Top 100 Writing Blogs?!

Hey, folks, my little writing blog got featured on Feedspot's Top 100 Writing Blogs for Authors. Don't know enough about feedspot to put a value label on this, but it does look like a nice list of websites for writers, and I'm honored to be on it.

After all, my goal has always been to maintain the "best damn writing blog" for indie writers. 

[Link]7 Simple Steps to Writing Great ‘How To’ Content on Your Blog

by Darren Rowse

Yesterday I announced our ‘How To…’ group writing project and issued readers of ProBlogger with the challenge to go away and write a ‘How to‘ post for their blog.

On Twitter a number of people told me that they were having a little trouble with writing a ‘how to…’ post because it wasn’t their normal style of writing on their blog so I thought I’d jot down a few tips for writing ‘how to…’ content (something I’ve been creating for 10 years now on my blogs).

How to Write ‘How to’ Content on your Blog

What follows is how I personally tackle writing ‘how to’ or ‘tutorial’ style content. By no means is it the only way to do it – if you do it another way, please tell us about how you approach it in comments below – I’d love to learn from you!

1. Start with a Problem

Perhaps the best advice I can give on writing effective ‘how to’ posts on a blog is to put some time aside to identifying the problems that your readers have because the most effective how to posts are written about actual challenges that your readers might face.

As I’ve already written 11 tips on how to identify reader problems I won’t rehash them all here again – read this post!

2. Break it Down

With a problem or challenge that you want to solve for readers identified now is the time to break down the process for solving that issue.

With a problem in mind I generally take a little time before I start writing to come up with a list of steps to overcome the problem. I personally do this usually but jotting down some bullet points in a notepad (retro of me I know) or in a text document on my computer).

If the problem I’m writing about is more complex I also occasionally will break down the process for solving it using a MindMap (I use MindNode either on my iPad or computer).

I find by identifying what I want to write about before I start writing that I’m much more effective in writing the post because I know where I’m headed!

I also find having this helpful because as I’m actually writing I will often have other ideas for the post (or for followup posts) on the fly and I jot these down on the list so I don’t lose them.

Read the full article: https://problogger.com/7-simple-steps-to-writing-great-how-to-content-on-your-blog/

Bibliorati.com is looking for writers!

 

www.Bibliorati.com is up and running and seems to be a hit!

Do you want to be a part of this great team bringing Readers and Those Who Write For Them Together?

We need more contributors! You can do reviews, interviews, or articles on a broad topic relating to literature/books/reading. Not all three in your weekly column, but one of those three in your column. Yes, Weekly:)

Minimum length is 500 words, maximum 2,000 words.

If you're interested, email biblioratione@gmail.com with your idea for a weekly column. We have three slots open currently, but can take as many as ten additional contributors. This is not currently a paying venture, but if you would like to be a part of what we're doing with your own column, please let us know!

Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action Blog Welcomes Tommy Hancock Onboard As a Regular Columnist

For Immediate Release

October 14, 2015

Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action Blog Welcomes Tommy Hancock Onboard As a Regular Columnist

Atlanta, Ga.—Anyone who has read almost any book in the new pulp movement should have more than just a passing knowledge of Tommy Hancock. In addition to being a writer and publisher, he was recently the pivotal point upon which one of the greatest collection of new pulp writers gathered to create an anthology to benefit him in his medical ills, scheduled for release in late 2015.

But now he’s back… along with all those ignited, controversial, and often just plain fun opinions that have made him so followed and popular with his fans.

That means his former blog, Ideas Like Bullets, now has a new home as a weekly column at the Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action Blog. Tommy’s columns will appear every Friday on the blog as a regular feature until either his fingers fall off from typing or the Martian tripods invade and take over.

“I can’t even come up with words to tell you how happy I am to have Tommy over at the blog,” says Sean Taylor, administrator and creator of the Bad Girls… blog. “Tommy’s not only a great friend and a supporter, but he’s also one of the guys who has helped build new pulp, helped it grow up and embrace the broader marketability of genre fiction. I can’t wait to see what he has to say.”

