However, some of the most popular blog-to-book deals happened by chance and without planning. Examples include “I Can Haz Cheezburger?“and “Stuff White People Like“. Tumblr blogs seem to have a marketable format, and sites like “Look at This Fucking Hipster” and “Pets Who Want to Kill Themselves” have attracted a number of books deals.

(Pictured at left: Stuff White People Like on Amazon.com)

Many of these books are photo-based, have a novel theme, and would make for good coffee table/toilet seat reading. However, why would a customer want to purchase photos aggregated in book form when the web provides an endless stream of content?

A few weeks ago, in my post “Fulfilling a Need for a Photo Book Fix“, I wrote about my experience browsing photo books at the Strand bookstore: “…nothing compares to looking at a book filled with beautiful pictures. However, I would never buy one of these books – they are generally very expensive, and I wouldn’t really revisit the book after I looked through it once. What’s the point?”

Sure, these blog-to-book creations might make fun gifts, but I really don’t understand the function of binding something that is already online. Furthermore, these blogs will probably be updated after the book is published. Posts have been added to “Stuff White People Like” since the publication of the companion book.

I think the best that any blogger can do is produce the best content possible and to monetize the blog in a tasteful way if money-making is a concern. Blogs are meant for the Internet, and they should appeal to an online audience. The more that bloggers stand up for their medium, the sooner Internet writing and content will be taken seriously as an online form.

Some of my favorite blogs contain never-before-defined genres. A blog is a venue for writing, but the content within the blog can take many shapes and forms. Some blogs have informative articles, others showcase creative writing, and other blogs bend and break the rules of photojournalism.

(Pictured at left: Genre bending, by kevindooley)

My current favorite blog is Reblogging NonSociety (RBNS), a site dedicated to mocking Julia Allison and NonSociety. I am fascinated by RBNS because I truly believe that it serves as an example of a new genre that has emerged from new media.

RBNS is updated by three anonymous bloggers, and the commenters are regular (and extremely loyal) site-goers with memorable screen-names.

All the content on the site depends on NonSociety’s content. If Julia doesn’t update her site, her Twitter stream, or her Facebook page, the RBNS bloggers would have nothing to post.

Julia’s content is not particularly special or mind-blowing, but she is a fascinating character. While her site is considered autobiographical in nature, the RBNS site is satirical. The RBNS content is reminiscent of a roast, during which comedians poke fun at an individual, who takes the humor in good faith and is not personally offended.

RBNS is so harsh in their criticism of Julia that she has threatened to take legal action against the bloggers. However, they are not doing anything wrong! They are simply commenting on facts and statements that Julia willingly makes public to everyone on the Internet: a blog that makes fun of a blog!

Do any other blogs like this exist? I know that some blogs are devoted to making fun of celebrities, but most celebrities still promote themselves in traditional ways. What’s unique about Julia is that she made herself “famous” using the Internet. In the future, will we witness the emergence of more Internet celebrities and, thus, more blogs that make fun of blogs?

Meghan wrote: “I’ve had it up to my ears trying to get some form of decent compensation for the free work I do. The only people making money off of these efforts are big corporations and the few people (like me) fortunate enough to have an agency behind them to pitch deals.

(Pictured at left: See-through love, by suchitra prints)

Even with that sort of support, I find it difficult to really see an end to this work-for-pennies future…If anyone has an answer to this ongoing quest of how to monetize doing what you love for a living, please chime in.”

Dear Meghan:

If you really loved what you do, you wouldn’t be complaining about not making money. Not everyone can make money doing what they love, but it’s not supposed to matter. These people do something else to make money and then continue to do what they love because that’s what they love.

I can tell you’re frustrated because you don’t truly love what you do. You need money to motivate you, to help you blog. If you loved blogging, you would have no problem creating content.

And you think you’re unique? Have you seen all the blogs out there? I can promise you that the majority of bloggers on the great Interwebz don’t ever dream about monetary rewards. Most probably don’t even know how to set up Google AdSense.

Seth Godin, the marketing genius who I sometimes mention on this blog, once wrote: “…it’s far easier than ever before to surface your ideas. Far easier to have someone notice your art or your writing or your photography. Which means that people who might have hidden their talents are now finding them noticed…That blog you’ve built, the one with a lot of traffic… perhaps it can’t be monetized.”

Mermaid agrees. The Internet gives everyone a sense of entitlement, making a lot of people believe that they deserve money for their talents and creativity when, in the past, people did these things in private for a small audience of friends (sometimes for no audience at all).

Stop complaining and start being passionate. If someone thinks you deserve money for what you do, the money will come.

Love,

Laryssa

Personal essays are probably our most popular offerings. Though I was initially against featuring only personal essays, I am beginning to embrace them. My biggest concern is that the personal essay can be very self-absorbed.

(Pictured at left: That would make a cool story, by Brent and MariLynn)

“Why would anyone want to read about my life/experience?” is a question the writer must constantly ask.

