Hydra Publications discussion

Do all of you have blogs?

What genre do you write your books in?

What do you write about on your blogs?

Do you have questions about how to make your blogs more effective?

If you aren't blogging what's holding you back?

I had a Wordpress blog to promote a certain book. Then I let it go. Started blogging on Goodreads a while back. My agent told me to use Wordpress again, so I opened a blog there today. So it's funny you should ask.
I was writing for adults, but my rep wants me to aim younger. (YA) So I am.

So what kinds of topics are you going to talk about? Are you aiming at girls and boys? Did your agent give you more detailed advice?

The agent is correct that a standalone WordPress site in your author name is ideal. It can be linked to your author GR and Amazon profiles and possibly other retailers/review sites (I'm limited in tech knowledge; I focus more on concepts & learning to use help & customer support).

I will look for some articles on what an author site should have on it and post them here as I find them... I really need to do a resource doc for myself so I can find things when I need them.

Probably popular culture, it's my bailiwick, but written in a young-ish voice. My marching orders are to appeal to teens.

You may already know this but others may not. You'll want a "press room" on your blog. Indies Unlimited has a great article on what should be included and how to create it on WordPress http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2012/0...

Thanks!

I love blogging and collecting others' blogs - it's my new internet obsession :)

here's mine - http://lauracrean.wordpress.com/2013/...

Is there a reason your poetry is not listed on your Goodreads profile Laura? Off topic I know.

What types of topics do you blog about and how do they relate to your books?

Here's my blog. There, I do not blog about my books, but I do write about my creations and such.

http://brickscoolingboard.blogspot.com/

Make sure your blogs have easy to find links/icons to follow you on your other social media. Also make sure its easy for someone to follow your blog by email and other method. Look into feedburner (I need to do this myself). I only read blogs that make it to my email. Others only read blogs in their preferred blog reader so you want to give them choices.

You want to make sure what you are blogging about will bring in potential readers so the topics have to be of interest to them and be interesting enough for them to share on various social media. I wrote a blog post on the topic http://tasha-turner.com/blogging-for-...

I have a blog. Actually I have two blogs. I started my first to journal the progress of my books. There's some cool things on there concerning my research for The Ian's Realm saga, like how to build a yurt, photos from my tall ship experience and exploring a cave for the dragon's lair. I did a Name the Dragon contest. I haven't been really creative lately as I've had to trade off with other authors and highlight their books.

I have a blog: http://MarianAllen.com - Marian Allen: Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

I blog every day. On Monday, I blog about books or writing, or have a guest. On Tuesday, I blog about food. Fridays, I often recommend movies, books, or other websites. Saturday is #Caturday, and Sunday is #SampleSunday, when I post flash fiction or excerpts from my work.

There are links to my stories available free on my site or other sites, and links to places I hang out online.

Anybody who's having trouble getting into blogging might think about joining the April A-to-Z Blogging challenge next year. Participants are encouraged to blog every day but Sunday that month, and to keep their posts very short. It's a good way to form the habit.