{"id":562,"date":"2017-01-10T19:23:02","date_gmt":"2017-01-10T19:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/?p=562"},"modified":"2022-05-30T15:41:22","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T15:41:22","slug":"how-to-promote-your-novels-by-guest-blogging","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/articles\/how-to-promote-your-novels-by-guest-blogging","title":{"rendered":"How to Promote Your Novels by Guest Blogging"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Many people will tell you that creating a blog is a great way to promote yourself and your works. \u00a0And regular blogging is great for some authors, especially for those with books about non-fiction topics such as dieting, environment or health, in which plenty is going on and their opinions may be valuable.<\/p>\n<p>But blogging for writers of fiction seems less useful. \u00a0You will mostly attract only those who already know about you and your stories. \u00a0Besides, after writing about your books, what\u2019s a novelist supposed to blog about? \u00a0Writing techniques? \u00a0Writing techniques are suitable for websites and blogs devoted to writing \u2013 but you want your blogs to attract potential readers, not just your fellow writers.<\/p>\n<p>One solution is guest blogging: writing pieces for websites and blogs run by others.<\/p>\n<h2>Some advantages to guest blogging:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>A ready-made audience. \u00a0If you create your own blog, you\u2019re going to have to depend on getting your friends and admirers to visit it and promote it. \u00a0By contributing to someone else\u2019s blog, you\u2019re promoting to that person\u2019s audience. \u00a0A whole bunch of different people will be exposed to your name.<\/li>\n<li>Stamp of approval. \u00a0If you create your own blog to promote your own works, you\u2019re blowing your own horn and many will ignore you. \u00a0But by blogging for another site, you have already been accepted by someone else, and not just anyone else, but by someone with a blog.<\/li>\n<li>Less work. \u00a0If you guest blog, you don\u2019t have to update regularly, which means you have more time for writing fiction. \u00a0You also don\u2019t have to worry about the technical aspects; someone else is in charge of web design. \u00a0Of course, you can make suggestions or attach photos if you have them.<\/li>\n<li>Networking. \u00a0You are networking, not just with the readers and subscribers of the site, but with the site owners. \u00a0They may be useful contacts, either now or in the future.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to guest blog:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Target some sites. \u00a0How do you find them? \u00a0You should look for those that complement what you are writing. \u00a0For example, my fiction falls into two main categories, mysteries based on Jane Austen\u2019s books and novels set in Greek\u2019s Bronze Age. \u00a0So I write occasional pieces for a site devoted to Jane Austen and have been reviewing the TV series\u00a0<em>Rome<\/em>\u00a0to complement the Greek-based novels. \u00a0Study your own stories and determine what aspects would give you the best target market. \u00a0Then start searching until you find a promising site.<\/li>\n<li>Study your target blog. \u00a0Some actively solicit guest posts; at others you may need to make a suggestion. \u00a0Try to understand what the blog\u2019s main goal is; you want to align your own goals, at least those in your post, to support the host blogger\u2019s. \u00a0Be mindful of the politics, the style, and the length of articles. Then you can either send an article, one or more suggestions, or both.<\/li>\n<li>Participate and promote. \u00a0If your guest blog is accepted, participate in comments, \u201clike\u201d it in whatever way you can, and link to it at your website or wherever else that is relevant. \u00a0Remember the host blogger wants to profit from\u00a0<em>your contacts<\/em>, probably as much as you want to profit from hers.<\/li>\n<li>Personal details. \u00a0Make sure to include your name, a link to your works and a short author bio that is designed for the target audience of the website. \u00a0A good picture can also help.<\/li>\n<li>Be pleasant and professional. \u00a0Even if the other blogger says no at first \u2013 which often has nada to do with you \u2013 you may establish a contact that proves useful later. \u00a0If you do get to guest blog, thank the website owner, especially if something good comes out of your experience. \u00a0For example, if you sell some novels as a result of the post, let the host blogger know.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Don\u2019t expect too much from a single blog. \u00a0Building a market takes time, effort, and luck. \u00a0And if you still want to create your own blog, go for it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","categories":[20],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/562"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}