It’s a Dog’s Life Writing On-line
How writers share treats and roll over for a tummy tickle
If you are remotely familiar with Man’s Best Friend, get ready to nod in agreement to some of my observations.
I’m a dog owner. There were only a handful of years when I didn’t live with dogs, or have one to take on walks. Dogs are sociable, traits such as playing, exercising, sniffing and marking their surroundings are displayed to different extents depending on their personality and breed.
I had fun correlating dog habits to those displayed by my fellow writers on Medium. That platform differs from Substack in that there are many publications with editors, rather than publishing under your own banner.
Dogs experience the world in an olfactory manner, using their sense of smell to recognise friends, identify passing canine traffic, tell the neighbourhood what they are about. But most importantly to find food and treats. Different breeds ‘work it’ in different ways: all sniffing, less sniffing, marking is essential, meh they cant be bothered. Dogs are as varied as humans.
Let me suggest how some types of dog match with on-line writers’, while sorting them into similar ‘pigeonholes’.
Gaze Hounds
A gaze hound writer wants their content to make a splash. On Medium, in order to have their writing widely seen and consumed, they submit to a number of publications, hoping to attract a diverse cross-section of readers. They are sure that if their words keeps popping up in your feed, they will enrol you as a follower at some point. The drawback to this strategy: the gaze hound is so busy sending out, they don’t leave time to take in.
To be a good dog, or writer, it’s equally important to read stories written or published by your fellow contributors, especially in your genre.
I correlate such content creators with gaze hounds because these breeds of dog use their eyes for hunting more than their noses. Walking with such a driven breeds of dog (e.g. Hungarian Visler, Weimaraner) you’ll be dragged, then a halt beside every lamp-post, tree trunk, brick wall, and even grassy tussocks. Towards the end of your foray, the gaze hound may only be depositing drips, they’re unaware that they’ve spread their message too thin!
The up-side is that these proactive dogs delay you with too much sniffing. Their goal is to drop off an overwhelming amount of messages, they aren’t fuss to pick up what others are sharing.
Loyal Dogs
Ever known a dog that was shy about doing its business in public? They exist! My friend walked her Bichon Frise daily for half an hour. He stretched his legs,sniffed out messages, yet always waited until he was home to park his ‘transactions’ in her garden. Whether such circumspection was a result of shyness or discretion, I couldn’t say.
With a loyal dog (Staffie, Boxer, Shih Tzu) I see a clear reflection of a writer who is cautious with the packaging of their content. A self-published writer, or one who only submits to a single publication on Medium (or their personal Substack). No judgment — some just like what they know, or crave control. If something is working, repeating that formula eliminates the need or stress of venturing into fresh fields.
Treat Motivated
This is a dog personality type, rather than a breed, but one to which most can relate. This canine lives to earn a treat! Their reward isn’t only something edible (although it can be), a show of affection or some form of play (walk/belly rubs/ball) will also motivate such a dog to work for that reward.
Dogs show their appreciation for a treat by wagging their tail. A stubby tail, like a Pug’s, is wagged just as proudly as those of their long-tailed brethren ( Dalmatian/ Golden Retriever/ German Shepherd).
A writer found on Medium or Substack is seeking a reward, it’s why we put our work on-line, not in a notebook we keep in a drawer. I see a writer’s reward as being read by a wider audience, earning ‘likes’ or ‘claps’, receiving positive or constructive feedback and gaining a following (or even a subscriber). All or any of these responses cause us to wag our tails to varying degrees.
Working Dogs
Some writers, both here and on Medium, are as driven as a gun dog (Spaniel / Pointer / Labrador) and I salute them. I watch them juggle, editing publication(s), providing writing prompts, even guiding novice writers towards better content or improved marketing. ‘Working dogs’ write posts that elucidate (Not listicles! Bad puppy — shame on you!) Their writing craft is to share advice, tips on earning money from where and how to write, improve our health, or simply understand the platform better.
Territorial Dogs
There are fiercer dogs, their temperament means they’re often picked for their guarding skills (Doberman, Rottweiler). Many breeds with terrier in their name (e.g. Schnauzer, Airedale, Border, Cairn) also fall into this category, having an in-bred fortitude, a feisty determination. (Stay boy!)
