Nurture Your BOOKS™ Group discussion

In this technology-based day in age, the internet and an author's presence across it, has become even more crucial. If an author has a blog as well as a website, they have a fantastic place to chat about their thoughts, the progress of their latest book, etc. and they create a healthy connection between their fans and themselves.

Readers, for the most part, really want to feel a connection to the authors of their favourite books and what could be easier than to become a follower/subscriber of the author’s blog?

If you are an author and haven't given much thought to or don’t think you have enough time to maintain a blog, I encourage you to give it a try. Your fans (current and potential) will be very glad that you did!

Maybe it would be easier if you just had one blog...it would make it easier for your fans to find you and it would be much quicker for you to update.

Some streamlining (one website & one blog) might save you hours of time that you could use for promoting your books or writing. Please don’t mind my suggestions... :)

My blog is http://lynndove.wordpress.com/
It has been nominated for the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards in three categories. Check it out.Shoot The Wounded

Hello all!

Good advice Bobbie! I know author who have two or three blogs. I don't know how they have the time to manage such a thing. But, it works!

http://thecertainones.blogspot.com

Steven, Bobbi and Vanessa are both right. However, regardless of the number of blogs you have, you need to find ways to direct people to them. Every time you comment anywhere, add a link to your blog. Do a lot of "I'm following, please return the favor" on other blogs. Participate in some blog hops. Our marketer, Lori Osterman is is having a b-day celebration on her blog: http://www.whenwelisten.blogspot.com/ She has almost 300 followers. Jump over there, share your blog(s) and visit a few...become followers and get your site out there. If you are on FaceBook or Twitter always comment and list the link when you put up a new post. Link your post to other pages (we welcome relevant links on our TreasureLine Books, TreasureLine Publishing, One Stop Publisher and Beyond The Last Page on Facebook)with a "You might find this of interest..." Interact as much as you can and remember it takes time and WORK to build.

We've just started TreasureLine Books & Publishing Blog with give-aways, author reviews, interviews, etc: http://treasurelinebooks.blogspot.com/. My authors blog is: http://writersshelflife.blogspot.com/. Follow me on either of those and I will follow you back!

Hello Lynn, Vanessa and Linda; thank you for your valuable advice and input!

Lynn: Congratulations on your award nomination! Please let us know how it goes. :-)

Vanessa: Thanks, I'm glad that my advice is helpful. I don't know how some authors and general bloggers keep up with several blogs at one time either. I usually spend a few hours everyday --- networking on Facebook, Twitter, Book Blogs, here on Goodreads and on other sites as well. I wouldn't have time to run more than one website or blog; Perish the thought! ;-)

Linda: Ahh, yes...the followers. :-) It is all well and good to have lovely blogs with regularly updated, high-quality content; but what about blog-readers? There are many fantastic ways to slowly build up a following and you've listed some really excellent ways to go about it, Linda!

Excellent ideas all around. :-)

I actually have a blog on Xanga, Livejournal, wordpress, blogger, mostly because I want to be seen. I only keep the Blogger, http://cliffball.blogspot.com and Wordpress, http://cliff1974.wordpress.com blog updated. I don't blog much because I have a hard time finding something important to say.

Hi Cliff,

WOW, that sure is a big pile of blogs! :-) It can sometimes be more effective to have one active blog vs. many relatively inactive ones. I sometimes find it hard to find something to post about...sometimes I read other, similar blogs to find inspiration.

You are an author...everything that you say has purpose and carries weight, especially to your fans; don't sell yourself short.

I really like your book trailer. Great job!

The first two I started, then abandoned for a long time, occasionally come back, post something, and then leave them alone again. I liked blogger and wordpress and can't make up my mind which one to use exclusively, so I do both. Copying and pasting works ha ha.

Thank you for the compliment on the book trailer. It took me less than 3 hours to go from downloading Movie Maker to finding the appropriate pictures and music, to uploading it to youtube. I've gotten mostly great feedback, with the occasional professional who says it needs to be more professional. Says the people who didn't get my $400+ to have them make it! lol

Sharon E. Cathcart's GoodReads Blog

I use RSS feeds to direct the blog entries to my Facebook fan page and my website. It's a very useful tool. :-)

I have two blogs - a product blog (on the main website) and a review blog.

The Rift Online

Journal of Always Reviews

I have a webpage - http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com and 3 blogs - http://AnnaLWalls.blogspot.com - http://TheFortunesOfMagic.blogspot.com & http://AnnaOfAlaska.blogspot.com

One individual commented above, which I want to expand upon...

