I've got the I-Don't-Know-What-I'm-Gonna-Blog-About Blues

Did you ever have ones of those days? Or months, if I'm being truly honest. I'm having a bit of a lull. I can't come up with anything to blog about, hence the post about nothing. I can't even think of anything to say on Facebook right now. I mean, really. All I've got to do is come up with a line or two, but even that much has eluded me.

In my defense, I've been busy. I'm finishing the first draft of a novel I call "Always a Bridesmaid" that I'm hoping to turn into a series. And since I've got a new novella (Home Fires) releasing on July 4, I'm trying to get ready for that. I'm hoping to organize a blog tour, and I'm trying to come up with a design for a new banner. I'm also trying to learn a new program to send out my newsletter. Apparently I'm not the brightest tool in the shed because this program has had a steeper learning curve than I thought it should have. A technical wizard I am not.

I've signed up to join some of my fellow Saskatchewan Romance Writer authors at a reading in Regina on April 21. I keep meaning to get some bookmarks designed and made to give out there, but I haven't managed to do it yet and it's starting to nag at me to get done.

But my most ambitious project is to revise a manuscript I wrote more than fifteen years ago. My plan is to get a cover made for it, make it into a PDF file, and give it away a bonus to anyone who buys my new novella in July. I'm hoping the promise of a freebie entices people to buy.

But it's a pretty big job. Like I said, this manuscript is more than fifteen years old, and while I was pleasantly surprised to find that it's not terrible, my writing has changed a lot in fifteen years. So there's a lot of revising to do.

The day job has been busy as well. I just finished writing an article for the association's newsletter, and I was given a new responsibility that took a lot of time and effort for the last month.

So my excuse for my lack of blogging and Facebooking is that my brain is so full of stuff that things are leaking out like an overflowing sink. Something had to go.

What do you let go of when you start feeling overwhelmed? Or are you one of those people who manages to juggle all your various projects without dropping any of them? If you are, I think I hate you.

P.S. The one thing I figured out about my new newsletter program - Click here to sign up for my newsletter!

My Virtual Assistant

I am not good with technology. I never did learn how to program the VCR. Luckily, the PVR we have now is almost idiot proof (almost), but I still get my daughter to operate it if I want to record a TV show.

So it’s no wonder that I needed help when my blog went wonky. My right sidebar developed a huge space between the first piece of information, my website address and the rest of the gadgets. The labels and blog archives were located at the bottom of the page where no one was going to see them. Nothing I tried managed to fix it. And then my preview function suddenly quit working! I was ready to pitch this whole stinking blog!

I checked the yellow pages in my phone book to see whether I could find someone local to help me out. I found plenty of people who could set up a website for me, create an advertising campaign, or market a business using traditional and social media. After checking out several websites for these businesses, I came to the conclusion that a) they all were way too expensive for me, and b) none of them addressed my specific needs. I wanted someone who would take me by the hand and show me how to fix my blog or go in there and do it herself. And I didn’t want it to cost a lot of money.

And then the answer came to me in the mail.  The March 2011 edition of RWA’s Romance Writers Report carried an article entitled “Is it Time to Hire a Virtual Assistant?” by Jenel Looney. A virtual assistant can help a writer with dozens of tasks, freeing up the writer’s time to do what she really wants to do—write. A virtual assistant can help with marketing efforts, such as coordinating social networking efforts to make sure the writer is taking full advantage of the promotion these sites offer. A VA can help with updating a website, or can assist with design. She can set up a blog tour for you, which I know from experience can be time consuming. She can also contact review sites to set up book reviews on the writer’s behalf, if her publisher isn’t already doing that. A VA can help brainstorm the types of marketing materials such as bookmarks, sticky notes, pens and other goodies you want to give away as prizes for contests or as gifts at conferences. And speaking of contests, your VA can keep track of entries, draw a random winner and mail the prizes.

The great thing about this article was that it not only extolled the virtues of virtual assistants and listed what they could do for me, it told me where I could find one. Ms. Looney provided the website of the International Virtual Assistants Association (http://IVAA.org) She also offers this sage advice:

“I recommend starting with one small project to test the waters. Find out for yourself whether your VA has the skills you need, and whether she follows through on her promises. Limit your commitment in the beginning to give both of you the opportunity to determine whether you’re a good fit.”

