blogging – Page 3

Like many other writers, I enjoy turning a fresh page, whether it be reading, writing, or turning that page metaphorically. As we approach another year end / beginning, I’m taking a look back at my targets for 2015.

I published A Taste of Honey in December 2014, so I was delighted to begin my new writing year with great reviews of my latest title.

In that happy frame of mind, I set myself the following aims:

1. Update the ‘back pages’ information in all of my books.
2. Read and review more work by the members of the IASD writing group.
3. Step in quietly and offer assistance to new / novice writers wherever possible.
4. Update my author website, creative writer and artist website, and this blog.
5. Attempt a book or series for children.
6. Write a new novel.
7. Write a sequel to one of my present novels.
8. Write another anthology of short stories.
9. Work harder at my ongoing project of my fact-based fiction, coming-of-age story.
10. Work hard to make my blog topics interesting.

How did I do with my ten general topics?

1. I updated the information for the back pages of my published titles, and set out a standard document to make the process simpler as I moved forward.

2. I read and reviewed 15 books in the IASD.

3. I’ve given assistance to three novice authors directly from our group. At the time of writing I am editing a fellow writer’s debut novel. I’ll be formatting the finished manuscript, and producing the cover for him in 2016.

4. I updated my two personal websites and my blog, and in an ongoing effort to streamline and improve them, I’ve gone on to overhaul my secondary website and this blog twice more within the past year.

5. On my first attempt at writing for children, I failed on several levels, but rather than dwell on a specialised genre where I recognise I don’t belong, I decided to leave the genre to those who write it well.

6. A fresh novel was beginning to look like another thriller, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and based on the success of my erotica anthology – I wrote a novel in the same genre.

In September, I published Give & Take: a Tale of Erotica.

7. My first sequel saw the light of day, after a lot of procrastination, planning, and hard work – and then of course it was rewritten several times.

In November, I published Beyond The Law: Retribution.

8. I started the year with three ideas for an anthology, and following the offer of including work by guest authors, the anthology was eventually created.

In December, I published, The Welcome: and other Sci-Fi stories, a collection of 15 stories, six of which are from guest authors.

9. My fact-based fiction novel is now taking shape as my first attempt at a series. It is presently intended to be a five-part story. The first book is ready to be formatted.
A Life of Choice – Part One will be published on Amazon in January 2016.

10. I’ve written blog articles on marketing, blogging, writing anthologies, and a few other topics. My official followers have now risen to the dizzy heights of 170+.

What else have I been up to?

I had an article in Writing Magazine in March, highlighting my writing successes to date.

I wrote Goals, a short story for the charity anthology, You’re Not Alone, being produced by Ian D Moore. Stories from 28 members of the IASD were included and it went live on Amazon in July.

I wrote Faith, Hope, and Charity, a short story for Holes, an IASD anthology produced by Eric Lahti, as a marketing tool for our members.

I wrote the poem Whisper Wood, for inclusion in a children’s anthology of stories and poetry being produced by Sylva Fae. The collection will be published in 2016.

I’ve been interviewed by Christoph Fischer, and had a Recommended Read award from Patrick (Max) Power.

Since October, I’ve been working hard on the IASD website with fellow Admin guys, Paul Ruddock and Ian D Moore. The restructuring is complete and the new, improved version of our website will be posted for public viewing in January, complete with our first Featured Author of 2016.

I’ve signed up to another couple of websites too, but whether they will prove useful in the long run is hard to predict.

My most recent trial has been signing up to BookLinker. This is a site where a regular Amazon URL can be transformed into a ‘universal’ link. I’ve been using the links on Facebook and I’ll be reporting my findings in January 2016.

That’s about it for this year, so I’d like to say a sincere thank you to all who have played a part in my writing journey over the past 12 months, whether it be in buying my titles, reviewing, offering advice, reading my blog, or any number of other things.

Have a great end to the holiday season, thank you for checking out my scribbles again, and I’ll see you all in 2016 with a new set of projects.

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Are you a blogger who writes, or a writer who blogs?
If I had to make a choice, I would know instantly where I stood.

What’s the difference?

To my way of thinking, if somebody told you that you could only do one or the other, then you’d fall into one of two categories:

* The writer will take about three milliseconds to glance at the title page of their blog. They’ll have several images of the links to their favourite online friends and recollect a few wonderful articles and images as they say a fond farewell to all of it.

* The blogger will look at the title page of their blog. They will have a lot of images of the links to their favourite online friends and recollect an abundance of wonderful articles and images.
The blogger will have fleeting memories of stories, articles and posts they’ve written, then have a tea or coffee as they ponder what is most important to them – writing, or blogging?

Is it really that simple – that brutal?

Yes, dear reader, I believe that it is.

You don’t think so? Check the title of this post.

What was your immediate response?

What’s my point?

I’m dealing with a journey where the only baggage is emotional.

I’ve been on a long trip, and there have been two stages of revelation recently where this subject came clearly to mind.

The first revelation was when I elected to take part in a blog-related promotion. Having said I would take part, I then felt I had to step back from it. That was regrettable – mainly because I’d broken my word, but also because I had originally wanted to be involved.

Why did I abandon the blog promotion?

I re-evaluated the time I’d spend away from two major writing projects – and I had to be true to myself.

The second revelation was this morning as I re-worked a passage whilst updating my author website. I arrived at my destination, checked over my baggage and found the following items:

* One large case of wishing I had more time to respond to the lovely people who follow this blog.

* A small bag of regret that there are still those folk out there who will follow a blog, simply to be followed.

* A portfolio of online conversations with like-minded souls who write for many reasons, and who on occasion get in touch to apologise for not reading and commenting on my blog often enough.

* A trunk full of guilt for the number of times when I start scrolling through the list of fifty blogs that I follow, only to find myself abandoning the cause to get back to that chapter I wanted to rewrite.

* A satchel full of notes, ideas and headings for blogs that I might never write, because I’m too busy completing a story.

On my trolley of baggage there are many more containers, but the detail of their contents would only become boring, so you’ll have to trust me on that score. It’s a heavy load.

Are those who blog not also writers?

Yes, but they are writers who have chosen a different path. They are writers by the very fact that they maintain a blog.
They are not primarily storytellers. For the blogger, those activities are a secondary activity.
The blogger looks at their blog as social media.
The writer looks at their blog as a marketing tool.

Will I continue to blog?

Yes, of course I will, and hope that at least some of those I do work hard to follow will understand my motivation – the need to produce stories, much more of the time than I spend checking out the thoughts, opinions and dreams of others.

Yes, that is a selfish attitude, but what more would you expect of a person who spends the majority of their time in their own company – through choice.

Don’t worry, that was a rhetorical question.

Later today, I will once again set my timer and attempt to read about ten of the fifty blogs I follow.
Thank you as always for the patience it takes to negotiate one of my literary rallies.

Any comments are welcome.

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