How to Blog, Part I

You're a writer, right? So the easiest way to start creating a presence for yourself in the virtual world is to write something. The easiest thing to write is a blog. A blog is like a web page made up entirely of what you have to say, except you don't have to actually construct the webpage. You just name the blog, choose a few options, and off you go.

Today, we'll cover figuring out what your blog's about. Depending on what you're writing and how you want to market it, you have an almost infinite number of possibilities.

Mystery author Michelle Gagnon has worked with a few other writers to create The Killzone, an eclectic blog that can be about the individual writers' books, or about topics of interest to them. Among the other authors with blogs are Laurell K. Hamilton, whose blog seems personal; Tess Gerritsen, which is person with a strong dose of her writing life; or my blog for my unpublished detective, Shane Black.

How you blog depends on where you are as an author. I'm using my blog (which should soon get a new short story), as a sample of my writing. That's appropriate because I'm unpublished. Laurell Hamilton and Tess Gerritsen both have loyal readerships who are interested in their day-to-day lives.

If you publish non-fiction, your blog could show your expertise in the area your book's about. If you're not published, including your blog's URL in a query is a great way to demonstrate your expertise. If you are published, it could act as a lead-in to your book.

On your blog, you should include a link to a place where readers can buy your book, such as Amazon or BN.com. Then, in your e-mail signature or any articles you publish or talks you give, plug both your blog and your book.

After you've selected what your blog's about, stick with that. your blog can evolve over time, but sharp changes in approach might not be useful.

Next time: Next time, we'll talk about getting started with the blog. Even if you aren't technical, you can create a professional-looking blog in no time at all.