The Promotional Blog

[missouridalton]

I was recently contracted, and while I had a perfectly serviceable blog, it was not under my nome de plume thus, a new blog had to be made.

http://missouridalton.blogspot.com (http://missouridalton.blogspot.com/)

It's meant to be funny, while promoting me as an author. So I'm going for a life/writing blog. Much as most of the author's blogs I follow do.

Thoughts?

[FocusOnEnergy]

It's meant to be funny, while promoting me as an author. So I'm going for a life/writing blog. Much as most of the author's blogs I follow do.

I've noticed that trend. Some people can pull that one off (Hyperbole and a Half (http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/) is one of my favorite blogs) but most don't manage to make the content interesting to anyone else but themselves. Their blog becomes a confessional and they blather on about all sorts of angsty things related to writing, or writing about stuff that happened in their life in a very boring fashion. Or, it's nothing but self-congratulatory wankage. That's what LiveJournal is for. Blogging as a diary.

If you want to do real blogging for marketing purposes, you need to provide engaging content that will attract readers, because they'll enjoy how you write.

Especially in the case of a novelist, where your quality of writing and storytelling is what sells your books. If you must share the fact that you slept through the night or what books and videos you picked up the next day, make a story about it, make it funny, tragic, romantic, etc.

Focus

[veinglory]

I like the overall look of the blog but i stared at the title and tag line for a while and felt like I was missing the point. What is "lock and stock" that caps lock and stock is a pun off.... and what, if anything, does his have to do with scarfs and propaganda?

[missouridalton]

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is the original title I reworked Veinglory. I write a lot of period specific things, and have an obsession with getting details about weapons right. So, Caps Lock (writing) and Stock (weapons).

My tag line is something a friend once said about me, and I rather liked it. I read somewhere that having a tag line that is both funny and nonsensical can play in your favor because it's easier to remember. It's "sticky", as they say in marketing.

FOE - thank you for your input and the link, I'll see if I can't spin my posts into more storytelling.

[Polenth]

It's difficult to read the sidebar information with the swirly background. Personally, I'd ditch the background... but if you're going to keep it, the sidebar could do with having a solid background.

I think you need to decide if you're blogging just for you or whether you're blogging to attract outside attention. The current blog posts are written like a personal diary, rather than something for others. The tagline is a joke with a friend. You aren't giving people a reason to care about your word count.

Given your interest in historical weapons and so forth, why not have some posts about that? It's not a subject I see on writing blogs much, so it'd set you apart. It's also a good subject for pictures (you can't beat a few relevant pictures on blogs, as it breaks up the text).

[missouridalton]

I do intend to push forth more informational posts, I simply haven't had the time just recently.

The unfortunate thing with this particular template, is there is no option for a background behind the sidebars. I may fiddle with it some more later, but I'm putting effort towards a full website around October after the book launch.

My HTML skills are behind the curve, unfortunately, and while I have been expending some time to dig through the template's code to get at least a semi-solid background to the side bar I haven't been successful yet.

[veinglory]

In the meantime it would help not to use red text against a red background...?

[LydiaNetzer]

I like the "Goals" list -- cute and personal. I like that tone for the blog, if you can kind of embrace the disharmony of the dark/horrific content of your book and the cuteness of your personality, that could make a great blog. In writing a blog, you create a persona -- it needs complexity like any novel character. Disparate elements make a great narrator: smart/ditzy dark/cute young/serious

The very light blue color against the red is a little painful. Maybe it's just my monitor/browser but the background image fades to black and then back in to red when I scroll down the page. Intentional?

All of these personal anecdotes will become infinitely more interesting to people if they're fans of your book when it comes out. Don't give up on the "confessional" blog. Give yourself time to find your voice. When you hit on a post you really like, reread it a few times to sort of solidify that tone for yourself -- even if it's your own writing, sometimes it helps to familiarize yourself with it!

For a great example of an author blog in this style, try Joshilyn Jackson's "Faster Than Kudzu": http://www.joshilynjackson.com/ftk

[missouridalton]

I'll have to take a look at the blog on another monitor then, as the red color is very soft on my screen.

The fade doesn't happen at all on my computer, but I use Firefox, I've also seen it on Safari without that issue.

Thanks for the example and the encouragement. I'll keep everything in mind as I move forward.

** And I believe I've gotten the background/text issue corrected.

[garnerdavis]

Don't know if you're still looking for reviews, but assuming you are...

On the plus side, I like the "Missouri's Goals" sidebar list. I also like the length of your blog posts. All too often, I find myself exiting out of blogs simply because the blogger is trying to put too much information into a single post. (And I sure hope I'm not guilty of the same transgression). On the minus side, I agree with other reviewers, who suggest posting more stories which illustrate your talents as a writer, rather than news blips of your daily activities (which only your mother and already-devoted book fans are likely to appreciate).