pagesofjulia

How presumptuous am I, to be offering tips unsolicited? I know. And none of us is perfect. But I mean these in the most constructive way possible. As a reader of blogs, I see things that make me cringe or turn away. We all want our blogs to be read, right? So in a collegial spirit, these are tips on what perhaps we should avoid, in the hopes of happily reading one another’s blogs. And thanks for reading mine. 🙂

Things that annoy me about other people’s blogs sometimes

1. Wordless Wednesday pictures that have captions made out of words (“this is a such-and-such tree at such-and-such time of day in such-and-such locale”) – I think this defeats the wordless-ness.
2. too much paranormal/fantasy/romance (any combination of the three) – this is purely a personal preference, what can I say. nothing personal, but I might not be back if this is a very strong theme. perhaps it would be more fair and general to say that I personally prefer reading blogs that cover a variety of genres rather than just one or two kinds of books.
3. book “review” or write-up that is half or more (or any lengthy amount) someone else’s blurb, or quotations from the book – if that’s all you have to say, just advise that I go find the book. I can read numerous blurbs on the interwebs, Amazon, etc. – I’m on your blog because I want YOUR thoughts.
4. light text on dark background! grey text! pale text on a vibrant background picture! etc. if I cannot read your text you are driving me nuts!
5. poor grammar, lack of punctuation, lots of typos, run-on sentences – surely I am a hypocrite somewhere on this page. but I do try to proofread before I publish. I think it shows respect for what I’m doing, and some pride in my work. no one else is going to respect your work if you don’t show some respect for it. I recommend a few minutes to proofread!
6. blogs about blogging… sometimes get a bit too meta for me. ahahahaha, NOW I am being hypocritical! really though, think twice. and, chastened, I shall try to take my own advice.

Not annoying:

1. the “I make a tiny amount of money if you buy this book” disclaimer – now that I’m informed, I’m fine with you making tiny amounts of money.
2. a conversational style, including slang and whimsical, purposeful misspellings. as long as this is your personal voice (and not some cutesy trendy conformism) I’m pleased at your individuality. case in point: books i done read is really charming, funny, and one of my favorite blogs.

How about you? Anything that bothers you (or doesn’t) about the blogs you read? All tips appreciated. 🙂

Filed under: musings | Tagged: blogs, lists |