By Anne R. Allen.
This week, Jane Friedman reports some bad news for new novelists who want to go the traditional publishing route. She says fiction markets are increasingly “more competitive and risk-averse due to continued dwindling sales.” And she tells us that agents and publishers are now combing queries looking for “authors who demonstrate they have a vision for their career and the marketing work involved in that career.”
So how can you show “vision” and an aptitude for “marketing work”...before you query?
One way is blogging.
And if you decide to go indie and skip those risk-averse publishers, you’ll need even more vision and marketing skills. In order to sell in any significant numbers, you’ll want to establish your brand before you send your baby out into the marketplace.
So how can you do that?
By blogging.
Yeah, yeah. I know people are telling you blogging is totally over. It’s soooo 2008. You should be, like, Instagramming your summer vacay pix, and doing YouTube videos about your characters’ makeup and fashion tips, not *gasp* writing. Words are so old school.
Funny thing. If you write, you want to reach readers.
Guess what readers do? Yeah. They read. Words. Written words.
All writers need to be on social media these days—and a blog is the only social medium where you’re in control and can truly establish your brand. Your Facebook page’s reach gets more restricted all the time. Twitter can be cacophonous and troll-infested. Google Plus has become Cyber-Siberia. And Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram are all about images.
But you’re a writer. This is your medium. It’s what you do. So if you don’t yet have a blog, do consider it. If you had one and let it die, you might think about resurrecting it (much better for SEO than starting a new one.)
I’m not talking about 3-times a week power-blogging or trying to make a business of it. I’m talking about Slow Blogging. The take-it-easy way of interacting with potential readers and fellow authors that only takes a few hours a week.
Blogging is a Powerful Marketing Tool, but Not for Direct Sales
I’m also not telling you to use blogging to hawk your wares. Blogging is simply a tool for networking and establishing your brand.
Using a blog for nothing but pitching your book is pointless. Most people won’t visit a blog if it’s all “buy my book” all the time. That’s like a TV show that has no content and all ads.
No social medium is about hard sales. Social media is about making friends, networking and letting people know who you are (also known as “building your brand”.)
Once people know you, they’ll be more likely to buy your book than if you throw your title at random strangers.
That’s why blogging can be a powerful marketing tool, even if you’ve been publishing for a while. If readers can get to know you via blogging, they’re much more likely to become true fans who will look for each new book as it comes out.
Blog Tours Are a Lot Cheaper Than IRL Book Tours
I’m amazed at how many new writers still think a book launch involves an expensive party at a local bookstore. Or a big splash (with lots of pricey swag) at a nearby book fair.
Today, a writer’s market is global. And blogging is the best way to reach the most number of readers all over the planet. You can reach more readers with one blogpost than with months of those painfully ill-attended “signings” or those $1000-a-pop book fair booths.
I’m not saying you need to go on an expensive blog tour, either. An informal series of guest posts and interviews with other writer-bloggers in your genre can get your book in front of just as many potential readers.
For the launch of my latest book The Author Blog, I booked a few guest visits to blogs like Fiction University and Romance University and the Insecure Writers’ Support Group. Every one of those posts generated over 50 sales.
Very few writers I know can sell 50 copies at a bookstore signing or reading. Most consider a personal appearance a success if they sell 10 or 12.
Factor in the cost of refreshments, flyers, and renting the venue, and I think you can see why a blog tour works better. (Plus you can do the whole thing in your sweatpants and Crocs.)
The Benefits of Blogging
You don’t even need to have your own blog in order to benefit from blogging. Guest blogging is one of the best ways to 1) get your blogging feet wet. 2) spread the word about your writing. 3) Launch a new title.
But starting your own blog is easier than you think. And it can be absolutely free. A blog at Blogspot.com, Wix, Medium, or WordPress.com costs nothing.
Here are some other reasons for blogging.
A blog…
- makes a new author visible online and gets a name into search engines.
- allows an author to relate one-on-one with potential readers.
- connects with other authors and publishing professionals.
- puts YOU in the driver’s seat.
- lets you show off your writing chops
- gives you a regular writing venue
- unlike a newsletter, it attracts NEW readers, not just the already-subscribed.
How Blogging Revived my Career
My blog sure has made all the difference in my own career.
A decade ago, my career was over. My publisher had gone under. Agent #5 had dropped me. My freelancing jobs had dried up.
I was bloodying my knuckles on the doors of agents and publishers, invisible to Google.
So I started a blog. And yeah, nobody read it. But traffic started to pick up after the first six months. Then I started to network with helpful people.
