The lovely and talented Thea Atkinson had me up as a guest blogger this week over at GonzoInk.
This was my first ever guest blog post, and I was pretty nervous; Thea is one of the most elegant writers I've come across.
I can't claim the same; passionate and enthusiastic yes, elegant, no. It's comparable to inviting a Great Dane puppy into a room full of china. I was hoping I didn't smash anything or leave puddles on the floor.
There was a bit of a hiccup to start with; thanks to my usual ability to kill technology, my home PC decided to go on strike and my net book was giving me gyp. Thea was kind enough to push the date back and I got the post sorted.
It was one of the best learning curves I've ever had; and as it turned out, I had a blast with it.
It wasn't a blog to just plug the book, it was chance to write about anything I wanted to. How often do you get an opportunity like that? (And why, for the love of Cthulhu, aren't I using it on my own blog? That's pretty much going to change, effective immediately.)
I only started blogging a couple of months ago, and I'm pretty new at the self-promotion game. But looking at GonzoInk, and sites like Mark Williams International have made me realise that my own blog was pretty, um, boring. Because it doesn't really reflect me as who I am, or what I'm really like. A weekly round-up might keep a few people interested, but on the whole, most of them will probably skip it.
Good blogs not only inform their audience, they entertain, and if you want to be a writer, entertaining the people that shell out their money for your books is vital.
So I'm going to start to blog about the good stuff; which is the world in general, as well as the writing side of things, and see how it goes.
I'd be interested in how anyone else feels about their own and other blogs in the comments section - have you changed your style from when you started? How have other bloggers influenced you? What do you really like reading about in a blog, and what do you hate?
This was my first ever guest blog post, and I was pretty nervous; Thea is one of the most elegant writers I've come across.
I can't claim the same; passionate and enthusiastic yes, elegant, no. It's comparable to inviting a Great Dane puppy into a room full of china. I was hoping I didn't smash anything or leave puddles on the floor.
There was a bit of a hiccup to start with; thanks to my usual ability to kill technology, my home PC decided to go on strike and my net book was giving me gyp. Thea was kind enough to push the date back and I got the post sorted.
It was one of the best learning curves I've ever had; and as it turned out, I had a blast with it.
It wasn't a blog to just plug the book, it was chance to write about anything I wanted to. How often do you get an opportunity like that? (And why, for the love of Cthulhu, aren't I using it on my own blog? That's pretty much going to change, effective immediately.)
I only started blogging a couple of months ago, and I'm pretty new at the self-promotion game. But looking at GonzoInk, and sites like Mark Williams International have made me realise that my own blog was pretty, um, boring. Because it doesn't really reflect me as who I am, or what I'm really like. A weekly round-up might keep a few people interested, but on the whole, most of them will probably skip it.
Good blogs not only inform their audience, they entertain, and if you want to be a writer, entertaining the people that shell out their money for your books is vital.
So I'm going to start to blog about the good stuff; which is the world in general, as well as the writing side of things, and see how it goes.
I'd be interested in how anyone else feels about their own and other blogs in the comments section - have you changed your style from when you started? How have other bloggers influenced you? What do you really like reading about in a blog, and what do you hate?
I'm honored. "Elegant writer"? wow. never thought of myself that way, but it sure is nice to hear. I got quite a few hits on your post and well deserved. Even had a couple click over to your book on amazon. HOpe that pans out as sales for you.
ReplyDeleteI do hope you'll return to my blog in a few months and tell us how you've done. update us. I can't wait to see how your blog evolves.