Blogging as you write...

Recently I began an experiment to help in my writing endeavors. I've been writing a book about my quirky experiences working as a small town newspaper reporter, which I did for 10 years before moving to Tucson. I decided it might benefit me to see what others think about the project. So I started a blog. The idea was a little intimidating at first. I mean, did I really want the whole world reading my writing before it was edited, much less published?

But then it dawned on me. That's the best time to have them read it! When they comment on the different stories I've posted, it not only gives me a feel for what people may be interested in, but it also gives me some feedback on what needs to be fixed, changed, deleated, etc. If they like it, they may become hooked and want to read the entire book once it's published. Who knows? It may be generating a potential market for my book before the book is even completed.

Best of all, it's motivating me to stay on task and to be more dilligent in completing the project.

So far I've just been announcing the blog posts on my Facebook profile; I still need to gain followers and start linking to other blogs.

Am I afraid of losing my content to someone else who may try to steal it and publish it under their own name? Nah! Being an author is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes money, time, and effort to become published and successful--even when you're great. Who would want that headache?

I'll keep you posted on my progress as it unfolds. Here's my blog if you would like to read it and make comments.

New How-To Blog Tutorials

Struggling to get your blog site started? Read the instructions sent to you by email several times and still can't picture what we're instructing you to do?

We now have a video tutorial on our site that takes you through the Blogger.com process from very start to end. Screen by screen, click by click!

It's done in a handy four-part series so you can choose the section where you are getting stuck!

Check it out at www.wheatmark.com/tutorials

Blog Content: What to write when you have nothing to say

Do you find yourself logged in to your blog account, ready to post, and all you end up doing is staring at your screen while your fingers occasionally mimic typing? Just me? Hmmm.

It can be difficult to sit down and write an entry for the sheer sake of writing an entry. However, to be blogging in an advantageous way, that's exactly what has to happen for your blog to be a useful information source and marketing tool!

Blogging a few times a week is the optimum for keeping reader traffic coming back to your site and hungry for more--leave your blog for too long and you may find that your readership wanes.

Here are some blogging tips to help get your writing juices flowing!

1. Write about your inspiration for your characters/topics. Did you base the character on someone? Did the idea come to you in a dream? Readers love to know why authors choose character traits and motivations and it is a great way to let your audience in to your book's world.
2. For nonfiction books, create a numbered tip list based on information in your book. You can always refer back to that blog and expand on any number of those topics for blogs in the future. Aim for about 5 or 10 tips.
   
3. Start your writing off with the sentence, "I don't really have anything to say because not much is going on." Then explain what the "not much going on" has been. You'll quickly find you can go back and change that initial sentence to read, "I've been really busy."
4. If you really can't think of anything to write, or, if you've mostly been reading online instead of writing offline, you can create a blog that provides links to interesting sites. Examples of this can even be seen on the Wheatmark blog where we share links to interesting topics we've come across.
5. On the days when you have TONS of ideas for blog posts, write them and either a) save them as drafts for your next dry spell or b) change your post options to date them for future release. You can do this on most blog platforms. On Blogger, the option is under the "Post Options" arrow at the bottom left of your composition window to the left of your labels for post field.
   

Remember, blogging is a great way to exercise your writing muscle and is also a great way to continue building your author platform. When in doubt, start writing some drivel. You can always delete an entry, save an entry that isn't working as a draft and come back to it later, or just write a little tidbit--not all blog entries have to be elaborate. Sometimes just a quick entry about a book signing or a photo of you opening your delivery of books (or simply a picture of your cat sleeping on your computer keyboard helping you "edit" your next manuscript) is all you need!

Surfing the Book Blog World

Happy Friday! Here are some links to other blogs you might enjoy!

Great quotes about being a writer to help you keep your humor.

Are you a boring writer? Three tips to avoid it.

Blogging help for the exasperated. Keeping your blog useful.

Getting ready to do a book tour. Here are some thoughts on a successful one.

We tell you to use Twitter. We aren't wrong! Successful Twitter promotions.

Writing groups can be a huge help in the writing process. How Writing Grows in a Group.

This blog post is a great place to steal a few sites to start reading of some amazing book bloggers.

Using Google Reader

Reading blogs and using them to help promote a book is new to many authors. Sure, there may be a few blogs that your daily computer usage you come across, but a lot of authors still aren't comfortable with the idea of surfing the Internet looking for content to read and comment on to promote their book.