Fast forward a few years and miracles started to happen.
- Publishers came to me—I didn’t have to query.
- One of my idols, Ruth Harris, the NYT million-copy seller became my blog partner.
- Another NYT bestseller, Catherine Ryan Hyde., invited me to co-write a book with her
- Writers’ conferences invited me to be a presenter.
- Magazines and anthologies solicited my work.
- High-circulation publications from slick fashion magazines to the American Bar Association Journal contacted me when they wanted an interview, because the first thing that came up in a Google search on various subjects was posts from my blog.
- I was invited to contribute to the Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market
- I now have 12 books in print and two were on the Amazon humor bestseller list for over a year, sometimes outselling my idols, Janet Evanovich and Douglas Adams.
Blogging Can be the Key to Career Success.
And I’m not the only author who’s found blogging the key to career success. Listen to what Nat Russo said after an expensive launch that failed to make any book sales.
“I slashed the number of book ads…and went back to blogging…sales rocketed…they leaped from 3/day to over 70/day, where they’ve remained ever since.”
That’s right. He stopped buying advertising and went back to blogging. That took him from a negative bottom line to making a nice living from his books.
And not only is a blog free, it doesn’t have to take much time. I’ve never blogged more than once a week. A working fiction writer doesn’t need to post as often as the “monetized” blogger. More on this in my blogpost 9 Tips for a Successful Author Blog.
What Authors Most Benefit from Blogging?
Okay, not all authors get the same benefits from a blog.
If you write nonfiction—yes! A blog is going to help your career. A lot. A blog is the quickest way to establish yourself as an authority and draw an audience before you publish. If you’re going the trad. route, a strong blog and social media following is going to be an important part of your book proposal.
For novelists, it depends. Not all fiction writers can turn out nonfiction pieces week after week, and a blog may seem take too much time from your WIP. But even a once a month blog can help establish your brand and get you in touch with your readers and the other authors who can help with your career. It’s also the easiest way to build a mailing list.
If you write for children, you may feel that blogging wouldn’t be all that useful. But blogging can reach parents, teachers and librarians. They’re the people who are most likely to be actually buying the books. Even if you don’t have a blog, plan some guest posts that will reach the adults who buy children’s books. (NOTE: Children’s books are the least likely to succeed as indies, so make sure you’re very good at marketing if you decide to go indie with a kid’s book.)
If you’re wondering what on earth you could blog about, I’ve got some suggestions in my post cleverly titled “What Should an Author Blog About?”
Don’t let Blogging Interfere with your WIP
A whole lot of the advice you read about blogging has nothing to do with author blogging. It’s about business blogging. Business blogging has a lot of rules. And a lot of competition. Plus a lot of people who will shame you if you’re not pushing that puppy 24/7, posting daily, and madly promoting it on social media.
Ignore the noise.
Blogging once a week is fine for an author blog. It establishes you as a professional and allows you to interact with readers. But if you’re in the middle of an inspired writing streak, just post a little message for your followers saying . “Gone Writing. Back Soon.” It also might be nice to leave a small hint about what you’re writing. Your readers do want to know that. But don’t apologize. Just go write.
Your WIP should always come first. It’s why you’re blogging in the first place. And no matter what agents are saying about demanding marketing skills, the #1 thing they’re looking for is a top-notch, tightly written book.
How about you, scriveners? Do you blog? Has it helped your career? Do you find it helps you with networking? How often do you blog? Have you started a blog and let it go dormant? Would you consider restarting if you could ignore the “blogging rules”?
by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) July 15, 2018
BOOK OF THE WEEK
I’ve talked my publisher into keeping the ebook at $2.99 for the summer!
at Nook, Kobo, Apple, and Amazon.
Also available at Scribd, Playster, 24 Symbols
Available in Paperback from Amazon and Barnes and Noble
OPPORTUNITY ALERTS
ARTS AND LETTERS UNCLASSIFIABLES CONTEST Have a piece that doesn’t fit in a genre? Or it’s not quite poetry OR prose? This the contest for you! $8 ENTRY FEE. This contest is for unclassifiable works: works that blur, bend, blend, erase, or obliterate genre and other labels. Works of up to 5,000 words considered. $500 prize. Deadline July 31, 2018.