However, we have had some serious success with compelling personal essays run on a weekly basis: Ana Is an Intern, Niko’s College Counsel, Mermaid in Manhattan, and Japan Jargon have all been recurring features on Too Shy to Stop. Peter has also written some great personal essays that involve music, books, and film.

I keep asking myself how each of these columns is different from a blog, though. Blogs usually contain spur-of-the-moment thoughts. Our personal essays are heavily edited and revised. How are they different from the content found in online literary magazines? I’m not sure yet.

Recently, I was actually inspired by a job advertisement posted by NonSociety, the blog founded by Julia Allison. She is a proponent of “lifecasting“, which is basically an extended personal essay told through various forms of digital media.

“What is a lifecast? It’s our experts creatively opining on their area of expertise while also giving the audience a glimpse into their lives. It’s really just the next step in multi-media art and expression. It’s part memoir, part scrapbook, part like a tattered notebook in which the personality jots thoughts and ideas and pictures about their subject matter. Ultimately, it exists to tell a story – but one which could only be told through the tools of technology…”

Unfortunately, many of the people lifecasting today don’t offer the most exciting content. With Too Shy to Stop, I find it extremely important to show that young people can be intelligent, ambitious, and creative. I am completely sick of the way that mainstream media portrays the typical American 2o-something, and I want to demonstrate the alternative.

I really don’t want to compete with online newspapers, which are experts at handling and reporting breaking content. The New York Times does a great job with it arts and culture section, and I will not claim that our work even compares. However, I do want our work to inspire and inform our audience.

When the big media organizations crumble, the talent won’t disappear. However, most of these skilled writers probably won’t be willing to work for little to no compensation.

(Pictured at left: Good writers can be cocky, by frielp)

They might seek other jobs, start their own companies, or teach. Some might actually be lucky enough to find new jobs that compensate them, with editors who appreciate their work.

SalaryTK, a blog I found through Fine on Media, is a “job board for journalists who don’t want to get paid”. Clearly, this is a joke. What journalist doesn’t want to get paid? Nearly every day, the editor(s) behind SalaryTK find job postings on the Internet and repost them on their site. Placed in this context, the postings seem absolutely ridiculous.

However, these job ads do exist, and I’m sure that people do respond to them. Who are the people responding to the ads? Perhaps the people willing to take unpaid writing positions are the ones that don’t have a lot of writing experience or who can’t get paid writing jobs elsewhere. Therefore, if media outlets can’t pay their writers, the quality of writing will be less than ideal.

The writers who contribute to Too Shy to Stop are not paid. I wouldn’t ask anyone to contribute unless they felt they were developing their skills, first and foremost. At the same time, I do have to lower my expectations: my contributors have other priorities, many are just starting out in the writing field, and some are just trying to build their online portfolios so that they have samples to show potential future employers.

If no media outlets of the future will be able to pay their writers, how then can we all work together to make sure that everyone is benefiting from the experience? How can we attract the talent without monetary compensation? What do writers have to gain from working for free? How will they be able to survive? Should they enjoy some other special privileges to make up for the lack of money? How can we convince the public to value writers in general?

What if ALL journalists/writers (good and bad) just decided to stop putting up with it?

I was really inspired by the entry that master marketer Seth Godin posted on his blog a few days ago. In it, he discussed Free, a new book by Chris Anderson, and the way that Anderson’s ideas relate to digital content.

(Pictured at left: Free air, by St_A_Sh)

What Godin wrote was not particularly ground-breaking, but it made me think about how online journalists can create unique, inimitable, and absolutely-worth-paying-for content.

Allow me to break down the paragraph I posted above by highlighting some key phrases:

1. “So unique” – Of course, journalistic pieces are based on fact. However, writers can make facts seem unique and interesting. The way a writer strings together facts can be unusual and enticing yet still remain true and completely correct. In his book Writing for Story, Jon Franklin has some really great tips for journalists trying to create dramatic nonfiction.

2. “Before anyone else” – Included with my subscription to The New Yorker, I have access to the magazine’s digital reader. This week, I read the online version of a short story by one of my favorite writers, Lorrie Moore, before I received the print edition. When the print edition arrived in the mail, I sneered at it. “See this?” I asked, holding up the magazine for my brother. “I already read it online.”

3. “Brings them closer to other people” – As someone who really loves and appreciates creative writing, I understand how poetry and fiction can bring together individuals with similar emotions, longings, or circumstances. Why is creative writing so powerful? Carefully crafted imagery, detail, and forward-moving narratives captivate a reader’s attention. Is there a way for journalists to use these elements without comprising the unbiased nature of news?

4. “Souvenirs” – Why do we still purchase compact discs when we can download songs on the Internet? Why do we buy an author’s book when we’ve already read bits and pieces elsewhere? Fans purchase souvenirs. Journalists need to gain a fanbase. P.S. You can “fan” Too Shy to Stop on Facebook too!