Finding blogs to read can be time consuming.

One way to cut the time is to find blogs with blog lists down the side that you can explore. It's easier than simply Googling a topic and hoping something will surface.

One of the difficulties, after you found several blogs to read, is organizing them in a manner that won't drive you crazy.

Some blogs aren't updated frequently and it can be exhausting entering in the URL or clicking on your bookmark, waiting for the page to load, only to find it is the same entry you read there last week.

Google Reader is a great way to help you organize your blog reading.
Attached to your Google account, you can enter in RSS feeds from websites and blogs, but you can also cut and paste in URL addresses for it to track even if the site isn't set up for subscription.

Here's how to set up your account.

1. Go to the site.
2. On the right-hand side of your screen, you'll see a login window. If you already have a Google account (gmail and blogger are both Google products that give you an automatic Google account), you can simply login. If you don't have a Google account, click the blue Create Account button.
3. The home page has a handy "take a tour" feature you can use to better understand the site. Or you can just jump in if you are comfortable.
4. After you login, you're taken to your display page. The page is split into three sections. On the left is your list of sites you are subscribed to. The center is an overview of the recent blog updates. The right side is just stuff. Google provides info here you may never look at (I hadn't until starting this post).
5. To begin viewing blog entries here, you have to subscribe to a few. Let's add our blog first as practice! First will do it the long way: entering in a URL string.
   
6. On the upper left side is a blue square with a plus sign in it and next to it says "Add a subscription."
7. Click that.
8. A fillable window will open and you can type in an address for a site to follow. Our blog URL is: http://www.wheatmark.com/blog/
9. The easy way is to use the subscription button from a blog itself. Go to the Wheatmark blog page at http://www.wheatmark.com/blog/
   
10. You'll notice on the upper right hand side, under our Wheatmark logo, there is a button with a plus sign that says "subscribe" next to it, and several other icons.
11. Click it!
12. An "Add This" window will pop up and you'll see several icons.
13. To add it to your Google reader, you'll choose "Add to Google" (right column, second one down). This automatically puts this in your reader. That's it! Most sites have options like this so that you never have to remember the URL, you can simply surf around the Internet adding bits here and there at your leisure.
    

Pros to the Google Reader screen:

• Easy to view
• Keeps everything in the same place
• You never have to guess if something has updated
• Easy to add sites to it
• If you use gmail for your email, you'll even be able to check your email AND your Google Reader at the same time!

Cons:

• No pictures
• In order to read the full post or the comments you often have to navigate away from the Reader page (however it will do it for you when you click on the Reader entry

Google Reader is a great way to organize and stay on top of your blog reading. By reading blogs, commenting on the posts, and becoming a knowledgeable presence you'll drive traffic to your own blog and hopefully to sales of your book!

Continuing Blogger Education

A while back I posted up step-by-step instructions on how to begin a free blog on Blogger.com.

One of the cool things about Blogger is that it allows for nearly as much flexibility as some of the more pricey platforms like Type Pad.

However, understanding how to use some of that flexibility when you are just starting out can be a bit of a headache.

For example, you can add a button to your sidebar in Blogger that allows your readers to post a tweet link on Twitter about it. Like a bumblebee to a flower, this is a great way to spread your ideas.

These widgets or "gadgets" as they are called on Blogger can help you cast your net on the web a little wider.

To add a gadget, log into your blogger.com site.

See where it says: new post edit posts settings layout monetize?

Click the layout option.

Here you'll get a screen that shows the arrangement of your page elements. At the bottom is a bar that says "Add a Gadget."

Click this!

A menu of possible gadgets will pop up. All you have to do is click the "+" sign to the right to add the gadget to your site!

Some that I recommend:

TwitThis. This is a third-party function. The easiest way to add this is to follow the following directions:

1. Open another tab in your browser so that your Google Account is still open as well as a blank.
   
2. On the blank tab, type in the following address in the URL address bar: http://twithis.com
3. Copy the code listed down the page.
   
4. Go back to your Blogger gadget list and click the option that is called "HTML/JavaScript"
   
5. Where the box that pops up says content, paste in the code you copied from the TwitThis website.
   
6. Hit save
   
7. You can reshuffle your elements to suit your taste. I like having my "TwitThis" icon at the very top of my sidebar. So all I did was moused over my element and, with my clicker depressed, moved the bar to where I wanted it. You can use the preview tab to see what the blog will look like. If you like it, hit save!
   