ORISON BOOKS ANTHOLOGY $15 ENTRY FEE. They’re looking for spiritual/literary poetry, fiction and essays for their next anthology. $500 cash prize as well as publication in The Orison Anthology. Submit up to three poems, one work of fiction or nonfiction up to 8,000 words. Deadline August 1, 2018
UNO PRESS PUBLISHING LAB PRIZE For book-length fiction. Any genre. $18 ENTRY FEE. The University of New Orleans Press is looking for full-length fiction manuscripts, either novels or short story collections, for the fourth annual Publishing Lab Prize. The selected author will receive a $1,000 advance on royalties and a contract to publish their winning manuscript with UNO Press. Deadline August 15, 2018.
Stories That Need to be Told Contest from Tulip Tree press. $20 entry fee.. $1,000 prize for a poem, a short story, or an essay that “tells a story.” Also publication in the anthology, Stories That Need to Be Told. Up to 10,000 words. Categories: Passion, Depth, Humor, Love. Deadline August 26.
Glimmer Train Fiction Open. $3000 prize for a short story. Second prize $1000. Entry fee $21. Any subject or theme. From 3000 to 20,000 words Deadline August 31
13 Imprints of Big 5 publishers who take unagented submissions. From the good people at Authors Publish Magazine.
48 Small Presses looking for children’s books. Collated and vetted by Authors Publish magazine. (Great resource!)
Good info, Anne. I agree with what you say about social media–especially Facebook.
Fiction authors can increase future readership by posting occasional pieces of flash fiction, especially if the pieces have been previously published in reputable literary journals. Prospective readers often become fans after they sample an author’s style.
Kathy–You’re right about flash fiction. Or poetry. I used to believe the gurus who said “only nonfic on your blog.” But I think that’s changed. As long as it’s piece that’s short enough for one blogpost, it can attract new readers. Thanks for the tip!
Blogging as a fiction writer is a lot harder than non-fiction. I remember when everyone first started talking about how to market online and the non-fiction people were all like “Blog about a subject as an expert.” That advice still leads newbie writers to blog about how to write, attracting other newbie writers who are probably not going to read the book. The other piece of advice was to pick a subject you researched from the book and blog on that. I did that with cowriter on Civil War. We got history buffs wandering in to look at the articles on historical firearms. They were more interested in finding out how much Great-grandpappy’s rifle was worth than buying books. The result was that we got questions about gun value that had nothing to do with the book. A lot of questions.
Also use the tools available to you to help manage your time and don’t cause self-inflicted damage. A writer was fussing about blog posts cutting into her writing time. What she was doing was waiting until the day the post was scheduled and scrambling to find a top, then writing, and doing multiple revisions of the post. I suggested she write the posts at a different time–she could do several at once–and schedule them with the blog’s tools. And she had a meltdown, saying she wasn’t a hack. Not sure what that had to do with time management…needless to say, she’s no longer blogging or writing.
Linda–There’s sooo much bad advice about blogging out there. An author blog can be anything an author wants it to be–just a way to interact with people who might be interested in your books. That whole “niche” thing doesn’t apply. How annoying to have to deal with people who wanted free antique appraisals.
And as for the poor writer who thought writing polished blogpsts was being a “hack”–I guess she thinks all journalists and magazine writers are hacks? A blog is like your own “Oprah” magazine. And we need to treat it like a magazine. You research a topic, write about it, edit it, proofread it and plan for it to be published at a certain time. I’m not surprised that deluded writer didn’t last very long in the business!
Yay, Anne! Vive le blog!
Ruth–We’ve done pretty well for ourselves here, haven’t we?. We’ve been blogging together for 7 years! Maybe we should celebrate that anniversary!
Champagne’s on me! Brand is your choice! 😉
Blogging (and starting it a year before my first book came out) was the one thing I did right in the beginning. And now coming up on nine years later, I’m still blogging.
It does lead to other opportunities, like you meeting Ruth and blogging with her. I never would’ve started the IWSG without blogging.
Alex–You are such a blogging success story! Not only did blogging propel you to a bestselling career, but you started one of the best writing groups on the Web. The Insecure Writers Support Group is at the top of my list for writer networking and support. Congrats on all you’ve accomplished!
Hello Anne,
Thank you for this post!
As an aspiring author, blogging has really helped me. Committing to publish a post once per week (definitely slow blogging) has allowed me to practice my writing.
Also, blogging has led me to other bloggers/authors such as you! That’s a gem in itself. All I want now is to have more time to read and write!
Best,
Sigrid
Sigrid–I’m so glad to hear blogging is helping you! You don’t have to call yourself “aspiring” anymore, because as a blogger, you’re a published writer!
And the networking with other bloggers is the secret sauce to blogging. That’s where it all happens. It’s like getting into A-list parties where you get to network with movers and shakers. I know a lot of authors who found their agents and publishers through blogging. Enjoy the “slow’ ride!
