I know this is going to be a biased group of readers, but what do you think is better: Writing a book or Writing a Blog?
My friends these days are trying to convince me to write a book. They say that a book a more structured and the author actually thinks before writing a line in a book. As compared to that, the blogs are random rambling of a person who himself might have never even proof-read his posts.
They also say that a book is very difficult to write, because the person actually has to take time out everyday for a month/year to write, while a blog is something that is written while killing some excess time between flights/busses or even while waiting for the coffee to be served in a coffee shop.
A good author chooses quality over quantity. While writing a book, the author needs to handpick from his thoughts and observations and write only about them. While a blogger uses a shotgun approach. He/she would write anything and everything under the sun, to maintain their ratings they need to saturate the minds of the authors with daily/periodic updates. No wonder, like a newspaper, once read their posts are deleted/forgotten for ever. While a good book is always stashed. A whole library often grows around them.
Bloggers can be find a dime a dozen. Everybody and anybody, irrespective of whether they want to say anything or not. While a good book is a real treat to the eyes and the senses of the reader. Their words alone are so powerful that they do not need to use aids like colorful fonts, and pictures to prop their deficiencies in writing.
Although most of the points are valid and strong, in my defense I could only mutter:
Blogs is all about brevity. A serious blogger knows that nobody has the patience to go through 300 pages of blabbering and repeating of the same point. Hence the blogger condenses the essence of that 300 page book in catchy title and 100 words of post.
A blog is a two way traffic, while the author of a book rarely gets a feedback and never gets a chance to elaborate/correct his stance. If I write a post titled “Books are obsolete”, within 24 hours I would get several comments/feedbacks from the fellow readers both ridiculing and elaborating the idea. However even after months of writing a nice book about “Blogging is for Losers” the author won’t be begging for any response from the audience. You can be assured that half of his friend (even after being gifted a free copy of the book) won’t bother to open the cover page.
Most ideas are not worth writing a whole book on and not everyone is fortunate enough to lead such a colorful life that he/she can collect 50-60 such ideas and then spend tens of thousands of bucks to get it printed. Hence blogging is the most cost efficient and productive way to express oneself.
What do you think is better spending time writing a book or spending time updating one’s blog?
17 replies on “Book Vs Blogs”
Hey I like the ellaboration. Keep it up.
You are a good writer.
Depends on whether one has the ability and patience to write one.
i saw an interview with a writer who is prominent – don’t remember – it could be sydney sheldon but he says it takes him 6 drafts to finalise a book. Plus it is not that blogs haven’t been turned into books.
It all depends upon the intension honesty and dedication of the writer research my sassy girl (its a good movie)
@INNOCENT …
thanks.
@prax…
i am just thinking what would be the best medium for me.
first i should say well written…any day a book is better than a blog if the person is really good with words blogs is for each and everyone where as publishing books for some or you could say for the best.
As it’s said – “The younger generation has shorter attention span” – that goes for both reading and writing !!
I guess, blogging fits the New World Order.
That reminds me, I have complete that new book I started few weeks back 🙂
@vivek…
what is the title of the book?
@rainz…
i think i would also agree to that
[…] Aggarwal weighs pros and cons of writing a book vs. blogging. Bloggers can be find a dime a dozen. Everybody and anybody, irrespective of whether they want to […]
Hi ,
I was reading ur blog posts and found some of them to be wow.. u write well.. Why don’t you popularize it more.. ur posts on ur blog ‘Enagar’ took my particular attention as some of them are interesting topics of mine too;
BTW I help out some ex-IIMA guys who with another batch mate run http://www.rambhai.com where you can post links to your most loved blog-posts. Rambhai was the chaiwala at IIMA and it is a site where users can themselves share links to blog posts etc and other can find and vote on them. The best make it to the homepage!
This way you can reach out to rambhai readers some of whom could become your ardent fans.. who knows.. 🙂
Cheers,
You know what I am going to say, isn’t?
Stick to blog.
write blog regularly for 1 year on more or less same topic —-> compile all articles —-> sell as book
how’s that?
[…] to keep readers interest. The many angles of writing blogs versus books has been bought out by Ankur on ENagar recently: My friends these days are trying to convince me to write a book. They say that […]
Blogging is an open ended medium. You write and you go on and keep writing about differen topics. Blogging gives a personal touch with one’s own view of things. That’s why Blogs are interesting to read. Short pieces that can be read in 5 minutes. I took 5 minutes to read your post and 1 minute to comment. If you write a book it may take a few years for you to get popular enough for me to consider reading your book. To read your blog, one Desipundit link is enough.
thanks guys….
i think i would defer my idea of writing my book till my retirement… which is funny because i am still in school
Books are better to read. Blogs better to write.
Destination Infinity.
Good attempt. I am of the opinion that books are the best way to express the ideas one possesses.Books can’t be forgotten while blogs have every possibility of it.
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Roger
Digital Infosys
Books have their own priorityand blogs have their own. Few books are always to be read and remembered. Whereas, blog are the tools for expressing oneself.
Thanks for dropping by and the comments