Reasons to Blog: Guest Post!

Today I welcome Megan from the book review blog, The Reading List, to share with us some reasons to start or continue blogging.

 

I’m a writer, not a blogger!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist the Star Trek-ish reference in the title.  Being a writer and/or an author and being a blogger are actually two different things. I know this from experience. It’s sort of like comparing peaches to plums. Same family, but completely different fruit.

When I decided to delve into the scary world of book review blogging a few months ago, I gave it a lot of thought.  I’ve always been the type to methodically think things through before I come to any kind of decision. Just when I’ve thought I’ve made a decision, I have to think about the whole thing even more to make sure it’s the right decision. Starting a book review blog was no exception.

In the end, I remembered that blogging was something that I wanted to do. I have been an avid reader since I was a kid. Books that focused on the supernatural or Sci-Fi particularly piqued my interest and as I got older, that love for reading continued to grow as well. Books have always been a way for me to escape the hectic pressures of everyday life. I wanted to review books so that I could hopefully share my favorites and the authors that write them with others. It probably seems like we’re going to start singing Kumbaya here in a moment, but it’s the truth.

I think a lot of would-be bloggers are hesitant to jump into blogging because it can be very time consuming. You select a book, read it from cover to cover,  pick out what you liked and didn’t like about it (in my case you make a very structured list), and you write it all down in a way that will hopefully appeal to your readers.

I am definitely not the expert on blogging, by any means. I sit in a 5 x10 ft cube all day hunched over my computer keyboard, hacking away at the keys while I wonder what life is like on the outside. Then I go home to try to make sense of my book review blog, The Reading List. But there are a few things that I’ve learned that were pretty helpful in making my decision in starting a blog.

Social Media is the new media
Social media and blogging, in particular, are especially important in today’s technology driven world. Social media is quickly becoming the way that consumers get and receive their news and information.  When I started college (all of six years ago), classes that focused on writing for the ‘new media’ were essentially ingrained into the curriculum. It’s a sad reality, but the days of print newspapers and periodicals are numbered.

Share your interests
There’s something to be said about how much we can relate to another person just based on reading their blog. Think of it as a small window into someone else’s thoughts or ideas.

Starting a blog is easy. You only need an email address to get started, but a blog opens a number of doors for a writer. You can share your feelings on something that you’re passionate about, and collaborate with others who might feel similarly or even those who don’t. It’s completely up to you how your blog shapes up.

The same is true for authors. As a reader, I follow a lot of my favorite authors’ blogs on my feed reader. I like reading about what they are working on or when the next book in one of my favorite series will be released.

Attract readers and reviewers to your writing
You’d be surprised how much a blog or twitter feed can draw interest in your work. If readers enjoy your posts on your blog they might be more inclined to check out other things that you’ve written.  I have discovered so many new authors and great reads through Twitter and through the blogosphere (yes, I did use that word) that I wouldn’t have found if I hadn’t gotten into blogging.

Seems obvious, yes? Not if you’re a slightly paranoid, former technophobe like I am.

I’m not sure if I’ve left any words of wisdom, but if a light bulb flickered brightly somewhere in your general vicinity, you either have a ghost problem– or maybe, just maybe, that was the kick in the pants you needed to start blogging.

 

By day, Megan is a Staff Writer and Editor in Washington, DC– by night, she is an avid reader and reviews books on her blog, The Reading List, with the hope that others will develop an interest in urban fantasy, horror and paranormal fiction.  

You can usually catch her with her head down and face shoved into the pages of a book. When she isn’t reading or talking about books she is geeking out over Buffy reruns, playing The Sims 3 on her computer or pretending to be a normal person by exploring the streets of her city.

5 Things Every Aspiring Author Should NOT Be Afraid of: Guest Post by Author Kerri Maniscalco

Today I have a present for you all: the awesome Kerri from the blog, Write. Eat. Repeat., has shared with me some really relevant, helpful, inspiring, motivating, honest advice for aspiring authors. Kerri is also an amazingly wonderful person to stalk… um, get to know.., so be sure to check out her fantastic blog and follow her on Twitter, etc.

 

5 Things Every Aspiring Author Should NOT Be Afraid of.

 

1.) Don’t be afraid to shelf your work for a bit.