Following Ms. Looney’s advice, I posted a request on the IVAA website, outlining my problems with my blog. Within 24 or hours (or less) I had a couple of replies. I chose to work with Amy Moore of Amy’s Winning Ways (http://blog.amyswinningways.com) For a reasonable fee, she fixed my blog problems and gave me some advice about some other issues. I hope to work with Amy again sometime in the future.

Have you ever had technical problems you couldn’t fix yourself (or am I the only inept one?) Do you ever wish you had an assistant to help you with the many non-writing tasks a writer needs to do? Have you ever hired a virtual assistant or some other kind of outside help?

In totally unrelated news, please join me at http://theromancestudio.com/party this weekend, April 8, 9, & 10 for a chance to win a Nook ereader! All you have to do for a chance to win is to comment on my posts or on the posts of any of the authors attending. There are tons of other giveaways as well. I hope you drop by!

Guest Blogger Joanna Aislinn

I'm thrilled to have my first guest blogger with me today. Joanna Aislinn is talking about a subject very close to my heart...

THE BLOG:  Lovin’ It, Hatin’ It, Lovin’ It…

Good day, everyone! So happy to be here! Thanks to Jana for this wonderful opportunity and to all of you who took time out of your day to stop by!

My blog and I have this love-hate relationship. I love connecting with readers, writers and all kinds of other folks in cyberspace. I love that someone gets to know me through my web pages. Guest bloggers and being hosted at others’ sites rules. I love when I run into someone I haven’t seen in a while and she tells me, “I love your blog.” My day is especially made when an e-mail comes in stating the same thing, from someone I hadn’t heard from before, and I know another subscriber has joined those who have already been kind enough to follow my mental meanderings. I love writing a post when I have a clear idea of what to say and even enjoy letting the words take their own course. And since I’m not big on checking stats—they can be very depressing to those of us who do not post consistently as we’re advised to by those with bigger followings—I love every comment that shows up, proving that someone actually does read all this stuff that spews from my mind and is channeled onto the virtual page via the tap dance my fingers have learned to do on the keyboard.

Then there’s that flip side. (Sigh.)

I hate feeling like I should always be doing something blog-related. I visit other blogs and leave comments and subscribe to a few, but I hate that time is so limited and I can’t read everything out there. I hate that I find it hard to implement so many of the phenomenal ideas available. I hate trying to come up with thoughts to expand upon and don’t like when my blogging software won’t do what I need it to do. I can’t stand how long it takes me to format a post because I can’t manage to keep it simple and not worry about it looking perfect. (Professional appearance counts, right people? I also can’t believe I think about writing so much, I now automatically write ‘write’ instead of ‘right’ on too many occasions, lol.) Promo gets on my nerves, but it is a necessary evil that I enjoy once I’ve gotten past the annoying background work that goes into it.

Finally, I (sometimes) strongly dislike how, in so many ways, writing has consumed my life. I think about it all the time: stories, blogs, promo ideas, the next story, revisions, synopses, e-pubbing, self-pubbing—WHY AM I DOING THIS?! Then something comes together: a scene, a blog-post; that one sentence in my query I couldn’t get right before. Helping someone with the skills and knowledge I’ve acquired in the years since I got myself into this gig. The joy and satisfaction that comes from a reader who ‘got’ what I hoped to convey in any piece I’ve written. And there it starts again: I remember why I truly love it all way more than I can ever hate it and will probably stay with it for a long, long time.

Thanks, again, Jana, for air-time here—and for letting me vent, lol!

Joanna Aislinn’s day-job is taking up too much of her time and energy these days, but it’s teaching her to re-invent herself there and at the writer-end of her life too. (Thank God her husband, two teenage boys and three cats are willing to put up with her!) She’s put more finishing touches on her next story and hopes the day it makes it to the readers’ hands they’ll love it as much as she does. She’s also spending a lot more time learning about craft and promo (the dreaded P-word), but finds herself incredibly inspired at the blogs she follows fairly religiously: Bob Mayer’s Write It Forward, Kristen Lamb’s Blog, Jenni-Holbrook-Talty’s The Glamorous Life, Anna DeStefano’s How We Write (alternating Wednesday series with Jenni Holbrook-Talty), Selling Books and 1^st Turning Point. (I know: when does she make time to write?) Get to know Joanna and her writing quirks at her website and blog. Her debut novel, No Matter Why, is available in digital and print formats. 

My First Guest Blogger!

