H2 Start and Author’s Blog

Writers  want to be read. We all want our words to be shared, appreciated, and we would like feedback.

You’re in luck. A blog is the quickest way to get published and it’s entirely in your control! You are the gatekeeper. You don’t need an agent or a publisher to say “yes” to your blog. You get to pull the trigger.

On the flip side, when you go submit your stories or book proposals to publications, agents, or publishers, your blog can help seal the deal.

Publishers and producers love to see an online presence, a following, and love to get quick insight into your voice, writing style and topical interests.

So start a blog! But how? Read more about how to choose blog topics here, in What to Blog About

It’s 100% doable. You can blog and be published this week.

For me, my blog is really an archive. I email my post weekly to my list, and my comments on the blog site are closed. Mine doesn’t function in the traditional way of getting immediate comments and feedback. Your readers might comment, but for me, the only comments I got were spam. (So, if you do have your commenting enabled, make sure you get to approve comments before they post.)

But as an archive, it is extremely valuable. I can share links to helpful blogs in any format, on FB or instgram. When someone asks a question, or when a podcaster is hoping to get a bead on me, I can send them to the blog.

Your blog is your publication – where people can find out about your voice, your information worth sharing.

The Quickest Way to Get a Blog Going

Post on someone else’s platform. These sites are easy to use (technically speaking) and most are free, or paid for upleveled service.

  • wordpress.org
    • The upside is you can get started very quickly and wordpress is my favorite Content Management system
    • The downside is your blog will be yourname.wordpress.org, so your followers might find it hard to find you.
    • It’s free to import wordpress software to any site or host, so, once you’re used to this, using it, you can continue with your more sophisticated site.
  • medium.com
    • the best reason to use Medium is bec you can earn readership from their huge online traffic.
    • The second best reason is you can actually earn (a little bit of) money if people read and clap for your entries.
    • You can submit to publications to up your readership
    • Your medium post does not have to be original. You can post your blogs there + your own blog.
  • wix.com
    • very easy to set up a blog and/or website.
    • It’s not very expensive to remove the Wix branding so it has more of your brand and look
  • squarespace
    • I haven’t used squarespace. I think it can be oblique, but its services are unique and can go the distance with you into a more complicated site, like e-commerce, if desired.

What You Need to Create your Own Blogsite

A host – I use hostmonster. and they have great telephone customer service. If I can’t figure something out, I don’t want to email someone and wait. And I don’t want to wonder what they mean when they say… I like a person who is willing to talk me through the clicks and steps to fix the problem. I don’t have any affiliate status with them. Hmmm, maybe I should change that.

WordPress software – As I said above, the software is free, and you import it into your blog site. Hopefully you have a VA or good customer service to talk you through it, though it’s not hard, and you could just Google it. (I often forget to just try googling the problem!)

A WordPress template – this can be very difficult. You could spend the rest of this year trying to pick a template because there are so many, and they have multiple page views, etc. Pick one that has had a lot of users to date, bec that means they’ve gotten most of the bugs out. I’ve used ThemeForest, and this theme is Envato. Both are not free, but give you a number of themes to choose from (that’s the hard part!)

Keep it simple. Pick one that has the things you need, and whose look you like.

  • An About page
  • A home page you like
  • A portfolio page (if you have art or products)
  • A blog layout you like – does it give the headlines and a “read more” prompt? or other layout?
  • A testimonials page, if you’re also a service provider.

Some pics – this can be thorny. Do not just use any pic you find on the internet – you will get sued. So, go to Creative Commons and use their pics with appropriate credit. Also, there will be a blog post here about where to find pics for you blog, and how to style your blog look. I aim to please.

Some ideas of What to Write About –  this I’ve covered in more detail, here. But the most important thing – as with any writing – is to focus on who your reader is, and what would serve them. If you don’t have a strong sense of your reader, or you’re a fiction writer without a service business attached to your publications, just write about what interests you. Have faith that your weird outlook, your eye and aesthetic, your commentary will connect with people who would like to read you. Are you loving Project Runway? Do you think You is the best writing on TV? Do you collect pictures of dead cats? You don’t have to apologize or curate. What interests you will interest your (intended) readers.

How about a full-blown Author’s webpage?

Since you’re promoting yourself as an author, go ahead and add few more pages, and you’ll have an impressive online space.

  • About page see mine, if you’re interested here. You want to tell your whole story and show your credentials here. You can be long winded, if you want.
  • Newsroom or Press page – my press is incorporated on my About and Speaking pages. I don’t actually have links or video of many of my TV appearances from 2005 and 2008 when last I toured with a book, so I don’t need a big empty press page.
  • Contact – I don’t have a contact page, per se. I used to when I had a press agent, and an editor who fielded questions about book sales or press, but now, it is simpler. When you hit Contact on my site, an email pops up, ready to go. It doesn’t have to be a big deal.
  • Speaking if you’re doing (or want to do) that – you cannot likely get speaking gigs without a video on this page. Mine is here.

If you’re going to do a website, start your blog at your own webpage, and worry about these other pages later. But the smart thing to do is begin blogging on this site, with WordPress software, so all your blogs are in one place, whenever you’re ready to tackle the other pages.

The holidays may be the perfect time to widget around with a new blog and site. It can be frustrating, so you have to do some, walk away, come back and do some more.