Do You Have a Blog?

by Jean Purcell

Opine eStore and Book Cafe

NOOK image_bn.com

Coming soon, more blog and blogging information, with advice about LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter networking. Recent e-mail exchanges with another writer, Ken McCreless, who has a new book available digitally and soon in print, got me to thinking again about writers and blogs. 

     Every writer needs a blog, I opine. This is a theme I return to because many writers are thinking about creating their first blog and yet, they hesitate. Where to begin?

     My first tip is to create a Google account (free) and then sign up to create a Google blog through blogspot.com (all free). Start simply with a simple Template that appeals to you. The rest is a learning experience. You can begin to learn about widgets, Google ads (free to post; just don't click on the ones on your blog!), and Twitter/Facebook links, as well as LinkedIn.

     P.S. Once-Told Tales, by Ken McCreless mentioned above and cover image by Nook, is available for Barnes and Noble's Nook and Amazon.com's Kindle. . 

Copyright (c) 2011 Author Support blog and Jean Purcell

Related articles (lots!) not reviewed yet by me. See what you think. I try to read the short description to avoid blogs I think are too far "out there"...

• I think Google+ is slowly becoming my blog (koltregaskes.wordpress.com)
• Part One of the DIY Guide to Social Media Marketing and eBook Publishing (alchemyofscrawl.wordpress.com)
• Dynamic Views, New Blogger Templates (googlesystem.blogspot.com)
• "You've just won the Versatile Blogger Award, what are you going to do?" (thepatientdreamer.wordpress.com)
• Taking Pinaywriter's Blogging Tips at Heart (rikkicustodio.wordpress.com)
• Google Analytics support in Blogger (buzz.blogger.com)
• Facebook Friday (ghostwritermummy.wordpress.com)
• Note 167 - How to write for Technorati (mywritingnotebook.wordpress.com)
• Getting a jump start! (ponderingbylaurie.wordpress.com)
• Project: Blog Fix (debmaher.com)
• Social Media & Blogging Weekly Round-up {10.15.11} (savvyblogging.net)
•  
• The Perks of Working at Google, Facebook, Twitter and More [INFOGRAPHIC] (mashable.com)
• Make Your Blog Google Algorithm-Proof (bloggingot.com)
• Compelled to Blog - "Oh! The Pressure!" (susanwingate.wordpress.com)
• Make Yourself More Marketable Online (nadavandvinceonline.wordpress.com)
• What is Google Plus One? (clearsimplemarketing.com)

Predictions, News, Rumors about Books and E-books

Whew! Think about this!

"...Kindle’s domination of e-book readers seems to be at an end. Credit Suisse predicts that over the next five years Amazon’s 90 percent of e-book market share will drop to 35 percent. That’s because Apple and Google are muscling in with snappier readers (the iPad) and the easy-to-access, direct e-book downloader, Google Editions. Assuming Apple and Google are successful, these three powerhouses will soon be splitting the market roughly evenly. Should Amazon be worried? Should publishers?" - Source: National Book Network/Book Sense. 

What does this have to do with us? Many authors are going with POD through Amazon.com. Maybe that's a good idea, if done after lots of research and strategies about advantages and use, now and into the future. What to believe? Rumor, news,  hope...predictions of downfall and uprising. We'll wait actively and try to stay informed. Check out ForeWord, Book Sense, Publishers Weekly and other sources of publishing and book-selling news-regularly.