On Thursday, January 27 I will be hosting my first guest blogger. Joanna Aislinn is a fellow Wild Rose Press author who will be talking about her love/hate relationship with her blog. Her debut novel, No Matter Why, is now available. Here's her bio:

Joanna Aislinn’s day-job is taking up too much of her time and energy these days, but it’s teaching her to re-invent herself there and at the writer-end of her life too. (Thank God her husband, two teenage boys and three cats are willing to put up with her!) She’s put more finishing touches on her next story and hopes the day it makes it to the readers’ hands they’ll love it as much as she does. She’s also spending a lot more time learning about craft and promo (the dreaded P-word), but finds herself incredibly inspired at the blogs she follows fairly religiously: Bob Mayer’s Write It Forward, Kristen Lamb’s Blog, Jenni-Holbrook-Talty’s The Glamorous Life, Anna DeStefano’s How We Write (alternating Wednesday series with Jenni Holbrook-Talty), Selling Books and 1^st Turning Point. (I know: when does she make time to write?) Get to know Joanna and her writing quirks at her website and blog. Her debut novel, No Matter Why, is available in digital and print formats. 

The Good News, and The Bad News

So first, here's the good news. I finished my revisions for "The Girl Most Likely" and sent off a query to The Wild Rose Press. Yay! I'd love to be part of their Class of '85 series, a series of stories about the graduates of Summerville High School coming home for their 25th year reunion. Soon after I sent in my query, I got an email from the editor of the series asking me to send her the full manuscript. Which I did as fast as my little fingers could type. The editor has promised to give me an answer by January 7, 2011. That's one thing I love about The Wild Rose Press; they give you a definite date and they stick to it. So now I wait. I hope I did enough work on the revisions to interest her in the story. Like I told you earlier, these revisions have been something of a struggle. But I finally made myself buckle down and concentrate on the story, and I think it came out okay. Thanks to Janet once more for her critiquing expertise and her cheerleading. Wish me luck!

And now the bad news. I hate Facebook! I spent a good part of Monday trying to upload this blog onto Facebook so that it appears there as well. I found instructions for this procedure on Facebook Help. They are as follows:

1. Go to you Page and click "Edit Page" beneath the Page profile picture.
2. Select "Applications" and next to "Notes" please click "Go to Application."
3. On the bottom left hand side of the page select "Edit Import Settings."

I did exactly what it said. In the spot where it said to place the URL of my blog, I typed in http://janarichards.blogspot.com/ because that's my URL. Right? Wrong. According to Facebook, this blog does not exist. You are currently reading a figment of your imagination.

I thought perhaps Facebook didn't like the way I typed. So I copied and pasted the URL directly from my alleged blog. Still no go. I knew that I set up an rss feed on my website to have the blog appear there, I had to include an extension at the end of the URL. So I tried that. Nothing.

My husband suggested I go to Google and look up some information about putting the blog on Facebook. I found numerous You Tube videos on the subject, all of them giving the exact same information that I typed above. Except in their situations, the end result was always a message that they'd successfully imported their blog. ARGHHH!!!

I tried Facebook Help again, which, by the way, is not very helpful. But I did discover that I'm not alone. Apparently there are others out there who can't get their blog to import. Some said they'd reported the problem to Facebook and have never heard back from them. After several months! Others said they had a blog importing from an external site for some time and it suddenly quit, with no explanation.

I'm convinced technology is out to get me. I tried on Sunday to upload a video onto this blog. You might notice that there are no videos here. I'm not even going to tell you how much trouble I had uploading the cartoons on Tuesday's blog. It's enough to make me want to go back to paper and pencil and lock myself in a cave somewhere.

What I really need is a twelve year old boy to take me by the hand and show me how to do stuff. Since I don't have access to a twelve year old, I decided to do one of the things I usually do when I can't figure something out: take a class. As we speak, I am participating in a webinar on Social Media given by Writer's Digest. I'm a little afraid the class is going to be more advanced than I am, but I'm hoping to get something out of it. I'll keep you posted.

I'm tired of feeling like the dumbest kid in the class when it comes to technology, especially Facebook. Does anyone know a way to get around the problem I'm having importing my blog? Can I just cut and paste it into the Notes section? Janet mentioned a hot link to me before, but I don't know what a hot link is! What sort of things do you put on your Facebook page to keep people interested? And how do I insert a video in my blog? And I am the only one who feels this stupid? Help!

