Continuity In A Book Series

How do we bring continuity to a book series? I really want to do my books in a series because if my readers like the characters in my first book, they will buy the books that follow. This is a question I am currently facing - my current WIP is the first of a series of three books, which will be followed by a series of cozy mysteries. That is another issue! My first mystery book was "supposed" to be a cozy mystery, and it took a very sharp turn right from the beginning into the land of metaphysics and distant viewing! 

I have no problem with having enough content and storyline to justify a series - I can take the same characters and put them in 1001 different situations. And I have defined what my series will be based on. My first series, based on my WIP, is a storyline that arcs over all three books. My second series, the cozy mysteries, will feature the same characters with storylines that resolve within each book. IOW - each book is a "stand-alone".

Here are some of the things that I am looking at that will help bring continuity to my book series:

•  Have a good foundation for my stories, and enough of a storyline to justify a series.
• Use recurring themes throughout the series.
• Portray my characters in the same manner in  each book in the series - they will grow, but they will also have the same background, likes/dislikes, and shadows that they did in the first book.
• Remember what you have presented in your previous books - life events, how a character speaks, what motivates each character, and what each character's perspective on life is.

My aim is to publish at least one book a year, so my readers don't get antsy and wander away! I also think that leaving a few loose ends might be a good thing - keep my readers wondering. My aim will also be to make each story different - if I keep telling the same story in different ways, that story will get old fast! 

Looking at all of the above, I realize that my character bible is going to be a very important tool in keeping my characters straight from book to book. What they say and how they react in one book has to pretty much stay the same in future books in the series. I don't want readers saying "So and so said this in book one, and this in book three. Which did they really mean?" That is a rabbit hole that I do not want to go down!

(c) June 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

Blogging For Writer's

Blogging is a push button for me. I like to blog, because I like to get information out there, I like to keep my name known, and I like to promote my work. What I don't like is connecting to other writer's blogs, doing promotions with other writers, and the whole "blogathon" concept. For other people that may work - for me it does not.

So why do I encourage  blogging for writers? Because it is a way to help with promoting and marketing for our work - starting with our WIP's. What will make writers successful bloggers? Taking the content on their blog seriously - paying as much atention to it as they do to their WIP's. Chosing meaningful topics, and addressing them in a meaningful manner. 

Be creative! The content from your blog can also be used in other places. It can be used as a starting point for an article on another social media site, such as LinkedIn. You can write a series of blogs on the same topic, and publish them as a book (or booklet), or use them as a freebie for a sign-up for your newsletter. (Yes, we need to have newsletters too!)

Know the audience that you are writing for, and make it interesting for them. Make them want to follow your blog! Speaking for myself, my audience is those of all ages interested in cozy mysteries, recipies, and cats. Having said that, I do follow a few other authors blogs, authors that I respect and can learn something from. My hope is that as I get better at blogging, other authors will decide to follow me too.

Some of the things that need to be taken into consideration when blogging are consistency (how frequently you decide to blog), blog content that is related (with strong headlines that show what the content is all about), your bio (which needs to reflect both you and your writing), and whether or not you are going to allow comments (and if you do, how you are going to moderate them).

The length of the content on your blog is up to you. IMHO, longer blogs are better. Also, use images. They draw attention, and can be usd to set the mood for a particular blog. 

Have fun with this! You will be blogging as long as you are writing!

(c) February 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author. 

Reinventing Life

 

It has been a while since I blogged here. Too much life happening ... part of which is me getting involved too deeply in projects that, while I believe in them, don't move me forward. And it may have been that I was more bothered than I thought with the loss of a major project very early in the year. I do have plans for the work that I did on it ... I started on the plans, but did not continue them. This is something that I can do ... a positive, if you will.

I set a new deadline for my second project ... to have it out by the end of May. This is doable, and will allow me to have my third project out there in time for the December holidays. That project will be a series, if it goes well!

For now, I would like to share some things that have come my way. From Social Media Examiner, we have 16 Blogging Resources To Improve Your Blog. Blogging is a great resource in and of itself. It allows us to connect with other writers, and with our prospective readership. This article talks about brainstorming ideas, being more productive, getting organized, and much more!

This one I have not used, but I did find it interesting - a way to organize your e-mail! Called SaneBox, it is all about prioritizing e-mails ... ans summarizing the rest!

I am a huge Google fan so this article made me smile! Why Google + Is A Key Tool In Your Online Marketing Strategy. Marketing is my least favorite activity, so any help I can get is worth it!

Along marketing lines - 5 Copywriting Tips To Entice Customers.I can get lost in writing this type of content, so I appreciated the commonsense advice here!

Wishing you all happy writing!

(c) 2014 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited withour written permission of the author. 

The Importance Of SEO

We all nod our head that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is important. As writers, we want our work to be found, and to be read. Unless we wear two hats - writer and techie - we are probably a bit (or more than a bit!) haphazard with our SEO work. The importance of SEO was brought home to me this past week, when I was contacted by an individual that was looking specifically for information that was contained in an article that I had just written. It was a two part article (with the second part going up this weekend), and she was looking for the second part to use in work that she is going to be doing int he coming week. I was thrilled that she found my article, and even more thrilled that she was searching out Part 2!

Here are some things that should be taken into consideration in optimizing your site:

1. Is your content relevant?
2. Are you linked to other sites?
3. Is your site frequently updated?
4. Is your header relevant to your content?
5. Are your keywords repeated?
6. Does your content provide something of value to your site visitors"
7. Are your site pages linked in a logical manner?
8. Is your content clear, concise, and does it offer value?
9. Do you have a clear picture of who your site visitors are?
10. Do you have a clear idea of what is currently important/of interest in your market?

Note: SEO as I am addressing it here is for unpaid, or algorhythmic search results. If you are looking for paid results for your site, you would need to take different steps towards optimizaiton.

One last note - I just came across Google's Website Organizer, whic is a free service that checks your site for . While i have not used it yet, I am going to run my site through it, and see how bad a shape I am in! To try this on your site, go to .

(c) October 2010 Bonnie Cehovet

Blogging As A Promotional Tool

I have been blogging (here, on Word Press and on Live Journal - each blog with a different, specific purpose)for some time now. As I define new directions in both my private and professional lives, the effort behind my blogging will be ramped up. Therein lies the problem. I have been spending a lot of time researching what constitutes a good blog, how to attract traffic, how and when to guest blog, and blog rankings, amongst other things. My head is spinning!

I do not want to be a professional blogger! I want to continue to enjoy writing my blogs, providing content, personal opinion (I do have a few of those!)and access to the availability of purchasing my books. (I promise to be very gentle with your checkbook/credit card!)

What I am trying very hard not to do is to get lost in the process - to take my attention away from my professional work and make the blog itself too high a priority. Quite frankly, right now I am standing here, hands on hips, fuming about how to bring traffic to my blogs without making the blog itself my priority. Hello blogs - you are a promotional tool, not the be all, end all of my promotions! Can we reach a truce here?

As in all things, my Cappie personality rushes to the fore. Like Mr. Sinatra, I will do things my way! ;-)

(c) August 2010 Bonnie Cehovet