“Blogging teaches me something every month. It’s not just about the writing practice or the knowledge I choose to research and share, it’s about commitment.”
I wrote my first blog post on March 11, 2021. I’ll admit, it took me a few months to really get into the groove, but by September of that same year, I made the commitment to really stick to my monthly musings. I didn’t quite realize until today what a bank of content I’ve both written and collected:
March 2021: Normalize reinventing yourself
May 2021: Daring risks to inspire your writing
September 2021: Maximize your SEO: 6 strategies to optimize your blog
October 201: Writing romance: 5 simple rules
December 2021: Give yourself permission
December 2021: The top 5 mistakes new writers make
January 2022: How to jumpstart your author PR in 3 easy steps
February 2022: Beta reading: It’s more than, ‘did you like it?’
June 2022: Are you ready to publish your book? Optimize your success and publish at the right time of year
August 2022: 10 things I learned after publishing my first novel
October 2022: Did you write a book? Then you need a digital press kit
December 2022: 2022: The year I published a book (er, well 2)
July 2023: 5 tips for writing better scenes
August 2023: Alpha readers, beta readers & critique partners, OH MY! What’s the difference? (and why you should know)
November 2023: 10 tips to level up your writing
December 2023: 5 tips for leaving a strong book review
Here are my take-a-ways after looking over this list:
Since starting my author journey, I’ve collected a significant amount of knowledge about writing, marketing, promotion, public relations, sales, and publishing. They’re the foundational themes of my entire blog collection.
Blogging teaches me something every month. It’s not just about the writing practice or the knowledge I choose to research and share, it’s about commitment. I set a goal for myself in 2021 to help build my personal brand by offering free monthly advice through the written word. I do not have a 100% score (but hey, that’s life, too), but the above list proves that I can indeed stick to something I set out to do. For me, writing a blog is just now a part of my normal routine. When it shows up on my calendar, it brings excitement—not dread.
My blog has led to new experiences. I had zero intention of doing anything more with my musings other than posting them on my website and sharing on social media. But many of the blogs you see above have turned into workshops and classes. I’ve instructed continuing education courses at Heartland Community College and even brought pieces of these blogs into my regular classes in the School of Communication at Illinois State University. But the cooler part is that the wider book world wants to know more, too. I’ve presented my content on “Show, Don’t Tell” at the Louisville Book Festival, at My Writing Shed in Peoria, IL, and in just a few short months, I’ll be at the Spring Fling Chicago North Romance Writers Conference teaching the same content. I’ve even shared my work with the Central Illinois Communication Association.
If you’ve ever considered starting a blog, I would encourage you to give it a shot. Not only is it a therapeutic experience to take time to write your musings, it can also lead to much more! Subscribe to my blog to receive my monthly blogs straight to your inbox.
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