Blogging Basics for the Beginning Writer - Raquel Byrnes (Guest Author)

My guest author for today is Raquel Byrnes, a blogger, writer and published author of Purple Knot - released June 3 by White Rose Publishing. Continuing in my Blogging Series, Raquel has agreed to share tips for beginner writers who also blog. Raquel has been blogging since 2009 and her debut novel,As an author who also started off blogging, I totally agree with the points that Raquel shares. She also reiterate some of the tips I shared under finding your blog niche, this is expecially important for would be authors. Well, let's hear first about the newly minted author...


Raquel Byrnes lives in Southern, California with her husband of sixteen years and their six children. She considers inspirational fiction a wonderful way to minister to others. She writes romantic suspense with an edge-your-seat pace. Her debut is the first book of the Shades of Hope Series, and was released on June 3rd from White Rose Publishing. You can visit her at her website: www.raquelbyrnes.com and her writing blog, Edge of Your Seat Romance. Her book is already available on Amazon, and you can buy by clicking on the image to the left.





Blogging Basics for the Beginning Writer by Raquel Byrnes


First of all. Do it. Having a blog is an important aspect of getting yourself ready for publication. Here are a few reasons why.

• You connect with other writers. This is the single most fruitful reason to blog. You encounter like minds and encouragement. With the solitary existence of a writer’s life, a few friends who know what your struggles are make big difference.
• You learn consistency. A blog doesn’t gain followers or keep them without new posts on a regular basis. Writing to a schedule with help you as a writer.
• You learn from your peers. One of my favorite blogging activities is joining in blogfests. It’s where a blogger will host a theme and you can sign up to participate. Then on the given day, you post your excerpt or flash fiction piece and fellow writers offer advice and tips. It’s helpful and you learn to take critique…two advantages to you as an author.

So how do you get started? It’s not as hard as you might think. Blogger is extremely user friendly with drag and drop elements and standard templates to get you going right way. Wordpress is another popular site builder, also free.
Some things to keep in mind when starting a blog that will save you the palm to forehead moment later in the game…

• Choose your blog name carefully. It should have something to do with your genre, your name, or the kind of books you write. Imagine an agent’s face when you tell him your blog is called CatBoots47 and you write horror.
• Decide what you will blog about. Is it a chronicle of your writing journey? Is it about your comic book collection? Do you take photographs and post them with blurbs? Choose something and stick with it. Nothing hurts you more than a blog with no direction.
• Don’t ignore it for weeks. Yes, life is hectic. I know you have things to do. But posting once a week or even twice a week is helpful in keeping followers and growing your connections. If you consistently have nothing new, then people will stop checking.

Finally, I want to remind you to have fun. This is a casual medium. The tone in conversational and friendly. It’s a place to show your personality, what you are passionate about, and to encourage others.
It’s a place to interact. Don’t forget to answer the comments, follow back, and join in the conversation. You’ll be glad you did.