Some other Gadgets I like are the following:

Slideshow - lets me upload photos that will float by as readers peruse my page

Video Bar - post videos from YouTube here to entertain your blog guests (or your book trailer)

Blog List - A list of blogs you enjoy reading. A key to spreading the word, as you add blogs, comment on their site to let them know you added them. Maybe they'll add you to theirs!

Link List - A list of websites you find useful. Can include organizations related to your book topic or places to buy your book!

Subscription Links - this adds an author feed button that avid blog readers can use to see when you update (keeps them from having to always remember to click on their site). Think of it like autodraft on a bank account. Never miss a bill payment is great! So is never missing one of your posts!

And for those who are ready to really attack their functionality, here is a great blog that has tips (or hacks, as they are sometimes called) on improving your Blogger account!

After the Blog

You've set up your blog, you've put up a post or two. Now what?

How do you find people to read your blog? And just as importantly, how do you find other blogs to read to help you generate traffic?

There are several ways. One is by hunting Google and blog rolls on other blogs.

Finding Blogs

Google has a drop-down menu of alternative search options. Instead of simply Googling, "spy fiction" and getting the millions of links that will come up, you can specify "blogs" and it will only show you blogs that contain your search phrase.

Another way you can look for blogs to read and comment on is by looking at blogrolls. A blogroll is a list of links on the side the author of the blog page you're on has added as favorites of theirs. As you develop your own blog, you'll want to add to your own blogroll. It is a simple way to provide other readers links to information that you yourself enjoy and it is a great way to find other blogs you may like from other people's pages.

Another way to find blog is to find a retail or organizational site that is involved with the topic of your book. More and more these days, these sites will also include a blog tab somewhere on the home page. This is another place to find like-minded readers as well.

Most comment sections of blogs make the commenters fill in a registry. As part of the registry there is usually a place to read the person's bio and find their blog or website as well.

By clicking those links, you can travel to new blogs and new places to leave comments and thus find a new slew of blogs to read and virtual friends.

How do you keep track of it all?
There are different ways to monitor your blog reading. You can simply bookmark them in your browser favorites, but that can get unwieldy and it doesn't let you know when there are new posts.

Most blogs take advantage of RSS feeds.

An RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication) is something you can subscribe to on a blog. The logo looks like this most often:


This will appear either along your browser bar or where you decide your feeds should go.

One way to collect all your RSS feeds and other Web feeds is to use a reader like Google Reader.
This is an easy way to see all of the posts to all of the blogs when they are put up. You can even add blogs to this that don't have feeds by adding the URL link to the reader's memory! Also, it's free when you sign up for a free Google account.

Just remember, to drive traffic to your own blog, it helps to read and comment on others. How many times has a stranger commented on your blog, you clicked on their name, and ended up at another blog? It's a great way to navigate your interests and a wonderful way to find other people that want to share and talk about the same things you do...including your next book!

Liking These Links!

Deciding whether to self-publish? There is more to it than making a Word document.

Want to get to blogging but need even more professional tips? This entry even includes a hilarious illustration on how to become a famous blogger!

Shameless plug: I was a guest blogger on Publishing Renaissance, a great blog for self-publishing authors to find each other and talk about what they are working on!

Marketing your Book: Writing coach shares stories from the book marketing trail.

The Blood-Red Pencil blog makes me giggle again! "As to your question, in today's tough marketplace I would suggest not sending an editor something that gives him or her a reason to reject it out of hand."

These next two links were snagged from The Book Oven Blog:

Want to make writer friends and collaborate? Check out Protagonize!

Need a Pavlovian cue to keep you writing?

Seek Feedback on Your Writing

Overwhelmed by the daunting task of editing your book now that you are a good chunk of the way through?

Here at Wheatmark, one of the questions we hear a lot is, "Did you read it? What did you think?"

Why wait to find out what people think?

Wheatmark offers editing services from copyediting to book doctoring -- but that is when the book is in its more finalized manuscript.

Many authors don't realize that earlier on in the process of creation is a great time to actually begin the editing process and seeking feedback.

One of the ways you can help focus your story and also help gauge interest in your work is also a great marketing tool: A blog.

I know. You're nervous about sharing your work when it is still very much in an initial draft. Think of it this way: Which is harder, having someone read a work in progress and have some constructive criticism you can take or leave or having someone critique your final, unchangeable product?

