Blog Challenges: What NOT to Blog About @kayelleallen #AtoZchallenge #MFRWauthor

What should you blog about? Anything you want. Whatever you're passionate about. All the topics that interest you. Is there anything you should not talk about? No. Not really. Then what do I mean by a title that says "what NOT to blog about"? It's not so much the "what" as it is the "how."

Talk about anything you please, but stop and consider why you're blogging before you start. For example, have you accepted a blog challenge? This is a writing exercise in which you blog on certain days or with specific themes. We've all seen these challenges: Thursday Thirteen, Manic Monday, and of course, blog hops where everyone follows a theme or uses a specific hashtag. I want to talk to you today about the #AtoZchallenge.

When you write your blog posts, remember the reasons for accepting a challenge.

1. To get in the habit of blogging

2. To bring readers to your blog

3. To show readers your writing skills

4. To hone your writing skills

Therefore, if you decide to blog, accept the challenge, and do it right. Don't bore your readers. You want them to think you are a good writer, not one who takes the easy way out and writes cookie cutter posts. What do I mean? Look at these #AtoZChallenge posts:

A is for Anxiety

B is for Books

C is for Cookies

The real show stopper? This one: "Day 2 is on the blog"

No, I am not kidding you. Those are actually on Twitter right now in the #AtoZChallenge. Do you not agree that these titles sound like grade school lessons? They reflect writers who take the easy road. Would you dash over to Amazon and buy a book by someone who does that?

Please don't make yourself look like a lazy writer with posts and titles like this. Be creative. Wouldn't you prefer to read these?

How to control your thinking #AtoZChallenge on #Wellness A is for Affirmation

Have You Met My Amazing Inspiration?

Vistors from Beyond - the Bannik in the Bathhouse

Bad Girls Book Club Letter B

Show the world you are creative and interesting. Take the time to make your post and title worth the effort you will spend doing the project. I challenge you.

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Kayelle Allen is a best selling American author. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary every day folk, role-playing immortal gamers, futuristic covert agents, and warriors who purr. Her latest book is Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas. She is currently involved in a personal blog challenge: #ChaosIsComing which is 30 Days of Chaos for the release of the book.

Writer's Block or Procrastination?@barbbradley

I am so sorry I haven't posted in a few months. As you know from an earlier blog I have been dealing with caring for my mother-in-law. I'm sad to tell you that she has passed away. The last two months were a whirlwind. Having to contact all the different people to make them aware, canceling the things I needed to. It's been crazy and I've had to make lists to keep it all straight.

With my mother-in-law gone I now supposedly have more time...

But I can't figure out what I seem to be doing with it.

I some of it is dealing with my grief and having to follow up on those phone calls to make sure I didn't miss anyone. Part of it is procrastination. I've been working on the same series since we moved in with my mother-in-law and even though I have one to finish and another one rattling around in my head I think I have this series linked to her.

I'm so grateful that I learned to write every night, whether I'm in the mood or not. It's going to help me work my way through all this. I'm going to put one word in front of the other until I'm writing the way I have in the past.

Barb:)

Is it More About Writing, or About Being a Writer? #MFRWauthor

This will be a shorter than usual blog, since I'm borrowing from another blogger. Not to mention running late.
I ran across this blog from Screencraft, a site to advise screenwriters. The post resonated with me and I think will have the same effect on other writers Beware the Writing Zombies Check it out while I get more coffee.
Do you recognize anyone you know? All I had to do was look in a mirror, and also remember the time I spent researching to avoid actually writing. Whether it was to start a new book or continue on with a current project. And I would hate to admit how many times I've delayed starting so I could use the new project for a course.
Maybe I should title this 'Games Writers Play.' Or maybe I should just get back to edits?
Happy writing!

I need a photo here. I think I'll go with a New Mexico sunset, sharing the beauty of where I'm living.

Monica Stoner w/a Mona Karel
Website/Blog 
Mona's Amazon Page
Twitter


We retired to the high plains of New Mexico, where I finally put all those seminars and critique sessions to work, not to mention pulled together my courage to offer a story I'd beaten into submission. I am honored to help Marketing for Romance Writers with list moderation, and wherever else my skill set is of value

A #Romance #RetweetParty with #MFRWAuthor

For this month's Retweet Day on Twitter, we'd like to invite all Marketing for Romance Writers to set up tweets for their books.

Go into Twitter and create a tweet. Once the tweet has been posted. Click on the ... (three dots) in the right hand corner.

