Blog on "business side of writing"

[Robin]

Hey all,
I'm the "person behind the scenes" who got my husband published and learned a lot along the way I lecture on the "business side" of writing to 340+ writers in the DC area and finally started to blog some of stuff that I go over in my lectures. You might find it interesting. Some recent topics include:

- Using free books for promotion
- Publishing 101 - Various Options
- Show me the Money - Some information on Royalties
- Intro to Direct Selling
- Demystifying the Amazon Sales Rank
- Packaging/Mailers
- Autor websites
- Bookmarks for promotion materials
- Mailing Options
- Author Websites

Click her to see site


--
Wife of fantasy author: Michael J. Sullivan
The Crown Conspiracy (Oct 2008) | Avempartha (April 2009)
Reviews: Fantasy Book Critic | Odysssey | Amazon | MidWest Book Review | Huntress Reviews

[Joanne]

I wonder if you or another member could answer a question for me: Is it better to buy your own domain name if you want to attempt to earn money as a blogger, or can you make a similar arrangement with account holder sites like Typepad?

I have no idea how to get paid blogging, as I do not have Kevin Drum's kind of access, or expertise--he is at Mother Jones now--but I do know a bit about disability, and by extension, health related issues--it is what I used to do under contract--I just don't know if blogging would be right for me, and how I would accrue earnings as an independent freelancer.

Perhaps my question is a bit technical, but can any member advise me?

[Robin]

Hmmm not a big expert on "blogging" most of what I deal with is "traditional" print venues. Sorry I can't help too much with that part ;-(

[Joanne]

Robin wrote: "Hmmm not a big expert on "blogging" most of what I deal with is "traditional" print venues. Sorry I can't help too much with that part ;-("

No problem. I too am a traditional freelancer who simply translated her byline to online monetized sites. I get how Drum and Polman and other established bloggers I follow get paid. They have a contract with the host publishing company. I am just a little in the dark, even though I know the odds are long, about how an independent, like yourself, monetizes your content once you develop a following.

And again, I am not sure if it is right for me, but if I pay to open an account, like at Typepad or Wordpress, they are essentially giving me an url for my content--and would no doubt retain control if I developed a following.

If I buy a domain name then the domain is mine, and my little brother, who is the pc geek, said he could help me develop that in terms of design, but I have to wait until summer to get serious about this. I will check out your blog, as business of writing forums are what I'm after.

[Kristina]

You can make money from a Blogger blog (the Google blogging service) by allowing advertising on your blog. I don't do it, but I know people who do. Blogger is free, and I don't believe they have any rights over your content or your following. https://www.blogger.com/start

I'd also recommend checking out some of the blogging networking sites; my favorite is Technorati- http://technorati.com/account/signup/... There you can connect with other bloggers, learn about blogging, and promote your blog. There is a lot of resources out there for bloggers, and most are free.

~Kristina
http://kristinammorgan.blogspot.com/

[Joanne]

Thank you Kristina. I am a little hamstrung right now, but I will check this out around May or so. Again, as I previously posted, I am ambivalent about blogging itself, as I am something of a pessimistic advocacy issue oriented journalist, and blogging, even on the high end, (Polman, Sullivan, The Plank, etc) seems a lot like trivial pursuit, but I've surprised myself before on where I made my bread and butter.