They’re the gate keepers after all, right? If something has already been written on the subject, I would appreciate URL referrals. Are you a sci-fi, romance, or fantasy writer? The perspective I bring is as a longtime media interviewer of authors, both indie and traditionally-published. When we get comments, they are very encouraging and David Telbat has gained several fans through this endeavor, and therefore, buyers for his books. I’m trying to encourage other vets and students to consider these other fields. I write whatever in it right now excerpts to make a point…Writing struggles in a genre. Write on! You still want to minimize your posts on writing (most readers don’t want to see how the sausage is made) – easiest to do by creating a separate author-to-author page on your site or a completely separate site for such discussion. However, having said that, you have a terrific premise for a niche blog that would be worth pursuing on its own, since you have the three things needed for a great blog: expertise, writing ability, and the desire to share. Fiction authors really need to take more advantage of blogging. Are my humorous posts anything like my literary voice? This frees him up to continue writing posts, novels, and short stories for the blog. I have some rough idea about how many visits I get per day and how many unique visitors visit each month, etc, but that’s not the point for me. 5. They are by far the most popular posts. It’s hard to get a new blog off and running, but one that has some following is a great place (I hope) to market the book and drive new eyes to it. Youâd run out of material fast, even if you covered all the possibilities â how you choose plots, locations, characters, and settings, where you⦠I’ve been blogging since 2004. If you are an author looking for ideas for blog posts (or if youâve run out of blog post ideas), you have come to the right place. 3. You have to make a distinction between blog writing and book writing. You could well end up with both a successful series of books and a profitable niche web asset. And if you scroll through the blog posts on these blogs, you see a pretty typical mix of articles about what they are writing, personal stories and, for those who have published, articles about how they did it and what their results are. I am thinking of podcasting Pentecost in 2013 and will put those audio files on the blog. It’s necessary but won’t drive traffic/sales on its own (so get a site that is nice but don’t over spend on it, look up wordpress .org and .com both). So we began posting weekly short stories, and then decided to try serializing one of his novels, a chapter a week (before making it into an ebook afterwards.) Happy 2013! Don’t wait until pub date to think about marketing! And has inspired me to write an article in reponse. I really call it “my home site” to make it clear vis-a-vis webmrktg. If so, what am I doing??? Before an author starts blogging, they really need to decide what they’re going to blog about. It’s a casual site, as you have suggested writers invest their time, but still has a writing slant, with lots of “book culture” mini-blogs attached to it. Communicating with other authors. It means that the writing is outstanding, but accessible. Most of them are bloggers, some of them are seniors who don’t blog, but stalk my site, some of them are publishers and authors, and others are people who don’t want to be novelists or writers, but blog for the fun of it or have a specific niche that they blog. Thanks for your comment. While I know not all of my blog readers also read science fiction, some do, and some of those will be willing to take a chance on a first novel. I think that the veterinary profession is small enough that this could work, but I really don’t know for sure. Donât feel bad: Sometimes, coming up with new ideas for blog posts is difficult even for the best writers. Anyone who can produce a manuscript in a modern word processor is likely skilled enough to do it. He writes mostly Christian fiction, and I take care of the blog, editing for him, and other writing related tasks. (WordPress software can be used as the content management system for a web site – you don’t have to blog with it.). Lately my posts have been fewer and far between as I concentrated on the final stages of my fiction book, “March to November” which just got published last week. Both approaches work, of course, and the static site you are recommending for fiction writers is a completely different enterprise than the health-oriented educational articles that could form the basis for a popular blog. Theyâre not the same thing. Writer Beware®: The Blog To complement the general advice and warnings on the Writer Beware® website, the Writer Beware® blog provides up-to-the-minute information on specific scams and schemesâalong with advice for writers, industry news, and a special focus on the weird and wacky things that happen at the fringes of the publishing world. I have two blogs that are mostly defunct at the moment that served to support my teaching when I was still teaching grad school. Below, youâll find a great list of blog post ideas for writers that you can use as writing prompts. My still-valid advice to fiction authors is to spend the vast majority of your time writing books and making them better, and marketing your work. I do maintain a very infrequent blog on my fiction site – but it is mainly for articles about my research, or videos I make around the locations or research. Fantasy – each week make up a new fantasy character and describe them. That’s the formula for success. 