for an agent other than use up time that could be spent taking care of their clients, and reading book proposals to find the next big author.
I can easily see how for an agent, blogging is more of a time waster than something that will aid their business model. Maybe it makes sense to get started as an agent, to get your name out there, or makes sense to get that experience building a platform so the agent can help their authors, but once you have the prospective clients pouring in and have gained the experience, what’s left to benefit the agent?
What it sounds like Hyatt is saying to Chip is along the lines of, “Hey, I like reading your stuff, and so do a lot of authors, don’t quit! You’re helping *us*.” But if it isn’t doing anything for the agent but using up time better spent elsewhere from their business model, that won’t cut the mustard. And that’s why I think agents won’t stick with a blog very long. They simply don’t have the incentive that an author does to do so.
And the more popular blogger an agent becomes, the more their current clients are saying, “Why can’t you return my calls? You’re blogging several times a week, so you must not be too busy.” Perception can start to erode one’s client base as well. He’s hired to help the author, not to give freebies to the general public. Most authors would be happy as long as they feel they are being taken care of, but at the first sign they aren’t, they’ll be pointing the finger at the amount of blogging the agent is doing as to why they aren’t getting taken care of.
I detected a hint of that in the words he used. Something has said, “Focus on us, not your blog.” So he’s had to prioritize, and the freebie goes out the door. That’s what I’m picking up.
Nathan Bransford, who’s recently left the agenting biz, said this in an interview at Rachelle Gardner’s blog:
“…the publishing industry is now embracing social media like never before and many publishers, agents, and authors exploring new ways to connect directly with readers. It’s such a great tool to connect books and authors with the readers who want to find them, and while publishing may have been just a bit slow to recognize the possibilities afforded by social media, the industry is swiftly making up for lost time.”
The point being, social networking provides more tools for agents to do what they want to do: SELL BOOKS. An agent with an active internet presence has a broader platform, not just to attract clients, but to spread the word about their existing ones. So while I concur with your basic thesis (that agent blogs MAY not be essential to their platform), Hyatt’s comment is interesting, especially from the angle of a “new media” model.
Only problem with that quote, however, is that the only people agents sell books to are publishers. Unless an agent has published their own book, they don’t need readers. If they have plenty of manuscripts coming in each day, which from what I hear is most agents’ laments, then they don’t need to connect with writers. Theoretically they should have the email addresses and phone numbers of their clients, so plenty of direct and targeted contact there with the people who are actually making them money.
So unless it can be shown that blogging helps agents sell to publishers, I think the point made totally misses the mark and still doesn’t give the standard agent a good business reason from their side of the fence of why they need to blog. And I would think in this business, the agent would have much more success calling and talking to editors at publishers than doing a blog and hoping that will connect them with editors. Blogging is a very poor substitute for personal contact.
So unless the agent needs clients and/or wants to gain experience in the blogging platform building, I don’t see a point for them. And once they have those submissions rolling in and have the experience, there’s little left to keep them in the game.
I think “leading by example” and “in the trenches” is sort of a weak argument. One, what authors want their agents to do is sell their work to publishers. If the agent does that, the author isn’t going to care that much about whether their agent is blogging or not. If the agent isn’t sending out the authors work to publishers (a big problem from what I’ve read), then the author may feel the agent is wasting too much time blogging when he/she should be taking care of him/her, doing something that will actually earn both of them some money so they can both keep doing what they do.
Two, this is akin to the boss finding out his employee has been spending a big amount of time blogging when he should have been getting his work done. The author hires the agent. But I guess if authors want to hire their agents to go blog, that’s their choice. To me, it makes little sense for what I would want as an author, or what will keep the agent afloat financially.
But let me restate, for a writer who has a book out, this makes tons of sense. Your blog, Mike, is a good example of that. We need to build that platform to readers and this is one good way to do that. Not the only way, but a good tool. But agents don’t need readers unless they’ve published something.
