WHAT TO BLOG ABOUT

  
Blogging is a great way to get name recognition, build an audience and promote yourself.  Here are some suggestions of what to blog about on your site:

1)      Your writing process.  Blog about where you got the inspiration for the story; your research; locations where you’ve set your story.  Blog about your characters; do interviews with them.  Blog about writer’s conferences/ workshops you attend.

2)      Showcase your writing.  Post scenes, dialogue, excerpts.  It wets the reader’s appetite for more of your work.  For example, author Diana Gabaldon used to post her work on the internet for readers to critique.  By the time her book was published, she had hundreds of people waiting for it.

3)      Use pictures.  All your blog posts should contain photos.  But photos can be blogs in and of themselves.  A picture is truly worth a 1000 words so share away.  For example, flowers, dogs/cats, locations, dresses, landmarks, oceans, et al.  Put up photos of what your characters look like; photos of locations/cities where you’ve set your book.  Your readers will love it.

4)      Do interviews.  Interview other authors, editors, agents, other bloggers, librarians, booksellers.  You can also interview people that are in the same profession as your characters.  These can be great learning experiences for you and other writers and readers.

5)      Hobbies/Pets.  Yes, hobbies and pets make good blog fodder.  They are fun ways to connect with readers.  For example, author K.M. Jackson has a great blog (www.kwanawrites.com) and she always adds snippets about her dog Jack.  Readers often ask about him, and keep going back to her to hear about the dog’s antics.  Another example, author Nalini Singh (www.nalinisingh.com) writes a leopards and wolves series.  She also posts photos of cubs and pubs on her blog, and now her readers are sending her photos for her blog.  That engagement with your readers is priceless, and is what all writers want to achieve.

6)      Tie-ins topics.  These are topics that touch upon the themes in your book.  For example, if you are writing a cop thriller, blog about cops, guns, bounty hunters, etc.  If you are writing paranormals, blog about zombies, vampires, shape shifters, ghosts, angels that are in your books.  If your main character is a baseball player, blog about baseball.  Etc. Etc.  You get the idea.

7)      Blog for others.  Volunteer to blog for other authors and other writer sites.  This will expose you to other readers and help build your brand.

 

 

Happy Blogging!