- Blogging is writing.
- Book blogs dramatically increase book sales.
- Blogs are easier to find online than books
Blogging is writing
Most blogs are utter crap. Badly written crap, at that. You’re a writer. That’s what you do. Writers and blogs are a better match than journalists and blogs. Many prominent journalists and writers now have their own blogs, and their blogs are helping them in a variety of ways. Blogging helps you vastly expand your audience, attracting those who may buy your published works in the future because they enjoyed your well-written blog so much.
Book blogs dramatically increase book sales
I’ve already written about this (twice), but I’d like to offer even more proof here. What writers are discovering is that blogs help build pre-publication buzz and help sell books. Period. Living in Montpelier, Vermont, as I do, where you cannot throw a rock without hitting a writer, I really want to stress that if if you’re getting published, you damn well better start blogging. Contact me to find about getting a blog set up.
Blogs are easier to find online than books
In my own personal experience, I often discover a blog by a writer before I learn of the writer’s book. The entire blogosphere is very keyword, tag, and search oriented. I’m likely to happen upon a blog I like, only to find out the author has a book out. If I like the writer’s blog, I’m much more likely to buy that writer’s book. Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing is a good example of this. The thing is, I’m hardly ever deliberately searching for books. I’m searching for information. I find a blog. Then I discover there’s a book attached to it. Like with John Battelle’s Searchblog. I have the feeling this mirrors the experience that many people have.
The internet is the cheapest, most far-reaching publication medium in existence. If you’re a writer, failure to take advantage of the web is truly a failure. Nothing you do online could ever hurt book sales—it can only help.
