1- Success Story – The Ubiquitous Blog
Blogs. We take them for granted. We read them without thinking We consume, or ignore, the advice and laugh at the jokes. Blogs have proliferated since their inception in the 1990’s with millions available and more starting every day. They entertain, inform and inspire. They are ubiquitous.
If you have been following my Thursday blog this month, you know that I am heading to Greece for a wedding. I needed advice on what to pack and of course, I surfed the net. Soon I was following smarttravel.com and recreating the wardrobe of Hitha Palepu and her “Hitha on the Go” blog. I got my list of toiletries and other items from Sonja Riemenschneide and her blog breadcrumbsguide.com It was second nature. Blogging is the 21st-century version of a library, an encyclopedia, and dozens of stores.
If you can drive enough traffic to your blog, it can also be a source of income, through advertising, affiliates and more. But those are topics worthy of several posts on their own, so I will address that another day. Instead, let’s focus on great blogs to use as a romance author, and how to use them well.
2- Tips and Advice – Blog Writing and Consumption
We know blogs can be successful, garnering a huge following. But what should you know, what should you do, if you are a romance author, an indie-author and a blogger?
As blog consumers there are things we take for granted – search capabilities, accuracy, a personal perspective with a unique point of view, and useful information. In addition to these qualities, as a blog creator you need to include strong visuals, break things up with ‘click to tweet’ boxes, or other visual options. Consider photographs,or videos. Promoting your books? Be sure your cover art is included, as well as links for purchasing. Make sure your links work. Use titles that include easily searchable keywords– and are catchy. If you are not taking advantage of CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer, start using it ASAP.
As a blog reader, be aware of the effort a blogger puts into her work.
Take time to do a social share on the posts you enjoy, or find helpful. If you benefit, it is likely others will too. Take time to comment. It took me a while to leave a comment, I wanted to be wise and pithy. Finally, I realized that the feedback was more important than the format, so I commented. Then I commented again and eventually created relationships. Seriously. My first blog comment has turned into email exchanges of advice and encouragement from Emily McGee of MyAdaptableCareer.com. She’s awesome. Engage. You never know where it might lead.
3- Resources – Outstanding Blog Sources for Romance Writers
“Top 100 Romance Book Blogs and Websites for Romance Readers and Authors in 2018”
One advantage of this list is that is updated regularly. This is a site focused specifically on romance novels. Planning a blog tour? This would be a fantastic place to start. Looking for a reviewer for your book, or a chance to guest blog and network? This is again your starting point. It sorts the topics by broad genre categories and ranks them by reach. Some of my favorites, including CoffeeTime Romance, Romance Between the Sheets, and Reviews, Book Tours & Giveaways – Katherine Yearwood are listed along with dozens I have yet to explore. You can also suggest your own site. The only drawbacks are that you cannot search the list and that there are incessant popups.
“Writer’s Write Best Blogs for Authors”
This site has a pretty basic layout, so you have to do some digging to learn more about each of the recommended blogs. The list, however, is awesome, making it a resource choice. This is not uniquely a list of romance writers, just great blogs written by writers. While the list provided in Top100 above is great for sharing books and information about them, this list is more about inspiring the writer in you. Simply pick from the list and start reading some wonderfully written blogs.
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“Six Great Blogs for Indie Authors”
Compared to the prior two lists, this one is short but powerful. If you are an indie author or considering becoming one, these blogs should be your bible. When I am inundated with emails and forced to delete dozens without reading them, mail from Jane Friedman or Joanna Penn always stays. I know their information will be useful to me now and in the future.
And I confess, many of my ‘Gems’ come from the roundup ‘Carnival’ emails from the Book Designer.
These are my assets. I think they will be yours too.
Gem of the Week
Speaking of Gems from The Book Designer, this week’s recommendation comes from his recent ‘This Week in Blogs’ email. Writing for ALLI, Anna Castle shares “Running an Author Business: Top Tips on Managing Research Trip Costs”. While much of what we write, comes from our imagination, eventually we will encounter the need for research that requires first-hand knowledge. For me, it is often eating in expensive restaurants that ultimately become settings for books, and soon, new and unknown locations will begin popping up in my new B&B Billionaire Romance series. Anna offers vital information about recording expenses and what is/is not tax deductible. If you are a self-published author like me doing research on a shoe-string budget, you understand that every deduction helps.
I enjoyed your blog. Very informative, especially for a new un-published Author. I do plan to self-publish through Amazon; a completed novel that is being edited. Any pointers on this subject would be helpful as well. I am a part of the Facebook community and will look for you there. I don’t have a website yet but plan om starting with a writer’s blog for new Authors like myself. Thank you again.
I enjoyed your blog. very informative, especially for a new un-published Author like me. I do plan on self-publishing a completed novel that is being edited. Any pointers on this subject as well, will be much appreciated. I am a part of the Facebook community and look for you there. Thanks again