Making the Most of My Blog

So I've got a blog and I've researched and written my posts. But it's all wasted effort if nobody reads them. How can I "optimize" my blog, bringing traffice to my blog and my website that will promote me and my writing? Here are some ideas from Penny Sansevieri, with a few of my own ideas thrown in.

     1.      Make sure your blog is sharable on Facebook and     Twitter.  Okay, I had to admit I didn’t know what this meant when I read it. So I had to look it up. At the top of my blog, it now says "Share". Not sure if I got it right. Maybe someone can let me know?

2.      Create powerpoint presentations and embed them in your blog with Slideshare (www.slideshare.net )  I’ve never seen this done on a blog (although I’ve seen many YouTube videos on blogs, also a good idea). But if you’re so inclined this might make an interesting and eye-catching blog presentation.

3.      Promote every blog you write on Facebook and Twitter.  I'm not here yet, but I do promote my blogs on the Yahoo loops that I’m on, and have received very good support there.

4.      Add photos to your blog.  Photos give visual interest and color to plain old boring text. Ms. Sansevieri says that pictures also show up in Google image searches which may bring in more traffic.

5.      Make one blog do double or triple duty.  Many writers post their blogs on their Facebook sites, and places such as Amazon or Goodreads. For the same effort your thoughts are spread around many places on the web.

6.      Comment on other blogs in your market.  If you don’t read the posts of other people they won’t read yours. Always leave a link back to your website or blog. Shauna James Ahern (www.glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com ) says that “Blogging is all about community…It’s about sharing and discovery, communion and hilarious stories.”  Penny Sansevieri has written a blog in the Huffington Post about the importance of commenting.

7.      Create great headlines.  Since most readers will see your blog through an rss feed, you need a catchy headline to grab their attention. Here are some idea generators from Ms. Sansevieri that will give you an idea of what she means by catchy:

. 10 Secrets to
· 7 Myths Exposed
· 10 Inspiring Ways to
· 10 Funny Things That Happened to Me on the Way to Publishing My Book
· 7 Cool ways to
· 10 Tips for the best
· 10 Shocking reasons
· 5 Amazing Blog Sites You Must Read, and Why
· How to increase your success
· 10 Simple things you can do right now to

You don’t need to use this kind of headline all the time but every once in a while use one of these to bring attention to your post.

I’ve made the decision that posting three times a week is too much for me right now. Starting next week I’m going to a new schedule of posting twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I’ll try that for a while and see if it’s a better fit. Until next Tuesday, I’ll be doing some planning, some list making, some scheduling and some promoting.

It’s not enough to have a blog and write a few posts. You have to be willing to work that blog and promote yourself, otherwise your blog won’t fulfill its potential. What do you do to promote your blog? Seriously, I’m really looking for ideas!

What Should I Blog About?

    I'm pondering the world of blogging this week. I want to continue writing my blog, but I want to find ways to keep it manageable, effortwise and timewise. I want to connect with people and promote myself while still finding time to write. How do I do that? Maybe I can save some time on my blog posts by figuring out well in advance what to write about.

1.      Plan ahead.   Penny C. Sansevieri, at Author Marketing Experts  says that one of the things that bloggers find intimidating is coming up with ideas to blog about.  She says that if you spend some time planning ahead it makes creating posts easier and faster. For instance, look through the calendar and find upcoming holidays and observances. Do any of them spark an idea for a blog? What’s your favorite St. Valentine’s Day memory?  Have you ever had anything funny happen to you on Ground Hog Day?  Ms. Sansevieri uses a list of monthly, weekly and daily observances each month to spark a blog idea. For example did you know that November 15 is “I love to write day”? You could build a blog around the reasons you got into this crazy business. Click here for Ms. Sansevieri’s list of observance for March.

2.      Keep a file of your own blogging ideas. Do a little brainstorming and come up with some topics in advance. Keep them in a file in your computer or in a notebook. Facing a deadline isn’t quite so intimidating if you’ve got a clue as to what you’re writing about.

3.      Blog about the Biz. Educate yourself on trends in the writing marketplace. What are agents looking for? What is selling in the romance genre? I’ve written blogs on e-publishing and e-book readers, as well as news in the bookseller world.

4.      Size matters. Don’t think that you have to write a long post. Monica Bhide (http://www.monicabhide.com/) says: “Blog readers are drawn not to 3,000 word essays, but to posts of bite-sized info.” If you’ve got a topic that needs more room, break it into two or more parts.

