I recently spoke at a meeting of the Writers of the Mendocino Coast, a branch of the California Writers Club, on the subject of blogging.
I recommend the blogs and books mentioned below. And of course there are many other blogs, books, and information about blogging on the world wide web.
Highlights from my talk on “Myths and Realities of Blogging”
If you don’t have a blog, but think you should, something to think about is why?
Why should you have an author blog?
“Blogging is simply a medium that allows you to connect with people who love the same books, hobbies and activities you do.” — Gabriela Pereira, May/June 2018, Writer’s Digest magazine
Author Blog
Find Your Target Audience: Read the reviews of books in your genre on Amazon or Goodreads. Use words from the reviews for your headlines and tags in your posts.
What to Post
Stories about you: Your interests, hobbies, pets, hometown. Interviews.
Platform
One way to build your platform is to be a guest blogger. I welcome your essays about encouraging writers and writing tips on The Write Spot Blog. Go to “Guest Bloggers” to see what others have done (800-1200 words).
Book reviews are also welcome on The Write Spot Blog.
The Benefits of Blogging for Writers by Nancy Julien Kopp
- Name recognition in the Writing World
- Helps promote your books
- Connections with other writers
- Can exchange guest posts with other bloggers
- Makes you write regularly/inspires other forms of writing
A few blogs for writers:
Marlene Cullen, The Write Spot Blog
Nancy Julian Kopp, Writers Granny’s World
Jane Friedman, Blog for Writers
Books on Blogging
How To Blog a Book, Nina Amir
The Author Blog, Anne R. Allen
The Write Spot Anthologies: Prose, poetry, and prompts to spark your writing
The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Discoveries
The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Connections
The Write Spot: Reflections
The Write Spot: Memories
Should you host an author’s blog to build your platform? You don’t have to, but it’s a good idea . . . as long as you stay focused on your “main” writing . . . your fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir. And if you love posting on your blog . . . do it! Just write!