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What To Blog About?
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The best way to find blog topics is to see what others with similar blogs are blogging about, and see what inspiration you get.Here are some ideas though:
*Post about your book, and the world in which it takes place.
*Post about ya fantasy by other authors; review the books, invite the authors to do interviews, etc.
*Make up character interviews with your characters, or invite other authors to do character interviews.
*Post about the fantasy genre in general; paying particular interest to the age level for which you write.
Also, you may want to throw in some real life posts from time to time too... Readers like to learn about the person behind the books.
These are great ideas. Thank you so much!
As a reader, I like to know what an author is working on, what's coming out soon. You can print excerpts, too.
One suggestion, blend work, life, with a mild dose of what is important to you as a person (puppies and kittens are good while conquest of a primitive sentient race on another planet is not so good).
Amie wrote: "These are great ideas. Thank you so much!"No problem! :)
John wrote: "Victoria wrote: "The best way to find blog topics is to see what others with similar blogs are blogging about, and see what inspiration you get.Here are some ideas though:
*Post about your book,..."
I couldn't tell you.
If you find the right audience at the right time, then you might have a book that will sell loads of copies. If you don't, then you might not sell a single copy. But the same can be said for any book, regardless of genre, or subject matter.
Your best bet is to write it if you feel it's what you want to write, then see what happens. Only time will tell how well the book does.
My first book, Strangers Have the Best Candy, was inspired by people I wrote about in my blog. I can always find a new stranger around the corner to meet and blog about! Here's a quick example, some of the people I met on a recent cross-country road trip: Stranger of the Day.=) Margaret Meps Schulte
Keep your readers informed about the progress of upcoming work. You can occasionally include excerpts. Ask their opinions about different things. This gets them invested in the next publication.
Thank you! I did a new blog posting yesterday on "not your average summer reads." www.amieirenewinters.com/blog
I think I will post on what inspired me to write my current book (Strange Luck) next week. I also like the idea of blogging about upcoming books.
Is once a week the perfect amount to blog or is it overkill?
I think I will post on what inspired me to write my current book (Strange Luck) next week. I also like the idea of blogging about upcoming books.
Is once a week the perfect amount to blog or is it overkill?
I hate to be the bearer of cynical news, and this is certainly NOT the generally accepted practice since authors have it hammered into their heads to participate in social media, including blogging, but DON'T BOTHER. The hard truth is, no one is going to care (and I don't mean to sound harsh) what an aspiring author says until they've written something and have fans. FANS follow authors on Twitter, their blogs, etc. You need the fans first. Rather than blog, I'd suggest you just write your heart out, so that you can give people the books they'll need to become your fans. BTW, I've blogged for a couple years and recently gave it up. Another harsh fact -- the readers of blogs by writers aren't readers, but other writers.
On the bright side, you'll have more time to write!
On the bright side, you'll have more time to write!
Amie wrote: "Hello. I'm a YA Fantasy author and just started a blog on my personal website: http://www.amieirenewinters.com/blogWhat are some out-of-the-box ideas/topics to blog about that will intrigue readers?"
Whatever you do, don't write about your theories on writing. Nobody cares at this point. When you have multiple NYT bestsellers, then you can write about how to write.
I'm with J.H. I spent a lot of time on my website and blog when I started publishing. I posted about things having to do with the subjects of my novels. I still get hits on posts I put up two years ago. The thing is, it hasn't translated to sales. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of clickthroughs to my Amazon and B&N pages. There's been absolutely zero difference in my sales between when I was posting regularly and now, when I post hardly at all. If you have a choice between feeding a blog and writing revenue-producing work, go for the latter every time.
It's up to you how often you blog. What's important is to keep to some kind of regular schedule, so that anyone who is interested knows when it's worth checking back for a post from you. If you feel once a week is too much, do it twice a month or something. Personally, I blog three times a week, but since writing is my day job, I have the time to do so without it cutting in to my actual writing time.Which brings me to my next point: I disagree with the comments about not bothering with a blog at all. I would agree that you want your time to be focussed on the writing of material you plan to publish. But having a bit of an online presence on blogs - as well as multiple options for people who want to follow you on social media platforms to do so - isn't a bad thing, unless you put all your time and energy in to social media, and then leave yourself no time to write the actual book. Sure, you might not get much of a following. But it's nice to have the options available for potential fans/followers to choose from.
Whether you blog or not - and how often - is your choice. What's important is that you always remember that the best reason to write is because you love to do it, and the best reason to publish is because you want to share your words with the world. As long as you focus on that, and keep the writing of your books at the top of your list of priorities (up there with family, and any day job you might have) rather than allowing yourself to obsess about how many books you sell, how many fans you have, etc, you won't go wrong, and not having a large following - especially at first - won't matter.
John wrote: "Three of my books are publishable, Extinction Event, Fire Ice & Fugitive. The Glass Beacon is 2/3rds written. See http://johnday.webplus.netI am not sure if the part written story will be of mass appeal though. It is a WW2 spy thriller but with a big difference to anything I have read or seen on screen.
