I recently read an article by Jane Friedman about authors blogging and something I have wondered myself in the past.

Many authors are told to start a blog when they first start out to start building their brand and establishing their author platform. Even publishers recommend this.

But what the heck are you supposed to blog about?

This is especially hard for fiction authors. They can’t always write posts related to their books or readers would quickly become bored. Even harder if you only have one book to blog about.

When I started blogging two years ago I thought I’d post things related to writing. I simply remember what I lost interest in blogging. Rarely posting even once a month. I kept telling myself I’d give it another go and start again but, of course, I didn’t.

Then in the lead up to publishing my first novel, Denai Touch I started looking into book marketing and realised blogging can be a good way to market your books.

A lot of well-known indie authors such as Hugh Howie, Joanna Penn, and Molly Greene all blog.

So what should authors blog about?

Non-fiction authors can blog about their chosen topic. For example, if they wrote about extreme skiing they could write articles and post content relating to that particular sport. They need to post regular content about their books.

Should authors only blog about their work?

I would have to say no – but this is just my personal opinion. Blogging about your particular book will soon become tiring for you and boring for your readers. You would sue run out both topics to write about even if you covered things such as characters, plots, your writing process, settings, genres etc.

Why do authors blog?

Blogging can be a great way for authors to get more focused and disciplined in the writing process. It can help you find your voice as an author and help you find new things you never thought you would write about.

For example, I never thought I would write anything to do with non-fiction. But after learning a lot over the past year about self-publishing, book marketing, and blogging as I ventured into freelance writing and became an author those are the things I mainly blog about. I even plan on crossing genres and writing a non-fiction book in 2016.

Should authors have separate blogs if they write fiction and non-fiction?

I know that author, Joanna Penn who writes fiction and non-fiction maintains two separate websites for each. But I tried having two separate blogs, the one I write on here and another one on my freelance writing site, but I found it impossible to keep up with both.

Having two separate blogs would be twice the work and would take more time away from you writing your books.

Does blogging sell books?

I don’t think blogging on its own will help you sell books, but I do think that it is a good way of establishing your author platform and helping you to create your fan base.

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