You can link (from Blogspot at least) your blog to LinkedIn...

Then, you can also link your blog to Twitter, which will then link to Facebook...(and Networked Blogs)

From Facebook you can link to Plaxo, Friendfeed

This saves a lot of time for posting; more time for reading/interacting...

I have one author's blog: The Meet and Greet at West of Mars. It's in its fifth year now and still way fun.
http://westofmars.com/blog

I also run a promotional blog for other authors, called West of Mars Win a Book. I post links to interviews, guest blog posts authors may write for other bloggers, and giveaways. It's my labor of love and I encourage all authors and bloggers to get involved. http://winabook.westofmars.com

A big thank you to Sharon, Robert, Anna, Glenda and Susan for listing your author blogs! :-)

Although I am not a published author...yet...I do have a blog. I have never tried getting any of my works published until recently but I did create a blog under my pen name to try and get followers. I don't know if I rushed into the blog thing since I'm not published but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try and start building a name for myself. I don't post any of my works on my blog because I want to wait until I'm published somewhere first, but I do post about other authors to help them spread the word.

If curious, my blog can be found at http://junipergrove.wordpress.com

What's happening! Feel free to check out my two blogs and website. http://thumbflagging.blogspot.com
http://sketchesbyjerome.blogspot.com
www.jeromejohnpeterson.com

Epic odyssey author of:
Thumb Flagging
The Haunting of Andrew Sharpai
Leaving Family Behind (soon to be published!)

Brandy wrote: "Although I am not a published author...yet...I do have a blog. I have never tried getting any of my works published until recently but I did create a blog under my pen name to try and get followers..."

In my opinion, it is always a good idea to start an author blog before you are published. It helps you to build a group of online friends who will most likely want to buy your book when you do have it published. They will also be a supportive group for you and most times they are flattered to be your beta readers --- to give you feedback before your book is professionally edited and published.

Hi Brandy, Jackie M., Jerome and Nanette

Thanks so much for adding your blogs! :-)

Here's my blog: http://blog.jenniferallisprovost.com/

Stop by & say hi!

Hi everyone, I've been a member here for awhile but I've been MIA. Now I'm back and would like to invite everyone to my new blog, to introduce my new book, The Betrayal! Hope you visit. I even have a forum there so you can ask the characters questions. Below is the link.

http://sheilahendrix.webs.com/


Thanks,
Sheila

I blog from an author's perspective about writing and publishing. Beginning in Jan 2011, I'll be tackling a different topic each month beginning with "Story Idea" through the submission process, marketing & promotion, to dealing with reviews, readers and fans.

I hope to have a guest author each month post on the topic - which will also help to promote that author. I listed the monthly topics on my site - but if any author is interested in posting on a certain month, email me and I'll send the weekly relating topic. You don't have to wait until that month to post - write and I'll post it when the time comes.

http://www.allonbooks-thekingdomofall...

my email: shawnlamb@allonbooks.com

I've just been updating my blogs, trying to tie them together. http://www.sheiladeeth.com

I have two blogs http://www.elizabethisaacs.com/blog and http://www.thelightofasteria.blogspot...
I try to blog at least twice a week on both, but some weeks I just can't seem to find the time.

I have a blog, Two Ends of the Pen, where I blog about books, writing, publishing and I also feature author interviews, guest posts, panel discussions and book reviews. I've met so many wonderful authors through my blog. It's been great.

http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com/

Busy woman, Debra. Visited your blog. Nice. Doing my own blog, cover design and website, I recognized some elements you used. Good choice.:)

Currently I just blog through this website on my author profile.

Shawn wrote: "Busy woman, Debra. Visited your blog. Nice. Doing my own blog, cover design and website, I recognized some elements you used. Good choice.:)"

Thanks, glad you like it. Have to see it is a lot of work keeping up with all the posts. My blog has its own calendar - it has a better social life than I do!

Hello All-

I would love it if you became a fan of Kissing Frogs in Cyberspace on Facebook! Happy Happy New Year!

I am. :-)

Hi everyone. I'm in awe of all of you that maintain so many blogs. I have one at
http://sherridesbois.blogspot.com/
and between that, my yahoo groups, goodreads, my page at Liquid silver and my facebook I'm finding it hard to fit in my writing. LOL

~waves hello~

I am not a published author yet -- though I will never quit in my endeavor to be -- I do have a blog which can be found here: A Work of Fiction

Laura wrote: "I am not a published author yet -- though I will never quit in my endeavor to be -- I do have a blog which can be found here: A Work of Fiction"

One of my fav quotes is. "All dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." Walt Disney.
Best of luck to you in the pursuit of your dream :)

I have a blog called Fiction Writing and My Anything Blog. I post commentary's, my short stories, writing helps, just about anything that interests me. I have published my mystery "The Tower" and I really don't know what to do with it on my blog. There is only so much you can say. I do have links available to let someone find out about it and buy it, if they choose to. I try to interact with other bloggers if their blog interets me. Should I being doing something else?