14. Thanks, Cyd, so glad I could help. I agree that the vets and students in my targeted website audience are not all necessarily going to love biological thriller novels. And I do, leaving no time for the actual writing. I’m hoping that the community around my own website will be connected enough a year or two from now that they will at least give me the benefit of the doubt and purchase and review my book. Do you know any great author blogs? I want them to subscribe via RSS and a feed reader (like Google Reader) because I want them to follow a lot of blogs, not just mine. I publish when I have something to say. Dee, those are fantastic ideas. David has great advice on marketing and promotion for both fiction and nonfiction. For the second weekly post, David writes “author reflections” on different Christian subjects, or something interesting he learned in his research, and sometimes his book review on another Christian book. I do the same thing on the fantasy site. The comment thread is good too. To remember the urgent need to get to the point, keep in mind this excerpt from former Guardian editor Tim Radfordâs advice for journalists(emphasis added): The lede is one of the most challenging parts of writing an article, report, blog post, or even an email or memoâand also one of the most important. My blog isn’t just on fiction, but I feel what I write is purposeful and interesting enough to read, at least I think so. #1) Use the website for my “platform” –a way to uplift, educate and teach, using the storyline as the foundation for conveying that message. to narrow my topics down with more history and less about writing. There have been successful books published on this topic, including “Last Words” of the famous, it’s a genre with quite a long history. It sounds like you’re doing everything right, Byddi. Originally published in a slightly different form as “Is Blogging Good for Fiction Writers?” on CreateSpace, Filed Under: Author Blogging 101, Marketing Tagged With: Author Blogging 101, author platform, blogging, book marketing, Joanna Penn, writer blog. Most author blogs tend to be boring and inconsistent. I am aspiring fiction writer with my first novel in its very early stages. United States About Blog ACFW is American Christian Fiction Writers, an organization of about 2600 members world-wide devoted to writing the craft of Christian Fiction. I think that’s more problematic. So to have it in advance should be a premium offering. I’m struggling with just these questions. Oh, golly. *Also, ask them to subscribe to your Newsletter to receive your weekly blog in their inbox. It gives readers a good way to get to know him. As 2013 approaches and decisions weigh heavily, this is the permission I’ve needed, and I’m grateful. I’ve tried to use this blog for two main purposes. I think more and more books are starting from bloggy origins. And it might become popular, but it’s a different, more personal and less commercial approach to blogging. Spend your energy on (A) writing, and (B) building an authentic base of like-minded peeps on social networks that feel authentic to you. This then brings these potential fans to my site where hopefully they will sign up to my email list. In my case, it’s been reviewing other bloggers’ particularly good posts (including yours and Joanna’s). And now I’m a fan not only of this writer and her books, but also her genre. I would also encourage you to network with other bloggers in your field, it can make a huge difference by putting you in front of new audiences. My last post was on “sex and killing” (pretty hectic topic) NOT ONE comment. Ross, I think that’s an interesting strategy. I had them all at $0.99 each, until my wife got her hands on me (smile). AME Blog Carnival: Tips and Tricks for Writers and Authors December 24, 2012 | Author Marketing Experts, Inc. Great Stuff on the Writers’ Blogs, December 20 & 21, 2012 « cochisewriters. Not your friends, not your family, not other writers. Three? Hi, Joel. As you can imagine, 100 people could visit this post and walk away with 100 different blog post ideas. An author who has no opinions, no beliefs, is just a cardboard individual – and most likely his writing/characters are the same. That’s when you can start to build interest and attract readers. Practical advice to help build better books, by Joel Friedlander on December 21, 2012 85 Comments. Even though letting go would be in the best interest of my fiction goals, and might clear up my insomnia! It keeps him writing content like a nutter and they buy everything he puts out. When I read fiction, I like to know about the ‘whole’ writer. They hold writing contests for skilled writers, too. Now granted, maybe this won’t help me initially, but it should over time. I have several blogs — one for each audience. For most creative writers, this whole platform experiment has been a waste of time. What a great post to find on New Year’s Eve. A blog is useful for thinking out loud. Posting poetry on a day when I feel like writing a poem. When reading fiction by an author that is new to me and the book is captivating, I find myself looking the back of the book looking at the writer’s photo while I marvel and wonder about this person. I would love to hear yours and any others’ thoughts! Random stuff and nonsense. The same goes for sci-fi, fantasy and other genres. Being who I am, I can’t confine myself to one topic, however. Plus, how many 12-15 year olds do YOU know that have CC’s to buy stuff? Hello, Joel, and thanks for your comments on blogging authors. Thank you so much for this post. My own story is a little of both worlds/experiences: I spend far more time writing my novels than “blog writing” … and more’n’more time marketing. Sharing interesting photos. I have blogs for each of my two main franchises — one for science fiction and one for fantasy. Really this post should have been titled 10 MG Books That Will Remind You What's Important in Life, but I thought that was a little long. An author should be an interesting person, therefore, he should share his thoughts and views of society with his readers and nonreaders. Hi Joel … very good perspective. I have a blog that hosts my daily podcast. Meanwhile, thousands of fiction writers followed their advice, creating blogs they resented, Twitter accounts that overwhelmed them, and Facebook pages with thirty-seven likes. Photo by bigstockphoto.com. For small-press published authors, we must make our presence known, and a land spot for fans — and all those potential readers/future fans — is not harmful. I’ve been blogging for four years now. That way your readers (whose numbers will grow slowly over time) can find you and your next book when they want to, but you won’t waste valuable fiction-writing time and energy blogging. Blogging is one of the legs on an author’s marketing stool. However, I think that they are the closest I can get to a supportive community other than a blog that simply tries to connect with new authors like myself. Your forthcoming books, enlisting “ out loud it comes to blogging short! Continue writing posts, novels, and more not always the same respond when rushing the... Of an iconoclast when it comes to blogging think perhaps anyone hoping to someday publish any should. Sites too until then, you probably don ’ t give writing advice most. Conflict & SUSPENSION jibs…just for the link to your Newsletter to receive weekly... True story ” semi-novel away from his/her fiction writer have time to give my blog features the... 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