Jan 182013
 

As an author I am very surprised when I find another author without a blog site and yet, on my marketing and writing adventures, I’m learning a lot about why they may not. It’s time consuming yet freeing, an outlet outside of normal “money making” avenues and with so many others blogging it’s hard to make sense of your blog standing out among the rest.

I try to post here regularly; writing more word count on my points than my works in progress, but I love it. I don’t write necessarily for the money though in the vicious circle of life where money pays the bills it would be nice to get a handsome sum for writing a regular blog leaving more time to write fiction.

So I’ve been wondering: Are you among the blogging population? Do you feel this encourages fans to meet you and buy your book? Do you just do it for the love of literacy and your passion, letting readers find you as they may?

In that sense, I get over 50 emails a week for blog posts of people I’m subscribed to. Some of which I read and comment on, others I just can’t find the time to.

If you actively blog, I don’t just mean started one months ago and abandoned it, let me know what you blog about and why.

Thanks for reading,

Sarah Butland author of Sending You Sammy, Brain Tales – Volume One and Arm Farm

  6 Responses to “Do You Blog?”

  1. Yes, I blog at least weekly, on Tuesday — My Tuesday Tales. I’ve been blogging for a year and have a loyal following. I’m tradtionally a fiction writer and author who got away from writing for some years and the blogging has gotten me back in the groove. Posts fit my lifestyle at the moment, though I know many of them will make their way into my third book.

    • I love your blog and hope to begin visiting it regularly again. I too use mine as an outlet for my writing as it’s so much easier just to free write than to think of characters and plot though I strive to keep my posts enjoyable for all readers.

      I think blogs give us the deadline we need to put in an effort and it’s so important for everyone to read that I’m sure you write for someone every time.

      Thanks for spending a moment on my site!

      Sarah

  2. I’ve been blogging for some time now. At first it was hard – I didn’t have a clue what to do with a blog, it was just one of those things I was told I needed to be more visible. Now, I rather enjoy blogging, though I still don’t post more than once a week. I just can’t seem to find the time. My main blog has gone through some evolutions over it’s life. Now I mostly blog about writing, about what I’ve learned, about how I felt when some author or other botched their book (in my opinion) in a rather big way. It’s all my opinion, and about how I digested what I’ve managed to glean from around the www about this illusive craft of writing.

    • Blogging is like running over thin ice to save your blissful child skating to his hearts content. You don’t want to discourage people with your personal writings just like you don’t want it to be just about you and your books and marketing.

      I use it as my outlet to get my fingers expressing the words I store inside while typically I write fiction. That’s where my heart is, in a world we create for friends we’ve never met, but right now as time allows my fingers are blogging.

      Thanks for sharing and keep it up!

      Sarah

  3. Hi Sarah:
    Great topic! I’ve been blogging since August of 2008 when I came back from the SCBWI LA conference and the hot topic was blogging and social networking. I have met so many wonderful teachers and authors–thanks to my blog and Facebook/Twitter. I definitely sold more books because of it–I think it is a combination of all three. And I also get speaking engagements at schools and conferences because of it. I’ve monetized it a bit, although I don’t make much. 🙂 I believe in blogging, but I think you have to be committed to trying to put up something new very week AND have a focus. So people know WHY they should check out your blog.

    • I agree but also like the personal side of some blogs, too. And as long as you’re reasonably monetizing I don’t think it’s a big concern though I’m not sure how many people have interest in the blatant ads. I think I need to make a new page more focused on my books as although I have readers and that’s wonderful, I would like to bring back the focus on my books to ensure people know they are out there.

      Thanks for sharing!

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