Does blogging sell books?

[Neil]

Does blogging sell books? This is the question every author who blogs wants an answer to. Well, I have my own opinion and I believe that the answer is yes, but not for the obvious reason of exposure.

I believe authors who blog become better writers because unlike fiction, which requires the writer to immerse themselves into their imagination, blogging, which is mostly nonfiction, requires a different type of thought process. Blogging forces the fiction writer into another genre.

Blogging helps to sell books simply because it makes a better author of those books. If I stumble upon an author blog and I like the material the author blogs about I will take a look at the books they’ve written. I concede to the notion that the quality of blog posts indicates the quality of the manuscripts written.

Blogging allows the author to share daily updates of their works, engaging their readers into the process of writing the book itself. It allows reclusive writers the chance to interact with their fans without ever leaving the safety of their writer’s cave. Blogging sells books not because of exposure, but because it humanizes the author whose writing the books. It brings the writer’s soul into the mind of the reader and there is no better way of gaining a following than that.

I started my blog a few years ago and was delighted when I got my first follower. I remember when my page view counter hit one thousand and I nearly burst into tears of joy. I couldn’t believe that absolute strangers were interested in and reading my posts. Now, at well over a quarter million hits with an average page view of two hundred to five hundred hits per day, I find that I get as much pleasure out of interacting with my followers as I do writing my fiction. And at the end of the day it makes more people interested in the books that I’ve written.


To read more about me and my books please check out my blog: ALWAYS WRITING

Click here to read my blog!
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com

[R.A.]

I have to agree with you. I just started blogging a month ago, but I'm connecting with current readers and getting comments or subscriptions by people I don't know. Maybe I'm just too easy to please, but it's exciting to me. And like you said, it's fun for me and for the people who follow it. Of course I wish I had hundreds of hits a day, but like everything else, it takes time for most people. I've never been one of those lucky people that has spontaneous success at anything :). But it's been rewarding from the beginning.

[Justin]

If it does I am most certainly not doing myself justice by not going on my own site. Everyone has a vice though, blogging is one of those things that's not going to show rapid increase in an authors sales but there will be sales every once in a while.

[Martyn]

I use my blog mainly to inform readers about some of the things that I cannot mention in my books because it would drag down the pace.

I have Katla's Amsterdam articles on locations in Amsterdam used in the Amsterdam Assassin Series, like Katla's apartment on the Entrepotdok.

I have Katla FAQ articles where I explain why my assassin protagonist has a predilection for sharp instruments over firearms or why Katla rides a Vespa motor scooter.

And I write articles on the writer life and working methods, for those interested in the person behind the Amsterdam Assassin Series.

[Kim at 24/7 in France]

Blogging is a great way to share information and to interact with readers, whether book related or not, and is another source of publicity in its own right. See book trailer video: http://twentyfourseveninfrance.com/20...

[C.]

I don't think blogging sells books, but it allows the author to expose more of themselves, connect with readers, show the personality behind the words in first person.

[Amber]

I have had better sales result from being interviewed on someone else's blog
http://saintsandtrees.wordpress.com/2...
but my blog keeps readers in touch with me between the release of new books, and goes into depth on topics related to my books, or on writers who have inspired me.
I have my Wordpress blog go directly to my Goodreads blog, which is where more people actually read it.

[John]

I quit my job and spent all of my time blogging. My readers could now read me for free and stopped buying my books. I filed for bankruptcy last week.

John Rachel, Author of ...

http://amzn.to/1jetpiY