First, the main character is German, though I have gone to great lengths to make that issue as neutral as I can. I did this..."
John, I read several of your posts that look a lot like promotion/spam. I understand your desire to talk about yourself and your books, but this is not the right thread, I think.
J.H. wrote: "I hate to be the bearer of cynical news, and this is certainly NOT the generally accepted practice since authors have it hammered into their heads to participate in social media, including blogging..."I agree and disagree. I agree that blog articles rarely evolve into sales. I disagree that blogging is useless.
In my view, blogging about things that are linked to your books tend to make blog readers interested in your books, but most importantly, my readers have given me feedback that they enjoy the blog articles for giving them more in-depth information that I could put in the books (because that would drag down the pace).
A blog is also a better way to keep (prospective) readers abreast of the latest information on future releases.
An important part of writing and publishing is about engaging the reader. If you can engage readers both in blog articles and in your fiction, you can reap benefits from blogging.
If you have no idea what to say, then blogging might not be for you.
Martyn V. (aka Baron Sang-Froid) wrote: "J.H. wrote: "I hate to be the bearer of cynical news, and this is certainly NOT the generally accepted practice since authors have it hammered into their heads to participate in social media, inclu..."
I think it depends on the person. I spent so much time blogging that I didn't write, and that's what I wanted to do. I think for some people the format works, but at least for me -- and as I said everyone is different -- focusing on writing is the priority.
I WILL say this for anyone who does want to blog -- you have to do something different. So many writers do the "this is how you write" posts, that anything you add will just be noise :)
I think it depends on the person. I spent so much time blogging that I didn't write, and that's what I wanted to do. I think for some people the format works, but at least for me -- and as I said everyone is different -- focusing on writing is the priority.
I WILL say this for anyone who does want to blog -- you have to do something different. So many writers do the "this is how you write" posts, that anything you add will just be noise :)
blogging helps authors reach wide audiences and makes the act in itself not feel cheap the way a public speech would.so it's for the established writer with a fan-base in my opinion.
it's also a nice way to ramble on and rant off about your invisible friends and problems before you become a celebrity. so don't stop blogging. yay !
Aime,A blog should be as original and unique as the person who writes it. Each post should be a reflection of all the things combined that make you who and what you are.
Write what you truly feel regarding any subject. Don't obsess over how your thoughts and opinions will be received. Some followers will agree some will not. Your words will please some and anger others. All that is important is that the blog encourages its followers to think. That is always a good thing.
How the blog is written is as important as what is written. Take the time to proofread each entry and correct any technical writing errors or typos before posting it.
I hope your blog provides both you and your followers with many opportunities to exchange ideas and opinions .
Amie, this is such a good thread to open up; You beat me to it:) I need help in this area, too. If you've seen my sorry blog then you'll know why.I know you shouldn't blog how-to-write articles. But I also thought you shouldn't talk about your books a lot, either. So, this is o.k.? You can talk about your books and what you're working on? I was told this would be somewhat irritating to readers, that's why I only say one or two lines.
If someone could look at my Goodreads's blog and tell me (nicely) where I maybe can improve, I would appreciate it.
I agree with Martin V. on message 16. This post is about blogging, and there's nothing in John's reply about the subject. I've also seen this same message on a few other forums as well.
Groovy wrote: "Amie, this is such a good thread to open up; You beat me to it:) I need help in this area, too. If you've seen my sorry blog then you'll know why.I know you shouldn't blog how-to-write articles. ..."
There's nothing wrong with talking about your books, and nothing wrong with "how to" articles. The trick is to make sure that if you do the "how to" articles you have some experience to draw upon, and that your posts to promote your books aren't the only thing for readers to come to your blog for.
Groovy,A quick scan of your blogs shows me nothing inherently wrong with what you're doing. I noticed you've done the following, and it's a good thing.
1) You can talk about what you're working on, as readers often like having an idea of what's next.
2) Let the reader know you're alive, a regular person who is approachable, let's them know that if they do contact you odds are they won't get a snarky response to bugger off.
3) Avoid appearing like an intellectual snob, whose station in life is far above the pedestrian level of mere readers.
I could go on, but you appear to have the basic psychological strategy down.
Readers or aspiring writers who have dealt with a famous author or authors have had their share of both snarky replies and honestly human replies. The problem lies with those writers who appear to feel their fame entitles them to be rude, because they're busy, too full of themselves, or what have you.
Just keep on being you, and if you feel like expanding on various subjects, do so.
Awwww, R.F.G., that's so nice. Thank you for your input. Then I'm going to keep it like it is. Whew!
Jim wrote: "Aime,
A blog should be as original and unique as the person who writes it. Each post should be a reflection of all the things combined that make you who and what you are.
Write what you truly fee..."
I completely agree! Thank you.
A blog should be as original and unique as the person who writes it. Each post should be a reflection of all the things combined that make you who and what you are.
