Review: The Author Blog - Easy Blogging for Busy Authors

Blogging is just as important for an author as newsletters and a website. it keeps our name out there, keeps our readers interested, and attracts new readers. I blog here on blogger.com. I tend to not have a plan - I simply share my thoughts, share links to writing apps, and whatever else I think will interest my readers, It is very hit and miss. Today I want to share a review about a book from a writer that I follow - Anne R. Allen. I follow her blog with Ruth Harris (Anne R. Allen Blog), which is excellent, and is where I got the heads up on this book!

This is a guide for authors like me who are very "low tech", but who want to build a blog on a solid platform, but not dedicate our lives to it. (I would rather spend my time writing than  blogging.)  The first thing I read (I read back covers before I read the book) was that an author blog is easier to maintain than a business blog. Easy sounds good! 

I loved the concept that authors blog about different things at different stages of their careers. (Makes sense to me!) Fine-tuning blog topics for genre and audience - that I already do (I think). Also covered are basic SEO tips (my eyes glazed over already), and how to write headers that will grab the attention of Web surfers. (Yup, I need some help there!) And ... essential blog and social media etiquette rules are covered! (Whew!)

I am going to start at the end of this book, then go back to the beginning. Allen has included a page entitled "A Note From Anne", where she recommends several books on blogging by other authors. One of them, "Blog It! The Author's Guide To Publishing A Successful Online Brand" by Molly Greene, talks about using your blog to build your brand. I just purchased it!

I am impressed that Allen makes no bones about learning how to blog by trial and error. I think that is the best way to learn. Some of the topics she discusses in this book are:

• How a blog can help an author's career.  
• How to get an online profile.
• Commenting on other author's blogs.
• Using the blogging platform "Medium".
• Tips for starting an author blog (along with steps to be taken).
• How to pick topics for blogging.
• Topics to leave out of your blog.
• How to write a good author bio (mine is always a work in progress!).
• How to write good blog content.
• Writing a series of posts that are published over time.
• Why not to work with a newsletter.
• Making best use of Google.
• Allowing your blog to change as you grow as an author.
• Participating in Blog Hops and Blog Tours (they have their place).
• Making best use of hashtags.
• Guest blogging (my personal verdict is still out on this one).
• Using a pen name (I don't).

There is a lot in this little (183 page) book - all of it usable! It is for those looking to start a blog and those that have been blogging for a while. Make best use of 50% of the information in this book, and you will look much more professional! 

(c) August 2021 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction is prohibited without written permission from the author.

 

 

Scheduling Blog Topics

Blogging has always been a chore for me - even when I enjoy doing it. I make a committment - as I have with this blog, and my flash fiction blog - and then find it difficult to follow through. My flash fiction blog is very spur of the moment, and I like that. It is what it needs to be. Looking back over the topics that I have covered here on my author's blog - they are all over the board! I am not happy with myself over that.

So I have decided to plan ahead - to pick topics that fit together, that make some kind of sense, and schedule them together. I am going to try and take a different theme each month, and develop content around that.

I started this blog to develop a following for my books, and I have to say that I have not done a good job at all. I am going to focus on my mystery writing, and target two audiences - other mystery writers, and readers of cozy mysteries. 

I am looking at defining a social media presence as a mystery writer, increasing my newsletter subscribers, and engaging my target audience. Publishing my blog consistently will increase traffic for each post. Adding links to my newsletter sign-up and to my personal/professional site will allow my target audience toget to know me a bit better.

Keeping to a set schedule for publishing my blogs will also allow me to see when and where I can use teasers for my upcoming work - whether it is a mystery novel, or a shorter book/pamphlet on a topic of general interest.   

Now I have an idea of where I want to go with this, and how to get there. I plan on using a calender to list blog topics, as well as teasers for upcoming work. I will also be able to look at holidays, and see how I can tie them into my work. 

Onward and upward!

You can sign up for my newsletter here: newsletter.

You can view the author's section of my site here: author's site.

(c) February 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

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. 

New Year's Eve 2018

Welcome to New Year's Eve 2018! Looking back over the old year, looking forward to the new year. Before I start in about what 2017 was for me, what I am taking from it, and what I am looking forward to in 2018, I want to stop and give a tip of the hat to Sue Grafton, author of the "Kinsey Milhone" mystery series. As Ms Grafton's daughter posted on Facebook - "The series ends with "Y". Yes, Sue Grafton just passed away from cancer. Her series, which followed the letters of the alphabet, stops with "Y". Her books are favorites of mine, and I will miss her greatly (even though I never met her).

2017 was certainly a year with its ups and downs. The political climate continued to get worse, on a daily (if not hourly) basis. The sole aim in the Trum administration seemed to be to take down whatever former President Obama had put in place, and to change any and all rule and regs to fit the schemes of the rich. Why do I feel the need to mention this in an article about my year - because whether I wanted it to or not, it did affect me.

Because of the afore mentioned political debacle, I became more active in the area of politics. I sent more e-mails, made more phone calls, and wrote more letters than I have ever done before. I will continue to do this - within reason. I ended up on a lot of political lists that I have been steadily unsubbing from. The individuals/groups on those lists had/have pertinent things to say - but everything ends with a request for money, and they all need it by "midnight". I will not be used! I will contribute to local politicians, and through Hillary Clinton's political action group Onward Together.  

Over the past year I took both writing and personal development courses through Udemy, started a newsletter focused on writing, and fine tuned my WIPs - a mystery novel, and a book on decision making. I formatted what I want to have in my fictional character's profiles, and what I want included in my bible for each book (for my fictional books, so that each book in the series reflect what has actually happed, or been referred to, in previous books). In researching my mystery novel, I realized that I have an online acquaintance that I can use as to vet an important part of my book (no writer wants to look like a fool.)

I went through a personal health  crisis at the end of October that took until the end of December to really clear up.

For 2018, I am looking forward to publishing my first mystery novel, and to developing a solid plan for promoting it. I will continue with Udemy classes, as well as with interesting webinars that cross my path. I will make an attempt to network with other writers (a LinkedIn acquiantence has what looks to be an intresting novel coming out in 2018). I look forward to blogging here on a weekly basis, as well as writing one flash fiction (100 words) a week and posting it. I also look forward to strengthening the focus of my newsletter, and promoting it in a more efficient manner.

This is my life. What are you taking from 2017, and what are you looking forward to in 2018?

(c) 2017 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction rohibited 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. 

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