or
Tough Love For Bloggers
Just as
publishing, marketing, promotion of books and reading is affected by the
changes happening every day on the internet, so writers need to step up with their
blogging. There are more and more writers competing blogging to promote their published, or soon to be published, work.
To put out a good product (good
blogging) it becomes necessary for the writer to axe limit the amount
of time spent reading and supporting other writers on the internet. There is
only so much time in a day to support fellow writers, without having one's own
writing suffer. Eventually the time spent on blog reading and support will be
whittled down to only those who put out a good product. So, if you blog, don’t
take advantage of other writer's time by not keeping your writing at its best.
Here are the Pet Peeves things bloggers do that annoy me and are causing me to rethink who I (and many other writers who I've heard the grumblings from) will support:
· Author interviews—unless this is in
conjunction with a book review—I am not interested in don’t have time for hopping around numerous sites to support an author who is being interviewed
umpteen numbers of times. Unless you are famous, who cares hearing the same things about you and your book is a bit self centered, eh? a little redundant, no?
· Not everyone can be a blogger no
matter how much the romance of it intrigues. If you have nothing to say don’t
blog you might think about a static web page instead.
· If you have something to say—say it in
a fresh way, or develop those skills necessary to hook a reader and engage
their attention enough to entice them to read your blog. You’re supposed to be
a writer, so use your writer skills.
· Don’t write words just to fill a page—that’s deadly and will soon cause your supporters
to flee not return to
read your blog (you know, the personal stuff most strangers don’t give a flying fig about aren't necessarily that interested
in).
· If you are just starting out, find
your niche—those subjects that are aligned with what you are promoting (your
book or your passion)—and write about that. If you are excited, others are more
likely to catch your enthusiasm.
· Read lots of other blogs that inspire
you even though the subject matter may not be about what you are writing—think:
cross pollination. Keep an open mind, something useful might drop in.
If you are trying to gain a
following (to sell books) and don’t know what to blog about, here-in lies wisdom slant your post for your
audience—the ones who will buy your books! Visit Linda Adams blog post: Engaging Readers with Social Media for great ideas on targeting your
audience.
Now, having posted some of my pet peeves and subjects to be
wary of, you need
to be inspired to do your
thing by going to Alina
Sayre’s blog, Illuminations to read Dance Like No One’s Watching
For great information all the time
on blogging, promoting, publishing and writing, or if you just need a general
(humorous) uplift, visit KristenLamb’s blog.
So, did I hit a nerve? Have you had the same thoughts? Tell me (the good and/or the bad).
