Can You Write a Blog? Yes, You Can!

When I'm asked what I do for a living, I say I'm a blogger, writer, poet and photographer. The word blogger usually generates interest and creates dialogue. Here are a few questions I've received about my life as a blogger:

What's your blog about?
What do you blog about?
How and why did you start a blog?
Do people follow your blog?
Do you know who reads your blog?
Do you give out personal information?

and lastly,

How can I start my own blog?

Here are my answers and a little information about me:

What's your blog about?

My blog, The Writing Life, is about the writing life aka my life as a writer.

What do you blog about?

I blog about my life's experiences as they relate to writing and living my dream of being a full-time writer. I blog about the challenges, perseverance, joys and hard work it takes to write a novel, query agents, write and edit, query editors and publishers, and market a blog and first novel. I wrote an historical fiction novel called A Decent Woman which I see as a published book.

How and why did you start a blog?

I began blogging anonymously in 2007 on Thoughts.com about the dating life of a 50-year old divorced Mom of two college-aged kids--me. My son introduced me to blogging and I think my kids encouraged me to blog because they thought Mom needed an outlet/creative outlet. I also believe they were tired of listening to me :) I journaled long-hand, every day for over 15 years and blogging felt very natural. I took to it like a duck to water.

I started this blog, The Writing Life, because I learned I needed an author blog as a platform for my novel-length manuscript, A Decent Woman. I discovered that new authors must have an established platform before they publish their first book. Blogging keeps me writing and working on my novel when I think I can't read or write another word! Writing a blog is a discipline that I love and can't imagine not doing.

Do people follow your blog?

I enjoyed a large blog readership/following on Thoughts.com and have met six fellow bloggers over the years which is great because that blog no longer exists. I'm thrilled when someone adds my blog, The Writing Life, to their reading lists and I love receiving comments! I always reply to comments, it's just good manners.

Do you know who follows your blog?

According to my profile, I have nine followers which doesn't compute with the 6,000+ page views that seem to grow every day. I'm grateful for my nine followers, but I don't know every person who reads my blog. Making friends wasn't why I started my blog, however, I would love to connect more with my readers. So, please make yourself known :) I love the kind comments I've received and would love to know more about my readers who seem to live around the world.

Do you give out personal information?

No, I don't. I'm a writer living West Virginia, originally from Northern Virginia, born in Puerto Rico. I'm the mother of two fantastic young adults no longer living in my nest. I'm also Mom to a Pug named Ozzy and a Maine Coon cat named Pierre.

While I may blog about my writing adventures, road trips, false starts, and life's goals, I don't give out personal information, i.e., my address, phone number. I never use the full names of my friends and people I come into contact with, either.

How can I start my own blog?

Just start right where you are today!
Think of a catchy user name or title for your blog. 
Research your favorite people, authors or artists and peruse their blogs.
Take a great pic and upload great pics for your blog.
Write about what interests you. 
Write about your dreams, struggles, joys and/or travel adventures.  
Write what you know.
You may be an expert at something, share your gifts!
Be real and allow yourself to be vulnerable.
If you write novels, poetry and/or have wonderful creative gifts, definitely start a blog!
Show and share your work within reason.
If you have an unpublished manuscript, do not upload the entire document. Try a sample chapter instead to share with readers.
Leave comments on your favorite blogs!

What do I still need to work on? 

The last entry--Leave comments on your favorite blogs! 

I'm still learning to organize my time so that I have time to read, write and edit my two novels. I read two books at the same time and I read at least a dozen author blogs a day. I don't always have time to comment on other author blogs and I need to fix that! No. I need to fix that-I don't MAKE time to comment on other author blogs and I need to fix that! That's better.

I can and WILL make time to comment on other author's blogs, especially those in my genre, historical fiction. I will also begin to review books, especially those in my genre.

Done :)

Ellie

Google Blogger for Dummies and Social Media Questions

Good morning, world!

I enjoy checking my blog statistics and traffic sources before I sit down to write a blog post. I'm funny like that. This has become a daily habit since I discovered that I have dozens of fans in Russia, China, India, Australia, Germany and one lonely fan in Latvia (today). I check my reader's locale, what search words they've used to find me and just this morning, I discovered that I must be in the book, Google Blogger for Dummies. This is quite an honor if indeed this is true.

Just a little while ago, I clicked on my TOP search and I was referred by referer.com to a page where I can buy the book, Google Blogger for Dummies. Smile. Not bad, people. Well, of course, I'm curious, but I'm not buying the book nor the scam if that's what it is. What's the deal with so many 'readers' in Russia and China??

