My Blogging Tips...

I decided, as I haven't blogged in over a week, that I would share what I have learnt over my years of blogging.

1) Keep blog posts short. 

Tom Hiddleston! Phwarrrr! 

I know for a fact that if I visit a blog and the post is too long, I won't read it.

2) Always have a picture or a photo. 

It breaks up the text and is a bit like 'white space' on the internet. Easier on the eye... Here's an example --->

And Tom Hiddleston is always going to be easy on the eye, let's face it.

3) Always reply to comments. 

It's just common courtesy.  If you want these readers to leave more comments on more blog posts, then reply to them. They might be asking a question. Blogging is another form of social media and requires networking after all.

4) If you feature on a blog, always reply to comments. 

See above (Point 3). The easiest way to monitor comments on a blog you're featuring on is to actually go in and leave a comment (thanking the host for having you, like you'd thank someone for having you if you'd gone to dinner etc) and tick the 'let me know when someone else comments' box.

5) Presentation is key.

A bit like with point 2, on the internet the eye needs some white space. Short paragraphs, and put a gap between them. I think I learnt this from posting fan-fiction on the internet long ago and so it's stuck. But preview your blog post before publishing - make sure you're happy with it. If a blog post looks too busy, point 1 is taken, and it won't be read.

6) Also use hyper-links. 

It's good to share links of whatever you're talking about. It makes it easier for the reader, and the website/blog you're sharing will be grateful too. i.e. I would like to share that I am over on the Romantic Novelists' Association's blog... Romantic Novelists' Association Blog: Plus One is a Lucky Number for Teresa F Morgan Come say hello to me over there, too! I'm talking about how I was published by Harper Impulse.

See, easy!

7) Always try to leave a question at the end to get your readers to comment... 

I hope you find these tips useful! If I've forgotten anything important, then please leave a comment below. Is there things you hate or love seeing on a blog?

8) Always leave a random hotty picture... 

Okay, that's not essential but it does help ;-) And Henry was getting jealous that I'd posted yet another picture of Tom.

Manic Monday

I just wanted to blog and say how good it is to be writing again. This morning I even woke up dreaming about Steve and the next scene ideas I had. This is always a good sign when I have my heroes back in my head.

I've been obsessing lately, mainly with what's going on in my life and worried I've put myself back on the single shelf, and rapidly approaching 40, worried I won't find someone, not even to have a bit of fun with. I'm not really interested in long-term. If it happens, it happens.

My problem is I am so damn impatient, plus feeling the need for some intimacy. Us girls have needs to!

So to wake up and have Steve there busily chatting to me was quite a relief. I've got my writing mojo back.

Keep an eye on the word count too! It's going up. Aiming for around 1000-1500 words a day so I can get this project finished by the end of April - mid May at the latest. However, the Easter holidays and the kids home might scupper me.

I'm also trying to read four chapters a night of The Wedding Favour. I'm reading it on my Kindle, but with a notebook beside me noting any little tiny nits that need changing. Then editing straight away so I don't forget. So this is keeping me busy too! 

On another note I've been meaning to discuss, I'm not sure about posting 'tottie' pictures. One author told me a horror story of another author being in trouble for it, and costing her money. And then, when I was at my chapter meeting last week, another author mentioned it too.

And so now I'm worried. (Hence you have a free Shutterstock photo of a flower today).

Technically, I'm not making money from it - but it does gain me pageviews etc (Adam Levine on Advent Calendar day 9 is over 6000 pageviews all time). And who knows, one day, when published, it might draw in an additional reader. So could it be argued I am gaining from the pictures? I'm not claiming the photos to be my own. But I understand there is a copyright thing with photos, just as there is with writing and I certainly can't afford to be sued.

I did with one post actually put the links on the pictures, so if you clicked on it, you went to where I borrowed the picture. Would that cover me?

So I would love to hear your thoughts. Such a shame, as I have lots of gorgeous men on my PC that I love to put on here too, from time to time - for inspirational purposes of course! And I've read that to make your blog interesting to break it up with pictures - so that's what I was doing!

Do I need to go photograph random good looking men on the street and put them on my blog?

Votes For My New Blog Look

What do you think? I have to thank @biscuit_zombie for the banner. Which I'm also using on my Facebook profile. But I do have to thank again, Kerry J Photography for taking the photos in the first place!

Next will be the website updated :D

Anyway, do you like? Therm, as her other alias, made it pink and I thought WOW! We'd (well she'd) been playing with the black and white photos, and I'll go with one of those for my website, but this I thought was jazzy for my blog. But it didn't go with the hearts, so I've been trawling Hot Bliggity Blog to see if I can find one of their fancy patterns to suit.

So what do you think?

Or are you too busy looking at him? --->

Thanks to Becky Black posting, I read this blog post (How not to blog) and its advice - I recommend it by the way! No white text on black, and keeping posts short and sweet, and all that. I was glad to see I was getting a lot right! Another thing it mentions is setting days for blogging. This is something I haven't done.

Sometimes I'll blog once in a week, if it's December I blog every day. Would you prefer a set day for me to blog?

I find, with blogging, I can be sporadic. I think of something and have to tell you about it - right away! So I personally don't like setting myself to a set day. And what if I miss the set day? That will just add to my stress. And what if I've got nothing to say to post on the set day? Even worse!

I would be interested on your thoughts, as you're my readers.

I was also concerned, wanting to raise my followers, but it suggested not to get hung up about that. Quality not quantity, remember? Better to have less followers but they are readers, than lots of followers that don't actually read your blog.

Thank you for reading! Or are you still looking at Alcide?