Blogging for Writers

Book Tour: Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture

Publicity is one benefit of blogging for writers. Building readership of your blog can translate into name recognition and hopefully, book sales.  That's a somewhat relational approach to blogging publicity.

The opposite of being relational would be topic driven. Someone finds your blog via a search engine. (You could even get into "Search Engine Optimization" and intentionally create posts to be more easily picked by the search engines.) Perhaps they were looking for info on a topic you cover. Maybe they found your blog because of something you briefly mentioned. Either way, they found your blog. If they like what they read, perhaps you'll land a book sale.

Another way to use your blog and others as marketing tools is a blog tour. This is what author Mary E. DeMuth is doing for six weeks. (Here's the schedule of blog stops on the Authentic Parenting Tour.)

Mary was one of the first blogging writers I discovered, way back in 2005. Upon finding her blog, Relevant Blog (I think it was Relevant Girl back then), and her Relevant Prose newsletter I quickly subscribed to both because of the easily digested info for writers. I thought it was so cool to be able to go "behind the scenes" in a writer's life because of technology. The blog tour is another example of how she's using the internet to reach new readers and communicate with fans.

If you're interested in knowing more about blog tours, Mary's blog tour director, Tina, has some questions to consider before doing your virtual tours. She's also available for blog tour consulting.

You can go to Amazon for more info about the book. I've also written a quick post about it at LexicalLight. Finally, check out Mary's site, Relevant Prose, for more info from her and about her.

About the blog tour:
I've received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher in return for writing a few posts about it. For a list of other blogs on the tour, go here. Thanks.

A Few Stories About Blogging & Writers

As a means of encouragement I like to pick up stories about how other writers have used blogs to compliment their traditional publishing careers.  Book author Lydia Teh's post, Blogging for Writers, gives a quick overview of a workshop panel she participated in. A monthly column, a television series and a book title were direct results of the panelists blogs. Take minute to read her post and plant some blogging ideas in your writing brain. Then, go get your blog on.

Offbeat Bride: Blog for Book

Ariel Meadow Stallings, another BlogHer '07 speaker, started her Offbeat Bride blog to promote her book of the same name.

Her quick list of why she chose to use Google Ads on her blog gives some insight into the experiences of book authors who blog.

Your Web Presence

"If authors have a strong web presence, whether it's just a website, or better yet, a blog that they regularly post to and update, then they're driving readers who already have an interest in their topic to to their site. If authors can get linked into the communities that comprise their readership, then they're way ahead of the game."  Brooke Warner, acquisitions editor at Seal Press, in the June 2007 Writer's Digest

I stumbled upon this article right before my ETCWC presentation. I couldn't wait to share it with other writers. According to the article, Seal Press encourages authors to set up websites before their book comes out. There are a few things I see stand in the way of this: money, skills, and time.  Blogs can break down those barriers because they require minimal money and skills. You still have to make time, but you have to spend time marketing your book anyway.

The focus of the article is how much of your content to give away, so Jenna Glatzer covers more than just blogs in the piece. A big take away from the article would be to limit your promotional time, whether through blogs or other means. "If you spend more time on your blog than writing your book, something's off, " she says.

That is something to be aware of, but don't let it deter you from blogging. Barbara Curtis and Susan Albert are two examples of how blog writing and book writing can co-exist in an author's life. Though a lot of their blog content is either directly or indirectly related to their books, that's not a hard and fast rule. For example, Jenna (the article author) takes her "promotional cap off" on her blog and talks more about the non-writing parts of her life. Either way readers become a bit more familiar with the authors through their blogs, which is strengthens the authors' web presence. Can people find you on the web?

Now, go get your blog on.

Lifehacker: Blog to Book

"More than ever before, literary agents are paying attention to quality weblogs, and publishers are looking for someone with writing chops and a fresh take on a topic." - Gina Trapani, author, Lifehacker blog and Lifehacker book

Gina offers excellent advice on how to Turn Your Blog into a Book. She started the Lifehacker blog in 2005. Two years later the Lifehacker book was published. She didn't start her blog wanting to convert it to a book, but she offers help to those who might have that in mind.Tips on writing the blog,the necessity of an agent and info about the proposal are covered. She links, of course, to her agent's tips on going from blog to book.

