I have been blogging for a while and like many authors I thought that my blog had to be about writing advice. Recently I have made the decision that there are more qualified people (and bloggers) that can help with advice for other writers. I don’t mind helping people out, but writing advice is not my forte.
If you feel that you are in the same predicament, here are a few pointers that could also help you out:
1. Share a story. If you are a fiction author, blog a story. I want people to read my books, so what better way than to give them a taste of my style. Stories less than 1500 words are ideal for blog posts. If you are a novel writer, like me, then the short form is a challenge on the best of days. If you cannot write a very short story, start a blog serial – post the story scene by scene or chapter by chapter. (Example The Friendship Affair)
2. Share your knowledge. If you also write non-fiction, then post about your area of expertise. Don’t make the posts too technical. I love to learn new things, and if your post tickles my interest, it would be the ideal opportunity for me to ask a question or two. Engaging readers is what we are all aiming to achieve and what better way than to use your blog for it.
3. Be a professional. You are a writer, so make sure your post is edited before posting it. Of course, the odd mistake does slip in, but it is better if your posts are edited to be free of errors. At least, do a spell and grammar check the post before posting. If you are like me and don’t have an editor on hand when I write posts in the middle of the night, an alternative is an online option such as grammarly.com.
4. Write about your writing life. Readers (and new writers) also like to know how you manage your writing, where you get your ideas from, etc. Blog about that. Your experience can be inspirational to someone else, or help them if they stuck with a similar problem but couldn’t find someone to help out.
5. Write from the heart. There is nothing as irritating as someone who wants to come across as being superior to their readers. Don’t do that, even if you write non-fiction. If you have a particular issue in your writing that you struggle with, blog about it even if you don’t have a solution yet. By doing that, you might engage with someone in the same boat, and together you can help each other. Be a real person, not a real jerk.
6. Join a blog support group on Facebook. I am fortunate that I belong to a group of awesome women who help out by giving feedback on each other blogs – posts, structure, theme and so on. I have established a relationship with them, which took time for all of us to develop. I can trust them to be open and honest, and they know they will get the same from me. While this group is for bloggers, not only authors, the benefits are there for all of us.
7. Share your posts. Some people in my Facebook group are still feeling their way around the blogosphere, and that is okay. This means that their posts are not open for anyone to read. As a supportive member of the group, I encourage them to publish and share especially if they get good feedback from the group. Sharing is important as it helps you to find more readers and followers. It also helps the search engines to find and index your blog for the reader looking for info or looking for something relaxing to read. Make sure you blog is set up that others can share your posts with their friends on social media.
There are many topics to explore when blogging, and you don’t need to feel compelled to do what others do just because you are a writer. This will be a good time to be different. Why not share some ideas of what you think writers should blog about?
Linzé Brandon is an author. You can connect with her at her blog, Butterfly on a Broomstick, and on Twitter and Facebook.