Using a blog to post sections of your book and allowing people to comment on your passages is a great way to get feedback, let people be supportive of your work, and eventually will be a great platform for launching your actual book.

Online channels are the most open and available for independently published authors to sell their books. Social marketing is a great way to tap into a population of book readers, buyers, and other writers.

Using your blog as a home base will help you gain readership and also help you create the book you have in mind.

Having trouble getting started? Check out a previous post I wrote on setting up a free Blogger account.

We offer some great resources on writing and editing for you to read also if you'd like to check them out!

Why You Should Start a Blog Today

One of the essential ingredients to a successful book marketing plan is a blog.

A blog will allow you to post “journal” entries about your process during the book writing stage, to post entries about your publishing timeline, to write about your published book, and to write about everything else you are interested in in between.

On the Wheatmark web site we have a blog post that includes step-by-step instructions on how to start a blog using Blogger – one of the free blogging sites available.

How does blogging for book marketing work?

It works by establishing a home base for your marketing efforts. As you read other people’s blogs, you can comment from your blog identity allowing them to follow back to your blog. When you use Twitter, you can put up tweets about new blog posts and also put the link to your blog in your profile so Twitter users can read more about you. This will drive traffic to your blog site.

On your blog site, make sure to add a link to where prospective readers can buy your book.

Why does blogging for book marketing work?

It works because it creates a virtual world where you can be the expert on your book’s topic and allows people with similar interests to interact with you. The more you gain readers to your blog, the more readers you are likely to gain for your book! By allowing readers to be a part of your journey as an author, from first inspiration to the exciting book launch, you can form a community of people invested in your project and your success!

It can be difficult getting going. So here is a list of topic types to get you started

List of 5 ideas or thoughts – numbered lists are always winners. It helps the blog reader understand what they are going to be reading and helps them get to the end. This works in a blog about business very easily. You can write about one of your chapters, offer tips, etc. But it could also work for fiction! Say you are writing a young adult fiction book about a battling a demon. Your numbered list could be “Things You Need to Battle a Demon.” It’s entertaining and it brings people into your book.

Publish a list of links – Can’t think of anything to write? Someone else has written it already and better? Post a link to the articles on your blog. They’ll appreciate the favor and also your blog readers won’t feel like you’ve abandoned your blog for the day!

Take a recent experience and share it – Maybe it is obvious, but writing about something that made you have an emotion is always good fodder for a blog. It lets other people into your world and also allows them to share their own experiences in the comments forum. It may even inspire you!

Entering the Blogosphere

I've had several requests lately for blog starting instructions. For lots of people, starting anything on the computer, particularly the Internet, can be a daunting task riddled with the fear of breaking something, opening yourself up to scams, and signing up for something you never intended to.

So for our Wheatmark authors who are just getting started, here is a step-by-step blog about, well, blogging.

I'm going to go through the steps screen-by-screen on Blogger, a free blog hosting site through Google, that will allow you to get started!

Remember, this is just to get started. There are so many ways to customize your blog to work for you. There are other services out there like that have fee sites that have even more options. But when you are just getting started, this is an easy and pain-free way to go.

1. Go to https://www.blogger.com/start
   
2. On the opening page, (called a landing page is web-ese) is a giant orange arrow that says “create your blog now”
   
3. Click it.
   
4. It will ask you to create a Google account. Do this. It isn’t a scam. In fact, it will be helpful in the future to have one.
   
5. Now you name your blog: I recommend calling it something easy to remember. The title of your blog does not need to be the same as the URL. I think this is kind of confusing. (For example, my personal blog where I post picture of my dogs and things when I remember is entitled I Like Carrots. But my actual URL is http://katgautreaux.blogspot.com/ because I Like Carrots was apparently taken.) So you may want to call your blog something entirely different from your address that is typed into the search line on your web browser’s window. This is up to you and the availability.
   
6. The next prompt is choosing a template. I like the minima template to begin with because it is nice and clear to see.
   
7. The next prompt will say "Start blogging!" And you click on the arrow.
   
8. Click it!
9. Before you write anything, let’s spice up the blog just a wee bit.
   
10. Go to the Setting tab.
    

SETTINGS TAB

1. Write a description that includes some keywords you might use to search for you or your book; put them in sentence form if you like.
   