Hi Anne, Great piece that reminds me how important blogging is for authors – both fiction and non-fiction. I’ve been blogging for 6 years and have slowly built a steady and supportive following. I’d say the biggest return is the number of contacts I’ve made and the opportunities that came from my posts. My take is that blogging is so important for expanding an author’s career that you can’t afford not to blog. BTW, I always look forward to Sunday mornings and opening your blog 🙂
Gary–Networking is what it’s all about, isn’t it? Contacts and opportunities don’t magically appear once you write “the end” on that novel. But if you blog, they’re a lot more likely to come knocking. I’m so glad our blog is something you look forward too. Thanks!!
Perfect Anne! You had me this week at the “B” of blog, as I’m sure you know. My biggest problem is dividing time, I like writing the tales and blogging almost equally.
I admit, though I’m gobsmacked to think that blogging could work well enough to ease off advertising! I’m still “buying” that notion that ads are what it takes to really launch me outside the circle of family and FB friends. But I keep trying different things over on the blog and :: shrugs:: people seem to like it, plus did I mention I like it. Either one would be good enough!
Epic fantasy might have it a bit easier, presuming some kind of interest. Because you can be the expert (if you write from the old legendarium style, single world with tons of details), and the pricing/historical value questions are not there to pull you away. Of course if your readers don’t want or like that detail, less effective. But I have found that musing on my world with relation to the Alleged Real one has been fruitful for my efforts.
Will–I think you have an ideal author blog. You have all the world-building stuff for loyal fans of your fantasy books, and you also have opinion and general interest pieces and right now you’re teaching us to record audiobooks. (Which mostly goes over my head. I’m so happy Charlie Perryess records my books and I don’t have to get into that tech stuff that hurts my head. But you explain it in a way that even technomorons can understand.)
As far as buying advertising, it’s becoming more and more competitive out there. But a lot of advertising will work better if people have heard of you. And blogging is the best way to make sure they have. 🙂
I’ve been blogging going 12 years, and I’m a bit nonplussed about how it has impacted my writing career. I originally started blogging not so much to pimp my writing (although it’s very good for practicing/honing those writing chops) but to get away from those pesky censorship issues that I was experiencing in the chat rooms.
I ultimately became very well known as a blogger (at one point, had over 130+ subscribers) in my little niche, but it had very limited impact in regards to my writing. I still blog once a week on another platform (did Blogger for about 11) and pop my links in FB about twice a week for some added exposure. My writing hasn’t suffered and in fact in a weird way, I’ve been motivated to write more after cutting my blogging down to once a week.
Now I write to create fodder for my blog as opposed to blogging to create fodder for my writing.
G.B. Twelve years is quite an accomplishment! Congrats. I’d say you’ve found your medium. At least one of them. There’s nothing wrong with having a blog as your main publishing venue.
A once-a-week blog works great for me. I’m glad to hear it’s working for you!
The world including the publishing market is becoming more diverse because the market created by editors and publishers is so robust from maniacal “thrillers” preventing world disasters to maniacal dystopian fantasies to maniacal horror all flooding the market. The focus is emotional thrill. In that mix is traditional fiction often becoming a crime drama. This chaotic literary flood is our publishing world.
What kind of world that has been created described in fiction like Melville’s Typee and other classic works of Mark Twain or Somerset Maugham or even Lazarillo de Tormes, published in 1554 has more to inform us of the human condition and frailty and corruption than all these modern maniacal fits of manipulation of emotion for the cash register. Without knowing who we are ensures our destiny to fools.
Henry–Big 5 Publishing does tend to go for the same-old/same-old in terms of popular fiction. But there’s still great literary fiction being written and published by the big guys.
I’m reading George Saunders’ story collection The10th of December right now, and he offers some powerful writing about the human condition. And one of the top selling books on Amazon last year was Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, written in the 1980s, but even more relevant now.
But the Big 5 no longer are the only ones providing us with literature. There are also self-publishers who are doing very well in today’s new publishing paradigm .Reading blogs is one of the best way to find their books.
This post is about how blogging can help those authors find an audience.
Hey Anne — As you know, I blog (a pal named Anne suggested it about 6 years ago). Like you, I post weekly. Since I’ve always been a word-inspired guy, I write about etymologies & such. Admittedly, I have a heap more fun writing fiction, but I love the discipline of having to do a little weekly research into subjects I enjoy. Plus, I get weekly visits from luminaries in the literary world.
Hey, Charlie, keep writing your blog, I love it!
