Lit Blogger Panel
Dan Wickett of the Emerging Writers Network has another Lit Blogger Panel out and this time I am a participant. You can see my answers and those of the other participants (including some of my favorites The Mumpsimus and Chekhov’s Mistress) at this page. There a few people interviewed who I don’t know, so I’ll have some new reading to look into.
[Added May 2, 2005]
Here are Dan’s (EWN) questions and my respones:
EWN:
Thank you all for participating and passing along information about your blogging experiences. First of all, as I don’t see much income generation on your sites, what do you all do for a living?
Me:
I’ve been working in libraries since I was 16, and just this year started my first job as a professional academic librarian.
EWN:
If you don’t mind, in an attempt to determine if this ability to blog has any restrictions, what ten year age range do you fall into? Twenties, thirties, etc.?
Response:
Late twenties.
EWN:
When did you begin your blog?
Response:
If my archives are correct, my first post was on April 25, 2004. It’s almost one year anniversary time.
EWN:
How difficult was it for you to learn how to maneuver within your blog and get things looking the way you wanted them to?
Response:
I picked it up pretty quickly on a basic level, and I’ve been learning more and more since then (next step: home-made online databases). The hardest part for me in the beginning was getting Movable Type installed on my server. I’m just about to post a new design/organization of my site so I guess the “looking the way [I] wanted” is ongoing.
EWN:
What is the significance of your site’s name?
Response:
It’s an anagram of my name, fitting in with my interest in constraint and wordplay.
EWN:
Are you able to track traffic? If so, what’s the average amount of hits per day your site receives?
Response:
My site as a whole got an average of 1537 hits per day so far in March (today being the 18th), which encompasses my blog, as well as other pages (those on Buffy, Rexroth, and Markson are big hits). My main blog page averages from 20-60 hits a day in the past month.
EWN:
How much time do you spend on average per day on your site?
Response:
If you just mean upkeep and writing, maybe an hour. If you throw in reading and research, probably more. Lately, as I redesign, upwards of 5 or 6.
EWN:
Who is your intended audience, and who do you believe your actual audience has been so far?
Response:
My intended audience is me, which is to say people who have some of the same interests as me or might have those interests if they knew more about the topics. My actual audience… hard to say. I know a bunch of other bloggers read my blog as well as a few non-bloggers, but I really have no idea who reads it unless they email me or leave a comment.
EWN:
What do you hope to accomplish with your efforts?
Response:
It passes the time. I’d also like to pass on some of my interests, particularly the more obscure or neglected ones. Meeting new people is always a plus too. I think my original purpose was as a way to focus my attentions on a narrower field of literary study, kind of like an academic program but without the academic rigmarole.
EWN:
Why you?
Response:
I cover more unusual topics, often less contemporary works. I do not just link to other blogs or news pieces. I try to write as much original content or pull from other (non-online) sources as I can. I have very little interesting in the publishing world such as it is and don’t care about the latest gossip concerning Dave Eggers or DFW or whoever. I’m also working on expanding my coverage past books, so as to discuss the full range of my artistic interests. And: Bibliographies.
EWN:
What do you consider an Emerging Writer to be? (Yes, a pathetic attempt to drag my own site into this conversation).
Response:
Depends on where they are emerging from. From the depths of a MFA program. From the heights of a 9-5 job. From the shallows of literary journals or the depth of some electronic site. An emerging writer could be anyone, really, emerging from obscurity or nonbeing. Emerging into the consciousness of readers or into the publishing world or the litblogs.
EWN:
Who is the one author that you enjoy to the point that you’re probably plugging/suggesting him or her nearly once a week on your site?
Response:
Well my ongoing page on David Markson seems to get a good amount of hits, though I haven’t covered him on my blog much (my interest and reading of all his works predates the blog, so until I’m ready for a reread…). I spent a lot of time reviewing novels by Gilbert Sorrentino who I think is too unknown. I’d like to think that my ongoing writing about the Oulipo will expose people to writers such as Harry Mathews (whose forthcoming new book is a hoot) or Raymond Queneau. If I could I would also force everyone to read Helen DeWitt’s The Last Samurai.
EWN:
There’s a bit of a clickish nature at times between the blogs - what with the links and comments and
references back and forth on a daily basis. What idea can you admit to having copped from another site?
Response:
Other than the concept of a blog in general or a litblog specifically… I was going follow in the footsteps of Ed, Mark, and Scott in reviewing the local (Philly Inquirer) book section but haven’t actually gotten around to buying a paper.
EWN:
What innovative idea have you employed, or do you plan on using, at your site? i.e. - author keys, guest
bloggers, guest reviewers, dueling viewpoints, updates :) etc.
Response:
I’d like to think my focused thematic blogging was a little innovative, but that is hard to maintain over extended periods. No guest bloggers yet as I have yet to go away from the blog (I’m on vacation now and spending most of my time on the blog!). I’ve been considering opening the blog up for guest posts (if anyone out there has something to say about constraint, the Oulipo, Sorrentino, Markson, etc, let me know and you could be my first guest poster).
EWN:
Have you had much feedback from the literary establishment? Authors, publishers, and the like?
Response:
I just got my first galley in the mail (Harry Mathews’ My Life in CIA from Dalkey Archive) which was very exciting as they publish a number of my favorite authors (Markson, Queneau, Sorrentino). Other than that… none that I recall.
EWN:
Not that you are necessarily looking for it, but do you believe having a well-done, highly respected Lit. Blog will lead to job offers in the future within the literary industry?
Response:
I hope not. I have no interest in joining the “literary industry” (could you find a better word than industry there?). While I have certain aspirations toward author-hood, I do not expect or really hope for any publishing recognition. Anything I write will be gladly posted online.
EWN:
There have been some recent articles about bloggers in the print world. What do you think the journalistic public is still getting wrong about LitBlogging?
Response:
Any attempt to generalize the blogging world is doomed to failure or at least piss off a lot of people. Unlike reading the newspaper or watching tv news, reading a blog is very much about personality both of the reader and the blogger. I’ll read some blogs because of the personality of the author even if they aren’t blogging much about things that really interest me. There is more variety online so any attempts by “journalists” to carve out “best ofs” or “leading lights” or what have you is bound to be either a) very personal or b) tending toward generality and mediocrity.
EWN:
Again, I thank you all greatly, both for your time here, and the hours of enjoyment I’ve received wandering across your websites - they are all well worth the time of anybody reading this. Feel free to add any final comment about blogs, your site, or any of the others participating here (or any of those bloggers who participated in the other panels)!
Response:
I’d like to see some more collaborative projects (though perhaps the singular nature of blogging makes us less inclined to group activity). The Gaddis Drinking Club had an auspicious start but fell on rocky waters due to length and complexity. I’d love to see another group blogger reading of something (shorter). I think a lot of great things could come from a bunch of litbloggers talking about a book en masse. And, while I have the podium, if anyone out there isn’t using an RSS feed with your site, please do (and make it a full-text one). You really will get more readers from it (personally I almost never read blogs or sites without RSS). And thanks Dan for inviting me.
Tags: blogs, derikbadman
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