2. All those options! Everything should be a yes except for the adult content. I'll let you decide that one. But unless you've written about a very, very adult topic, you should make that a no.
   
3. Save
   
4. See Formatting? Go there. Make sure the time stamps and such are correct for your time zone. Also, “turn on” Show Link Fields
   
5. See Commenting? Go there. I like blogs to be as open as possible for books. So answer the questions to make that happen. Allow anonymous commenters. I’d select the pop-up option in how the comments are viewable. Everything else should be OK the way that it is.
6. See email? Go there. Here is where you can selectively e-mail people when you’ve posted.
   
7. Permissions --If you have more than one person who is going to author posts on your blog--Go there. Then add authors. If it is just you, leave it.
8. OK! One more tab! Click on the Layout tab.

LAYOUT TAB

1. Here is where you can add things to help readers navigate your blog, link to other blogs, change colors, etc. This is the fun part of decorating your blog.
   
2. Add a Gadget: Under Add a Gadget, you can create a list of blogs and websites that you enjoy and would like to tell others about. (be sure to add Wheatmark!)
   
3. Subscription Links, add this so readers can subscribe and be updated when you post
   
4. List, Link List. Are great ways to show our support of others out there on the web (and how they can in return show support for you)
   
5. Fonts and Colors: Here you can change your text colors and such to match your eyes, your shoes, or your book. This is fun, but not important

NOW YOU CAN POST

When you are done setting up the basics, you can begin blogging. By clicking the “new post” button it will open up a page for you to write in.

What each blog should have:

A title

Body text

Labels (words that help readers identify your subject and be able to search it – like a library catalog

What each blog CAN have:

Video uploads

Links to other websites and such

Pictures

Tweets and Other Things You Need to Know About

I've spoken recently to several authors frustrated with their book sales and when I asked them about their marketing tactics, they've kind of mumbled off into the realm of "not enough time" and "not enough money."

So here it is:

Intro to Social Networking and Marketing 101.

What you'll need:

• Computer with Internet access
  
• 1 free blog account (like Blogger)
  
• 1 free Twitter account (www.twitter.com)

What you'll do:

1. To get started, sign up and create a blog using the templates available. Keep it simple. You can change it up at any time usually.
   
2. Start blogging. Blogs (web logs) are like journal entries. A blog is a place to share your ideas about topics that you are interested in, would like to know more about, or are already an expert in.
   
3. Make sure that you add labels that are searchable to your blog entry. If you are writing about frogs, your labels should say so. Also include some other labels as well (i.e.: green, environment, reptiles, amphibians, toads).
   
4. If you've already written a book, make sure you've chosen a layout that will allow you to add a web site link that you can paste in the web site address (URL or link) to where it can be purchased.
   
5. Tell people about your blog. This is where Twitter comes in handy. Twitter is a social networking tool that allows you to search and follow people that are interested in you, your information, or that you find interesting. They, in return, will follow you if they think you have something to offer. Tell your tweeples (twittering has great slang!) about your blog when you make entries or when you find information you think they'd be interested in.
   
6. The relationships you create between your blog, other people's blogs, Twitter, and other social networking sites will allow you to build a network of people that you can market to, learn from, and establish yourself as an expert with.
   
7. Have fun! It takes time to generate an online community. But in time it will pay off as you meet people to chat with, that will review your materials, and ultimately (fingers crossed!) will purchase your book.
   

Want more tips on marketing your book? Check out Book Marketecture, Wheatmark's free downloadable book marketing workbook.

Thinking about publishing? Sign up for our Independent Author Guide to get information on publishing your next book!

How Blogging Benefits Your Book Marketing Campaign

Here at Wheatmark, we often encourage our authors to use blogging as a great way to reach readers and garner visibility for their books. Blogging can benefit authors in a multitude of ways.

Blogging during the writing process (before publication) can be a wonderful way to find support for your writing among those who share an interest in the subject of your book. By blogging about your book before you have completed your book, you can increase awareness of your writing, and even receive valuable feedback that you can incorporate into your final book.

By blogging after the publication of your book you can inform readers of any marketing activities and events you have going on, and can encourage readers to post reviews of your book on their own blogs or in other online locations. A resourceful author might include blog posts on material that didn’t make it into the final edition of your book, and post on any ideas for forthcoming publications.

For inspiration on getting started on your own blog, check out these popular author blogs, care of the Internet Writing Journal.