Appealing to Readers

[Mythopoet]

I check out the books of most authors whose blogs I read. But the blog itself isn't going to get me to buy the book. The book has to stand for itself and interest me based on its content. But frequently I become aware of a book because of the author's blog.

 

[risu]

The book I just bought last night was because the blogger made me laugh with her posts. Seeing her personality in her blog got me excited to read her newly released novel. I support a lot of indie writers, but this one, I actually wanted to read the book for me (not to help them).

 

[Devor]

The book I just bought last night was because the blogger made me laugh with her posts. Seeing her personality in her blog got me excited to read her newly released novel. I support a lot of indie writers, but this one, I actually wanted to read the book for me (not to help them).

That sounds great. Is there a specific post you could link to?

 

[risu]

I don't know if humor that works for me will work for you, but I suppose these are a couple I found interesting. Primarily, it's her personality that draws me to her. Maybe it's her sarcasm, or me being able to relate. Not every post resonates with me, but she makes me smile enough that I'm confident she can do so outside of her blog too.

My Pet Blog: Ramblin' On

My Pet Blog: In Which I Stumble and Stammer and Eventually Ask for Help

As a reader, personal blogs are the most interesting to me. As a professional, they aren't that helpful, since I gain no personal use from them.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Personally I find the whole social media thing confusing and overhyped. There are a million authors out there, and thousands of them all swearing blind that having a blog or a website is the best way to attract readers. The problem is that for everyone of them who has found success this way, I'd bet there are far more who haven't - but no stats because hardly anyone ever posts "well I tried this and it didn't work".

But it's the underlying logic that is at fault in my view. It'd have to be a fantastic blogger whose work I read and liked so much in a few short paragraphs or a couple of posts that I thought I'd buy their book. I might check it out, but only if the topic etc interested me. What is more likely is that I'd be browsing for books and when I found one I liked I'd then check out the blog. In short the book sells the blog.

And the cry about getting your name out there through your blog is for the most part hot air and dreams as far as I can see. Very few authors sell by name. Stephen King probably could. Most others couldn't. So the idea of getting your name out there is all but useless if people don't know what you write and haven't read any of your stuff.

If you want to sell concentrate on good writing, a good cover and blurb, write in one genre, and build a fan base through your work. A blog won't hurt, but it probably won't help that much and all that time you spend blogging you could be writing.

Just my two cents.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Philip Overby]

But does he appeal to you as a reader or as another author? I think that's the big question when it comes to blogging. It's great that there are blogs that appeal to writers. And certainly the two groups don't have to be mutually exclusive.

Can anyone point to a blog post that kind of sorta makes you want to buy a book by the author?

Yes, I bought several of his writing books and a short story collection after I started reading his blog. So it worked for me. I figured if his blogs are this funny, then his writing must be as well. I wasn't disappointed.

 

[Philip Overby]

Hi,

Personally I find the whole social media thing confusing and overhyped. There are a million authors out there, and thousands of them all swearing blind that having a blog or a website is the best way to attract readers. The problem is that for everyone of them who has found success this way, I'd bet there are far more who haven't - but no stats because hardly anyone ever posts "well I tried this and it didn't work".

But it's the underlying logic that is at fault in my view. It'd have to be a fantastic blogger whose work I read and liked so much in a few short paragraphs or a couple of posts that I thought I'd buy their book. I might check it out, but only if the topic etc interested me. What is more likely is that I'd be browsing for books and when I found one I liked I'd then check out the blog. In short the book sells the blog.

And the cry about getting your name out there through your blog is for the most part hot air and dreams as far as I can see. Very few authors sell by name. Stephen King probably could. Most others couldn't. So the idea of getting your name out there is all but useless if people don't know what you write and haven't read any of your stuff.

If you want to sell concentrate on good writing, a good cover and blurb, write in one genre, and build a fan base through your work. A blog won't hurt, but it probably won't help that much and all that time you spend blogging you could be writing.

Just my two cents.

Cheers, Greg.

I also think social media is probably relied on a bit too much, but this is coming from someone who hasn't figured it out very well. I try to interact with people as much as possible and I've found some cool people that way. However, I don't think you're suddenly going to get 10,000 followers who all love you. It takes hard work to get there. Like anything, it takes a lot of networking and word of mouth. Building a social network that is successful probably takes about as much time as it would take to write several novels.

The same goes with a blog. Yes, you may get a viral post, but that's mostly luck. I personally don't spend much time on my blog(s) (I write on them 3 or 4 times a month) and it's mostly just to get some ideas out of my head. If I don't have anything to write about, I don't write anything. I know that's a big no-no in the blogging communities, but my blogs are only done for fun at the moment. I can't really say I'm using them as a promotional tool, but if that's a side effect somehow, great.

