Getting Started: Becoming a Blogger

I never imagined myself as a blogger. In my mind, when I decided I wanted to be an author (longer ago than I'd like to admit) I saw myself writing novels and living off of my royalties. There are a lot of people out there that do that. Sadly, I am not one of them. I'm that guy who is living plan B.

Plan B

Don't get me wrong, plan B ain't all that bad. I'm a high school English teacher in a small town, so I get to work with language and immerse myself in the great writers from around the world. I even push the envelope a little now and then by including contemporary authors without approval . . . I know, I'm a rebel.

To be honest, as great as plan B had been for me, it's time I reach back to plan A and make something of it. I need to feel fulfilled in life; I need to feel like I have done something I can be deliriously proud of. Teaching is a noble profession, and as teachers we are constantly shaping minds and changing lives. I'm not even being hyperbolic with that. As much as I love doing it, I want to change my life.

Becoming an Author: Step 1 - Blog

Everything I read about becoming an author talks about setting up mailing lists and getting your name out there. One of the best ways to do that in the current digital age is to begin blogging. Scratch that, one of the best ways to do that in the current digital work is to develop your platform, and a part of that is blogging. 

In my reading, I've been able to determine 3 Starting Blocks to Blogging:

1. Add Value
2. Predictable Schedule
3. Easy Formatting

This is by no means a comprehensive list, I'll be going into more detail as my research continues but here's an overview of someplace to start.

#1 Add Value

I put this as number one because it seems to be the most common piece of advice for anything that is put out there in the world, particularly writing. If you want someone to give you their time, be sure that they're going to get something out of it. Value your reader's time as much as you value your own. No matter the content, make the five or ten minutes that they've generously given you worth it.

For me, I'm going to become published, and I'm going to have people read what I write. I know this is going to happen for me because I'm going to make this happen. I also know I'm going to fail a few times. You can use my failures to avoid the same mistakes yourself. Save your own heartache by experiencing mine.

#2 Predictable Schedule

This one I've already failed at. Oops. My last post, was a lot longer ago that I had intended, but in my defense a lot has happened. Still, keeping a standard schedule is always recommended, although in this world it can be very difficult to accomplish. I recommend that you start slow, try once a month once every other month, but keep it consistent.

I had dreams of doing a weekly blog, that clearly is not my thing. My last post was what, back in April . . . Well, chalk that up to foible #1.

So here is my claim: I will try to get this blog going at least once a month.

I should really decide on a day (first Monday, second Tuesday sort of thing), but I'm going to start with just trying to get one a month done.

What I've read is a good rule of thumb, is to write several blogs at once, save them, schedule the releases (most blog sites let you automate that if you want). Once you have a back-log or three posts worth (which I do not) you're set to let the blog go live. Those three give you a buffer if you have a tough week.

#3 Easy Formatting

Make things easy for your reader. Large blocks of text can be difficult to scan through for your modern reader. Know your readership, Reddit users mark things with TL;DR if they get too long. I know from teaching that while teens are capable of reading long stuff, they shy away from it.

If you're writing for a professional audience, things will be different, but for mass consumption follow the KISS principal . . . Keep It Simple Stupid.

Use headings, images with captions, proper spacing. Most of all, don't just blather on.

In honor of being brief . . .

I'm going to end things here for now. There is more I've found on marketing a new book since I made my declaration back in April, and it seems to point away from blogging and social media for best results. I'll get into that next time. 

Until then . . .

Keep Writing!

Time to get serious about blogging - Developing a Writer's Platform.

Hey there, I know I've been away from this for quite some time. Turns out I'd fallen down the dark and wordless hole of life . . . some good, some bad, some just me screwing around. My lovely wife and I have been developing our family: two beautiful kids, a dog, a house that is *STILL* under construction, and plans upon plans of a world free of debt, worrying about bills, and living paycheck to paycheck.

Her plan to get out of this is to keep plugging along. We're both public school teachers. She has a masters; I have a doctorate (and the student loans to match). I'm not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel using her method. So there's my method . . .

Lottery Tickets . . .

except I have really friggin' bad luck, so that's not really panning out either. Plan B . . . I've always wanted to be an author. Like the type that can make a living from his writing. I'm not going to be the next Steven King or anything, but I'd happily settle for . . . well one of those people you can remember title of the book, but can't place the authors name . . . I know, I have big goals. So I fire up the computer, open a document file and type away. There's a problem though . . .

I have come to a realization lately . . .

I don't know the first thing about becoming an author.

Sure I can write, words on the page aren't that hard after all. I've developed a habit of writing at least twice a week. I'm hoping to carve out another day, but with two small kids, that's not all that easy to do. I'm sitting on a 100k word manuscript (which is crap and will probably never see the light of day) and, as of posting this, 65k works into my second manuscript. So the words come without much of a problem, but everything I've read or listened to lately about publishing and being an author has talked about marketing, not writing.

I'm not a marketing expert . . . 

I never wanted to be one, and I'm willing to guess if you're reading this neither did you. I don't have an answers for you . . . not yet anyway. I will however invite you to come on this journey with me while I figure out how the heck to make this writing thing pay off. 

Every time I read about one of those "5 Strategies" posts or the "Make Money With Writing" posts, they're always from people who have figured this stuff out, and honestly a lot of them are people who have been in or studied business. I studied Literature and Teaching, neither of these talk about how to sell stuff. 

What I haven't found yet is the person who is going through it now, trying to figure it out now (probably because people like me don't even have the questions to ask yet). 

Here's my promise:

I'm going to figure this marketing thing out. This developing a platform thing. This publishing thing. And this writing thing. I'm going to do it because I want to do it, more than I want to do just about anything (except hug my kids). 

When I was eleven, I joined the Boy Scouts and decided I wanted to become an Eagle Scout. I had my Eagle Ceremony back in 1997. When I was in high school, I said I wanted my doctorate before I turned 30. I earned my Doctorate in Educational Leadership with a focus of Curriculum Design and Instruction back in 2011 (same year I got married), only one year shy of my goal. Now I'm saying that I want to be a published author with a readership by the time I'm 45 . . . That gives me seven years to figure this out.

I will do it. If you want to join me on this journey, I'll do what I can to help you do it too. Ask me questions, challenge me, and tell me your challenges. Put my research skills to use while I, a novice who doesn't even know what I don't know yet, explore and win at this whole getting published thing.