The writers that match with these breeds are focused on pursuit of personal glory — as earning top writer status, a Medium ‘boost’ or ‘feature’, a crowd of subscribers, prize money or a book deal. I deem them territorial, because they differ from the dogs who are simply motivated by treats. Success is the end goal to which they aspire, they are they don’t slow or stop to leave comments, advice, support, their focus makes them overtly protective of their domain.
Beware of providing obstruction to these on-line writers, you may get bowled over in their path or, worse still, discover even the cutest pooch will bare its teeth and get feisty in order to protect what is precious — that’s what dog trainers call ‘resource-guarding.'
Running with a Pack
You’ve likely heard of Beagles, bred to run in packs with mounted riders for fox hunting, but in the real world, even two diverse dogs equals a pack, and a pack operates as a team. Many believe dog behaviour is similar to wolves’, which is the perfect illustration of pack.
Watch random dogs together, canine friends in the park or at doggy daycare: if one sniffs something, at least one other dog will feel the urge to investigate that same smell. A little dog may be first to ‘mark’ a spot, but a bigger dog will try to lay their scent over the top. In this way, the most ‘recent’ dog that leaves a ‘message’ overrides that of the previous dog(s).
I’ve observed on Medium, writers acting cliquey too. Maybe the ‘marking’ doesn’t correlate, but they demonstrate their perception of safety running as a group, tagging each other’s stories or prompts, writing for the same publications where their friends publish. Perhaps for humans we call this community rather than pack, and there was an upside to having this ‘pack’ mentality on Medium, which is now being discouraged due to some contributors ‘playing a system’ Grrrr! I firmly believe it’s good to support one another, there’s a benefit to reciprocal reading.
Are you wondering what dog I’m like on-line?
If you haven’t wandered off to sniff a bush while reading something else, prick up your ears, my answer’s coming. I believe in reading widely and commenting frequently, I’m stubborn to my ways and not easily discouraged. For these reasons, I liken myself to the small, but frequently underestimated Dachshund.
It’s mostly a friendly breed, but with a tendency to act reserved to those it doesn’t know. With its diminutive size means, it pays for a daxie to be cautious, wary about getting overwhelmed, but don’t underestimate these low-slung, elegant hounds, they are loyal, and fiercely protective of their safe spaces and friends.
Dachs = badger and hund = hound. Originally this dog was bred with short legs on a medium sized body to access the tunnels of a badger sett and hunt the fierce inhabitants. After such a conflict, they could use their strong front paws to literally dig themselves out! They can run and dodge fast, but challenge them and they’ll take a stand.
There’s a lot of dog in that small body!
A dachshund’s daily walk is all about sniffing, gathering every addition made in their absence to the ‘bulletin board’ of their walk. Each pheromone message must be considered, and answered. This dog often ‘reads’ more than they ‘write back’.
To apply this analogy to my profile: depend on me to reply to comments, and to read other writers on the various platforms where I publish. I ‘bark my joy’ with claps or hearts for posts I like — “Woof guys, you’re doing great.” I’ll re-post a story if it resonates with me. On Medium I maintain a curated ‘List’ of stories that I’ve read and recommend. As an editor on Teaser Tales (and previously for Tantalizing Tales) I proofread and offered beta suggestions.
Am I an influencer? I’m pretty small fry, but who knows? I aspire to the goal of encouraging and nurturing other writers’ growth alongside mine. Hearing that someone I’ve worked with, or whose stories I enjoy, is getting good views / feedback / more subscribers / a publishing deal, makes me ‘wag my tail’ — that’s as good for me as a chin scratch or a gravy bone treat!
For on-line writing, Posy supports like a sausage dog.
Still trying to work out what type I am. I'd like to think terrier like my, now unfortunately late, dog. Fiercely loyal, very protective but would greet visitors like a best friend once he had sussed out they were OK, had to be kept on a lead as easily distracted by "Ooo, what's that?" before disappearing into the next county.
Loved this. I learned a ton - I am a cat person - and I can see some writers I know in those categories!