I have a couple of related requests for information and a question. 1. I'd like recommendations for good sites on which to keep a blog that people will actually see. I guess linking it to other social media is the way there. 2. I'd like to hear people's experiences of using Twitter and/or Instagram in conjunction with Facebook, or anything along similar lines, in a bloggish manner. How well that's worked for you, generally. Any tips/advice. I might consider sticking with this for now as the better option. 3. I haven't linked my Facebook page on my profile, as I wasn't entirely sure if that was within the rules. It should be. I think it would be ok, but if anyone knows, I'd appreciate the clarification as it is my 'progress journal' amongst other things, and I don't really have the energy to write more than one. Background thoughts to the above requests: Firstly, it occurs to me that these days blogging and similar are rather important tools for promoting oneself as an author (when that time arrives). I've noticed in particular a lot of indie writers use social media to promote themselves. I'm nowhere near ready to publish. I've set a schedule, taking into account my health, family responsibilities and other factors, which disappointingly means it's likely to be twelve to fifteen months before I'm ready to consider submitting the finished product. I know finished in fifteen months is better than never. So anyway, I've set up a Facebook page to start with, and it's sort of become a self-motivtional tool - similar to progress journals here - and is setting the scene for future promotion. I'm not bothered about lots of fans at this stage, but it's on my mind. Basically, I seem to be using it as a blog. As I have limited health, I don't want to use up too much of my health & energy blogging instead of writing my book. However the Facebook thing seems to be working. I'm debating whether to have a blog which I can link to Facebook, or perhaps something I've seen others do, which is using Twitter and Instagram the same way - linked to Facebook. So I don't have to overstretch myself in a way detrimental to my writing.
You can blog here but the blogs here are mostly deserted, or so goes my experience. Given your health status and the amount of energy you want to invest, I'd try to start a blog on your profile page.
I read something recently, but can't find a link now, stating that most of the most successful authors don't do a lot of blogging, etc. The take home from that article was that your time is much better spent, in terms of getting yourself out there and being successful, in working on your next book with the time you would spend on blogging. That said, there are some authors who I think have certainly benefited from blogging and becoming known by doing so. Chuck Wendig comes to mind. But his is fairly unique among author blogs. If the blogging consists mostly of self-promotion or saying things about writing and publishing that can be found in a thousand different places online, I'm not sure how much good it really does. If you have a unique and engaging perspective you can bring to a blog, I think it is more likely to be successful.
A lot of "how to publicise" books and sites push the use of social media and/or blogs. I'm not saying they can't work, but there are some pre-requisites. 1. The author has to be sociable and gregarious enough to be interesting and attractive on-line. If someone comes across as stiff or unfriendly (even when they are not that way in RL), then it might do more harm than good. 2. You need to have something interesting to say other than your writing and your books. Few people are going to be interested in your writing process and technique unless you are already a successful author. 3. You need to be able to keep it up over time. That doesn't mean posting every day or every hour, but the blog must be refreshed often enough to keep people coming back. I have a blog in GoodReads, which comes as part of the Author package. But I use it mostly to gather up my book reviews (I only review books I really like), announcement of new books, and comments about my already published books. I don't attract a large following, nor do I expect to. It is just part of my on line presence in GR, in addition to participating in discussion groups.
