Insecure Writers Want to Know: Do you read widely or only within the genre(s) you create stories? What motivates your reading choice?

Hello and welcome to Adventures in Writing! I’m so glad you are visiting. I have the honor of being one of the IWSG co-hosts for March. My fellow co-hosts are Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen, Jacqui Murray, Chemist Ken, Natalie Aguirre, and JQ Rose!  

Please feel free to look around my blog! You can find writing tips and topics in the tab sections along the top of the blog. Check out the About Me section to see what I’ve been up to. Kindly follow me on social media if you haven’t already. Leave your blog link in your comment so I can be sure to do the same for you. Thanks so much.  

Now as far as this month’s question goes, I think every writer has a favorite genre to write in. My favorites are adventure stories and memoir. I need lots of action. To make a memoir story interesting, it needs action too, be it external or internal action.

But my reading preferences are wider. I feel writers should read widely in order to grow and see how the story structure matters to each genre. I read cozy mysteries or suspense and romance, and of course, adventure and memoir. But I can enjoy any story where I get lost in the plot and care about the characters. I can’t do horror, though. I’m a big chicken who has too many nightmares already.

On a different note, I just purchased a domain name through hover.com! victoriamarielees.com

Do you have a domain name? Through whom did you purchase it? Has it benefited your searchability online or with your social media? Do you use it as a landing page or as your blog address?

I do not have a website online, only two blogs: http://victoriamarielees.blogspot.com about my writing adventures; and http://campingwithfivekids.blogspot.com about my family’s camping adventures. I’m hoping to bring the two blogs together at one place on the web at victoriamarielees.com.

I’m trying to understand if the domain name is just the spot on the web where visitors can find all the links to my work through tabs on the victoriamarielees.com page and how to connect with me or contact me

OR

does victoriamarielees.com BECOME my blog address(es) and I forego the blogspot.com web addresses.

There is no one correct answer, I’m sure. Please offer any insight you may have about this.

I’d love to hear about your experiences buying a domain name and then setting up your own website or blog with the new name. Sharing experiences helps us all to learn. That’s what makes IWSG a great group to belong to. 

It will be interesting to see how you’ve tackled this month’s question. It’s wonderful having a topic to share our thoughts on each month. I am extremely thankful for all of you for being my sounding board and advisors in this writing and publishing journey.

Thanks again for visiting! Be sure to stop by Adventures in Writing again.

This post was written for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. We post on the first Wednesday of every month.  To join us, or learn more about the group, click HERE.  

Insecure Writers Want to Know: Blogging is more than sharing stories. It can be the start of special friendships. Have you made any friends through the blogosphere?

            Blogging through Adventures in Writing has brought me all of you, true relationships and even true friends. For that, I am forever grateful. I can’t thank you enough for sharing all your experience and knowledge in the writing field with me. Your generosity has helped me move forward on many writing projects. Seriously, thank you!  

            That being said, I realize how small—incredibly small really!—my social platform is. 

Writers need to build their online platforms. This is what I’m hoping to achieve through my connections with you, fellow writers, at Insecure Writer’s Support Group. I try to help my friends in the blogosphere by joining or following their blogs and connecting with them on facebook, Goodreads, and twitter.  

May I please request that if you have not “followed” my blog, please do so now. And if you could, please connect with me on my facebook author page, my Goodreads page, and my twitter page @VictoriaMLees. Thank you so much. If I haven’t connected with you on social media, please feel free to give me the links in the comments section of my Adventures in Writing blog. 

But what about an e-mail list? Do you have one? 

How did you start your e-mail list?

Can you only solicit an e-mail list through a website? Can I do it from my Adventures in Writing blog? 

Do you need to solicit e-mail addresses separately for list purposes and offer a free…what? Possibly a writing tips sheet or a short story piece in order to get the e-mail addresses?

Could the document you’re giving away be a PDF document or does it need to be an e-book? 

Do I need to tell readers that I’m soliciting e-mail addresses for a list?

Do I need to offer a newsletter to the e-mail list at regular intervals?

What do you write about in any newsletter you might offer to your e-mail list? 

How difficult are the e-mail marketing services to use? Which one do you use? 

I’d love to hear any comments you may have on the topic of an e-mail list and how you do it. I would truly appreciate it. 

I’ll be interested to see how you’ve tackled this month’s question. It’s great having a topic to share our thoughts on each month. As I’ve said, I am extremely thankful for all of you for being my sounding board and advisors in this writing and publishing journey. 

Thanks so much for visiting! Remember, please follow Adventures in Writing if you haven’t already and connect with me online. Leave your blog link in your comment so I can be sure to do the same for you.

This post was written for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. We post on the first Wednesday of every month.  To join us, or learn more about the group, click HERE.  

Platform Building: A Must for All Writers

A friend from my South Jersey Writers group confirmed what I had been hearing in every class and on every blog.  “Your manuscript could be great,” he said, “but if you’re not socially connected, the publisher’s not interested in reading it.”    

 

Gone are the days when writers only had to focus on their writing.  Now we need to be masters of the social media if we want a publisher to look at our manuscripts. 

            But how do you become socially connected?  Here are some tips I picked up.  Ideas are welcome.

1.      Become an expert on the topic you write about.  Research about the topic.  Look for relevant current events and comment on them.

2.      Visit other blogs in your genre or topic.  Follow them.  Leave comments.  Tell people who you are.  Guest post on a blog where permissible.

3.      Create your own blog about your genre or topic and blog often.  Set up a consistent routine so followers know when you are likely to post. 

4.      Create an author page on facebook and invite friends to join it.  Announce when you have posted something new on your blog or website.  Ask people to visit and leave comments.

5.      Create a google+ account to connect with other writers and friends and associations relevant to your topics and become involved in online conversations. 

6.      Join twitter.  Tweet.  Retweet.  And “Like” tweets or comments.  Ask for retweets.  Thank the person for the retweet.  Use hashtags [#] and join online conversations.

7.      Join LinkedIn and become part of some online conversations there as well.

8.      Pinterest is a visual media.  If you can make visual connections to your topic or book, do so on pinterest. 

            These are all free.  You can also build a website [.com] and/or buy your name.  You can connect your blogs and media to your own website and sell your books through a link on your webpage.  I haven’t gotten to this point as I don’t have anything to sell…yet.   

            I completed my Write Your Memoir in 6 Months course.  My first draft is 65,246 words.  Now the real work begins.  Revision.  I hope to bolster up my media platform while I revise.  But as most of you realize, social media takes much time…and patience. 

How did you build your social platform and how long did it take before you started seeing some results?  Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.