Why Writers Should Be Bloggers

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I bet y’all are wondering, “Why the sand? What does that have to do with blogging? Or writing? Or anything related to blogging or writing?”

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. It is the first stock photo that came up. It wasn’t even the BEST stock photo that came up! I AM SO GENIUS I SHALL TAKE OVER THE WORLD WITH TERRIBLE STOCK PHOTOS. I SHALL BE SUPREME LEADER! *evil laughter* I AM A TERRIBLE BLOGGER MUHAHAHA. *coughs*

Moving on.

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|The Actual Post|

Everyone knows that when you come a famous author, you should probably have a blog so your loyal fans will have an online gathering-place to get more of your awesomeness.

Like me. Obviously. (I can see y’all out there rolling your eyes! Knock it off! Keep your eyes to yourself! No one needs your eyes!) (Except you, I guess … because without your eyes, you’d be blind … which would not be good …) (My dog is blind.) (She is fine.) (Okay, she’s dying, but whatever.)

However, blogging is not just for famous authors and those in blogging for blogging’s sake. Blogging is for writers of all shapes and sizes.

But why get a blog if I’m not published yet?

Well, here’s a question to ask yourself: Do you want to be an author? Furthermore, do you plan to work with all your strength to become an author? If so, then a blog is probably a good idea.

Now, I don’t think everyone who jots down a short story – or even a full-length novel – needs a blog. If you just write for fun and don’t intend to seriously pursue publishing, you probably don’t need a blog. (though you may want one …)

But if you intend to be a published novelist someday (particularly if “someday” means just a couple years for you or if you’re intending to self-publish), then a blog is a good idea.

But I don’t have a published book yet. What’s the point?

The point is building a readership – and making friends – before you even publish. This is more important than I could possibly express. Perhaps it sounds mercenary, but it’s really not. Authors – whether traditionally or self-published – need to build a readership, and what better way than to have them following your blog?

But I can’t just ramble about myself all the time, can I?

I completely agree with you. You can’t just talk about yourself all the time. That would make for a pretty boring blog – especially since you’re not a famous author who people hang on every word of (yet!).

So what should you blog about? Here are few ideas:

Writing

This could be writing tips, but you can also talk about your writing process in general. You could also ramble about how hard writing is (though be professional; nobody likes a long paragraph that says nothing) or something like that. Share your struggles – and what you’ve learned from them.

Reading

Well, you want to attract readers, don’t you? This is a good way to do that. Post reviews (particularly reviews of books in the genre you write, although you can do a wide variety if you like). Talk about different genres and how they compare. Give tips for a pleasurable reading experience. The possibilities are pretty endless.

Follow a couple big book blogs to get some ideas if you need to. However, keep in mind that you want to be original and not steal other peoples’ ideas!

Life

I find ‘diary blogs’ pretty boring unless I actually care about the person – and let’s assume that the Blogosphere in general doesn’t care a ton about you. (I know it’s harsh, but they don’t know you; why would they care?) However, there’s nothing wrong with sharing a little bit of your life – as long as you don’t harp on it. One of the best ways to do this without boring people is a monthly wrapup, such as my Dares posts.

At least, I like monthly wrap-ups. I don’t know if this is a common thing or not? And I never know what to comment on other peoples’ wrap-up posts. I’m like, “Uh … good job, I guess? Looks like you’ll be busy next month … and … um … goodbye?”

Research

If you write historical novels, write a post detailing the fashions of the time. If you write fantasy, do a post on archery (assuming archery shows up in your novel; random archery is probably not a good idea unless you happen to be an archery enthusiast).

Write posts about things you had to research for your novel. It makes sense that people interested in those kind of things would want to read your book. And, since you’ve already done the research, all you have to do is stick the post together (more or less).