In the previous two posts I wrote about why most authors shouldn’t blog and when blogging actually works for the few who do it right. But there’s a third angle to this whole conversation that I’ve been wrestling with since I started this series: what are the hidden benefits of author blogging that have nothing to do with SEO, traffic, or even marketing?
What if blogging serves functions that don’t show up in Google Analytics but might be just as important to your writing career?
I’m thinking about this because, frankly, I practice what I preach. I’ve been blogging sporadically for more than twenty years, and while I can’t point to dramatic sales spikes from my blog posts, I can point to other benefits that have shaped my career in ways I didn’t expect. Today I want to explore those hidden benefits and help you figure out whether they might matter enough to influence your own blogging decision.
The Writing Skill Development Nobody Mentions
Here’s something the blogging-for-authors advice rarely acknowledges: blogging makes you a better writer in ways that fiction writing alone doesn’t.
When you blog regularly, you’re forced to communicate complex ideas clearly and concisely. You can’t hide behind beautiful prose or atmospheric description; you have to make your point and make it stick. That discipline carries over into your professional writing in surprisingly powerful ways.
I’ve noticed this in my own work. After years of blogging about natural health, meditation, grief, writing, and life at 77, my dialogue has gotten sharper. My exposition has gotten more efficient. I waste fewer words because blogging and email newsletters taught me to respect my readers’ time in ways that pure fiction writing didn’t.
There’s also the matter of voice development. Fiction writers often struggle to find their authentic voice because they’re always inhabiting characters. Blogging forces you to speak as yourself, consistently, over time. That authentic voice, once you develop it, becomes a massive asset in your fiction.
Chuck Wendig talks about this phenomenon. His distinctive, irreverent voice in his blog posts eventually became one of his biggest selling points as a fiction writer. Readers who discovered his voice through blogging followed him to his novels, not just for the stories but for the personality behind them.
The Network Effects That Actually Matter
Forget about building a massive readership. The most valuable hidden benefits of author blogging happen at much smaller scale, with much higher quality connections.
When you blog consistently about topics you care about, you attract the attention of other people who care about those same topics. Some of those people turn out to be editors, agents, other authors, industry professionals, or potential collaborators. Not because you’re trying to network with them, but because you’re demonstrating expertise and thoughtfulness in public.
I’ve had opportunities come my way through my writing that I never would have gotten otherwise. Not because my blog has huge traffic, but because the right people happened to read the right posts at the right time. Quality of attention matters more than quantity.
Jane Friedman built her entire consulting business this way. Her blog didn’t just attract readers—it attracted clients, speaking opportunities, and business partnerships. The blog became proof of her expertise, not just a vehicle for promoting her books.
This is networking that feels natural because it’s based on shared interests and demonstrated value rather than awkward elevator pitches at conferences.
The Authority Building That Compounds Over Time
Here’s a benefit that’s almost impossible to measure but incredibly valuable: blogging builds your authority as a thinker and expert in ways that fiction writing alone doesn’t.
When you consistently share insights about your genre, your writing process, or topics related to your fiction, you become known as someone with opinions worth hearing. Publishers notice. Other authors notice. Readers notice.
This authority building works even if your blog doesn’t have massive traffic. A well-written blog post that demonstrates deep thinking can carry more weight than a dozen social media posts. It gives people something substantial to point to when they want to recommend you for opportunities.
I think about authors like Kristen Lamb or K.M. Weiland, who became go-to voices in the writing community not primarily through their fiction, but through their thoughtful, consistent blogging about craft and business. That authority opened doors that pure fiction writing might not have.
The compound effect is what makes this powerful. Each thoughtful post adds to your reputation as someone worth listening to. Over time, that reputation becomes its own form of currency in the writing world.
The Clarity of Thinking Benefit
This might be the most undervalued benefit of all: blogging forces you to clarify your own thinking in ways that help your entire career.
When you have to explain your writing process, your genre choices, or your career philosophy in blog posts, you’re forced to articulate things you might have only felt intuitively. That articulation process often reveals insights you didn’t know you had.
I’ve solved story problems while writing blog posts about my writing process and clarified my own values while explaining why I make certain career choices. I’ve identified patterns in my work that I hadn’t consciously recognized until I had to write about them.
This is different from journaling or private reflection because the public nature of blogging requires a level of clarity and logic that private writing doesn’t. You have to make sense to other people, which forces you to make sense to yourself first.
Steven Pressfield’s blog demonstrates this beautifully. His posts about resistance, creativity, and the writing life aren’t just helpful to his readers—they’re clearly helping him think through his own creative challenges in public.
