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Blogs and Writers

An author platform is a must in today’s world, and if you are like me, you have faced some highs and lows.  You’ve probably wondered why you would want to write a blog, when you don’t have as much time as you’d want.  You’ve heard about the millions of options out there from social networking sites and online writing sites.

If it were up to me,  I would focus on my blog, and I love writing here and just being able to communicate about my own book, is something very special for me.  There are a lot of choices out there beyond just a platform.  There is one question I ask myself: Why should I publish a blog?
 1) I’m not technologically inclined but to write a blog post takes about 20 minutes a day once you are good at it. It is easy to form a good habit, and one such blogger- Michael N. Marcus, is very good at pointing out this is a need and not a want. I find that for me, writing and publishing a post is important, and I usually do this in the evening, but I will have to take into consideration some other blogger’s ideas that it would be best to publish a post in the morning.
 2) Blogging can be fun: The fun part is writing a new blog post and adding another voice to the writing world. You can add links to each post on social networking sites that will make it more easy to find on the Internet. The technology to do this is there, and platforms such as wordpress or blogger makes it easy to share your work with others.  Just don’t spam.  I know it can happen innocently enough but if people don’t like it, don’t do it.
 3) By writing a blog there is another avenue open for me to make some extra income. Unlike other online writing sites, my blog is my blog and it’s a part of me as much as it is a part of my readers lives. It is up for me to decide how I can work and write, but also how I connect with my readers- you. Part of writing is learning what works for you- and how to sell yourself a bit better without being a spammer.
 4) I can add almost anything to my blog, and it is still mine: From what I write to amazon, to Google AdSense, there are many things I can put on my blog, and then find out what my readers want. The more choice a reader has, the more I have to work at building a good blog, but the choices are there for me to work with and have fun with the writing.
 5) I can always go back and re-edit things over time, just based on what I’ve learned or what needs to be improved.  I don’t do this often, but this is a great opportunity to go and do this very thing.  I’ve learned that editing is done in stages, and usually my editor sees things very differently.  This blog can be the way for us to work on something that isn’t a book.
 6) The stats are easy to understand: I use Google Analytics, but since my main platform is blogger, I have access to each post and the stats that it has.  I have found this helpful when numbers don’t match up or I want to know how to fix something.  It’s all about pride in what I do.
7) Google likes older blogs, and most of the time, it’s a good thing I’m not looking back at Google.  This doesn’t mean you don’t need a blog, it means that my numbers are good only because I’ve been around a while.
 8) The technical things are easy for a blog: It doesn’t take much effort for my when I’m writing a blog post to sit back and find a photo or a link to a past post.  I’m happy for this since it allows me more time to work on more important things- for example, my book.
 9) It’s beyond a hobby: Part of what makes my love for blogging so important is that I have improved.  I am a proud writer, but I’ve only fallen enough to know I have to pull myself back up and becomes an even better writer for my readers.
 10) Why wouldn’t you write a blog? It is easy and simple and allows me to communicate with more people than if I only had a social networking platform.  Blogs and writers are important, and need to be praised- especially if they have been at the game as long as I have.  I have found a bit of success writing on a blog.

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