Well I guess it is for some folks. In fact, I was just listening to J Freelancing 101: Get Your Questions Answered, a podcast from the ASJA (American Society of Journalists and Authors) 2009 conference. In it, a participant asked panel members about blogging.

A few members gave a big thumbs down to blogging.

Specifically they did not advocate the type of blogging that was valuable enough to be shopped around to paying publications. However, they did say it could work and have heard of a few cases in which doing so led to getting more published jobs.

What do you think about blogging?

As for me, I maintain three of my own personal blogs: 2inspired (for those looking for inspiration and motivation to find their dream career), not2shabby (for wallet-friendly ideas and DIY crafts) and this one. Truth be told, most writers think I’m crazy. I still haven’t figured out if they mean good crazy or the less attractive variety.

Are you contemplating whether to go for it or not?

I blog for several reasons. In fact, to me it’s not a question. I blog like I breathe. But if you’re on the fence and not sure if you want to make the commitment, keep reading. I’ll list the pros and cons so you can decide if it’s right for you.

Pros: Why I Heart Blogging

1. Practice makes perfect. I’ve been blogging personally since 2003 and professionally since around 2007. I can honestly say that my blogging and my writing in general, has improved by leaps and bounds. Having a blog forces you to get focused, come up with ideas and make time to write every day. Before I started blogging, I just didn’t have that same discipline.
2. Showcase your talent. I think blogging is a great way to show off your talent. A lot of times, especially if you’re a writer newbie, editors and potential clients want to see what you can do. If you don’t have a lot of clips collected yet, showing them your blog is the next best thing.
3. Get more jobs. I can’t tell you how many jobs I’ve gotten from blogging alone. Besides showing that I can write, it’s allowed me to demonstrate different voices, styles and tones of writing that I can offer potential clients.
4. Make friends. I’ve found a lot of writer friends from my blogs. It started with a comment here and there, then a Tweet, later a Facebook discussion and sometimes even a friendly weekly writer chat. Blogging has given me the opportunity to connect with writers and editors who I have the highest respect and admiration for-people who I hope to work with some day in the future. Also, it’s just fun chatting with other writers about everything from the challenges of working at home to being able to share your excitement about being published. They keep me sane when working at home gets too quiet and lonely.
5. Get confidence. When I first started freelancing, I was as frightened as my little bunny rabbit. I didn’t know if I could do it. Sometimes I’d stare at the computer screen with my heart thumping loudly, purely paralyzed by my own fears. But blogging changed that. When I started blogging regularly, writing three blogs, sometimes two a day, I lost that fear. Basically, repetition and my ability to do it every time scared it away.
6. Grow new ideas. Blogging is obviously different from other types of writing. When I blog, I often write spontaneously about a thought or idea I’ve just started thinking about. It’s fresh and new. And sometimes I use it as a platform to begin digesting something I’ve recently read or heard about. In a handful of cases, that initial thought or ideas sprouted out into a full-blown article that has gotten published in reputable magazines.

Cons: What’s Hard About Blogging

1. Time sucker. I’m going to get real with you. Blogging takes up a whole heck of a lot of time. And for most of us, we don’t get paid diddley-squat for doing so. Yes, this is where crazy sets in. The results of blogging are not always directly seen. You could blog for months and even years and still not make a lot, if anything. That’s why you need a goal. Either you blog for money (and you find out and work hard to do so), for indirect sales (jobs, sell products, etc.) or as a hobby. Know why you’re doing it and stay focused and committed. It’ll make all those nights blogging ’til midnight (I’ve been there and are there most nights) a lot easier.
2. You might get drained. Because blogging takes up a lot of time and energy, it is possible that you’ll run out of ideas and get burned out. If that’s the case, you may want to figure out a schedule that’s less rigorous or blog less. Or you may want to rethink your blogging topic. Maybe you’re just not as passionate about it as you thought.
3. You might lose money and focus. Since all of your time and energy are focused on blogging instead of querying, for example, you may see a dip in your profits.
4. It sometimes feels like you’re talking to a brick wall. I work really hard on my posts. But sometimes I wonder if anyone’s really on the other side of the conversation. There will be times when you’ll write and write and not get feedback and wonder if anyone’s really listening.
5. You may not be able to publish your ideas in the print world. This was one of the arguments of the panel members. The ideas is that it’s better to save your profitable pieces than publish it online where it’s already being published to the world.
6. You may lose hope. There are a ton of blogs online. And there are bloggers who are more experienced than you and more talented. There will be lots of moments where you’ll lose faith and wonder if you’re making a difference.

After you weigh in the pros and cons, the choice really is up to you. If you have the courage, inner strength and stamina to blog, then do it! There’s a ton of benefits from doing so. I should know. I’m three blogs and a handful of years in and I’m still loving every minute of it.

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A fellow freelancer emailed recently and asked me a few insightful questions on the topic of blogging. They were so interesting and thought-provoking that I asked her if I could share her questions with my answers. So with her go ahead, I decided to publish them here. Feel free to comment. I’d love to hear your own thoughts on blogging.