“It’s been an interesting few months health wise for me, which always leaves someone reflective. One thing I spent a lot of time doing, though, was keeping my mind focused on what would come next, which is something I do on a regular basis anyway. Pulp is a primary part of my life, my career as the full timed Editor in Chief at Pro Se Productions, but also just something that is very important to me. And I realized I had things to say, things that didn’t really fit on the Pro Se page, but also weren’t comments or such I wanted to make anywhere else, because most of my social media stuff is mostly hewed to Pro Se or my own writing promotion. So I considered going back into blogging, something I’d done intermittently before, but at least an arena where I could sort of take the hat off if I wanted and talk about whatever seemed to perk, pique, or peeve my interest. And although there will be times that it doesn’t seem to have much to do with writing it all, for me, everything ends up back at writing and Pulp, no matter how eclectic the path I take to get there is. And when the opportunity to become a part of the fantastic, over-the-top blog Sean is doing presented itself, I’d have had to be a dead John Doe in a dark back alley not to say yes.”

Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action is the official writing blog of Sean Taylor. But it's not just a place to promote his stuff. It's a resource of information about writing and creating genre fiction, literary prose, comic books, and just about anything else you can create with pens, pencils, paper, or word-processing software and a printer. On the site, you'll be able to find publishers calling for submissions, tutorials about the craft of writing and editing, interviews with other writers, links to helpful and fascinating articles about the art, craft and business of writing and publishing, etc. -- and of course, yes, you'll also be able to keep up with whatever Sean has his writerly little paws involved in too. To visit the blog, go to http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com. For more information, email staylor104@aol.com.

[Link] The Biggest Business Mistake I Ever Made

by Joel Friedlander

I didn’t know it when it happened, but it was the teleconference call that changed my life—my business life.

It was a monthly call with a mastermind group. We talked about marketing and tried to help each other get better at it.

Although my blog was becoming popular, I was struggling trying to find ways to make it profitable.

I was describing my frustration about this when one of the group members asked how my email list was doing.

“Pretty poorly, to be honest,” I replied. “I started a newsletter a few years ago, but haven’t kept it up, and there aren’t a lot of signups anyway, so why bother?”

“Well that’s your problem right there,” he said. “You’ve got great traffic, all you have to do is start building that list and you’ll be amazed at what happens next.”

He went on to give me some specific ideas about how to go about doing that.

So I started working on growing my email list, and eventually I found out my friend was right. This one effort has completely changed my business, my relationships with my peers, and the number of opportunities that are open to me.

Read the full article: http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2015/05/the-biggest-business-mistake-i-ever-made/

Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action is looking for guest bloggers!

If you're a writer who likes to write (or talk) about writing as much as actually write, then I'm looking for you.

As you probably know, maintaining a writer's blog and keeping fresh, interesting, practical and helpful content constantly updated is no small chore -- and quite a time-consuming one. So... I need your help.

What I'm looking for are short articles on the craft or spirit of writing, reading, creating, and/or balancing the creative and everyday life. Articles that are genre-specific, such as "Writing Steampunk" or "Keeping Suspense in Romance" are perfectly acceptable and oh so welcome. Articles that ignore genre altogether such as "Falling in Love with Sounds -- The Poetry of Prose" are equally perfect for what I'm looking for.

If you've got a nugget you want to share, please email me at staylor104@aol.com and I'll add you to the schedule. Please be sure to include a bio and links to your web presence.

Thanks.

Bibbity, Bloggity, Boo -- Writers Who Blog

Let's talk turkey about being a writer with a blog, shall we?

What is the purpose of your blog -- to promote your name and work, to post personal anecdotes, to build a community of your supporters, etc.?

Marian Allen: All of the above. I use my blog (http://marianallen.com/) to showcase my work, but I also share information and recommendations with fellow writers, fellow readers, and fellow foodies.