CS–I prefer writing fiction too, but blogging has turned out to be so much more fun than I thought! And it does give us head-in-the-clouds fiction writers some. discipline.
I agree with you about blogging. It’s still my favorite social media. It seems every week or so I read a post from someone saying don’t waste your time with a blog and then another post with an opposing view. I often wonder if the short attention spans needed for Instagram and Twitter really interpret to the users being readers.
Susan–I see those posts too. But those people are reacting to the decline in monetized blogging, not author blogs. It’s hard to start a blog these days and make a living wage from it–because all that stuff has shifted to YouTube, but an author isn’t blogging for advertising dollars. The blog IS our advertising. .
My blog has won me appearances on podcasts, it’s helped me build my mailing list, and it’s a FUN part of my marketing. I’m all for blogging as a fiction author!
Icy–It sounds as if your blog has paid off in networking the way mine has. It DOES help sell fiction!
Hi, Anne! I revived my blogging this summer because of a three-state road trip. It offered a great excuse to create RoadBroads with a writing friend as we drove to a writing retreat. Your post today serves as perfect reminder to get back in the blogging saddle a month after I returned from the retreat, exhausted. Thanks for the permission to drop down to weekly blogging. Three weeks of daily posting wiped out both me and my friend. But the concept is great, the blogging is vital, and it’s time to re-motivate before the summer’s gone. Truth is, we all take road trips routinely — not just in the summer — a trip to the grocery might offer a catchy post, eh?
Melanie–RoadBroads is a great title! And you’re right that there are lots of different kinds of roads. Some go to the grocery store and some go to the stars. It’s all fodder for a writer!
And once a week is plenty. For your readers as well as for you. 🙂
I still enjoy blogging. I think it’s one of the best ways to communicate with potentials readers and writers (who help keep me going!) I blog twice a month, which worth (novelist here) and I tweet. I joined the hashtag games for writers, which I think is a nice way to get the muse going and people interested in what your writing.
Yeah, I have Instagram too but that for posting purty stuff I see. 😉
HR–Blogging is about communication, and that can go both ways. Hearing from your readers can really keep you going through the rough spots as you say. Twice a month is plenty.
I don’t know about #gamesforwriters. I’ll have to check it out!
A good one to start with is #authorconfession
Thank you for this, Anne. It validates everything I hold to be true. And working on your blog or working on your WIP doesn’t have to be an either or–there are so many ways to marry the two. Blog on…
Leanne–I know you’ve been an avid blogger as long as I have. I do feel it’s not either /or for me. Both are part of my writing schedule.
Hi Anne, I think the operative phrase in your blog this week is “Fast forward a few years…” in the section where you talk about building traffic to your blog. I think that absolutely sums it up for bloggers who might get discouraged by the lack of readers. It does take time, which is why any author, fiction or non-fiction, should set up a website and start blogging way before he/she is finished with a WIP.
I slow blog and post religiously once a week at the same time every week. Like you say, having a blog is like having your own Oprah magazine ( and as a former newspaper journalist I really love that aspect) It takes a while to figure out what your best topics are and what readers really enjoy about your blog.
I write in a handful of broad categories including a section I call Behind the Scenes which is about writing a book and what I’ve learned from various seminars, writing workshops, online classes and bootcamps, writers’ groups and websites and so on. As for photos, I don’t bother with Instagram or Facebook, I post those on my blog, too when I have a nice summer feature or photos from location research. In fact, the photo blogs are some of the most popular I’ve posted.
I have always appreciated the good advice from this blog as well as from your book. Your advice and tips always make sense, and are very reassuring for new bloggers. In a world where there is so much conflicting advice, you are always consistent, and so far your advice is working for me.
Joanna–Thanks so much for letting me know our advice is working for you! I know it conflicts with a lot of the “gurus” out there, but I know what works for Ruth and me. We find that consistent blogging and consistent top-notch books are the way to keep our careers on track. Gimmicks come and go.
Sharing your writing info in some posts and appealing to your readers in others is probably the wisest route. We started here writing for writers, so we each have to have our author blogs as well, but I believe that integrating those two aspects of your writing life is actually the best path.
Yes I blog. Have since before my first book came out (there are 15 now). Actually, I’m afraid to quit! I have no idea how many people who read my blog actually buy my books. But since I write comedies, and the blogs are usually humour blogs, it can’t hurt. It’s the same audience.
