Blogging for Authors

by Barb Drozdowich

Are you an author who needs to learn more about blogging?

Are you feeling uncertain about the technology or what to blog about?

Finding that all-important reader is the key to an author's success. Many studies shows that blogging is a great way to connect with readers because at it's heart, blogging is just another form of communication.

Blogging for authors covers all aspects of blogging from what to blog about to technically how to manage a blog.

In this book you will learn:

• Why authors need to blog and how to figure out what to blog about
• How to choose a platform to blog on
• How to create the ideal blog post
• How to manage sidebars and widgets
• How to keep your site safe and up to date

˃˃˃ And there is more!

Blogging for Authors contains links to 26 instructional YouTube videos as well as a coupon for money off my newly created course WordPress for Beginners - Perfect for Authors & Bloggers. This course is an online program specifically designed with beginner authors/bloggers in mind.

Pick up this great deal today and approach blogging with confidence.

Genres: Writing, Productivity, Nonfiction

158 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2016

About the author

Barb can teach anyone to use WordPress. She is a voracious reader of Regency Romance, taxi driver, gourmet chef in training, and slave to a cute puppy.

Barb has taught in colleges, universities and in the banking industry. More recently, she brings her years of teaching experience and a deep love of books to help authors develop the social media platform needed to succeed in today’s fast evolving publishing world. She owns Bakerview Consulting and manages the popular blog, Sugarbeat’s Books. She is also the creator and curator of The Book Blogger List

She is the author of more than 15 books 38 YouTube videos, a beginner WordPress course, a Goodreads course and lives in the mountains of British Columbia with her family.

Reviews

[Leta McCurry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straightforward, easy to follow. Most helpful information I've found on this subject. Recommended.

[Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down one of the best author blogging books I have read in a very, very long time. The resource section at the end is priceless. Well worth your time even if you aren't an author.

[Naomi Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important reading for beginning authors who wish to market themselves successfully. Easy to follow with practical follow-up exercises.

[L.M. Elm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Socialize digitally...

Writing is often a solitary venture. Drozdowich stresses socializing online provides writers with the ability to network and engage readers ... and sell more books.

Short, but informative read.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.5 of 5

I feel as though I'm generally pretty proficient when it comes to technology and social media, and after a few books promising 'help' to writers that I've found to be less than actually helpful, I was just a tad hesitant to go into this book (even though I had requested it).

But I'm glad I read this, and found Barb Drozdowich's Blogging for Authors to be one of the most useful books I have read in a very long time.

One of the things I really like about reading on a Kindle is how easy it is to highlight something, and I use the feature a lot to make note of special passages that I might want to use in a review. I started highlighting passages in this book very early on ... not so much to quote from, but for things I felt were important, as a writer/blogger, to follow up on at a later time. And as I read, I highlighted more and more until I realized that essentially, this entire book is well-written and packed full of useful advice, even to someone such as I who thought he had a pretty good handle on this already.

The book is written to speak to the most basic and simplest of needs - to the wanna-be-blogger who doesn't know where to start. But the basics are a good thing to be reminded of for those of us who think we're beyond this. There were so many little tid-bits of information that I know, or should know, that I've simply over-looked or never gotten around to fixing. Drozdowich reminds me that all these little aspects are important to anyone wishing to take blogging up a level.

It should be noted that Drozdowich definitely leans in favor for one particular blogging platform (though she does touch on some of the others) and if you are not a fan of Wordpress for some reason, you might not like that she spends so much time here. I have blogs on Wordpress, Blogger, and Weebly and I can understand why she focuses on Wordpress.

This was a VERY handy book. I am delighted that I got the chance to read it for review. Now I will re-read it for myself, and then I will look for some of the other books that Barb Drozdowich has put together.

