Lorraine Mace

Write Away! July 2009

Text Box: Blog Abroad There was a time when living abroad meant cutting oneself off from the rest of the world. As promotion of books often involved long-distance travel, proving to agents and publishers that you could establish a fan base was almost impossible. Unless you were already well-known before relocating, how could an unknown writer build a loyal readership? A decade ago, such a thing was virtually unattainable, but not any more. Now virtually is the way to go – or rather, building a virtual fan base is. Why blog? The ideal situation would be to have a website to showcase published work and a blog to impress agents and publishers with your self-marketing skills. A website rarely brings people back unless it is updated with new work on a regular basis – and even then, it doesn’t allow for interaction between you and your (hopefully) growing band of readers. How to blog? First decide on a theme. As you will need to update it at least two or three times a week – more if you can manage – you should make the topic something that interests you. Writing your posts should be a pleasure, not a chore. Why would anyone read your blog? Picking a topic is only the beginning. To get people to return (and recommend your blog to others) you need to follow a few basics. Stay focussed on the theme Post regularly to keep people coming back Use attention-grabbing titles Limit your posts to no more than 250 words Break up the text with lots of white space Socialise and build links It’s no use having a blog if you don’t have any readers. The following tips will help you to add to your followers. Put your blog address in your email signature and that of any forums to which you belong – even if those forums are nothing to do with your topic – you’d be amazed how many people read blogs from links they’ve seen on a forum When someone leaves a comment on one of your blog posts, get involved in a conversation Add lots of topical links and encourage others to link to your blog When you pitch to an agent or publisher, wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to say you already have a massive following who will buy your book? Blogging could be the way to ensure that happens. Write Away! Notes from the Margin


Contact