Lizz Shepherd's Blog
Posted by Lizz Shepherd
I'm not a romance reader, but I do have a healthy respect for the force that is romance fiction. About half of the paperback market is comprised of romance novels.
The romance genre represents a tremendous opportunity for unpublished fiction writers. Thousands of new titles are published every month, and unlike most publishers, many romance publishers don't require an agent. In fact, the genre is one of the few that unpublished writers can get into without an agent, and many writers start off in romance before moving into other genres.
So, this month I'm profiling some of the online publishers that specialize in romance novels. There is Ellora's Cave, one of the most prestigious and well-known of the online romance publishers. There is also the relatively new Sugar and Spice, publishing niche novels like interracial romance novels.
If you're interested in writing romance ebooks, take a look at this month's articles in Online Publishing to learn more about the publishers. More new writers are published in the romance genre than in any other, so get to know these publishers if you're serious about getting a romance ebook published.
Posted by Lizz Shepherd
I have been writing quite a few articles lately about bloggers who make it to the big time. To me, it doesn't get much bigger than getting a book published that is based on the blog. Once I found out that this was happening, I started writing articles about bloggers who were able to achieve this. Take a look at Blogs Into Books to read about many bloggers who have done this. Many of them are approached either by publishers or by agents who want to sell the idea to publishers.
I have been working on a series of interviews with bloggers who have achieved this kind of fame. If you've ever read the fabulous Go Fug Yourself, you may alredy be familiar with Heather and Jessica, both of whom I interviewed for two articles about blogging and their popular book. If you've never heard of Hot Chicks With Douchebags, it's not a blog for everyone, but it does have a very loyal (and large) audience, and there is a book based on it.
Perez Hilton is another blogger who has made it big. I haven't interviewed him (yet!), but his blog has gotten him TV specials, earned him millions and got him a book deal.
I have more interviews planned out for this series of articles, and I hope they can be of some inspiration to bloggers who love to blog and want to achieve their dreams with their creative blogging.
Posted by Lizz Shepherd
After going eight days between posting to my own writing blog, I starting wondering whether that was really the worst thing that can happen to a blog. The blogging gurus demand that anyone with a blog must post at least every day, and two or three times a day if they can. That might be good fit for SEO purposes, but is it really right for the blog?
The good blogs get noticed by word of mouth, not by SEO. And, I don't think that a blog becomes good when the blogger is babbling with nothing to say. I have stopped reading two blogs that I used to read religiously because the blogger was obviously posting just to post. That has never lead to anything interesting to say and it likely never will.
A great blog is motivated by a blogger who is passionate about the topic and has something to say about it. A great blog is not one that is run by someone solely out to get the best search engine rankings they can. Eventually a blogger needs to decide which one of those they want to be.
Posted by Lizz Shepherd
There are an incredible number of ways that people can make money from their blogs. I've already put together an article or two about monetizing blogs, but there is also a way to make money from other people's blogs.
When you read someone else's blog, you probably look at the name of the person who wrote it and consider what their life experience is like and why they keep the blog. What you may not know, however, is that the blog may be ghostwritten by someone else entirely. Ghostwritten blogs keep the main ideas that the blogger wants expressed, but are written by copywriters and freelance writers.
Because the blogger has bought the rights to the words of each post, the blogger puts his or her own name on them and the readers are none the wiser. This happens far more often than many people believe, and it can be a lucrative freelance writing gig if you can get it. I've ghostwritten for so many blogs at this point I literally couldn't tell you how many.
Some bloggers outsource to a number of people, farming out topics to each writer, and some hire one writer for their blog and rely on them to write for the blog and to keep it updated. I've done both and both can be a fun writing challenge. Blog writing is generally less formal than other kinds of writing, so it goes a little faster than other freelance writing projects. Most of the time, it's a nice break from other types of writing.
Posted by Lizz Shepherd
I read a lot of blogs in my line of work. Most of them are business or information oriented, but that doesn't seem to be the most prevalent kind of blog, according to what I hear from others. There are a lot of people who keep a blog simply to monetize it and make a little money. Some people keep multiple blogs to bring in several streams of income through blogging.
But, what I hear from far more people is that they keep a blog simply because they enjoy it. A blog gives them an outlet for their own creative expression. It's a way to communicate with the entire world in just the way they want their stories communicated. For people who love writing, it's a good first step into writing professionally.
Sure, a blog can bring in money, but in most cases it won't bring in that much unless it is a very popular blog that perfectly fits an underserved niche. If you can do this, great! If not, you'll have just as much fun with your blog. You may even have more fun since you'll be under no obligation to post any specific number of times or to stay on topic with every post.