Looking for a good book? Blogging for Authors is a helpful book by Barb Drozdowich that any aspiring (or even seasoned) writer/blogger will find useful.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[James Minter · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a self-published fiction author, besides writing great stories, I’m like all other authors, and need to jump through many hoops to get my books in front of my readers. Time is a premium, and in my opinion, “How to … “ books are a life saver, especially when written by Barbara Drozdowich. She is always honest and authentic, and writes her books to help—they are detailed, inclusive, tried and tested.
Looking at the Table of Contents will give you a quick insight to the breadth and depth of her coverage, yet she doesn't overburden the reader with unnecessary detail. The chapters are littered with links to other useful resources, which allows the reader to have a very personal experience when reading this book – a great benefit of digital books. To follow or not to follow a link, the choice is yours.
This book is essential for any serious author building their platform, and one that should prove a sound investment. Having read this book I now need to enact the advice, hints and tips, and that’s down to me. Highly recommended.

[Cynthia Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED Blogging for Authors. AS much as Barb's books have taught me, I learned more here. This book is for sure for more than authors new to blogging...I've been blogging since 2002 and I can see some things I want to change. I love how she talks about blogging as a conversation. I am interested in blogging about more than writing and I found a bunch of keywords to help me expand what I can write about. Don't know what keywords are? Barb explains:) I also took to heart the part about author branding--how all platforms across social media and even the books themselves should all have a similar look to them. My various media (Facebook, Twitter and my blog are the big ones) and book covers could use a unifying element i.e. a recognizable brand. There's so much more to Blogging for Authors but those are my biggest three takeaways. Mostly because my brain can only hold about three to-do tasks at a time. I will be going back to this book again and again. It's that good.

[Brit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blogging for Authors was a quick read but highly technical and geared towards WordPress users.

I didn’t entirely agree with the methods but I imagine that if a person sticks with a certain method that they will achieve some success more due to consistency, than the actual method.

It really boils down to preferences. I don’t prefer Wordpress and the tools that this author recommends.

The author uses majority logic for the basis of establishing quality which is faulty.

By saying more people use Wordpress than Squarespace, she concludes Wordpress is OBVIOUSLY better. I disagree. Just because there are more users doesn’t mean those users are using Wordpress WELL.

I read this hoping to find nuggets to help authors I work with but I honestly don’t feel I can recommend this book based on my preferences.

It was well-done and well-organized but not a great fit for me, my audience and my authors.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good for authors and book bloggers. Or just beginner bloggers in general.

This book is designed to help writers who deal with the first technical issues in the creation of their author’s blog. Barb Drozdowich describes the practical challenges of blogging faced by new bloggers, either they choose Blogger, Wordpress.com or Wordpress.org platforms.

The book is quite thorough in showing how to solve the technical issues that challenge the beginner blogger. Her writing is complemented with videos on her YouTube channel—Bakerview Consulting. We really learn a lot from her. And she knows what she’s talking about: she’s herself both an author and a book blogger.

As I strive to build my own book blog, and though I’m not an author, this isn’t the first (really good) book I read by Barb Drozdowich and it won’t be my last.

I received a free copy of this book from Reading Deals in exchange for my honest review.

[Hilary Grossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read the majority, if not all, of Barb Drozdowich books. Every time she publishes a new one I can't wait to get my hands on it because I always learn so much. And Blogging for Authors was no different! This book was chock full of useful information. It was easy to read and understand. But most of all I love how it was written for author/bloggers at any level. I have been blogging for over five years and I bookmarked numerous pages. Many times books such as this are written only for beginners, but this one sure wasn't. I also loved how the author covered so many different subject matters. She mixed in examples of blog topics, utilizing memes as well as the various platforms available, settings, plug ins and designed. Finally, I was blown away by all the resources that were included in the back of the book...

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blogging for Authors is a comprehensive, extremely practical book covering all aspects of the blog, including why authors should blog and what they could blog about. In a friendly, conversational tone, Barb explains technical language such that a writer feels confident to start a blog no matter what their level of expertise is. Further comprehensive details are listed at the back of the book with various links to YouTube videos. This book will be of great help to all writers, whether they are regular bloggers or just starting out. I received a complimentary copy of the book, through Reading Deals, in exchange for an honest review.