Again, I think everyone is looking at this from how it will benefit us out here, us writers because we get the “inside” scoop, or learn how various agents think, learn what to avoid, etc. But ultimately the agent has to look at how it will help him/her. And if their bottom line is sinking (which many are because of the recession and the business model itself is flawed for most of them), blogging isn’t making them any money and has little to no benefit for them.
If the agent can’t justify the time spent in how it is benefiting his business, then I think even Hyatt would agree good business people prioritize their tasks as to what is most productive and do those first. Without a good benefit to the agent, as soon as that agent feels the squeeze, he’s got to drop doing it if he/she wants to stay in the business.
Rick, most agent / client contracts include a percentage of royalties. Yes, agents are selling to publishers. But that’s just a one-time payout. The real profit is in book sales. Agents also get paid in relation to how many books an author sells. An agent with a large vigorous platform brings clout to their clients. Since I’ve been agented by Rachelle Gardner, my website stats have increased by at least ten percent. At least. Will that translate into guaranteed sales? No. However, it illustrates the symbiosis between writer and agent, and what a good agent can bring to her clients.
From virtually all corners we are hearing that publishing is turning a corner into a new age. We simply can’t discount how much social media changes things for everyone — publishers, readers, agents, and authors. This is not to suggest that agents need to blog, but that we’re still on the front end of the learning curve. Besides, if blogging was that inconsequential for agents, why would Michael Hyatt encourage Chip to continue?
Hey, thanks for your comments, R.L.!
The reasons Hyatt gave for Chip to continue had nothing to do with what would be good for Chip. It related more to what good it would do for his readers. So I don’t think Hyatt addresses my points in that regard.
I thank you for pointing out how an agent’s influence can potentially increase sales of a client’s book, and thereby increase their own income. I knew they received a percentage of sales, so that part make some business sense if they can link their blogging to increase sales for their clients.
In your case, does your agent blog much?
I should clarify, I’m not saying no social media is productive for agents. Surely I can see more results coming from certain social media functions, to display their client’s books in a place where content, like a blog, or Facebook page, would help generate sales.
I would think they could determine interest in click throughs from their blog ads for their client’s books they display. Maybe left unsaid is that he didn’t see that great a number of people actually paying attention to the ads he had on the blog.
But I read his post, and it appears to me that he is prioritizing. He’s treated it as a ministry of sorts, so maybe he isn’t expecting it to generate income for him. But he obviously feels that there are more productive ways to spend his time in behalf of his clients.
In light of that, it sounded like Hyatt was more responding to Chip’s assertion that he doesn’t feel he has much more to offer at this point, that he is repeating himself, etc. Hyatt is saying that doesn’t matter, people are still reading and wanting to hear what he has to say. And no doubt they have a more personal business relationship as well. He was only addressing on of Chip’s points from the reader’s side.
You bring up one good reason that an agent might blog, if it increases sales to their clients and thus to their own bottom line. If that works for an agent, I can see that as something beneficial to do on their side of the equation. Then again, they have to look at this in a time-benefit function, and are there other activities that would be more productive.
Yes, social media is changing how things work for all involved. But one still has to evaluate the time vs. benefit of whatever you’re doing, even in social media. It is potentially self-defeating to just jump on the bandwagon because it seems like everyone else is doing it. It is easy to do some of these things simply because they are an ego booster. If that is the case for any particular individual, they are doing it for the wrong reasons. Problem is, most doing it for that reason probably don’t realize it.
Yes, use social media, but make sure you’re using it to create a benefit for you and the potential reader out there. If blogging makes sense from the agent side, cool. If it ends up being a waste of their time that could be spent on more productive task, then not so cool.
Sometimes it isn’t so much whether something can produce a benefit, but if you’re spending your time on something that produces so-so results, but because of that you are not spending that same time doing something that could produce great results, then you’ve lost. Not always and easy thing to discern, but something we have to keep working at and evaluating. That seems to be what Chip has done, and I can’t fault him for that.