1. Do you keep an editorial calendar for your blogs, particularly 2inspired? My “editorial calendar” consists of me just writing my post ideas on my desk calendar. It’s nothing too technical. I get lots of ideas actually so sometimes they are scribbled on notebooks, recently on my airplane ticket and sometimes on my computer. I write things down as soon as I think of them.  I’d like to start creating a calendar online as well to help me get more organized.
2. How often do you write your posts the day of or in advance? This all depends. I’m kind of a take it day by day kind of gal. Some days I’ll have tons of ideas and write 3 posts a day. That actually happened to me yesterday. Other days, I’m focused on my “paid” job so I don’t have as much time to write. In those cases, you’ll find me pushing through the next day.  Because I was on vacation for 2 weeks, I did write all of my posts ahead of schedule. I actually think doing so is beneficial and know a lot of professional bloggers who do so. It’s a lot less “flying by the seat of my pants” and “running around like a chicken without it’s head” kind of experience.
3. Also, how did you go about promoting your blogs when you first started? I think I just started blogging because I had a strong desire to write and I didn’t know how to get started.  I just blogged and waited kind of like a fisherman does when fishing.  Then, when I started to get a few comments here and there and then companies started sending me free books, I realized maybe I should put more effort in it.  That’s when I started Twitter and Facebook. I also think reading and commenting on other blogs helped.

It’s your turn. What do you guys do with your blogs? Or have you seen any bloggers out there you admire? What have they done right in your opinion?

It’s Day 4 of the 2010 WordCount Blogathon. Here’s a bit of info in case you haven’t heard of it. Reporter, writer, blogger, basically media/publishing entrepreneur, Michelle Rafter created a challenge for herself. In 2008, she blogged every day for the entire month of May. Asking others to join in the fun, she created the WordCount Blogathon to gather a community of bloggers with the mission to learn, write and have a great time doing it.

I just joined this year and have been secretly blogging every day on this site as well as my other blogs (not2shabby and 2inspired), to fulfill the requirement. So far, I’ve learned that even when I feel uninspired at times, I can still push through and create a pretty good post.

True, it’s been less than a week. But I think the process has already given me confidence in my writing abilities. Forget about blogger’s block. Feeling a surge of strength and empowerment from the community of bloggers also on this trek (see the list on Michelle’s website) I feel like I can do anything.

Part of the reason is that it’s just like preparing for a marathon. You practice and train until writing as an exercise because a daily habit. Basically you take the fear out of the equation and you get results.

If you haven’t already signed up, it’s already too late to do so. But you still can benefit by blogging along on your own blogathon or write-athon.

How do you get to your writing goals of writing a book or article?

You start every day with an intention to take that first step. Those small, baby steps add up. Do it now and those daunting goals? You’ll get to them in no time!

I’m happy to welcome super talented writer and owner of the fabulous a.k.a. writer blog, Jesaka Long! Although I haven’t had the chance to meet Jesaka in person, I’ve had the fortune of networking with Jesaka online and feel lucky to have done so. Jesaka is not only a talented writer, but has become a valuable writer friend. I was honored that she asked me to be a guest blogger on a.k.a. writer, and was doubly excited when she agreed to be a guest on mine. Without further ado, please welcome Jesaka! I know you’ll enjoy reading her post as much as I did.

Surrounded by boxes of pizza and eager interns, I felt a shock of recognition listening to the communications manager who had agreed to speak to my charges. She said that finding and forging her career path was “simple.”

“I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I was in high school and editor of the school paper. I studied journalism in college and got a job.” She had worked in corporate communications for an international travel outfit, a well-known natural beauty brand and a global coffee company, which is where we met. She added that she’d always been focused on writing and editing, even in high school.

I was, too, in high school. Like my guest speaker, I’d written for the school paper, plus I’d edited the yearbook and competed in journalism contests. So, why was she the head of a communications division and I was wrangling interns?

We made different decisions. I chose a school that didn’t offer a journalism degree, but did provide an independent, unique approach to learning. However, I lost focus and tried a variety of subjects and post-grad jobs, including managing a small business and recruiting. Employers would rave about my writing and find ways to use it, but I didn’t (and they didn’t) see me as a writer.

Inspired by my guest speaker, I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my writing as well as my goals. Several weeks later, I approached her to be my mentor—and less than a year later, she hired me as a writer and editor for her team. Now she’s claimed the title of my “biggest fan.”

Between being the high school journalist, the corporate newsletter editor and the freelance writer I am today, these are the lessons I had to learn twice.

• Dream big. In the late 1980s, I wanted to be the editor-in-chief of Sassy magazine. When I was the fiction editor of my college’s literary magazine, I wanted to be a playwright. And, when I hit the real world, I wanted to pay my rent, so I took temp jobs and lost sight of the big dreams. Once I started focusing on my goals again, I refueled my writing dreams—and started pursuing them.

• Believe in yourself. I was so nervous the first time I turned in a writing assignment to my mentor—and I failed! She told me the style was unnatural, stiff and not at all what she expected from me. I’d used formal business language that I thought I should use. When I revised the assignment, using my gut instincts, my mentor loved it.