I agree that writing more books, having good cover art, etc. will most likely sell a ton more books for someone than having an awesome blog. But if someone has the time, having an awesome blog AND writing more books, having good cover art, etc. certainly can't hurt anything.

Plus, a blog is a place where you can have links to your books, which definitely increases visibility.

I mentioned Chuck Wendig before, and he's one of the few people I found on his blog and started buying his books. Mark Lawrence is another. These are two people who balance blogging and writing very well in my opinion. Their blogs appeal to me both as a reader and a writer.

 

[Devor]

Yes, I bought several of his writing books and a short story collection after I started reading his blog. So it worked for me. I figured if his blogs are this funny, then his writing must be as well. I wasn't disappointed.

What I mean is, do you think you would have followed his blog if you weren't trying to be an author?

 

[Philip Overby]

What I mean is, do you think you would have followed his blog if you weren't trying to be an author?

I thought the point was do I buy books from people I follow on blogs. Yes. Does it happen all the time? No.

Would I have found Wendig's blog if I wasn't a writer? Maybe not. But I'm a reader also, so I'm always looking for something entertaining to read. In this case, it happened to be writing advice or aspects of the writing business.

For Mark Lawrence's blog though, I found it because I was interested in the buzz I heard about Prince of Thorns. So in that case, yes, I found the blog because I was interested in reading his work and not so much because I was looking for writing advice.

In Chuck Wendig's case, I found it because I'm a writer. In Mark Lawrence's, I found it because I'm a reader. I've since bought books from both of these people. I didn't only buy from them because of their blogs, but they definitely pushed me in the right direction.

 

[Devor]

I thought the point was do I buy books from people I follow on blogs.

Thank you for your answer, it's very good to know.

On a marketing level we have to separate "appeal to authors" from "appeal to other readers." For those of us who are both that can be difficult, especially if you don't think about it. "I bought a book by an author because I learned a lot about writing from his blog, so he has my respect as an author and must write good books," wouldn't go very far in looking at the reach of a blog. And it can create a sense that it's a normal activity for readers when, given only that one anecdote, there's no reason to think it might be. Most readers aren't that invested in learning what it's like to write and if they follow blogs, they do so for different reasons.

That's why I'm pushing for understanding this difference. So it's great that you can draw the line and say you found Mark Lawrence as a reader, and not as an author, and bought his books.

What is it you like about Mark Lawrence's blog? Are there any good posts you can highlight?

 

[Philip Overby]

I have probably three ways of discovering writers:

1. From Twitter, forums, and blogs
2. From Amazon recommendations
3. From other writers

Examples of writers I discovered from blogs are Kameron Hurley and Chuck Wendig. Their flair for language attracted me to check out their books. I always pick up samples first, so it encouraged me to try out their writing. I liked it, so I'll more than likely buy more of their work.

Amazon is my go to place to buy books. It may not be optimal, but for me living in Japan, it's hard for me to get print books in English that I want. I have to rely on my Kindle. That's just my reality. Often Amazon will recommend authors and I'll check out samples if they sound interesting. This is probably the least likely way I'll buy books though because they often recommend authors I already know about. Usually they're someone I've already read or someone I'm not interested in reading.

Other writers (no matter how I'm getting the information) have been really helpful for me. A lot of fantasy writers tend to run in circles it seems. So I find out about certain authors from authors I like. I trust their opinions most of the time because I like them.

When it comes to blogs, I've found some of them via Twitter or from blog hopping. Mark Lawrence's blog I found after searching for information about his series. One particular blog post I liked may be hard to find, but I'll look for one that represents what I like about it.

Here's one: Mark Lawrence: Entries for the graphic novel contest

In general, I believe fans want to be noticed by their favorite authors and get to interact with them somehow. I think Lawrence encourages this through fan contests and competitions. This is something Wendig does as well with his flash fiction contests. That's what I like about them. They talk about industry stuff, sure, but they also have nice things for fans to interact with somehow. I know that's harder for newer authors starting out, but doing anything that allows for interaction helps.

I've noticed the difference on Google+ specifically when people post a link with something like "In this blog I discuss my thoughts on self-publishing." That's not going to get me to click because it's not encouraging any discussion. I notice my blog posts that encourage discussion tend to get more comments. I think some blogs get zero acknowledgement because they operate under the assumption that the writer is the center of the universe and we should all be amazed by them. The most successful blogs encourage interaction and discussion.