Or to put it a bit more kindly, How can this blog be of service?
You might be surprised to know that I’ve never really blogged before. (Or perhaps you’re not surprised at all. In fact, you’re pretty much ambivalent, because it’s not like you’ve just been sitting around thinking, “I wonder if that Jason Boyett guy writes a blog.” It’s more likely that you’re reading this right now and thinking, “Who is this nutball and what in the name of Dunder-Mifflin is he talking about?â€)
Anyway, I’ve participated in a handful of blog tours to promote my books and done some guest blogging, but I’ve always been hesitant to start my own personal blog. There are a number of reasons for this. Reason one is that I’m busy. I’m a dad and a husband and I juggle the writing stuff with an actual full-time job that’s only marginally related to my writing career. Who has the time?
Reason two is that I’m a slow writer. Sure, my stuff is fairly casual and conversational and would seem to be naturally bloggy, but it takes me awhile to get it that way. I do lots of polishing and editing before I consider a piece fit for public consumption, and the thought of producing daily content is daunting. Yes, I know: I need to drop the control-freak perfectionism and just start mindlessly typing because it’s a blog not a research paper, you dork. But that’s a hard transition for whiny writers like me.
Reason three is that I’m already self-interested to a fault, and I fear what the narcissism of blogging will do to my barely contained ego. Already I’m writing under the assumption that you give a flying badger tail why I’m just now becoming a blogger. Already I’m taking it for granted that you even know who I am. How long until I assume you want my opinion on popular TV shows? How long before I begin telling you what I had for breakfast? How long until I’m posting cat photos?
So I want to be purposeful in doing this. I want to give you something you’ll actually want to read. Thus the question: What do you want from a Jason Boyett blog? If you’re anything like me, you spend way too much time reading blogs anyway, so what kind of content — if any — would keep you coming back to mine?
Do you want detailed info on the swashbuckling life of a freelance writer? (Because it’s fascinating, I tell you. FASCINATING!)
Do you want content related to any of my books? (By which I mean snarky commentary on stuff related to the End Times, the Bible, or anything else theological.)
Do you want me to say mean things about other bloggers? (I’m convinced that 60% of blog postings in the religious world are complaints about some other religious person’s blog post. Not that I mind. Tell me where to point my digital mud and I’ll sling it.)
Do you want a general daily log of whatever I’m thinking and/or doing that day? (I can’t think of anything less interesting than paragraph-length Twitter about my life, but some bloggers pull it off.)
Do you want me to do journalisty kinds of things and offer interviews and reviews and news-type items?
Or do you just want me to shut up and go away? Tell me what you want, and I’ll try to oblige. If you care enough to comment, let me know your ideas and together we’ll come up with something. If no comments result, then I’ll just do whatever the heckfire I want. And when this blog ends up devolving into cat photos, well, I told you so.