5.      Develop a series of How-To posts. This could be on any subject you’re passionate about from gardening to cooking. Ms. Sansevieri says that How-To posts have a lot of appeal, even how-to write posts: “…83% of Americans want to write a book so it's likely someone reading your books (or a potential reader) is interested in this topic, too.”

6.      Talk about the work of others. Have you read a book recently that really inspired you? Maybe you’d like to review it on your blog.

7.      What inspires your writing and creativity? Is there a special place where you love to write? Does certain music spark your creativity? Share it your inspiration.

8.      Share your mistakes. I’ve certainly made a few in my writing career. By telling others where I’ve gone wrong maybe I can help them avoid some of the pitfalls.

9.      Ask questions. Ms. Sansevieri says: “ask your readers questions, grab some of the top-of-mind issues that are relevant to your market and address them on your blog.”

10.    Have theme days. My friend Janet at Janet's Journal has designated themes such as Fiction Fridays and Inspiration Wednesdays. She says that having a theme helps her to focus on a certain subject to blog about.

Once you've got several blog topics nailed down, the actual writing shouldn't take too long. Ms. Sansevieri suggests that with good planning, 15 minutes a day should be enough to get the job done. To be honest, it normally takes me longer than that to write a blog post, (actually it took me longer than that to format this post) but I know that half the battle is figuring out what to write about.

Do you plan your blogs ahead of time? Do you find coming up with ideas intimidating? How much time does it take you to write a blog post?

To Blog or Not to Blog...

That is the question. Or at least it’s one I’ve been wrestling with the last few weeks, ever since my group blog, Prairie Chicks Write Romance, disbanded. I’d enjoyed blogging with the group so much that I decided to start one of my own. And besides, blogging is a good way for a writer to promote herself, right?

I’m not entirely sure. With the Chicks, I was posting once every two weeks for the past year. Since I started my own blog, I've been sticking to a schedule of three times a week. After only a month, I’m already finding it tough to keep up the pace. Will the time and work that I put into my blogs translate into more sales, or at least traffic to my website?

It depends who you ask. I recently took a promotion class from writer Terry Kate (http://ritbs.blogspot.com) who believes that a writer is better off guest blogging than trying to keep her own blog flush with fresh content. By guest blogging, a writer will often reach a different audience at every blog. That means that more people will be exposed to her work than if she stuck strictly to her own blog.  

Others have differing opinions. Penny C. Sansevieri, writer, promotion expert and editor of “The Book Marketing Expert Newsletter” says “…does blogging even matter? Yes, it does. In fact, many SEO [search engine optimization] experts cite that a blog (when used regularly) can increase website traffic by 25%.” Notice that Ms. Sansevieri says “when used regularly”. Aye, there’s the rub. You can’t blog inconsistently and expect reader to follow you, or even care what you have to say.

So how often should I post? To be honest, I started looking around the Internet for answers, hoping someone would tell me it’s okay to blog less frequently. I got mixed results.

Susan Gunelius at About.com suggests I should decide what kind of growth I want for my blog and then post accordingly. She's even created a handy guide:

·         For maximum growth: post multiple times per day to drive the most traffic (3-5 times or more is considered best for power bloggers).

·         For steady growth: post at least once per day.

·         For slower growth: publish at least every 3 days or 2-3 times per week.

·         For very slow growth: posting less frequently than 2-3 days per week is most appropriate for bloggers who maintain blogs as a hobby with no strategic plans for growth

Terri Panjanen at Suite 101 argues that since most readers will “follow” your blog with an rss feed, frequency is not crucial:

“…readers will come to your site as soon as you do post something, even if it's not daily. Since they no longer have to actively go looking for new material, most people don't care how often you post. What matters is that you post things that they are interested in and want to know more about.”

In her article in the November/December 2010 edition of Writer’s Digest, Monica Bhide www.monicabhide.com says “if you update too much or too little or on anything other than a regular schedule, people stop paying attention. Period.”

For the record, only blogs that deal with current events or celebrity news need to blog multiple times a day. My blog deals primarily with writing topics. The world of writing doesn’t generally have breaking news that I need to blog about more than once daily.

I've come to the conclusion that the frequency of blog posts is important, but probably not as important as the regularity and quality of the posts. I’ll talk more about content next time.

If you’re a blogger, how often do you post? Would you like to post more often, or do you think you’d like to cut down on your posts? Do you agree that the quality of the posts and the regularity with which you post them is more important than how often you post?