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This week: The Business of Blogging Edited by: Crys-not really here  
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| Hello! I'm Crys-not really here . Today in the For Authors newsletter, I'll be discussing the many ways writers can use blogs. |
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The Business of Blogging
If you're a writer who hasn't jumped on the blogging bandwagon yet, maybe you should give it a try.
Blogging can be useful for every writer, published or not. That's because it's so easily adaptable. Your blog can be about anything you want, for an audience of anyone you want.
You can use your blog to:
 share writing tips with fellow writers.
use it as a platform for experimenting with various prompts and writing exercises.
keep a blog or "diary" of one of your characters.
promote your latest book, book tours, etc. Get feedback from your readers.
have an "ask and answer" session with your readers.
offer your readers information on topics related to your projects. For example, if you write historical romances set during the Victorian era, you could blog about Victorian era clothing, customs, etc.
Many writers accomplish some or all of these things within one blog. Your focus is up to you.
One of the best things about blogging is that it can be absolutely free. Just do a Google search for "free blog" and take your pick from a number of sites. You don't need to spend a ton of money to blog, and in most cases you don't have to know HTML or a bunch of fancy programming code either.
When my picture book Angeline Jellybean first came out, I used my blog as a way to network with other writers who had been published by small presses. We exchanged interviews and guest columns and promoted each other's work, which led to us reaching readers through other social networking outlets. It was a great way to get to know other writers as well.
I would encourage anyone who hasn't had a blog outside of WDC to to give it a try. It couldn't hurt, right? At the very least you could gain a potential reader or two. |
This week, I wanted to feature items about how authors can use blogs for promotion, marketing, etc. But I couldn't find many! Have an item that fits the bill? Submit it to the For Authors newsletter!
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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I got a lot of great feedback about my last newsletter on writing from the other gender's point of view! I have included some of the comments below.
Interesting topic. I have written more than a few stories from a male POV and actually find it more fun than writing from the female. Why? I have no idea  I bet that says something about me huh?  Great topic  -Tornado Dodger 
Hi Crys! Interesting commentary on John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. I enjoyed John Green's first two books (Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines) when I was a teenager, but when I read his third book (Paper Towns) as an adult, I realized that all his narrators are exactly the same -- him! I'm so intrigued to find out that he's written a novel from a girl's perspective. I'll have to pick this book up when I spot it at the library! -Lorien 
Congrats on reaching the second round at ABNA, Crys!
I have trouble with boy protags, too, although most of my novels now have boy and girl POVs in them. The boy sections tend to be shorter. I'm never really sure if I'm capturing guy-think well.
Thanks for the NL!  -LJPC - the tortoise
I've always found writing men considerably easier than spinning a female character even though I'm a woman. I wonder if it's because I've never related particularly well to girls growing up, or whether it's because I've read more from the perspective of male protagonists, but I find it difficult to develop a female personality and it take longer for me to get to know Her than it does for me to get into His head. -Tileira
I boy can I relate to this newsletter. When I wrote Field of the Broken Heart, I received review after review from people who believed that I must be a woman. When most of these folks found out that I am a man, they were shocked. Frankly, I was taken aback a bit and at first, insulted. Then I looked at the overall and I guess I can see why some people would not believe a man would write about twin girls and the deep emotional bond between them, especially when faced with one's death. People, gender has nothing to do with ideas! When it flows, we write, we can do naught else. -bronxbishop
I had hoped you'd supply some ideas on how to successfully pull this off.
I've written female characters for my two NaNo novels. The first was a single mother, age 31, written in third person. The second was a 67 year old retired art teacher written in first person. I honestly don't know why I chose the female character. Perhaps it was because each is vulnerable and I thought it easier to pull off. Sounds sexist, but if I invested in a 10k word essay, I might make it sound convincing :) -Power Unit
This was an interesting subject. Ironically, even though I am female, I find that I write more about males than I do females. Either that, or my main characters are usually male. The only female main character in any of my stories has always been my alias. I have just felt more partial to male characters, as I am not the average female, myself. -missgorey
The Gender topic was an excellent newsletter. A couple contests have even used the challenge of writing from the point of view of a character that is the other gender from the writer as a prompt in the past. For me, however, I am the opposite in that I almost always write from a male point of view and despite my username I am actually female. I have a harder time writing anything from the point of view of a character with my same gender. It is a fun challenge to try out stories in the pov that you don't commonly write and will help develop skills that can be used later. -Dawn Embers  
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For Authors: May 23, 2012 Issue [#5059]
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