As a writer, I do my best to write quality books that provide value to the reader, gives them an escape from the daily grind, and leaves them feeling satisfied when they reach the final page. If I can give the reader a story and characters that stay with them, and perhaps has them wanting to re-read it, then that’s all the better. But being a writer is really only half of my job.
The flip side of the writer is the author. The author is the one who has to talk about the book, and seeks to engage readers. Sometimes this is hard. It’s the one thing I find really difficult and nothing I try works well.
I love to blog, and I love talking on Facebook and Twitter. Blogging is my primary love though because I feel I can say more here, and talk about my books and other things that catch my eye or I’m obsessed with at the time, like TV shows or books I’ve read. My blog is like my journal, but it’s not for other authors so much as it’s for readers. I know there are a lot of writers out there who pen posts about writing, sales, marketing, promotion etc. I have very little interest in doing that. It’s great for attracting comments and people to your blog, but if you think about it, who are you attracting and engaging by posting about writing? Certainly not your readers. You’re attracting other authors. That’s great, but it’s not the sort of thing I want to do on my blog. The purpose of my blog is giving something back to readers.
I want to engage you, the reader. Hello! Yes, you.
I love being social, and chatting to people in comments on my blog, or through my social networks. The trouble is, sometimes it’s difficult to know what will encourage you all to step out of hiding and leave a comment. This is where you come in.
In 2012, I want to get to know you all better. Yes, every single one of you. It’s not about selling you books. It’s about providing posts that are of value to you, that you get some enjoyment out of, and perhaps gain some insight or get to learn something new about me or my writing. In turn, I might learn something new about you, or discover we share a common interest (Vampires… angels… our favourite coffee… a band we both love).
So, I’m asking you to lend me a hand. What I really want to know is what do you enjoy about authors’ blogs?
What has you commenting or coming back for more? Is it posts about the books they’re writing at the moment? Cover reveals? Blurb reveals? Excerpts? Talk about the series you like on TV? Or perhaps them discussing their own book series and what might be just around the corner in it?
On the flip side, what are your turn offs when it comes to authors’ blogs?
The purpose of asking you this is purely for the reason I said above. I want to get to know you all better and give you something back in the form of blog posts that you enjoy reading and might take a moment to comment on. There isn’t much point in me blogging about things you all hate! 🙂
Please take a minute or two to answer in the comments section with what you love about authors blogs and what sort of posts keeps you coming back for more. I really do appreciate it and I do answer commenters.
Thanks!
