[jillb]

I've been checking out many author sites here and see that many authors blog about writing and indie publishing. I'm not posting this to be snarky or anything like that. I'm genuinely wondering what the purpose of posting about indie pub is, especially if one writes in a totally different genre.

For example, my target reader audience are white, middle to upper middle class, stay at home mums for whom family, home and community are most important to them. They may be liberal yuppies/hippies or ultra conservative. Ironically, my niche is where both meet.

Anyway, if my reader were to go to my site, I would imagine that they won't really be interested in reading about me tearing my hair out trying to list my book on GP. Instead, I include (and will include) more resources and affiliate links to items that may be of interest to my readers.

I realize that my marketing standpoint is different from fiction writers which is why the idea of so many writers blogging about indie publishing on their site baffles me. Do your readers like reading about your process? Are you trying to get a following from other indie-publishers and if so, why? Is putting a blog on your site simply for SEO reasons? Or do you simply like writing period?

 

[cinisajoy]

Who is your blog aimed at?  Readers or other authors?   
On the other bloggers:
I think they do it for the booze.   
Seriously, if you are talking about the bunch I am think of (love you guys if you read this) they do it more to help educate new authors.

 

[Chris Fox]

The primary reason is because that's what many authors are interested in. I don't typically post articles for writers, but the first time I made an exception that article received a ton of traffic and several readers told me they found it fascinating even though they aren't writers.

I don't think it's the 'best' content you can post, but at the end of the day you need to post about what you're interested in. If that's writing, then post about writing =)

 

[SB James]

Right now, I have a blog that is, basically, more for authors than readers. Other authors are the ones following the blog most. Once I get my real website up and running, I will have a blog that is much more related to the subjects of my books, along with this blog.
I had made no less than three previous attempts to keep a blog, and this is the only one that has stuck, though I admit I don't post there as often as I think I should. But I like blogging actually, and I like to be able to post things I've been finding out as I go along this journey. Maybe someone might learn something from my blog, I don't know.

 

[Colorwheel]

Ha, not a bad point generally, I really do get what you're saying.

But...
a) I write about magic, which doesn't exist. This presents a problem.
b) I'm pretty 90% of my "reader" "base" was pity buys from Kboards anyway.

Overall I get what you're saying; it's a point where some of us (guilty!) could tighten up our messaging. But YMMV by your reader base and subject matter. Non-fictionists have a pretty clear-cut situation, but fiction varies a lot. What on earth am I supposed to blog about as a fantasy writer, other than other people's fantasy books? That's one good subject, but it only goes so far.

This does make me wonder what fantastically creative things that writers in some genres could start blogging about.

 

[MyraScott]

I think most people do it because it's on the list of "things to do."

Quite a few are mystified by the whole marketing process which seems like voodoo.    Chant three times under a full harvest moon and sacrifice your favorite copy of a leather-bound classic while humming Twinkle twinkle little star and you'll make a million dollars.

There are so many "do this" posts and lists and blogs that don't really explain why they do it, many will even say they don't understand why it worked or how people found them, but they did it and there you go!  So the hopefuls walk in the same footsteps, hoping for the same magic.

A blog is one of the magic ingredients to a successful marketing plan.  So people do it.

 

[ufwriter]

Chant three times under a full harvest moon and sacrifice your favorite copy of a leather-bound classic while humming Twinkle twinkle little star and you'll make a million dollars.

*adds to the to-do list*

 

[MyraScott]

OMG!

The secret is out...

 

[Z. Rider]

I don't blog for my readers; I do it for myself...which is why I talk about writing and publishing. It helps me get my own thoughts organized. (Likewise I don't read my favorite author's blogs...not unless they're saying interesting things about writing and publishing, because that's primarily what I care to read. Most of them are not doing that. (At least I don't think they are...I never think to check if an author even has a blog. I just swing from interesting link to interesting link via Twitter, The Passive Voice, SelfPub Buzz, here, and wherever else I find interesting links popping up.))

My book's website is for my readers, though, and when I get around to fixing the Books area of my author website, that'll be for my readers too. I mean to make that the home page, but...gah, so many things to do, and my husband forgets who I am if I don't show my face upstairs every now and then.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I don't post about 'writing' perse, more about tropes and execution. The goal is to help my readers become more discerning consumers of popular culture (It's not just that you liked or disliked something, it's why you did) and encourage them to produce (good) works themselves.

Why do I do that? Because Jon Rogers, Roger Ebert, David X Cohen, Matt Groening, and Lewis Lovhaug did so for me and I'm all the better for it.

 

[Patty Jansen]

All of the above.

I can also say (having blogged about many other subjects), that blog post about other subjects will attract all sorts of people who are just looking for the information. Many of these people are not readers. They just want a shortcut to their high school assignment. Or something.

If you blog about writing, your posts will attract writers. There are a LOT of writers and sometime-wannabe writers in the world. The posts I make about writing have far higher page views than general posts.

The difference between these hopeful writers and the general public? A very high percentage of them are also readers and genre fans.