This will give you the option to (copy link to tweet). Copy this link and put it in the comment section of this post.


Also in an effort to help people find tweets to share of yours, click the ...(three dots) again and pin your tweet to your profile page. This will give you a count of how many people retweeted your post.


Don't forget

On March 9, click on each link and share everyone's post on twitter. Also, make sure to have #MFRWauthor in the tweet.


Here's to a great day of retweets,


Tina Gayle

Do Hybrid Authors Need a Website? Yes. Here's Why @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor

Definition: Hybrid Author -- one who publishes in more than one way, using any combination of traditional, small press, epress, and/or self-publishing.

Header for kayelleallen.com 

There are more reasons authors need a website, but these are the most important, in my opinion. What do I know? As a hybrid author myself, I have marketed my books for over twelve years, and have been a mentor to many. I'm the owner of The Author's Secret, and work with authors every day. Plus, I'm the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers, which has nearly 3k members on Yahoo and over 6k members on Facebook.

1. When you are self-published, your books are found online, not while a reader is casually walking past a shelf in a bookstore. A casual shopper might see your book on Amazon, or Barnes and Noble, and other sites. But a website gives readers a place to research your books and find out more about you. If a reader likes your book, or wants to know more, where can he or she go to learn about you?
2. A website with your name as the domain (authorname.com) provides a place without ads that pop up like some of the "free" sites. Readers who see popups and ads spend less time on the site. If they click one of the ads, they are taken away from your site. With your own domain, you can control whether clicking a link opens in a new window, which allows readers to shop, and then come back.
3. A website is an investment in your business and your future. If writing is a hobby for you, and you are only in it for the fun, save your money and do a free site. If writing is what wakes you up in the morning and puts you to bed (late) at night, then do yourself and your future readership a favor and become serious about promoting yourself with a website.
4. A website gives you the opportunity to judge how well known you are. Google Analytics is one of the free tools out there to let you interpret website statistics. (it's not as scary as it sounds, trust me) For example, I know that today, 38% of visitors to my website get there by directly typing my name (and adding .com) into the address bar of their browser.
5. With your own domain, you can have several professional email accounts with your author name. (yourname@yourdomain.com) It's okay to use another email account such as Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc. as well. You can have your professional email accounts forward there. But you'll need a pro account for contacting publishers, review sites, sending press releases, and for business cards or your website. I use several different email addresses. When I do a live event I can use a new one, and others for anything promoted online or in print. When I get an email, I can tell immediately where the person got the address. This helps me judge effectiveness of an event's reach.
6. Adding a blog (such as Wordpress) to your own domain means people who read your blog come directly to your site. No one will shut down your blog if it belongs to you and is hosted on your own domain.
7. A website gives you a place to sell books and to gather contacts for your newsletter. This is vital. A newsletter is a list of people who have expressed an interest in your books. Would you not want to know who they are? Of course you would!

Are there other reasons? Yes. I'd love to hear yours.

What if you can't afford a dedicated domain name?

1. If you have no money and you are just starting out, scrimp and save and buy that domain. Go without two new books. It will cost you about the same.
2. Ask on Marketing for Romance Writers  for advice as well. You'll find lots of people ready to help.
3. If you don't know how to create a site, create one with wordpress. You can get beautiful free themes and do customization on your own by following directions online.
4. Ask around, and see who built their own sites. See if a friend will help. There is power in networking.

Bottom line, a website is your best bet for creating a place for readers to find out more about you and your books. Make the most of the opportunity. A blog will bring people to your site, so if you've been thinking about creating one, while you're creating your site is a good time to start.

Have something to add to this? Leave a comment below.

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Kayelle Allen is a best selling American author. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary every day folk, role-playing immortal gamers, futuristic covert agents, and warriors who purr.
Homeworld and Blog https://kayelleallen.com

A Valentines' #RetweetParty with #MFRWAuthor #Romance

For this month's Retweet Day on Twitter, we'd like to invite all Marketing for Romance Writers to set up tweets for their books.

Go into Twitter and create a tweet. Once the tweet has been posted. Click on the ... (three dots) in the right hand corner.

This will give you the option to (copy link to tweet). Copy this link and put it in the comment section of this post.


Also in an effort to help people find tweets to share of yours, click the ...(three dots) again and pin your tweet to your profile page. This will give you a count of how many people retweeted your post.


Don't forget




On Feb 10, click on each link and share everyone's post on twitter. Also, make sure to have #MFRWauthor in the tweet.


Here's to a great day of retweets,


Tina Gayle