The Documentation Value for Your Future Self
Here’s a benefit I didn’t expect when I started blogging: your blog becomes a record of your thinking, your growth, and your career decisions that proves invaluable years later.
I can look back at blog posts from five years ago and see exactly what I was struggling with, what I was excited about, and how I was thinking about my career. That documentation helps me recognize patterns, avoid repeating mistakes, and appreciate how much I’ve grown as a writer and thinker.
This is especially valuable for authors who write series or who want to maintain consistency in their brand over time. Your blog becomes a repository of your own expertise that you can reference when you’re feeling lost or uncertain.
It’s also incredibly helpful if you ever want to write about the writing life. Having years of documented thoughts about your process, your challenges, and your breakthroughs gives you material that authors without blogs simply don’t have.
The Reader Connection That Transcends Marketing
The deepest value of author blogging might be the quality of connection it creates with the readers who do find you. These aren’t casual fans—they’re people who’ve invested time in understanding your thinking, your values, and your perspective on the world.
When someone has read dozens of your blog posts, they feel like they know you in a way that goes beyond your fiction. They become invested in your success not just as an entertainer, but as a person they’ve come to care about.
This creates a level of loyalty that pure fiction marketing can’t match. These readers don’t just buy your books—they recommend them, defend them, and eagerly anticipate whatever you write next.
Hugh Howey talks about this phenomenon. His most dedicated readers aren’t just fans of his fiction—they’re fans of his thinking about indie publishing, his career philosophy, and his approach to the writing life. They’re invested in him as a person, not just as a story provider.
The Creative Cross-Training Effect
Regular blogging exercises different creative muscles than fiction writing, and that variety can actually improve your fiction in unexpected ways.
Fiction writing is primarily about creating worlds and characters. Blogging is about persuasion, explanation, and connection. Using both skill sets regularly creates a kind of creative cross-training that makes you more versatile as a writer.
I’ve found that the analytical thinking required for blogging helps me plot more logically. The persuasive writing skills help me create more compelling character motivations. The practice of connecting with readers directly helps me write fiction that feels more engaging and accessible.
It’s like the difference between only playing tennis versus playing tennis and also swimming. Both activities involve athletic skill, but they develop different muscles and movement patterns that complement each other.
When These Benefits Matter Enough
So here’s the question: are these hidden benefits valuable enough to justify blogging even if it doesn’t drive significant traffic or sales?
For some authors, absolutely. If you’re someone who values personal growth, networking, and the development of your voice as a thinker, blogging might be worthwhile even if it never moves the needle on book sales.
Or if you’re building a long-term career and you want to be known as more than just a fiction writer, blogging can be an investment in your future opportunities and reputation.
If you enjoy the process of thinking through ideas in public and connecting with readers on a deeper level, the quality of those connections might matter more than the quantity.
But—and this is important—these benefits only matter if you can achieve them without sabotaging your primary goal of writing fiction. If blogging drains your creative energy or takes time away from the books that actually pay your bills, even these hidden benefits aren’t worth it.
The Real Decision Framework
After three weeks of examining author blogging from every angle I can think of, here’s my final recommendation for how to make this decision:
Don’t blog because someone told you that authors should blog.
And don’t blog because you think it’s the key to marketing success.
You shouldn’t blog simply because other authors are doing it.
Consider blogging if you genuinely enjoy thinking through ideas in public, if you have expertise worth sharing beyond fiction writing, and if you can maintain your fiction writing schedule while adding blogging to your routine.
Consider blogging if you value the personal and professional development benefits enough to invest years in building them, even if the marketing benefits never materialize.
Skip blogging if you’re looking for quick marketing results, if you’re already struggling to maintain your fiction writing schedule, or if the business aspects of content marketing make you want to hide under your desk.
My Own Experiment Continues
I’m sharing all this because I’m still figuring it out myself. At 77, chasing an indie author and self-publishing dream before I turn 80, every minute I spend blogging is a minute I’m not spending on creating books that might actually help me realize the dream.
But I keep blogging anyway, partly because I’ve found value in the hidden benefits we’ve discussed today. The clarity of thinking, the network effects, the authority building–these things might not show up in my Amazon sales reports, but they’re shaping my career in ways that feel valuable.
Whether that’s wisdom or foolishness, I’ll let you know in three years when I either reach my goals or crash spectacularly trying. Of course, at my age, I could kick the bucket or croak in my sleep, so I need to keep that in mind, too.
The point is this: there’s no universal right answer about author blogging. There’s only the answer that fits your goals, your personality, your schedule, and your tolerance for uncertainty.
Choose accordingly.
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