I want to let Sylvia know that I have a free blog (blogger) and if you google my name, either version, my blog (Extreme Keyboarding) comes up #1. But that may have something to do with the fact that blogger is a google product, hmm.

So you’re saying forget about blogging as a means to become a successful novelist. Drat. Now I’ll have to crack down and learn to write really, really well.

But what a relief; I think I’d blog more often if I thought I could just have some FUN, and not Thinly Veiled Sales Pitch.

But we ARE talking about blogging as it relates to marketing. I’d like to know more about what that looks like. How does a chatty ‘web log’ turn into effective marketing for a novelist?

Camille

I like Camille’s question. How can a chatty web blog turn into an effective marketing tool. I think it works the same way any author appearance works.

When I meet authors I like in person, I want to buy their books. Sometimes I actually do. The converse is true too, though. When I meet authors I don’t like personally, I usually stop reading them. (This happened when I went to a Margaret Atwood workshop. I can’t read her books anymore.)

A blog is a way for people to meet us virtually. You’re doing it right now. It doesn’t matter that this conversation has nothing to do with the Mars book I’m reading. What matters is that when I get to read more tonight, I’ll think, Hey, Randy is a good guy. He commented on my blog. He listens. I like him.

What’s more powerful than that?

Anyway, folks in the CBA know me, I’ve been to Mt. Hermon Writer’s Conference, and I do a fair bit of editing and book collaborations–all similarities, so I just wanted to make the distinction clear.

Thanks, all.

Since I use my full name in my writing, I’m concerned that using a variation will confuse readers. Any suggestions?

Interesting post. You bring up some good points.

I think many times writers think they MUST have a book published before they start a blog or website. But I think just the opposite is true.

If you use a blog to attract readers who will later want to purchase the types of books you hope to write and sell, then it will be that much easier to find a publisher for your book because you’ll already have established a “platform” for yourself with built in buyers.

But I also think a blog is a great way to market your work once you’ve published it.

Just my two cents.

Suzanne Lieurance
The Working Writer’s Coach
http://www.workingwriterscoach.com

The Marcus of whom you speak is Marcus Goodyear. How wonderful that you two share this good name. He (Marcus G.) and I are presenting about blogging at Mount Hermon this year. For this reason, I would LOVE to know what you disagree with. Even better, if you’re going to be at MH, it would be great if you bring your comments to the session. We’re presenting, but we also believe that participants will bring some really good perspectives worth hearing.

I think success can come from blogging. There are examples out there.

Also, there are some options that writers haven’t quite considered yet. For instance, I plan to share about my book club blog at MH; this is a blog that has a set number of posts but an unlimited amount of possibility for reader/author interaction.

To my (like your admittedly) limited knowledge, no other writer is doing a blog like this one. (Please point me to some if you know differently; it would be better if I don’t use myself for presentation examples.)

Here’s the thing… I hope we writers keep looking beyond the supposed ONE WAY formulas to find more and more effective ways to reach and show gratitude to our readers. For that, I appreciate forums like this one that you’re providing.

As far as my early experiences marketing on the web, many things have changed. Back then, we were one of three websites on our topic. Now there are over 2K. Email was how you contacted people– nobody had thought of e-zines or blogs yet. And not very many people were online in the ’90’s.

That has changed. And what I am selling has changed. What excites me is that now I have a product I can ship at a reasonable cost, even send digitally in some cases. Boy that is a lot easier than a live animal. And although the packtrips we used to sell were vaguely in the entertainment category, they cost much more than my books and required a large commitment of time and some risk. If a book doesn’t please, the buyer can simply stop reading.

The lesson for me that retains its relevance re my earlier attempts to use the net for marketing is that you have to be careful not to let it drag you off-course. Educating people out in webland is not what should take up your time if that’s the only time you have to educate your kids. Kind of like anything else that might be more fun than the dull everyday tasks we put off.

On the other hand, if income is the justification for engaging in an activity, if it doesn’t produce then you should try something else. It’s considered crass to say you’re in something for the money, as though that automatically implied that you didn’t care about people, or quality, or more ‘noble’ things. And fun is a very valid reason to do something. It’s just a lot less frustrating to be clear about what the motivation is.

Because writing can be an expensive endeavor and like all the arts, rarely makes even minimum hourly wage, I had to wait until a time when I could afford it. All the marketing, to me, is about getting read by the audience for whom I am writing. When I earn some, that’s nice.

Okay, I’ll bite…

Marcus G. is saying that a person needs to be authentic in his or her personhood, first and foremost, and then blog as a means of genuine self-expression and for the purpose of authentically connecting with others. I agree with this.

I think the problem comes when we try to set up a dichotomy between authenticity and branding.

As far as being a book writer goes, I know that you absolutely must write with an audience in mind these days–you can’t simply write for the joy of self-expression and leave it at that–not if you want to be published anyway. You absolutely have to focus on your readers’ needs and start there in the process.

So maybe the question to toss around is how a writer can create a brand and still be authentic to him or herself.

With this in mind, instead of Marcus G’s title “I’m not a brand and neither is my blog…” I’d say, well yes, actually you are a brand whether you like it or not–or, if you’re aiming to be a published writer, you SHOULD be a brand, an authentic brand, because the brand you create will be the result of focusing on what your readers need.

To put it another way, if a person is a writer seeking to get published, he or she does need to have “an agenda”–even if the agenda is only to authentically connect with his or her readers. The “agenda” isn’t the enemy. The “agenda” is the necessary vehicle that allows for the craft to happen.

The huge challenge for all writers seeking to be published is to develop an authentic “agenda”.

Make sense?

Somehow part of your comment reminded me of Scot McKnight. I once had the pleasure of interviewing him (and embarrassed myself by asking about his “book” when he actually had 25 books to his credit!).

Anyway, Scot said this marvelous, freeing thing. Instead of trying to find the elusive reader and target him, Scot writes for himself. He writes to answer his questions. And because he is human, and honest in his answering, he naturally finds an audience. Or, perhaps it is the audience that finds him.