{"id":773,"date":"2016-10-21T17:28:38","date_gmt":"2016-10-21T17:28:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/?p=773"},"modified":"2022-05-30T15:41:23","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T15:41:23","slug":"should-writers-blog-the-answer-might-surprise-you","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/articles\/should-writers-blog-the-answer-might-surprise-you","title":{"rendered":"Should Writers Blog? The Answer Might Surprise You"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>So, should writers blog?<\/p>\n<p>Yes. Absolutely.<\/p>\n<p>But also, no.<\/p>\n<p>Depending on the way you blog, your blog can be a powerful marketing tool\u2026 or a damaging, time-draining liability. Here\u2019s how to foster the first and avoid the latter.<\/p>\n<h2>Your Public Face<\/h2>\n<p>As a writer, you\u2019re no less than a public figure, and as such, your \u201cpersonal\u201d blog is your public face. You do not have the luxury of waxing poetically about what you had for breakfast, ranting about the annoying barks of the neighbor\u2019s dog, or disparaging people you don\u2019t like. Your every post should be professional and represent your author self, because that\u2019s how people will be judging it.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t worry, there\u2019s still room there to be unique and quirky and let your personality shine through!<\/p>\n<h2>Stay Focused<\/h2>\n<p>Your writer\u2019s blog has one central goal: bolstering your writing career. Ninety-nine percent of the time, avoid posting things that are irrelevant to your work. Your posts should be about the craft of writing, how your work in progress (WIP) is coming along, when your next book is going to be released, etc. That doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t mention other things that are important to you, but don\u2019t make them the central subject.<\/p>\n<h2>Look Professional<\/h2>\n<p>There are dozens of websites out there that can help you format a blog. No matter how you organize it, a reader should be able to find the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Biography:<\/strong><br \/>\nGive a brief overview of your life so the readers can identify with you as a person. This can include harmless details, such as your hometown, how you got interested in writing, your dog\u2019s name, etc. It\u2019s also a good place to list any professional publication credits you might have.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Your picture:<br \/>\n<\/strong>This is optional, but it can\u2019t hurt so long as it\u2019s clean and neat. Take the picture in a room with plenty of lighting and\u00a0<em>smile<\/em>. If a reader finds you work in a bookstore, they just might recognize your face on the back flap of the dust jacket.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Links to your work:<br \/>\n<\/strong>Hopefully, a reader will want to buy your books when they discover your blog. Grouping links to distributor websites is an easy way to direct their attention, and it saves you the trouble of manually inserting said links into your posts. This is also helpful if you have work for sale from multiple sources, like a story that was published in a magazine\u2019s anthology versus your first novel from a trade publisher.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Some Things to Avoid<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>As tempting as it might be, don\u2019t update too often. Obsessing over a blog will distract you from writing stories, which ought to take priority. Don\u2019t post trivial \u201cfiller\u201d posts, like what you did on vacation or generic holiday greetings.<\/li>\n<li>Not only do you want your blog to look professional, but you must also\u00a0<em>act<\/em>\u00a0professionally at all times. If you reply to a reader\u2019s comment, be polite, and thank them for their time.<\/li>\n<li>NEVER post negative reactions to bad reviews or disappointing sales. The trend of combative authors defending their work online has left a bad taste in the public\u2019s mouth (read about this\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/entertainment\/archive\/2012\/08\/things-get-mean-when-everyones-critic\/324201\/\">infamous case<\/a>).<\/li>\n<li>In the same vein, NEVER post political rants or other entries where you vent about something, unless it is directly related to your writing career (see how agent\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nelsonagency.com\/pub-rants\/\">Kristin Nelson<\/a>\u00a0handles touchy writing-related topics). While some readers might be genuinely interested in your opinion on this-and-that, the rest of them just want to know when you\u2019re next book is going to come out. Don\u2019t make them take a stand against you by rubbing them the wrong way.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Some Things to Try<\/h2>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Struggling for post ideas? Try some of these:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Outtakes from your current work-in-progress<\/li>\n<li>Weekly progress and goals<\/li>\n<li>Highlighting favorite reviews and your reactions to them<\/li>\n<li>Fictional interviews with your characters<\/li>\n<li>Deleted scenes<\/li>\n<li>Your writing plans for the future<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>Blogging can be a great way to attract new readers and keep old ones interested in your writing. It\u2019s a wonderful, simple tool when used correctly. Only don\u2019t let it distract you from your main job: writing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","categories":[20],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/773"}],"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\/775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}