Write what you truly fee..."
I completely agree! Thank you.
I've got a few blogs out. "Is Writing a Real Job" is my most popular topic so far. My latest threw the doors open to my readers to choose my next blog topic, but very low response so far!? :-/
http://tlclarkauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2...
I think people like to read about your life more than books.
I guess I'll never understand why readers want to know more about an author's life than their books. I'm the type that I just want to know about your next book, I really don't care what your favorite food is, or where your dogs cute name came from.For instance, I like Michael Crichton, and Dean Koontz, but I don't know what they're like as people. And I'm not really interested. I just want to know if your next book is as good as the last:)
As so as an author, I'm really nervous and uncomfortable about blogging about myself. For one, there's nothing interesting about me. And for two, I don't want to bore readers, I want to entertain them and get them excited about my next release.
Does that make sense?
Groovy wrote: "I guess I'll never understand why readers want to know more about an author's life than their books. I'm the type that I just want to know about your next book, I really don't care what your favori..."Groovy,
Never underestimate the impact that your personal opinions, experiences or philosophy may have upon others. Something that you have taken for granted or casually accepted as normal may be new, refreshing, and interesting to others.
I personally have never met a boring person. I don't always agree with them, like them, or empathize with them, but that is what makes life so interesting. No two people are exactly alike. One person's routine experience may be considered unique or exciting by another.
I posit nobody wants to hear about me changing the tiny demon's diapers that or so stinky they'd knock a vulture off a wagon full of carrion. Then again they might get a laugh out of hearing about a 20-month-old demon princess outwitting a variety of potential future minions, or her being among the Navajo or Hopi and being asked which tribe she springs from.
Daily routine in the Texas Hill Country isn't the same routine as NYC, or Baltimore, or many other places, so some readers might enjoy hearing about things they normally never hear of.
Same goes for living in Canada, Mexico, Australia, ad nauseum, things you take for granted...
O.K., so that makes sense. Thanks, Jim. Thanks, R.F.G.:)
You can discuss your journey on how you got into books and than what made you start the blog. Like more indept than your about page. Another great post is books for the summer. Read-a-thons if you do any. Like on here there is #AYEARATHON which is a once a month thing. Another idea would be things that annoy you about people that don't read books. I also try researching other blogs on what is popular.
Good ones to implement. On my next blog, which will be a bit, I'm trying to get my new release out in time, I will do some of them. Thanks:) (I thought my about page was clever and to the point, though:)
I think part of the reason readers like to hear about the person behind the books is because it brings humans comfort to know it was another human that came up with an idea.The biggest reason though, in my opinion, is that as a species humans are naturally curious. The result being that we want to know how things work: how other people think, what day to day life is like in other countries, whether we have anything in common with our favourite authors, and any other snippets of information we can gather. Mostly we don't conciously admit we're seeking this information, but - if we're honest - it's obvious in the way that we reach out for human contact; even if it's just via the internet.
I'm a loner by nature, but all of these responses have helped me to understand a lot. They do make sense. I mean, why are we on the internet constantly, in forums, if not for some human contact! I'm more comfortable with blogging now.
Hi! I'm an author with a biography about a writer coming out this September. So for the past few months my blog has been about topics related to my book and contemporary issues. My most recent post is about Independence Day 1948 and Harriet Tubman as we lead into July 4th 2015. Please check it out at http://www.sonjadwilliams.com/blog/
JH has it correct. Only fans participate in social media because only they have a reason to - well anti-fans do too. You cannot gin up much interest via blogging unless you have enough material out there to have fans. Write first. Them blog. It cannot work on the reverse order.
J.H. wrote: "I hate to be the bearer of cynical news, and this is certainly NOT the generally accepted practice since authors have it hammered into their heads to participate in social media, including blogging..."Hi JH,
I just feel a whole lot less guilty reading your words here :)
I know I should be blogging, but writing comes first, and nothing is going to change that.
I feel lighter already :)
Best, Alex
I totally agree that writing comes first. I don't think anyone here said it doesn't.But, if you have time to get plenty of writing in, and still can find time to blog, be on social media, etc, then great!
It's fair to say that there's little point to having a great social media presence as a potential author if you don't have any books coming out to keep the interest of fans and followers. However, I think it's unfair to say that blogging is a total waste of time, since the more places fans can find you, the more they like it.
Just make sure your list of priorities goes:
*Day job (if writing isn't your day job)
*Writing, and all that involves (including seeing your book through the editing phases, etc)
*General book marketing (otherwise, you won't be selling any copies)
*Blogging and other social media
Notice how blogging and hanging out on social media is at the bottom of the priorities list? That doesn't mean it's not worthwhile. It's just not as important as the other stuff.
Oh, and don't forget that family members and friends should figure in there somewhere, along with housework and other errands. I'm not going to tell you where to put those though. I'll just remind you to keep blogging and social media at the bottom of the list.
What are some out-of-the-box ideas/topics to blog about that will intrigue readers? Thank you!