Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Tricky Business

     I was reading over the mountain of info that comes into my inbox each day and a piece on what music A&R (Artist and Repertoire) people are doing now to discover new bands caught my eye. It seems they are looking more at the audience than at the artists themselves.

     They look at how the audience responds to new artists - do they "Like" them on Facebook, do they Tweet about them, do they Google them, do they look on Wikipedia to get more information, do they hit the bands' fan pages? What songs are the fans listening to, and what videos are they watching?

     The A&R folks are looking at the impact the music has on the people who lay down their hard-earned money for songs, concerts, and product.

     I thought about this for a long while and it occurred to me, that the same probably holds true for writers.
For me, in looking back at my past entries, it's interesting what people react to. Pieces that I think are good and will resonate with readers sometimes get few comments, or views, but sometimes the things I don't expect to fly....soar.

     It's tricky business to try and anticipate what your readers want, but it seems the things that get the most traction are the topics that offer hope, or ones that make people smile. Sometimes it's the topics that force people to look within.

     This much I know -- there are few things as rewarding as writing something you're proud of, and having readers acknowledge it.

     Tomorrow, I'm having another video editing class at Apple, and then it's lunch with my financial planner.
     Happy Wednesday all.


7 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:53 PM

    I have the same thing happen, too. "Did they really like this that much?" Readers are tricky, but many writers are readers too. We just have to think in the mind of a reader when writing sometimes.

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  2. I'm not a writer so getting even one comment on my blog blows my mind! I loved the previous post on frequency..or maybe it's positive thinking. Whatever, it's so true. Negative people can suck the ever living life out of you! Many times, I just have to turn off the news, put down the newspaper, and remember I can do whatever I put my mind to. I find that most people will do or accomplish whatever they truly want..as long as they are willing to work for it. You know the old saying...the harder I work, the luckier I get!

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  3. Readers are fickle things aren't they?!?! In my year of blogging, I've learned not to take myself too seriously!

    Take care
    x

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  4. Nice blog Rick. I wondered about whether I was writing what people wanted to hear on this blog and it just kind of led in a direction and I followed it. The followers keep coming so I must be doing something "write" haha. And considering my readers vary from teenagers to older than myself, I like that I can write in a way to keep them all interested.

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  5. yeah, I know what you mean. it surprises me too sometimes, which posts get the most response.

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  6. It's true, you never know what attracts readers. I get surprised too. I'm trying to figure that out and am working on my "voice". I think people get attracted to different voices. You have a great voice. Keep it up!

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  7. Anonymous4:57 PM

    Hope you had a good Wednesday! Enjoyed your blog!

    ReplyDelete

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