Under the heading “Internet Writers”, you can read the following text:

“The popularity of the Internet opened the door of opportunity to many established and aspiring writers alike. The new medium created concerns over writing quality in the Internet age.

(Pictured at left: Internet writing, by dbdbrobot)

Writers’ advocates believe the Internet has led to a lower level of writing standards. While new modes of communication through the Internet are constantly advancing and changing, the issue of writing quality questions the very definition of writing in the Internet age.”

So, who are these writers’ advocates? And why do they blame the Internet for a lower level of writing standards? There will always be people who believe in the power of a well-written article, story, or blog entry. No one wants to read something with poor syntax, misspellings, and lack of organization.

People who love and appreciate good writing (me) and who run arts and culture magazines (Too Shy to Stop) have to maintain a standard of writing for the Internet, at least within the confines of a venue that wants to earn the respect and admiration of its readers.

For this reason, I created the Too Shy Style Guide, a handbook for anyone that writes for Too Shy to Stop.

(Pictured at right: Wired style guide, by renaissancechambara)

I based our style guide on other style guides that already exist: AP, Chicago, and MLA.  I took what I really like from each of these style guides, and why not?

I am working in an innovative medium on a magazine that’s unlike other magazines.  Why can’t I dictate my own style guidelines as long as they are consistent?

I’m curious to know how you think we can preserve high-quality writing on the Internet.

Quenqua writes, “…many people start blogs with lofty aspirations — to build an audience and leave their day job, to land a book deal, or simply to share their genius with the world. Getting started is easy, since all it takes to maintain a blog is a little time and inspiration. So why do blogs have a higher failure rate than restaurants?”

In this article, a lot of former bloggers share their disappointments about blogging; many people began to blog with lofty hopes of fame, riches, and book deals, only to realize that their blogs attracted an audience of…Mom.

(Pictured at left: Blogs and blogs and blogs, by Schlüsselbein2007)

I am no stranger to abandoned blogs. I maintained a Xanga-hosted blog from January 21, 2004 – August 25, 2005. In this blog, I copied selections from poems that I liked, posted my own original poetry, wrote about college/friends/roommates, and I uploaded pictures from my random adventures.  Looking over this blog now, I am amazed by how much I had to say, but I can’t remember why I stopped updating.

The height of Xanga-hosted blogs occurred before the age of blog stardom.  I updated my Xanga blog simply because I liked my roommate’s Xanga blog and because I had something I wanted to share.  Is it possible that bloggers have lost interest in blogging because they held unrealistic expectations?

Of course, if you start a blog for any reason besides the fact that you want to write, you will be disappointed. In the future, will no one blog? Is blogging a trend that will eventually fade completely?

Too Shy to Stop is like a blog and unlike a blog.  We are like a blog because we post almost-daily updates.

However, we are more than a blog because our content is heavily-edited, and it passes through a peer-reviewed editorial process. Most of our content is not a first-person account. We are more than a blog because we are a media outlet that allows many would-be bloggers a collective voice; a group with a common motivation and goal is more powerful and stronger than an individual voice.

I was surprised that, in the article, many former bloggers complained about the lack of anonymity in today’s blogosphere. They admit that it used to be easier to remain anonymous. This assertion and the desire for privacy defines blogging for me; blogging is a personal endeavor that, by its very definition, reveals intimate information about the writer.

I use this blog as a way to promote my ideas and opinions, and I am not concerned about anonymity. Does that mean that Comma ‘n Sentence is not a blog? Should we redefine the definition and purpose of a blog?

To be honest, I never had a chance to respond to some of the e-mails I received after February because I was so busy and overwhelmed with managing my current team. This week, I responded to all the e-mails that fell through the cracks, hoping that these young people might still be interested in contributing. I’m making phone calls and regrouping.

I love meeting new people who are excited about writing and media, even if I’m only able to meet them via the phone. I am interested to hear about how media hopefuls are making their dreams come true; talking to them really inspires and excites me.

(Pictured at left: Who’s this?, by rocketace)

However, I have to speak to many, many people before I can find the select few who will contribute to Too Shy to Stop. In order to set someone up as a new contributor, I have to interview them, help them choose their first story, set deadlines, give them a Wordpress account, make sure they know how to navigate Wordpress, edit their article, guide them with sources, and be available for any questions.

I love the whole process, but you can imagine why it’s in my best interest to keep a contributor interested and consistent if I’m going to invest so much time and effort in that person.

Many people demonstrate initial interest, but only a handful will follow through. Not enough time, not enough money, and too many other commitments are some reasons. I definitely don’t blame anyone, and I’m grateful for anyone that does decide to volunteer time for the website; it just makes my job more challenging. I can only control my actions and do my best to keep the contributors happy and excited about their work. How do I maintain the initial spark of interest?