[E.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I was pleasantly surprised when this book turned out to be a lot longer than I was expecting. It's full of a lot of hints, tips, tricks and suggestions for setting up your blog and website. I would recommend this for beginners and even more advanced. There is a large tech section at the back--where you can find help if you need it and not be bogged down with technical details while reading--as well as a glossary of terminology. A good solid book.

[Paul Anlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

As an author and a blogger, I found this book informative and stimulating. It gave me many new ideas about how to improve my blog. It covers everything: understanding the purpose of blogging for authors; how to select blog topics that mesh with your writing; how to amplify your blog's exposure; when to post your blogs and how to feed your blogs into social media; technical details of the most popular blogging platforms. This book is an invaluable resource that I will refer to again and again.

[Rebecca L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly Helpful

This little book includes a wealth of helpful information for the beginning blogger. I have a lot to learn but this was a great tool for getting started. It’s full of helpful tips and information that I would not have otherwise known. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is even thinking about starting a blog.

[Debbi Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, concise, and sensible advice about how to blog as an author. This book also offers links to a variety of helpful resources that even the least tech-savvy blogger can use. I highly recommend it.

[Jeanine Malarsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book per the title. She is thorough and writes so it is easy to absorb. There is more to blogging than one might assume. I highly recommend this book.

[J. d'Merricksson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blogging for Authors by Barb Drozdowich is part of the Building Blocks series for writers. As the title suggests, this book focuses on blogging. Among the topics covered are why authors should bother blogging, the different types of platforms offered, finding topics, and extra tools and tricks for blogging. There are several links to tutorial videos. Though it's from a few years ago, the practical information is still quite valuable. Some of the technical aspects of the various platforms, and support tools may be dated now. I didn't notice any but I only use wordpress.org, and none of the support tools. A few I did check out, and found tablet apps for them. I ended up not using any, but I've already been established as a blogger, and content with everything as I currently have it. This is a great resource for getting started!

***Many thanks to the Netgalley & the author for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Mike Kanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful. The information was specific and detailed on what you need to do to have a successful blog site. My only criticism is that it is pitched to book authors. However, the information is still useful for other types of blogs.

[Faith Justice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough and useful guide to blogging for fun and "platform building." I've been blogging for years and still found some new stuff to implement.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

nothing there. Wordpress gives better instructions.

[Valerie K. Flynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, highly recommend to other writers.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

No matter where you are on your blogging journey, this book is your new manual! As a beginner you may be daunted, but there are clear basics laid out here, from software to costs to design, with resources—links to networking sites and picture-source sites, along with 26 video-training links—to help every step of the way. As a "basic blogger" you—and your readers—may be overwhelmed with things that are holding you back from happy blogging. By debunking misunderstandings, like making it hard to comment because you are afraid of spam, or getting to the heart of how to keep readers reading, or even just making your blog easy to read, this book will help you polish your blog to a high shine. Even experienced bloggers can benefit by re-looking at basics or reviewing some of the newest practices. Poking holes in myths that slow bloggers down, like random (unbranded) topic choice or making the blog a sales platform or posting too often or overdoing design, are some of the ways Drozdowich walks us through the organization of a successful blog. Sometimes I wanted to argue with her (I think blog posts should be dated), and sometimes I wanted to cheer (I love to re-purpose posts when they're timely or can rescue a busy week), and sometimes I just took the book to my computer and tried out some of the helpful instructional segments. The resources alone are worth the price of the book, but resources alone do not a good blog make—the whole book will take you there! I love Drozdowich's friendly tone, far from that of a teacher at the front of a classroom, and her style in this highly technical content is readable and digestible. The detailed table of contents acts as an index, so I can easily find the nugget I need at any time in the future. All of Drozdowich's books create a how-to library for authors, publicists, bloggers, and even online consumers ... readers, we call them, who love to learn how it all works and how to "use" blogs better. This one is a rather large gold mine for authors who want to succeed at blogging.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.