To answer one of your questions, R.L., yes. Rachelle Gardener hosts an excellent–I may even say exemplary–blog. http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/ Very informative for writers, whether clients and otherwise, and a skilfully handled marketing platform for her clients and their publications. Just thought you’d find it interesting.
Thanks, Mr. Pond.
I’ve added her blog to my blog reading list. I finally found where she listed the books she represents (due to the sidebar not popping in right away and I had scrolled past it by the time it did). So the books aren’t on the front page, which means most who read her blog aren’t going to see them unless they specifically have an interest in looking at them, like I just did.
The links for writers were more up front and center. So I would think the boast in sales from her blog presence may not be that significant. The jump Mike noticed may be more due to other factors, like the publishers promotions, getting placed with a publisher, etc. Or She may be doing some other things on Facebook or other venues which more directly promote the books, and a large following there could jump start sales. It could also be because of some reviews (I had one review which I noticed a substantial jump in sales because of it).
But I did notice she had ads on the blog page itself for two writing books. The blog does seem more focused toward writers and building her business, than trying to sell client books, from what I can see. Another reason I think that, is there’s no blurbs in the book list she has. Just the book title, author, publisher, etc. So a casual reader finding their way there won’t have a clue, other than the broad category it falls into, what the book is about.
I seriously doubt her blog is selling a lot of client books. It musts be coming from some other source or activity.
Fascinating.
I would have thought a ‘hiatus’ announcement (‘I am temporarily stepping away from the blog for personal and professional reasons; the archive posts will still be available for your reading pleasure’) would have been a safer way to go, but then I don’t know all the circumstances behind the decision. Though I suspect Mr Copple has the best take on the situation so far.
Yes, writing hurts. Blogging hurts because writing hurts. I use my blog ostensibly for a platform, but pragmatically to keep honing my skills at spitting out quality content with journalistic regularity and speed. Which makes it interesting.
I have to say–you’re one of the blogging stalwarts, Mike. Don’t you go disappearing on us, please!
Actually, I know you’ve seen this, but the last post explains everything quite well, and poetically: http://chipmacgregor.typepad.com/main/2010/10/and-so-good-night-unto-you-all-.html
Very thoughtfully done, really.
You are correct about agent blogging being a “new media” thing. The days when agents were ensconced in their flats, showed up only for cocktail parties and conferences are over. Not only does blogging connect them to the people they need (clients and readers), it demythologizes the agent mystique. I agree with Mike Hyatt.
Wow, thanks for the great message! I’ve only been blogging 10 months and started right around the time my three-book deal was announced. I’m nowhere near burnout, even doing it five days a week, and I’m still 9 months away from my first book release. Plenty of material left to talk about, right?
Yet I’ll have these moments where I’m writing a post and think, “wait, didn’t I already cover this subject?” Even if I’m doing it in a different way, I wonder if I’m annoying people by repeating myself. Your post here is a good reminder that it’s OK for me to repeat myself — that in fact, it’s integral to branding and to making sure newer readers hear what I have to say on subjects that are important to me.
Great post!
Tawna
“We like to see literary agents in the trenches alongside of us, leading by example.” Perfectly said!
As I deal with many of the same issues – trying to blog about relevant topics and searching for creative ways to build a platform and “get it out there,” it helps to know others in this industry deal with the same challenges.
I agree with Mr. Pond:
“I would have thought a ‘hiatus’ announcement (‘I am temporarily stepping away from the blog for personal and professional reasons; the archive posts will still be available for your reading pleasure’) would have been a safer way to go . . .”
