There’s this week. Then there’s Christmas. Then there’s New Year’s.
Like it or not, it’s almost 2019.
With that recognition, let’s throw the long list of book genres we’ve been covering to the side for 2018. Chances are, if you’re writing a book, we already covered your fiction or nonfiction category over the past 50 weeks.
For these last 14 days, let’s get thinking about our writing-related New Year’s resolutions instead.
If one of them is writing a new book, stay tuned. Innovative Editing will be rolling out a new incentive-based program next year. It’s specifically designed to push you past all your excuses to make 2019 the year you really write a full first draft.
This is all about literally putting your money where your mouth is, giving you every reason to write.
Though maybe you don’t need it. Maybe you’re already writing. Maybe you’ve already written. And edited. And published, only to pick up pen and paper and start writing all over again.
In that case, here’s a different New Year’s resolution you might want to consider…
Starting an author blog.
I know that ellipses (i.e., …) can be very leading grammatical tools, too often used in shady advertising schemes.
But wait… There’s more!
Innovative Editing, however, strives to be as non-shady as possible. So let’s be upfront and honest about the ellipses that last segment pretty much closed with.
They’re not meant to pressure you into anything.
Starting up an author blog is not something you have to do. It might not even be something you need to do.
On the one hand, it can be effective for actual authors and authors-in-the-making. (That’s right, you don’t have to be published to have one.) On the other hand, it’s not even close to being a surefire way to success.
It’s a chance you take, just like any other business decision available to your authorial fingertips.
An author blog is simply a place where an author or author-to-be keeps a blog. That’s the most simple way of looking at it; just about as straightforward as you can get.
It’s not very helpful though, unlike our writing Definition right below.
Author Blog:
This is a way to grow and keep a following in order to stay front and center in people’s book-loving brains as you publish more novels or nonfiction works.
Maintaining an author blog is a business decision... don’t ever think otherwise. This means you need to make sure you’re keeping it professional. You can still have fun with it and get creative. Please do! But don’t treat it like your online journal, where you share absolutely everything about yourself and your life. Treat it as a place to talk to your audience on their level about their interests.
If you want the best shot at actually using it to bring in some extra income, don’t use it to complain or talk incessantly about your cats (unless your book is about cats). Use it to share.
Don’t use it to talk about everything you love either. Use it to talk about everything you and your ideal readers both love.
If you’re a historical fiction or nonfiction writer, for example, tell them about cool historical discoveries, the historical research you’re doing, and the intriguing details you’ve found but couldn’t manage to fit in your book or book-to-be.
If you’re a fantasy writer, perhaps write up reviews of other fantasy books you’re reading, explain how you come up with your fantastical ideas, and include your musings about what the people around you would be like if they were characters in fantasyland.
Again though, starting an author blog isn’t right for everyone. That’s why we’re discussing both the good side and bad side to picking up this business venture… starting with the bad on Thursday.