The one thing I definitely second: it did make a difference to publishers. The first thing they did is look up my website and blog. When they saw I was well-established, it made a difference. So I tell my students exactly what you’ve said in this post, Anne. I aim for once a week, and my audience is pretty steady. No excuse for writers’ block, if you have a blog! Just leave the WIP and cater to your weekly audience 🙂
Melodie–“Bad Girl Comedy” is a fun blog that I’m sure draws in new readers for your books. Sharing your stand-up comedy with potential readers has to be one of the best ways to get interest in your funny books.
I just finished “Rowena and the Dark Lord”. I think you need to write more Rowena books. It got me through 8 hours in the hospital emergency room. Yeah. Don’t ask..:-(
If you hadn’t contacted me through this blog, I would never have discovered Rowena, and who knows–I might have died of boredom in that emergency room.
Yeah. Blogging works. Big time. For publishers and readers alike.
I love it that you tell us about your personal experiences and what worked and didn’t work for you. It really is helpful for us trying to climb this ladder. I agree with you 100 percent about all of this and I’ve heard about the blogging alternative from my publicist as well. I have re-started blogging once a month and I know that the “book signing” thing is not the way to go, and am hoping this helps me. It feels good to hear it from someone else who knows, i.e. you. Thank you, Anne.
Patricia–Yes, blogging and blog tours work for me. And it’s not just me. Catherine Ryan Hyde, who has sold 3 million copies in the past 3 years, has given up personal appearances for blogging these days after years of book tours that even included an appearance on the Today Show. Blogging works better!
I’m glad to hear you’ve started your blog again. Once a month blogging is still going to sell more books than one of those bookstore signings where 90% of the people are your friends and family who already bought the book. And drink all your wine. 🙂
Hi Anne, this is very reassuring to read. Although I’ve been published for (coughs into hand) years, I resisted blogging because there was so much already out there, and even weekly felt like an imposition. Then I realised I could blog about what it’s really like to be a writer, stuff few blogs talk about, such as the constant fear, self doubt, family and time pressures, missing muses, in short our everyday writing life. I love doing it and the interaction is rewarding. I’m really slow, only posting on the First Monday of each month, though I’d swear there are more “first Mondays” than there used to be. Love your blog and look forward to where you take it, thank you.
Valerie–Yes! I think it’s a conspiracy. Somebody is putting way too many Mondays into the calendar. 🙂
I wanted to fit it into the title of this post, but the truth is blogging can help a long-established author even more than the newbie. You already have readers, but now they can hang out with you and find out what your life is really like and what are the stories behind the stories.
That once a week interaction with them is marketing gold!
Hi Anne, you’re so right about blogging being the only place for writers to say so much more. I’ve not been blogging for a while now, but hoping to pick up the pace at some point. Your post inspired me enough to at least leave a note of such on my blog today.
I always enjoy reading your blog.
Have a nice week.
Jacqueline–I think you’ll benefit from reviving your blog. It may take a while to get your readers to find you again, but it’s worth it to go through some time of feeling you’re blogging for the crickets. The main thing about an author blog is that you can be real and be yourself. Even if only a handful of people interact, that’s more than will be hooked by a random tweet or Instagram pix from your summer vacay.
Thanks, Anne. I quite agree with a number of your statements. I launched a blog almost 11 years go now. I don’t post to a schedule or follow any number of rules. I’ve found it very useful for:
– developing readership
– finding out what topics people were interested in
– practice writing in my genre
– exploring ways to communicate abstract ideas
– and have fun sharing
– its given me a web presence on a number of related topics
– it does most of my marketing. 🙂
I started with a free blog and migrated to a paid one once traffic warranted it. The blog automatically adds posts into other social media so people can subscribe that way if they prefer. Interacting on others related blogs got me the most readers early on. An online interview brought the next big surge. As a nonfiction writer, I also speak at related conferences but as you mention, this brings only modest sales. The greater value is bringing those talks back to a much larger online audience afterwards.
I had a book launch at a free space in a local library, with some support from a local writers society. It apparently went very well as I sold quite a few. But I wouldn’t expect this to be repeated on a tour where i’m unknown. My readership is scattered the world over so it would take an epic tour beyond my budget. 🙂
David–This is all stuff I talk about in my book on The Author Blog. Blogging has so many benefits! It gets you into search engines and establishes you as an authority as well as giving you a weekly writing venue.
People with a big audience do generally want to go to a self-hosted blog. We made the move about 4 years ago after our Blogger blog got pirated. But many authors can keep their freebie blogs for a long time. I still have a freebie Blogger blog as well as this one.
And you brought up a major point: Your biggest surges in sales are going to come from guest blogs. This blog was invisible until Jan. 2010 when I got a guest spot on Nathan Bransford’s blog. The biggest breakthrough of my life. Everything happened so fast after that. Within a year, I was an Amazon bestseller.