Mark Bousquet: I guess I'm a bit different in that my blog and my writing are separate - that is, the main point of the blog (https://atomicanxiety.wordpress.com/) is to review movies and TV shows while the main point of my fiction writing is, well, fiction writing. I certainly promote my fiction on the blog and will, every so often, talk about it, but people come for the reviews. I might get one or two clicks leaving the blog to go look at a book at Amazon or something for every 500 people who visit the site.

Jack Mackenzie: All three. I blog as Jack Mackenzie (jackmackenziewriter.wordpress.com/) and the main purpose of the blog is promotion, but people won't keep visiting a blog that is only used for advertising. You have to offer something to keep people's interest, on a regular basis, to keep them coming ba ck. Odd as it may seem, nothing keeps people interested more than personal stories. People love to hear about other people's every day existence. You don't have to be the most interesting person in the world. It seems that in a blog format what people are looking for is something that connects you to them and vice versa. If you give that to readers you also have to give them the opportunity to connect and have their say and thus your blog become part of a social network.

Don Thomas: Originally I would have to say the main focus of my blog (http://donthomas6.wordpress.com/) was to share personal anecdotes written primarily in a stream of consciousness, somewhat informal manner.  Mainly about whatever subject I felt inspired enough to whip up and complete an individual blog article for.  Essentially the writing equivalent of a professional poker player occasionally playing a couple of games of solitaire when they're bored.  Then later on I started using it more and more for promotion of not only my work, but the people I was currently working creatively with or at the very least would one day would like an opportunity to work with.  I guess you could say by that time I was working towards building up a community of supporters, although it had far less to do with the people who took the time to read my blog and much more about the individuals that I took the time and effort to feature in one of my blog posts. 

To me blogging was something for a long time that was outside the sphere of directly helping my career as a writer.  Yes I could see the potential was there for it to play a more major role, and I even did some research into the series of how-to steps involved in transitioning my informal blog into a force to be reckoned with on its own.  But I refrained from putting forth the full effort with my blogging, as honestly I had never set out for it to be anything writing wise that I wasn't doing occasionally on the side whenever the mood significantly struck me.

Yet still cared enough to map out a strategy in case I ever wanted to put any real effort into it.  I guess in the end the proof is in the pudding, because the one person I ever took the time to share the information and strategy on blogging I had come up with was originally just looking to build up interest on a comic book project they had come up with.  Now seven months later with 40,000 + blog views under their belt they've come to the decision their primary focus should be their blog.

That's the way it goes sometimes, and they certainly weren't the first person I've taken the time to freely give out some informative advice.  Done the same with Sean in regards to a completely different matter, and both times I genuinely wanted both to take what they could from the information I freely provided and run with it as far as they could, snatching up just as much success as they could.

But with that said, whatever I've already mapped out a strategy for, I'm just as capable of putting to good use for myself.  So let's just leave it at in December my blog is going to go through a bit of a transition.  Going to be something that's probably going to take a lot of people by complete surprise.  Then they just might sit back and ponder the possibilities of what I could accomplish with a blog, if I ever decided to put any real effort into it.

The irony for me is that, as Jack Mackenzie is a pseudonym, I have to make the blog personal while maintaining what is essentially a facade. That is a challenge.

Derrick Ferguson: All three, I suppose. To be brutally honest about it, I started the three blogs I have as a way of keeping stuff separate: there's my movie reviews (https://derricklferguson.wordpress.com/), my Dillon stories (http://dillon-dlferguson.blogspot.com/) and everything else (http://dlferguson-bloodandink.blogspot.com/). Previously I was using my Live Journal for that but I soon found out that nobody really was interested. Unless it was the movie reviews. Those always got responses and started lively discussions.

And then I was constantly being told by other writers that I should have a blog/website/whatever as readers like to feel that they're connected to writers.