It could be a situation where my blog is used as "What not to do when writing a blog!" Wouldn't that be a hoot :) My friend K says that my blog is probably used in foreign universities, in English as a Second Language classes, and I think that it may be that my blogs are read in classes on foreign social media. I imagine my blogs are read aloud in classes all over the world as THE MODEL for writing a blog. Yes, my tongue is in my cheek. Highly doubtful, but my numbers don't lie! I've had over 5,400 page views since I started The Writing Life, not a bad number, eh?

So, what do I do with this information? Not a whole lot. I change my blog password quite a bit and I just keeping writing and blogging. I will keep checking traffic sources and continue to query agents, small publishers and the biggies in NYC. 

If there is a publishing company that is interested in me and publishing my book, A Decent Woman, make yourself known! My passport is up-to-date!

Have a nice day :)

Peace and love,
Ellie

Celebration of Bloggers Tour

My friend, author and blogger, Meredith Schorr, invited me to participate in her Celebration of Bloggers Tour last week. I was happy to oblige and wish Meri all the best of luck with the launch of her third chick lit novel, Blogger Girl! Thanks, Meri!

http://wp.me/p2PJqp-cv

In 2007, my son suggested I write a blog. Write a what? I immediately thought blogging was a style of dance like clogging or maybe it was a new way to meet people as I was a newly divorced 50-year old woman. Since I’d journaled long-hand a la Julia Cameron for decades, my son thought I would like it and in the process, give my writing hand a break. Son, you were right. I took to blogging like a duck to water. I bought a bright red laptop and entered a strange and magical place.

In my first blog profile, I joked that I blogged because I had a lot to say and my adult children were tired of listening to me and would no longer answer my calls. My beautiful children had graduated from college, moved out and found great jobs which made me happy, but I also knew that they wanted me to find a life and start writing again. Blogging became my new hobby and before I knew it, became my new addiction.

Soon, I made cyber friends by reading and commenting on blogs and grew a blog readership which is how I met Meri from New York City. Despite our 30-year age difference, Meri and I had something in common—dating.  My niche was dating in your 50’s and the funny stuff that happens along the way. Believe me, funny stuff ensued. I loved writing anonymously about my dates which was very therapeutic, actually. I soon discovered that dating at any age had not changed all that much--men were still from Mars and women were still from Venus.

I blogged about my dating adventures and misadventures for three years until I grew tired of dating, false starts and 60-year old men who were still finding themselves. By that time, I’d met four blogger friends in person who are still dear friends to this day, but I was listless and bored. It was time for a change. 

I decided to focus on moving West, buying a house and I started writing a chick lit book entitled The Prime of Ms. Ellie Parker. Believe me, I had plenty of material. However, my first novel-length manuscript, A Decent Woman, kept nudging me. I’d finished the historical fiction novel set in Puerto Rico in the 1900’s in 2006, but with divorce, working, kids heading to college and a trans-Atlantic move, I’d shoved the manuscript into a packing box and forgotten about it.

I moved into my new/old house in 2010 and when I unpacked my manuscript, I knew what I had to do. Instead of continuing with the chick lit book aka autobiography, I finished editing, A Decent Woman, which as we speak, is in the hands of a NYC agent and a small press publisher. (Prayers are welcome.) 

No more blogging, I thought. It was time to focus on finding an agent and publishing my first book. I queried agents every day and while waiting for the Golden Ticket and wondering if I could repaper my bathroom with rejection letters, I discovered author blogs—a brand new adventure in writing and blogging for me. Every writer and author had one, so I jumped on the bandwagon. 

I decided to call my new blog, The Writing Life, which would encompass my life as a writer.Although at times my musings on life, gardening, adult children, and restoring a 107-year old house creep into my author blog, I write about the writing life as I see and experience it. What I don’t include in my author blog is my dating life. I have more material than one adult woman should have and then some. Amen.

I still have a lot to say and have been known to exclaim, “Hey, I wrote a blog about that!” Friends will playfully roll their eyes and tolerate me and for the most part, friends, cyber friends, and family who follow my blogs, keep up with me which I very much appreciate.

Blogging is a great creative outlet and author blogs are wonderful marketing tools. I see blogging in my future as I continue to connect with readers, writers and bloggers from around the world. I am a work-in-progress and my new writer website is under construction. You’re never too old to learn, folks!

Peace and love,

Ellie