And today’s market is global! A guest spot on a South African site may sell more books than weeks touring the US. The world is smaller these days and that’s a good thing for authors!
Thanks for this. You pushed me to finish an article, the first this month.
Ned–Yay!!! I’m so glad I inspired you!
Go, Anne! There are so many good reasons to blog. Better link juice for your author site, plus if someone checks your website it shows you are still in the game. I do interviews with fellow mystery authors and always check their website before inviting them to appear. If they have a blog and the latest post is relatively recent, I know they are still active and likely to respond to my invitation.
As a result, I look at alot of author websites and have noticed some trends. Many nonfiction authors blog about their research, which is relatively easy. Fiction authors tend to give advice on the craft of writing for other authors, announce book releases, offer flash fiction or excerpts, or post about their research. “Behind-the-scenes” posts seem to get the most traction with readers based on number of reader comments but are the hardest IMHO to post with regularity.
Blog design shouldn’t be overlooked, either. Make your blog easy to read with clean fonts and pale background.
Carmen–Good point about how regular blogging keeps you “in the game.” A static website usually offers very little in terms of recent information. You’ve got a great blog and I was honored to be interviewed!
Thanks for the important tip about design! Light backgrounds and easy to read fonts are a necessity. Light text on dark is hard to read and will drive away readers.
Your posts on slow-blogging were a big part of why I became a blogger. From 14 visitors in April of 2015, to 498 visitors last month, I’m slowly but steadily finding an audience.
(702 visitors and 1048 views on my best month ever.)
Morgan–Congrats on the numbers! That’s awesome. I’m so glad to hear my slow blogging advice works so well!
This post was timely.
I’d read it twice. Time for a comment.
As someone who started blogging two years ago, I can say the greatest benefit (or is that byproduct) is helping me find my author voice and forcing me to write at least three times a week about topics I care about. Topics which hopefully will find their way into my writing.
Thanks for your kind support, Anne and for being a nexus for other writers.
I don’t think I am any closer to publication than when I began blogging but baby steps towards big goals add up eventually.
I think of my blog as my own virtual business card.
Another home run from you, Miss Allen!
Ingmar–I just wrote you a long answer and the WP elves decided to block it and make me sign into the blog again. It’s been that kind of day. No Internet for an hour this morning. Sigh.
Sounds like you’re really working that blog. Honing your craft is going to get you closer to publication, so I’d say you’re on exactly the right path!
Thanks again, Anne.
You rock!
Anne, I’ve been blogging about twice a month on my website for three years. I have no idea if it helps my sales or not. I seem to get about 200 individual visits every week…but that could be twenty people visiting ten different times each, I suppose.
I usually blog about what I’m reading or what I’m writing. For example, I featured a review of Fifty Shades of Grey a few months ago. I’m also sure to mention your blog once every couple of months.
I just established an Author page on Face Book that features excerpts from my four published novels, which I add to about every ten days. I blatantly declare that the reason for the teasers is to encourage enough interest to get people to buy the books.
Can you give me some more info on how to guest blog?–where to look, how to approach, etc?
Thanks for all you do for us!
Fred–It sounds as if you’ve got things established and you just need to get out and network to bring people to your blog. Guest blogging is a great way to do that. I don’t have room to put all that info into a comment, but there’s a whole chapter on guest blogging in my book. Plus several on how to get more traffic. Only 3 bucks. Such a deal! 🙂
I’ve been preaching the blog for years. WE own the content. The blog only gets stronger with time and attention. It’s the only social media that can eventually be monetized (sponsors, ads, blog-to-book). We can actually SELL books and merch off our blog (site). Blogs have been around since the 90s and have REMAINED even as countless other social sites have come and gone (*cough* MySpace*). I’ve never understood author aversion to a blog. Writers WRITE. And, yes, I see that nonsense that blogs are over, too. They said that back when I started and now I have 1.1 million visits a a month which includes 50, 000 unique visitors who’ve left almost 76, 000 comments. And I write on a highly NICHE topic. I fail to see how an author’s ability to take pictures and use filters demonstrates writing ability. Pinterest, to me, demonstrates we’re spending too much time web surfing instead of writing (which is why I avoid it because it IS addictive and fun. Few things can power an author brand like a blog. We get to know the author’s voice, style, skill level, professionalism, and dependability. If someone blogs hot and heavy for a month, then disappears for six and only posts when they want something (us to BUY a book)? Likely a bad investment for a publisher. Thanks Anne! I have been reading your blog for years and you’ve been reading mine. Feels like we should form a club, LOL. Old Dog Blogs 😀 .