 

Sounds like a ‘Duh, really?!’ moment, but it’s true. Sometimes it’s easy to whip-out a 80-90K word count manuscript, edit while you go, and call it a day because OHMYGAWD IT’S SO BRILLS I CAN’T STAND IT, THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVERRR, I NEED TO QUERY IT RIGHT NOW! AGENTS ARE GOING TO FIGHT TO THE LITERARY DEATH FOR IT. Ahem, sorry, I got carried away. For most of us, finishing our work is only the beginning. Really take the time to flesh out passive language. You’ll be amazed by how much you miss the first, second, and fiftieth time around. With my last book, I carefully tucked it away for a couple of EXCRUCIATING weeks and was appalled amazed by how many “I begin to’s and I continue to’s” were still rearing their nasty little heads. Be brave and shelf that baby for seven-fourteen days (at least). You can do it.

 

2.) Don’t be afraid to have other people read your work.

 

Really. It’s going to happen eventually. Especially if you’re serious about getting published. Having friends and family read over your work is a good start, BUT…make sure they are also reading widely in your genre (and beyond) and aren’t afraid to give you honest-to-goodness feedback. One of the best things I’ve ever done for myself was have others critique my manuscript and query letter. That said, it was also one of the scariest things I’ve done, but my work is SO MUCH BETTER for it. Again, be brave. If you want to dip your toe in the ‘sharing pool’ try sites like QueryTracker.net or AbsoluteWrite.com. Both offer forums where you can share your work and get some really, REALLY amazing insight as to what is/is not working with your query or first five pages.

 

3.) Don’t be afraid of social media.

 

Now don’t get me wrong, when I first started using twitter I was nervous/scared/intimidated. I didn’t know ANYONE. None of my friends were using it and how awkward is it following strangers? I used to think things like: Will that author/writer/blogger/random-awesome-person think I’m totally creepy for following/responding to them? Will anyone follow me back? What do I have to say that’s tweet worthy anyway? One day I finally asked myself, What do I have to lose? NOTHING. Somehow I developed a decent following and I didn’t do anything special. I talked about reading, writing, music, publishing, I retweeted articles I liked. Posted some silly pictures for fun. Shared quotes that inspired me. Pretty soon people were tweeting back. Conversations were started. Friendships made. The best advice for tackling social media is be honest, be yourself, and share what you like. You’ll find other people just like you. The world will become a little smaller and a little less scary.

 

4.) Don’t be afraid to fail.

 

One of my favorite quotes is: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill. So your first attempt at traditional publishing/getting an agent/having a ka-jillion blog followers didn’t quite work out the way you wanted it to. Psst, I’ll let you in on a secret: That’s OKAY. My first book didn’t work out. Neither did my second. Or third. Would I call them failures? Heck NO! They were valuable learning experiences. Each one a stepping stone. Having your work rejected isn’t the most pleasant feeling in the world, but it’s really not the worst either. What is failure anyway? Nothing you do is a failure as long as you keep learning, keep growing and keep moving forward. The only failure there is, is giving up. So learn. Make mistakes. Make GINORMOUS ones. Make silly ones. Make OHMYGAWD I can’t believe I just did/sent/wrote that mistakes. Then laugh/shake/dust it off and get back out there. You’re going to inspire someone else, not by failing, but by fearlessly charging ahead IN SPITE of bumps in the road.

 

5.) Don’t be afraid of your success or other people’s success.

 

Everyone is going to have a different ‘road to publishing’ story. It’s really important to not get caught up in comparing your success to other people’s success and vice versa. If you’ve found representation after two weeks, sold your book in ten days, got a three or four book deal, don’t be afraid of sharing your journey. On the flip-side, if you’re still in the query trenches — do not take other people’s success as an attack on your writing skill. Everyone is different and there are SO MANY factors that go on behind the scenes you’ll drive yourself INSANE if you compare yourself to everyone else out there. You might take five years to land an agent, or a book deal. That’s okay! We’re all in this publishing game to share stories, so never be afraid to share yours. If you find representation quickly, you’ll give others hope that it can happen for them too. And, if you’ve written four, five, or even ten books and THEN receive an offer of representation, well, how can a journey like that NOT be inspiring to others?!

 

Kerri Maniscalco is a twenty-something native New Yorker who pens young adult novels. When she’s not writing she can be found at her favorite NYC haunts supporting friends and local musicians, roaming city streets (or parks) armed with her favorite journal, or in her kitchen where she’s a crazy foodie at heart.

 

Follow her on twitter and her blog for more random musings.