 

[Stephanie Marks]

I tend to not blog about the "publishing process" but I do blog about writing. I have a "Writer Radio" category where I post a YouTube video to a song that I've been writing to, or was the soundtrack to a fight scene. Or my "Author Inspiration" posts, about movies or books and the like that inspired some thought about writing. The random, cute animal post because, who doesn't love fuzzy duckies?

I just don't have enough first hand knowledge about publishing yet to write about it in a way that would help anyone. Once my book is out I'll add a category about book details, like pics of the car that William drives, or my inspiration for the manor.

I can blog about things like that easily, and hopefully it will be interesting to the non-writers. But the publishing process? Meh *shrug*.

 

[ArchangelEST]

I blog for numerous reasons:

1) I can help others by spreading my knowledge, experiences, ideas or by sharing the work of others through my blog
2) It helps to focus my thoughts, keep my mind fresh, my understanding of my niche topics up to date and relevant
3) It helps to improve my writing skills
4) It's a means to interact with my target audience, convert new fans and make valuable contacts with others
5) It's a viable business practice. If your content is valuable, you can very easily get a large daily reader base by doing good SEO. Even if they are not your ideal target audience in terms of buying your books, you can still easily monetize your site through things like Google Adsense which tailors all ads to individual visitors - meaning they will always be relevant to those people.

So yeah. Lots of reasons to blog. Some altruistic, some selfish, some just practical.

 

[C. Gockel]

Most writers are readers. I purchase at least one book a week, and have a Scribd subscription. I did discover Lindsay Buroker's books because of her book blog. Because I liked all the information she shared I downloaded Emperor's Edge ... and then I binge read them over the course of a week.

Still, the posts that get the most traction are the ones where I post pretty pictures I've made ... 'cause I don't blog, I Tumblr.

 

[Micah Ackerman]

I'm coming from the other angle with my blog....

I don't blog about writing at all, well once in awhile I'll post about my new releases and I'll do a cover reveal, stuff like that , back matter etc. etc.

My blog is about completely different stuff and it's popular, it kind of happened by accident. In fact it's gotten to the point where it sometimes gets to be too much ie. taking away from my marketing time. I average a decently high number of readers per day and the reason I do it is because it gets eyes on my books. I always thought the idea was to attract readers, not writers, but for me the object of the game is parlaying those blog readers into book readers.

I originally started blogging because it was stuff that I was interested in and it does relate to my genre. It's kind of become a separate thing from my books though (although there is a small bit of crossover). For me it's a way to talk about things that I find fascinating and it's a way to connect with people, both who read my books and those who dont.

I make some money from google adsense, but if I could find a way to make more that'd be really nice. I do get a lot of mailing list sign-ups from it.

Micah

 

[LindsayBuroker]

I wouldn't blog at all, aside from mentioning new releases, if I didn't blog about self-publishing and marketing. You have to write about what you're excited about, and I don't actually read that much in my own genre any more. Too difficult to turn off the internal editor. I could review books on diet and real estate investing, but somehow I doubt that would sell many fantasy books.

Interestingly, I often sell my fiction via links on my self-publishing blog (*waves to C. Gockel*). I use Amazon affiliate links, so I can tell when it happens. I figure some of the people who wander in, interested in the marketing topics, also happen to be fantasy fans. I've also gotten emails from people who have told me they *aren't* fantasy fans but that they want to support me and have purchased a book. Sometimes it's more about your personality and how that comes out in your posts than what you actually write about. If someone likes the way you rub words together, they might just pick up a book.

That said, I don't usually tell people to follow in my footsteps. My pen name blogs about new releases, and that's it. It works. My pen name also doesn't get emailed for advice on self-publishing, heh, and there's something to be said for that.

 

[C. Gockel]

That said, I don't usually tell people to follow in my footsteps. My pen name blogs about new releases, and that's it. It works. My pen name also doesn't get emailed for advice on self-publishing, heh, and there's something to be said for that.

Wait, wait, wait ... why you're here Lindsay, there was a question I was meaning to ask you ...

 

[Jeroen Steenbeeke]

I blog about whatever strikes my fancy. Books I've read (sharing both positive and negative experiences), music I listen to while writing, interesting physics issues I run into when writing fantasy (for instance: how does Newton's Third Law work with Telekinesis?), (quasi)-philosophical questions with a twist (for instance: suppose you could go back to an earlier point in your life and retain your memories, wouldn't that drive you nuts in the end?).

I do have a few articles about writing in general, but those are kind of rare. I don't enjoy writing those articles usually (and why are you blogging if it's not fun?). If people ask me for that kind of information it's usually easier for my to find something appropriate that someone else wrote

 

[PearlEarringLady]

I started off with the theory that my writing blog was for my readers (ha! if I ever have any), so I would write background to the books, do character profiles, etc. Which got virtually no hits. When I wrote about writer-oriented stuff, I got hits and even comments. So I reckon that's what people are interested in.

 

[Stephanie Marks]

I started off with the theory that my writing blog was for my readers (ha! if I ever have any), so I would write background to the books, do character profiles, etc. Which got virtually no hits. When I wrote about writer-oriented stuff, I got hits and even comments. So I reckon that's what people are interested in.

Oh god don't tell me that! I'm doomed, DOOMED!