Monday, January 30, 2012

Successful Blogging

Sue Roebuck, a regular contributor to Book Blather, recently interviewed science fiction writer, Alex J. Cavanaugh. The following post first appeared on her blog, http://www.susanroebuck.com.
Welcome back to Book Blather, Sue.


Surely everyone - particularly those who adore SF - has heard of Alex J. Cavanaugh. He wrote a fabulous article for me here last year. He's also the author of the acclaimed Amazon best-seller SF adventure CassaStar and creator of its main character the rebellious, unforgettable whiz Cosbolt fighter-pilot Byron.
In addition, Alex is a successful blogger with a huge and faithful following - you can be proud if you say you belong to Alex's Ninja Army.
All writers should aspire to what he's achieved. So - and, of course, hoping to catch a few tips myself - I asked Alex to give some advice to those who are starting to blog.

Alex: Here’s a few things I’ve learned about blogging over the years:
  • Blog about your passions! Every blog needs a focus and it doesn’t have to be about writing. If you select your blog’s theme based on what fires you up, it will come through in your posts and draw in readers. 
  • Remain positive. Sure we have our down days. (I started the Insecure Writer’s Support Group for just that purpose.) But if you’re constantly negative, no one will stick around. 
  • Set a schedule. Even if it’s just a couple days a week. 
  • Blog details do matter. Place your Google Friends Connect button high on your sidebar. Make it easy for people to leave comments. (Embedded comment boxes and word verification are challenging.) Keep your posts short and invite others to get involved in the discussion. 
  • Follow a variety of other blogs. Don’t just follow other writers and authors. You’ll learn a lot following them, but when it comes time for your book to enter the world, you want as wide an audience as possible. 
  • Get involved. Blogging is a community. You need to get involved by commenting on other blogs and participating in blogfests and other events. You need to give back by encouraging others and shouting out their accomplishments. 
  • It’s not the followers, it’s the connections. Sure you want a lot of people following your blog. But forming relationships is more important. 
          Wow, that’s quite a list isn’t it?

Sue: But an invaluable list. Thank you :-)  I'll just check my Friends button...and see when the next blogfest is...
*** Very soon I’ll post Alex’s description of his new book  CassaFire which is out on February 28th – very exciting.

3 comments:

  1. Great suggestions Alex. Finding blog topics is often tough. My passion is writing, but I'm not sure that many readers want to hear about the fine points of POV and other writing related topics. I'm having trouble trying to figure out what else to blog about. Any suggestions?

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  2. Thanks for the kind words, Susan!

    Hey Jana! What genre do you write? Maybe you could focus on that instead? Say if it's romance, you could blog about love, relationships, romantic movies or songs, etc. You could really have fun with it!

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  3. Thanks for responding, Alex. You're welcome at Book Blather any time.

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