[MarcusPeterson]

I t seems that for a lot of authors, a blog is a good way to connect with readers and promote one's works.  I also know that I personally do not have the time to devote to putting enough content onto a blog to make it worthwhile for readers to follow my blog.  I suspect there are others in the same boat.  Therefore, I propose a group blog in which a few of us can band together to jointly erin a blog about our various works (lives, etc.).  This might not be a new idea, and maybe is an epic fail, but seems plausible to me.

I think the benefits would be three-fold:

1) it will allow for a blog with enough fresh content to keep readers engaged without any one writer having to take too much time away from work/life/writing to add content;
2) it will allow one writer to promote their works to the readers of another writer and vice versa, increasing potential readers exponentially;
3) it provides one more place for other denizens of the Writers' Cafe to promote their works through doing a guest blog, Q &A, etc. as I assume the blog will always be supportive of other writers from these boards.

I think four to five others writers would be the right number to launch this thing.  I am thinking of calling it The Writers' Bloc, but am open to other ideas.

If anyone is interested, please let me know.

 

[Guest]

I actually participate in a blog site like what you are suggesting. Speak Without Interruption. Its a wordpress site that Bob Grant put together and then went out and recruited authors he wanted to participate. Bob puts a LOT of work into the site, however (of course, there are a lot more than five of us!).

If you can't get any takers, you may want to check it out and join.

 

[Anotherdreamer]

I just started trying to do one, and I'm already daunted at the commitment.
This is a link to my first post.
http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/3622046-to-plot-or-not
Let me know if you want me to join. I think it's a great idea.

 

[MLKatz]

Sometimes I am a merry misfit, but other times I run more into maudlin misfit territory. Anyway, I ca be called upon for guest posts about something or other, plus a FB plug.

If you're looking for a place to guest post, I also run http://publishmyself.net. I've published several guest posts by authors from here and a couple of other places I troll around on. They have all survived the experience.

If anybody has something to spout off or brag about, let me know.

 

[cekilgore]

I'd be up for a guest post / being a contributor. You can check out my blog for an idea of my blogging topics and style:

http://www.TracingTheStars.com

Send me a pm or catch me on fb/twitter

 

[Nope]

.

 

[MarcusPeterson]

Thanks for the responses so far.  To be clear, I don't anticipate that I will be running everything.  I think the contributors will all have equal rights to post content and as a group we will agree who else to feature, interview, etc.

C.C. - no worries on the hijack, and I will check your site out.

 

[Anotherdreamer]

Thanks for the responses so far. To be clear, I don't anticipate that I will be running everything.

Completely understand! Still interested if you want me. : ) You can shoot me a pm.

 

[Elizabeth Ann West]

If you're going to start a grog (group blog):

1) Have some kind of schedule or metric to make sure everyone is pulling his or her weight. Consider two tiers of contributors, staff and guest, so that authors with varying levels of commitment can be featured, but no one gets angry when authors with bigger platforms magically drop off the face of the planet 4 weeks after launch because they're busy with their careers. You need a good mix of newbies (high enthusiasm) and old salts (high experience), and not be afraid to change out the batting line up when you need to.

2) Have a backdoor channel for discussion that is NOT email. There is nothing on earth worse than an email chain with 40 people CC'd. Seriously. One grog I am a member of uses a Facebook group (private).

3) Don't let authors email you the post, make them use Wordpress or whatever CMS or blogging software you are using to post it themselves.

4) Consider letting members of the group contribute the best ways they can. For example, in Indie Chicks, we have some members that are all-stars at social media and they broadcast everything, others are blog post writers extraordinaire etc. Let people bring their best talents to the table.

5) Consider delegating some of the cheerleading leadership roles. Keeping a GROG going is tough, you need a few lieutenants that can help you raise morale and keep the truck going. Leading a bunch of volunteers, which is what a grog mostly is, takes a different kind of leadership than "Do it or get kicked out." Trust me, there is nothing pretty about a grog breaking up over drama and it only ends in a bunch of nasty viral posts, one-star reviews, and broken hearts.

6) Audience, audience, audience. If your audience is other authors, by all means, write all day long about the process of writing. If you want actual readers, be interesting. Humor, instructional guides, news commentary, etc. are all far better than "How I get into the mindset of my character..."

7) Read up on running a blog if you've never done one before. It takes TIME to build traffic, SEO is important, and there are other practices you can employ to help grow your ORGANIC traffic a little faster. Don't buy programs that will sell you link backs etc. But reading a few blogging resources will save you from a climb that's 80 degrees instead of a more gentle 30 degree incline.

 

[MarcusPeterson]

Thanks for the tips Elizabeth - great advice!

 

[Cherise]

I participate in a grog called knowabit. PM me if you would like to contribute to it.

http://knowabit.com/

 

[J Bridger]

Oh I have a blog at http://jbridgerwriting.blogspot.com or "Publishing the Paranormal" and I'd love to contribute. PM me.