How do you balance your time between writing for your blog and writing your stories and articles?

Marian Allen: Writing daily for my blog has made me more productive in writing fiction. Even if I don't get any fiction writing done, I've kept the juices flowing by writing a little blog post. When I DO sit down to work on a story or novel, the words flow more easily than before I took up blogging.

Mark Bousquet: I try to use the blog and the fiction to balance each other out. While I was working on the Marvel Comics on Film reviews (https://atomicanxiety.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/atomic-reactions-marvel-comics-on-film-now-available-on-kindle/), I did little creative writing, but now that that's finished, I'm doing very little reviewing. I find that it helps keep me always writing.

Jack Mackenzie: As with everything - if it's important enough (and I believe that it is) then you will find the time. Of course, that doesn't mean the occasional missed deadline, even if it is self-imposed.

Don Thomas: Blog article writing is primarily something I have always done on the side.  I guess if I hadn't given up watching television altogether a little over half a decade ago, finding the time might every once in a while might be something of an issue.

Derrick Ferguson: I only post stuff on my blogs when I have something to say. I really don't see the reason to post stuff just to be posting stuff or to constantly promise readers that "There's some really BIG STUFF in the works!" I know that for me, as a reader, the fourth or fifth time you tell me that there's BIG STUFF in the works I yawn and go away. Wait until you can tell me what the BIG STUFF is and then post it.

Most writers I know how a set day that they post every week but I'm just not that organized. Maybe if I were I'd have more books written.

How important is your blog to your success as a writer?

Marian Allen: My blog is very important to my success, if only for the answer I gave in #2. Besides that, though, posting on my blog and being involved in social networking in order to promote my blog has put me into contact with some super people, both writerly and readerly. I've begun to be invited to submit to anthologies due to contacts I've made through blogging and social media.

Mark Bousquet: Financially? Very little. But I believe more writers should do criticism and more critics should do writing, so I try to practice what I preach. I think investigating other stories makes my own work much better.

Jack Mackenzie: I'm not sure how important it is to my success, but it does keep my name out there. It's not going to make a splash right away but if it is out there consistently then when someone sees my book for sale elsewhere, I'm hoping they remember my blog and maybe something funny or silly th at I wrote their and they may say; "Hey, I've heard of that guy! Let's give his book a try!"

Don Thomas: I certainly never considered blogging to be a make or break thing as far as how successful of a writer I could become.  I knew it could enhance the possibilities, but truth is I put about as much stock in focusing on becoming a true professional blogger as I've put into becoming a professional karaoke singer.

Derrick Ferguson: See, that's a hard question to answer because I have zero knowledge of how my blog is influencing readers. Most of the feedback I get is from other writers, which I appreciate...don't get me wrong. But it's extremely rare for a reader to email me or leave a comment.

What advice would you give a writer who is contemplating begin of regular blog of his or her own?

Marian Allen: The best advice I can give is: Don't burn yourself out. Not everybody needs to post every day, or would enjoy it. You have to enjoy it. I have certain days for certain types of posts: Monday is writing advice, reviews, blog guests. Wednesday is food. Friday is recommendations (websites, authors, books, movies). Saturday is Caturday. Sunday is Sample Sunday. That leaves Tuesday and Thursday for general nonsense. I also blog at Fatal Foodies every Tuesday, Echelon Explorations once a month, and The Write Type once a month. But my main advice is: look over blogs you like, see how what you like fits with what you would enjoy doing, and jump in.

Mark Bousquet: Don't let the blog overwhelm you, but don't treat it like a placeholder, either. Give people a reason to come visit.

Jack Mackenzie: Do it. Don't be a slave to it but do update regularly. Don't be afraid to promote but don't overdo it. Offer readers something of yourself. You don't have to strive to be exciting or controversial, just be yourself. Above all, be honest.