The trail of abandoned blogs is a little depressing. Blogging is so difficult, and I admire those people who are capable of staying the course. And it means a lot when an agent is able to do it. It makes me feel that the publishing world is vibrant and looking for new authors and works. It makes me feel I have a connection with this vibrant world of publishing. When I was younger and writing my first books (in the 90s), the publishing world was not this approachable. The only ways to approach agents and editors were through conferences and snail-mail queries. I’m not saying that the internet has helped me break into publishing; it hasn’t, as is obvious from my unpublished status. Instead, the internet makes me feel a part of a community of honest-to-goodness real human beings.
With that, I suspect it’s time to breathe new life into my own blog.
There’s so much hype about blogging, social media, and building a platform but I’m not sure that works for everybody and for every “thing.” When it comes right down to it, it’s about writing and the business of selling that writing. I find that my books sell because they’re on amazon.com and other online sites. It’s not because I’ve been blogging for 5 years or facebooking or twittering. I’m cutting back on all of those things, although out of the 3, I prefer blogging. But my focus must be on the writing. The rest is optional.
I’ve been blogging for over five years now and it’s been a true blessing to me. I’ve met some great people (even met some bloggers “in real life”), and I love the community aspect of it. However, I understand blogging burn-out. It happens. I used to post every day. Then it was 3 or 4 times a week. Now I’m lucky if I blog MWF.
So I take breaks. Maybe that’s what Chip should do. Take a break. I once took a month-long break and by the time it was over, I was ready to jump back into it.
When blogging becomes a chore or is no longer fun, it’s time to stop. Now whether that’s for a week or a month or a year or forever, it’s really up to the individual. 🙂
Hanging up the gloves will happen to the best of us in time. Like some music bands, it’s probably best for MacGregor to quit while he’s ahead before the inevitable inertia and stagnation sets in.
I never read Chip’s blog so the discontinuance doesn’t phase me one way or another. If he’s not inspired to do it anymore, he shouldn’t do it because it’s a waste of his time. One of the problems I see is that bloggers commit to putting up new posts very frequently–5-7 times a week. I understand that from the “raising your visibility in the search results” standpoint, but it’s a guaranteed source of burnout.
In the last half of this year, I’ve seen several popular bloggers struggle to find content for this frequent updating. They try to put up a good post with useful content, but between the lines the post is screaming “I’m really bored stiff so this is all I was inspired to come up with, take it or leave it”.
And I know this mad rush to frequently post content isn’t going to change, unless the rate of frequency actually increases. But I don’t think it’s a good thing. But then I’m a dinosaur. 😎
Ultimately we have to decide how we’ll all spend our time. I only update my blog once a week, and I have the lower “Google juice” to prove it. But for right now at least, that’s the trade off I prefer.
Brenda, I agree with you about blog post frequency often correlating with mediocre content. In my mind, this actually distinguishes great bloggers from others. An individual who can come up with relevant, timely, thought-provoking posts on a regular basis deserves to have a following. But I agree with you in that us writers need to decide “the trade off.” In the long run, the blog needs to play second fiddle to our novels. Thanks for your comments!
Jumping late, but I did want to say that I believe blogging is a calling and a ministry. When I started my blog five years ago, I had also gone back to college and there wasn’t much free time. It was difficult even finding Christian bloggers no matter how I Googled which is how I stumbled onto Dave Long’s blog and met a great group of people at Faith*in*Fiction, some of whom I still keep in touch with regularly, and some I’ve stumbled into again (Hey, Mike, howyadoin?) .
All that to finally get to the point: When I reached a huge slump and wanted to quit, God told me to keep on posting because I’d need those posts later. He reminded me of that when I was Lifestyles editor of my local paper and I was pulling from my posts for material for my columns. Recycled stuff? You betcha and it was better than when first written because I had some writing maturity to polish it up some, plus a word count limit which helped to tighten the writing.
God uses everything we do to honor Him for others to get to know Him better. He blesses us with motivational gifts so that we don’t burn out, but we must be working in our gifts. Any particular work for some is a means to an end, and for others it is the joy of life. The key is to find out exactly what God has to say about to blog or not to blog, then follow that path without breaking stride.