I just got used to the blogging world a few weeks ago. So far, it's working really well. I got over a 1000 pageviews within a week, and adding more followers each day. However, I think I need to add more post to spice up my blog. Please, do stop by and have a look.

http://icire.blogspot.com

Hi!

Yes I have an a blog! I try to update it often!
I would love to get some conversation going and make it more interesting so PLEASE check it out and let's talk!

Cheersh.... Lorii
http://loriimyers.blogspot.com

3 Off the Tee: Targeting Success: Develop the Right Business Attitude to be Successful in the Workplace

Lorii, in responding to your message to get some conversation going on your blog, I was unable to get your blog site up. Since I'm still quite interested, would you please e-mail your blog site to me at: griff1313@bellsouth.net and let's see if that works. Also, if interested, to learn more about me, please visit my website, www.authorgeraldgriffin.com, and while at the site, I'd be honored if you signed my Guest Book.

Thanks, Gerald

Hi Gerald

I just emailed!!!!

As well here is the blog address again:

www.loriimyers.blogspot.com

Moving on to your website now!!

Lorii

Thanks, Lorii. I'm going to your blog site from my browser.

Gerald

Hello everyone! I do have a blog and I post every single day. I also have a list of all the bloggers that I like and post and re-post their feeds to Twitter and FB as a friendly gesture. :) We should help each other. It is boring to keep posting only my own stuff.

http://soniarumzi.com/

I write about what people do to each other and I lean to women's and gay issues.

My blog is: http://laurenbgrossman.blogspot.com/
But I don't post every day. I post when I have something interesting to say. I recently returned from a 2-week trip to London and did blog that because the impetus for going was to start research on my next novel. Turned out the British Library did not have what I needed anyway. BUT, th etrip was fantastic.

Lauren wrote: "My blog is: http://laurenbgrossman.blogspot.com/
But I don't post every day. I post when I have something interesting to say. I recently returned from a 2-week trip to London and did blog that beca..."

Hiya Lauren,

I just followed your blog. It's really nice. I do think though that you should reduce the width of the video trailer, so that it would fit in. Apart from that, it's really good. I hope you stop by and check mine.

Kelvin
http://icire.blogspot.com

I have an author blog which I update 2 or 3 times a week. I review books, write about writing/promoting, and other life thingies.

I always follow all my followers, but it may take me a few days.

http://lenahillbrand.blogspot.com

Lena Hillbrand
The Superiors (my vampire book)

Thanks, Kevin. I would reduce the book trailer if I knew how.
I am now following your blog.
I see you use Smashwords, too. I seem to get a better response from Kindle Direct & Nook than Smashwords.

My author blog is on goodreads and also on my website.

http://angelalamturpin.com/

Lauren wrote: "Thanks, Kevin. I would reduce the book trailer if I knew how.
I am now following your blog.
I see you use Smashwords, too. I seem to get a better response from Kindle Direct & Nook than Smashwords."

Certainly. Smashwords not really good at selling the books, perhaps only distributing them.

You can find my blog at http://www.catherinewestblog.blogspot...
My problem is finding things to blog about! I feel like it's overkill to just talk about my book all the time. I'm thinking about maybe one day a week hosting a book discussion and see how that goes!
Yesterday's Tomorrow

Catherine, I'd be delighted if you'd host a book discussion on my thriller OF GOOD AND EVIL, and anything else you'd like to discuss.

Gerald

G'day all, well I've finally done it & entered the world of 'blogdom' hope you enjoy...

http://readeasypoetry.wordpress.com/

After retiring from the FBI and as an ex-cop, I blog on current crime and security issues such as the Casey Anthony Murder Trial, Terrorism and Freedom of the Press.

I wrote two books. Midnight Sin is a crime novel, described by Law and Order Producer Peter Giuliano as, "A powerful story."

Walking the Corporate Beat: Police School for Business People is a non-fiction, lessons-learned book relating true stories from my 27 years of experience.

Please visit my Author Page and blog. I welcome debate on all my blog postings.

Thanks,
Michael Tabman