Gina will be speaking at the BlogHer '07 conference session "Blog to Book and Back Again."

Get Your Blog on Google

Here's how to get your blog recognized by Google. It's no guarantee of where you will show up in the search results, but you have to get out there.   

The most basic thing to do is submit your URL/web address to Google here. 

You can also "claim your blog" at Technorati by going here.  They ask you to join, but it's fairly painless.

Your site can also be submitted to Icerocket, another search engine.

If you use Typepad, your posts are automatically submitted to Google and Technorati. I don't know that it would matter one way or the other if you go ahead and initially submit your blog manually to those two.

If you use other blog providers, feel free to comment and let us know if they autmatically submit your posts to search engines.

For more resources about this, check out Problogger's, Services to Ping.  If you really want more info, don't forget the "related posts" at the end of the post.  Sensory Overload Warnings: there is a lot of info there. Don't get overwhelmed.

There are tons of sites about increasing your page rank, etc. Take a few minutes to submit your blog, but don't let it take away from your time writing good content.

Now, go get your blog on.

From Basketball to Blogging to Book Author

"To the general public, I'm a basketball player who has become marginally well-known because I wrote a blog while playing for the Phoenix Suns." - book author Paul Shirley on his MySpace homepage.

While in the kitchen I usually listen to our local sports talk radio station. Today on The Jim Rome Show I heard Paul Shirley promoting his book, Can I Keep My Jersey? What's the writer/blogging connection?

During the interview Jim Rome mentioned Paul Shirley's blog a few times. Shirley said it was cathartic for him to write his blog and his book. Naturally, my ears perked up at the word blog in a conversation with an author. Being a basketball fan and blog fan, and because the interview was entertaining, I wanted to check out Shirley's blog and book.

After a bit of googling the only active blog I found was on MySpace. (You have to be his friend to use it.) So, he doesn't currently have an easily accessible public blog.

I did find a few archived blogs:

My So Called Career - His basketball journal on ESPN.com. The last entry was in July 24, 2006 and required a subscription.

There are two Phoenix Suns playoff blog, both from 2005:

Road Ramblings, last entry March 2005.

The Paul Shirley Show, last entry June 2005.

According to the intro on his Suns' blogs, Shirley's online diaries

"caused quite the stir among media members, who were equally surprised and entertained by his unique and honest insight into life in the NBA. Shirley's daily blog was mentioned on ESPN's "Cold Pizza" and on ESPN.com, and was covered in several newspapers around the country, including USA Today."

There's an example of a blog getting noticed by the MSM. Of course it doesn't hurt that the blogger is a pro-basketball player. There's a built in platform for an author, albeit he's an admitted basketball vagabond, not an All-Star, but even a 12th man on an NBA roster gets attention simply by his profession.

For those of us who aren't professional athletes, it's still a testament to the possibility of blogging for writers and for publicity. After all, can you name the 12th man on any of the other NBA teams?

Now, go get your blog on.

 

Blogs as Platforms for Writers

"Platform is all about a writer showing they can get people's attention. Publishers need authors' help to get books into the market." - Terry Whalin from an 6/5/07 online Q&A session, Ask Terry.

Here are some notes I took on the conversation.

Someone asked how important platform is for an author. Terry said it was all important, especially for non-fiction writers. 90% of non-fiction books never earn back their advance. Writers with established audiences are important because of overcrowded markets.

He said it's sometimes hard for writers to see how to build a platform. Options he mentioned were the internet, speaking, being prolific with writing or collaborating with someone high profile. Be creative.

He didn't specifically mention blogging, but that falls under the internet category. It's also creative.

Since he mentioned non-fiction, let's think about that. Build your blog on your proposed book's topic. Don't use book material for the blog. Though it might work for some people, a general rule would be to supplement your material. Maybe you could use some of the things you had to cut. Maybe you wanted to go more in depth, but didn't have room.

It takes time to build your blog readership, but it can be done. Then you can use your blog stats in your book proposal to demonstrate an interest in your topic and writing style. It won't make you rejection proof, but if you can show a publisher you've developed an audience, that's one more thing in your favor.

Go get your blog on.