Post by account_disabled on Jan 1, 2024 0:43:58 GMT -5
More than once someone has asked me, on the blog or in private, how a debut writer can make himself known . Or even emerging or aspiring. In the end, little changes: you're a beginner when you've just published, you're emerging when you're in the same condition (you're emerging from anonymity), you're aspiring when you haven't published anything yet, not even on your own, not even in a blog. In any case, few or even none know these authors. When I talked about how important it is to build your own readership , I wrote that you need to: create a blog and author platform publish stories on the blog build relationships by frequenting other blogs and social media In the comments, some readers said that the blog is not strictly necessary and that in any case it should not publish articles on writing, as many writer bloggers do (present!), because it would attract an audience of other writers and not readers.
The reasoning goes. But then what to publish on your blog? And if the blog is not necessary, then how to make yourself known? The blog as an author platform: what strategy? In the comments, some Italian authors discovered by large publishers were shown as examples, authors who in their blogs talked about the topics they wrote about, such as "flaws in law firms, office life, mothers dealing with children and love" . Well. But doesn't this tell you anything? Doesn't that suggest something to you? Those authors published mainstream novels, not genre novels (horror, fantasy, crime, etc.). It's fine for a mainstream author to talk about "life niches" in his blog. But what Special Data should a genre author talk about in his blog? I can't talk about the topics that interest me. I am interested in nature, the countryside, animals, nature photography, the mountains, snow and ice, caves, forests. And beer, too. (And books, of course). Do I need to talk about all this? Well, I don't care, really. And what would I do with these articles? These are themes that do not enter, except marginally, into my stories.
But they are also topics that I wouldn't know what to write about. I wouldn't build any readership with these themes. Genre authors: which blog? One might say: a blog that talks about themes related to the narrative genre you write about. Should a mystery writer write about crime themes, a science fiction author about futuristic technology and related themes, a fantasy author about myths, legends and fantastic creatures? Once again I am forced to look at the issue from my point of view: I am not interested in talking about these topics, I wouldn't know what to write, yet they are the genres that I prefer to read and write about. And they are stories that I prefer to see at the cinema more willingly than others. Getting known as writers means publishing While we haven't solved the blog topic problem for an author – and I don't think we ever will – let's move on to the second point on my list of 3 on how to build a readership: publish stories . To be appreciated, an author must overcome shyness and show what he writes.
The reasoning goes. But then what to publish on your blog? And if the blog is not necessary, then how to make yourself known? The blog as an author platform: what strategy? In the comments, some Italian authors discovered by large publishers were shown as examples, authors who in their blogs talked about the topics they wrote about, such as "flaws in law firms, office life, mothers dealing with children and love" . Well. But doesn't this tell you anything? Doesn't that suggest something to you? Those authors published mainstream novels, not genre novels (horror, fantasy, crime, etc.). It's fine for a mainstream author to talk about "life niches" in his blog. But what Special Data should a genre author talk about in his blog? I can't talk about the topics that interest me. I am interested in nature, the countryside, animals, nature photography, the mountains, snow and ice, caves, forests. And beer, too. (And books, of course). Do I need to talk about all this? Well, I don't care, really. And what would I do with these articles? These are themes that do not enter, except marginally, into my stories.
But they are also topics that I wouldn't know what to write about. I wouldn't build any readership with these themes. Genre authors: which blog? One might say: a blog that talks about themes related to the narrative genre you write about. Should a mystery writer write about crime themes, a science fiction author about futuristic technology and related themes, a fantasy author about myths, legends and fantastic creatures? Once again I am forced to look at the issue from my point of view: I am not interested in talking about these topics, I wouldn't know what to write, yet they are the genres that I prefer to read and write about. And they are stories that I prefer to see at the cinema more willingly than others. Getting known as writers means publishing While we haven't solved the blog topic problem for an author – and I don't think we ever will – let's move on to the second point on my list of 3 on how to build a readership: publish stories . To be appreciated, an author must overcome shyness and show what he writes.