Don Thomas: In this case I'll keep my blogging advice to two primary points.  One, I'd say the best thing to do is to work up a couple of blog articles at first and before you publish them on some newly created blogging account, go out and request feedback from those you know who have a decent amount of blogging experience under their belt.  Two, if you're planning on using Google's Blogger.com, then right off the back you are settling ... unless that is you are already some sort of blogging savant and just didn't know it.

Of course there's more to having a successful blog than just those two bits of information, and I certainly don't know it all.  But I figure that should be sufficient helpful advice for someone who is looking to get started.

Derrick Ferguson: Be sure you have something of importance to say. Don't waste the reader's time. Be sure you convey information of what you are going to do and when you're going to do it and not just of what you plan to do five miles down the road. Be concise. Be entertaining. Relax and have fun. If you look upon it as a chore, that's exactly what it's going to be.

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#237) -- Blogging Intentions

What would you recommend for a fellow writer looking to start a serious writing blog?

By "serious" writing blog, I assume that means you're wanting to avoid the more personal blog about what's going on generally in your life and family, and not just posting your old poetry or waxing nostalgic about your favorite season or scrap-booking (not that there's anything wrong with those things).

I'm by no means and expert at maintaining a "serious" blog about writing, but since I'm the only one on whose behalf I can communicate, I'll pass along what I did to start and maintain this blog.  

First, I went into the blog with a plan.

That means I figured out the goals and pacing and schedule of the blog before I ever wrote the first post. My goals were:

1. Promote my work by promoting, encouraging, and assisting other writers.
2. Support the work of genre writers with practical helps, from tutorials to interviews to posting open submissions from various markets.
3. Build a stronger and larger network through interviews, guest posts, and roundtable discussions.

And...

4. Become the best damn genre writing blog on the planet. (I'm still working on that one.)

Next I committed to a flexible but regular schedule. 

When I started, I committed to posting at least three times a week. After I got into it and the content finalized, I realized I'd need to adapt my schedule. Now my schedule is:

1. Post a "The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now" post every weekday morning, if possible by 6:00 am.
2. Post a weekly roundtable discussion each Thursday at noon.
3. Post one additional post each day, whether a link to a writer-focused article on the web, an author interview, a press release about upcoming work (mine or others), open submissions, etc.
4. Schedule as much as possible of the posts a week ahead of time so that an unexpected delay won't throw me way off schedule.

Next, I went to my network for support and content. 

I knew from the get-go that I couldn't accomplish the four goals listed above on my own. I would need help. Thankfully, between my time writing for comics, working with other writers, being on Facebook, meeting people at conventions, collecting business cards from face-to-face meetings with other writers and editors, and years of being a part of various newsgroups and other online communities, I had a much larger network of folks to turn to than even I thought at first.

Some help would be as simple as having someone to interview.

Other help might include getting writer/research/editing focused guest articles from folks I know who would be excellent resource people.

Still other help could be gathering a large group of like-minded writers to contact for roundtable discussions.

Others might not have time to commit to writer or doing roundtables, but they could help promote the blog inside their networks to raise awareness.

Then I started posting. 

The content was weaker admittedly at first as I adapted the plan as needed on the fly, but even then, the soul of the content was already present.

I started with whatever I had to offer. Press releases about upcoming work of my own and from other genre writers. Links to interviews I'd taken part in. Links to interviews with other writers I respected. Sneak peeks of upcoming comic book work. Links to practical, helpful articles about the craft of writer and editing. Anything I could get my hands on.

I kept up regular posting, and gradually was able to implement the kind of articles for which the site has become known (Question of the Day, Roundtables, Author Interviews) as my forays into my network started producing leads and original content.

Finally I spread the word like a madman. 

I printed business cards.

I linked the blog to my Facebook, Google+, and Twitter -- and linked it from the front page (not links page) and blog listing page of my official website.

I joined groups and met like-minded writers and contacted them for interviews and with upcoming roundtable discussion questions. I asked for help LONG before I ever thought of spamming the groups with "Come see my blog" messages. I provided content first and promotion second. In other words, I earned the right to post my questions and (yes, also) my promotional content.