Much later, when I was applying for my first writing job, my current manager said, “But you can’t write!” It shocked me to hear those words, but I was determined and still applied. When I got the job, I learned from someone else in my former department that my manager just didn’t want to lose me. Good thing I believed in myself and didn’t let her stop me.

If you want to freelance, you have to believe in yourself. Your clients and prospective clients aren’t going to give you business if they suspect you’re unsure and timid.

• Fight limitations. Growing up in a small Texas town, the writing-related career options presented to me were newspaper editor and journalism teacher. The local newspaper editor even told us to find a better-paying occupation. I was determined to find more options for myself.

Once I worked in corporate communications, the prevailing mentality was that if you wrote for an internal audience, you couldn’t write for an external audience. Are you kidding me? I fought hard to earn assignments that included press releases and other marketing materials.

• Invest in your word skills. My high school journalism teacher enrolled me in contests my very first year—and I continued those contests until I graduated. I didn’t take many writing classes in college, but I certainly relied on those skills to get me good grades. But I took them for granted. It wasn’t until about six years ago that I realized I should keep pushing myself, not just relying on mentors or talent. I took creative writing classes as well as copywriting-related courses and was amazed at the leap my writing took. My clients noticed, too.

Sometimes I wonder how my life would be different if I’d followed a journalism or writing path from high school. Most likely, I’d be where I am today. But I’m glad I veered off course, picking up business skills, new subject matter expertise and a diversity of experience. It’s made me a much better freelancer, a more well-rounded writer—and it’s definitely provided me with plenty of juicy tales to tell.

Jesaka Long is a freelance copywriter who’s helped companies craft their stories for nearly 14 years. Based in Denver, she’s known for creating outside-the-lines branding and marketing content for forward-thinking, entrepreneurial companies. She’s also been known to wield a mighty pen for Fortune 500 companies, including Starbucks Coffee Company, REI and Seattle’s favorite software industry leader. Jesaka is also a drama editor for Conclave: A Journal of Character. Connect with her on twitter @jesakalong and through her blog at www.jesakalong.com.

This past weekend I attended the first ever National Magazine Day at a local San Francisco bookstore called, “BookSmith.” Although I missed the first 5 hours of food, drink, and fun of skimming through hundreds of magazines, I did get there in time for what may have been the best part. Hearing what’s hot in the magazine industry from a group of writers/magazine publishers (Local writer Kevin Smokler, Derek Powazek (Fray),  Jen Angel (formerly of Clamor), Jeremy Smith (of the digital Shareble.net), and Andrew Leland (managing editor of The Believer).

For 5 clams, you got a cup of Jo and a hard, but close seat into the writing world by people who were walking the walk, writing-wise.  Not too shabby!

I’ll admit that I was one of the roamers, sticking my head and leaning my ears in between perusing books*, but what I got was pure gold. Here are a few snippets of their sometimes provocative and always apropos talk on being a writer:

“I often worry that I’m on a treadmill.  Running without doing anything meaningful.”

I love this for the simple fact that all writers feel this way.  We write to work and work to write. But sometimes it seems like we can’t ever catch up. If, for example, we’re ahead financially, we may feel we’re not living up to our writing dreams. Perhaps, the worst fear is that life will pass us by and we’ll still be an unpublished writer or author.

“What a great time it is to be a writer.”

This hopeful statement made me want to stand up and cheer! It is a great time to be a writer because there are more opportunities than ever. But then check out what they said next:

In response, someone from the audience made this comment, “There is less opportunity so my writer friends are making writing more of a hobby.”

“But was there ever a good time?”

Like the age old statement that “Life was much better when I was younger,” this topic got everyone split 50-50. Some felt that the economy and the internet has made competition crazy and pay insanely low. While a few on the panel felt that it has always been hard to be a writer regardless of circumstances. One of the writers said it’s all about working through it and writing no matter what. What do you think? You think it’s easier now or was it better “back in the good old days?”

“Blogging makes you a better writer.”

You can imagine how thrilled I was to hear this. Especially since I have three blogs! The arguments were that blogging gives you practice, makes you more vigilant because others will read it, and you have the option to go back and edit it.

“The good news is that now you are responsible for everything. The bad news is you kind of have to be.”

This couldn’t be more true. While we can now self-publish, self-market and essentially design our own publishing careers, we also can’t rely on or blame anyone else for our failures. The torch is really in our own hands. It’s just good or bad depending on how you perceive it.

“Words don’t lose its value once it’s online.”

Another gem for me since a lot of what I do is online. While the panel agreed that e-readers like Kindle and Nook will in no ways take away from print publications, they also debunked the myth that putting words on the internet didn’t necessarily take away its value.

All in all this talk made me 1. wish I brought a tape recorder (so I didn’t have to type everything on my cell phone) 2. want to attend more writing events. What a wealth of information the panel presented in an hour’s time!

How about you? Any presentations/talks you’ve attended lately that you can share here? I’d love to hear about it.

*That’s how I found this (I wish someone got me this as a gift) book, “You Know You’re a Writer When.” As in, “you know you’re a writer when writing is the only thing you do that doesn’t make you feel as if you should be doing something else.”