Kristen–Preach it, sister! I agree with you 100%. In fact a lot of stuff I’ve learned about social media and blogging I’ve learned from you.
I left a comment on your fantastic post yesterday, but I think it got eaten by the blog gremlins. I loved that post so much I wanted to give it a hug. I HATE newsletters. Except about three I have been getting since the days before blogging. And that’s because they have information I can’t find anywhere else. I unsubscribe from dozens every month and report them for spam. The newsletter thing is out of hand.
My friend Catherine Ryan Hyde uses a blog and social media–mostly FB–to give away books and keep in touch with her readers. She says she refuses to spam her readers with newsletters. Hasn’t hurt her sales one bit. She’s sold over 3 million books in the past 3 years.
As you say in your post, blog first. If you can get fans there who actually want more of your deathless prose in their inbox, then send the newsletter, but I don’t know when people find time to write a newsletter, blog, have a social media presence, AND actually write books.
I think maybe we should form a club. Blog Jedi unite!! Keep up the fantastic work you do. I recommend you all the time! Thanks for stopping by.
This is so true. I’ve turned to kids poetry, since that’s one of the things I want to write in the “real world” and I haven’t felt this motivated about blogging in years.
Sarah–How awesome to be writing kids poetry. I know my love of words and poetry came from the verses I read as a child. I can still remember many of them.
Great to hear you’re feeling so motivated about your blog! I know enthusiasm can wane, and most writers abandon a blog after 3 years, but if you keep at it, a blog is the best way to further your career.
This was a wonderful post full of such good advice. I’ve been blogging for a number of years, but in recent times rather haphazardly. You post revved up my interest again on blogging more often.
Elizabeth–I’m so glad to hear this inspired you to put more energy into your blog!
Great post, Anne. I’ve been working at my blog for a couple of years now and am seeing steady growth. Better than that, I’m making connections with people from all over the world!
Jacquie–Bloggers who succeed are the ones who work at it slowly, the way you’re doing. And success can’t always be measured in $$$ but in networking contacts. Sounds like you’re doing it right!
I was signed by a publisher two months ago. My book will be out sometime at the end of the year. My publisher is located in Great Britain. When I sent my synopsis/Query and sample chapters I also sent them a link to my blog.
They didn’t ask for my blog but I sent it anyway. What do I have to lose, right?
After they signed me I looked at my stats and saw a lot of views from Britain a few days after I sent in my work. My blog is non-controversial, up beat and positive. I can’t help but think it had a lot to do with me being signed.
Bryan–Congratulations! It’s always a good idea to send a link to your blog and obviously yours paid off, big time.
Some New York agents are now asking for marketing plans in queries–even for novels–and if you have an established blog audience, that can be a big part of your marketing. I’m sure it had something to do with getting a contract. Even a great book is going to languish these days if it doesn’t have great marketing.
Thanks for sharing your good news!
Excellent article Anne and I agree completely. I have been blogging for five years now and it has not just boosted sales of my books but has provided me with a wonderful community of writers who have become friends. That community also brings access to writers, editors, proofreaders who share their skills as well as successful authors we can learn from. Without a doubt it has benefited me in many ways.
Smorgasbord–Congrats on the success of your blog! And yes–community is the most important perk of blogging as far as I’m concerned. The networking I did through my blog is what revived my career. The writing “blogosphere” is a gold mine for any author.
Thank you for this article, Anne. It is very encouraging. I do believe blogging has helped my writing a great deal. It has introduced me to lots of other writers and poets who have offered helpful advice and taught me a lot about writing skills.
Robbie–That’s the most important perk of blogging and I think it’s not stressed enough. But the networking you can make in the blogosphere is as valuable as anything you’ll do at a writer’s conference, plus it helps build a fan base at the same time. I’m glad to hear it’s been working for you!
Thanks for “permission” to blog weekly 🙂 I was starting to flog myself for the long gaps between posts. One of the reasons I wanted to revive/renew my blog was to kick-start my Muse, but so far it has felt like a burden not a joy. Obviously I’m out of sync somewhere. Glad to have found your blog. These posts may have been written awhile ago, but they are helping me today. Now I’m off to take a look at your Slow Blogging post. Thanks!
Jeanne–Once a week blogging is all most authors can handle. Author blogs are different from business blogs. Do consider taking a look at my book, the Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy Authors. Only $2.99 for the ebook and it will save you lots of time and grief.