I talked up the blog at conventions. I made sure that each new genre author I met got an invitation to be interviewed and to join in the roundtables as it related to his or her area of interest and expertise.

I linked as often as I could to other writers' websites and blogs to drive traffic to them and not just to store up traffic for myself.

And I cant' stress this one enough... I made a list of the blogs or regular columns of every writer who asked and whom I respected as a writer and put it on right on the front page of my blog, not hidden away in a list few visitors ever care to visit. I called the list "Heavy Hitters," and you'll see it on the right side of this page AND ON EVERY PAGE OF THIS BLOG. Why? Because I was taught to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And I'm still just country Baptist enough to believe that's good advice.

And after all that, I kept at it.

Especially when I didn't feel like it, like tonight when I thought to myself: "I'm exhausted, and would anyone really miss it if I didn't post a Question of the Day today?"

Then it dawned on me that even if you never faulted me for missing it or even if you never noticed it wasn't there, I would, and it mattered to me.

(Pre) Announcing the BaGo Awards!

We're coming up on the one-year anniversary of the blog (first post was 11/27/11), and I wanted to do something special for it, but not for me -- for all the other bloggers out there plugging away every day.

So here's what I have in mind -- The BaGo Awards (or the soon to be known simply as the BaGo). Send me your suggestions and I'll present the best of the best blogs out there for and by writers. Here are a few of the categories I propose. What categories would you add? (not blogs yet... I'll announce the call for those as soon as we get the categories hammered out.)

Best In Show Awards 

for INDIVIDUAL writers who are primarily genre-specific who maintain a blog about their work in that genre and the genre itself

• Horror
• Pulp
• Fantasy
• Sci-Fi
• Mystery
• Thriller
• Steampunk
• Comics and Graphic Novels

Best in Craft Award

for the best instructional/inspirational resource blog to make writers better at their craft

Most Beautiful Soul Award 

for the best, personal blog from a writer who uses his or her platform to "bare the soul" as the cliche goes

Best Group Blog Award 

for those blogs maintained by a group of writers, whether focused on genres, news, interviews, reviews or a combination of them

Best in Reviews Award 

for the best blog that focuses primarily on book reviews, can be be a writer blog or reader blog in this category 

Welcome to the Club Award

for the best blog from a new writer first published within the past year

Any other suggestions?

[Link] Best Blogs for Writers to Read in 2012

Best Blogs for Writers to Read in 2012
by Robert Lee Brewer

As I said in last year's best blogs list, there are so many blogs out there by and for writers. The list below identifies blogs that I personally think are the best blogs for writers to read. If you don't agree with any of the selections (or think I missed a spot), then share your faves in the comments below. That way, I can check them out for next year's list.

Continue reading: http://robertleebrewer.blogspot.com/2012/02/best-blogs-for-writers-to-read-in-2012.html

[Link] 25 Ways to Increase Blog Traffic

by Robert Lee Brewer

When I first started the My Name Is Not Bob blog, I really didn't have any goals or objectives. I just wanted a place to make posts that didn't fit on my Poetic Asides blog for poets. As such, I didn't really have too much of an audience in the beginning (and I'm very thankful for my readers who have been here since the beginning). But that all changed around the end of 2010 when I started getting more serious about my blogging efforts.

Having a plan is one of the best ways to increase traffic.

I won't bore you with numbers, but I now consistently have as much traffic in one day on this blog as I used to receive in two months! It didn't all happen at once, and there were some ups and downs along the way, but I've found that the 25 steps below can help any blog increase traffic, whether it's brand new or been around a while.

Here are my 25 ways to increase blog traffic: ...

Continue reading: http://robertleebrewer.blogspot.com/2012/01/25-ways-to-increase-blog-traffic.html?et_mid=535772&rid=232422756