Historical Fictionistas discussion

What do you blog about ?

Is it about your book?
Your experiences writing/researching your novel?
The time period your HF novel is set in?
Completely unrelated topics ?
How about guest bloggers? Do you use them ?

And how often do you blog?

Im trying to find a solid direction for my own blog that is attached to my novel's website.

I started a blog a few months ago in an effort to 'advertise' my own novel. I started with a few simple thoughts (nothing to do with writing) and then moved on to other things such as travel, comments about my time at sea in the 1960's, books that influenced me, but only today have I posted a direct comment about my book.
I didn't wish to keep banging on about the book, but wanted to build a group of readers so wrote about what I hoped were interesting events that happened to me over the years.
Sometime I posted three or four times a week (particularly when I was travelling, mainly about places visited). Recently I have been posting only near the weekend when people seem to have a little more time to sit and 'read'. The most popular day for my blog to be read is Sunday and the most popular time is 7.00 pm - in which country I am not sure :-o)
I have posted about sunrise (with pics of course), train stations in Europe, the size of a salad in Germany - blog anything to keep your readers interested.
https://silverfox175.wordpress.com/
The above link will take you to my blog so if you wish you can sample some of my posts. In April I had readers from 17 different countries and in July this had risen to 22 from China, India, Turkey, S. Africa, as well as the Anglo countries.
I also read many blogs, particularly of those who 'follow' me - tit for tat etc
Hope this helps.

Hi Michael ^_^
I blog at http://theoldshelter.com/

I mainly blog about my time periode (1920s) and dieselpunk (my genre) but I try to cover different aspects of them. I like to post videos, era footage, era music, electro-swing (dieselpunk music).
I occasionally blog about different topics (for example, at the moment I'm blogging about the Olympics, I've always been a hard-core fan of the Olympics) and about my experience as an author, specially sharing tools and events that I think may be of help to other writers.
I very seldom blog about myself, and normally only in challenges posts.

My readers seem to prefer articles about the 1920s most of everything, though posts about writing are popular too.

I only had a few guest posts so far and I chose topics that come close to my main, mostly 1920s and dieselpunk. On the whole, I try to be consistent. My blogs about the Olympics, for example, cover the era Games.

In general, I see that sharing my knowledge about the era I write in is the best and most well-received topic.

Hope this helps ^_^

Geoff and Sarah: I love your sites. You are both doing better than me, and I would suggest to Michael to heed your advice more than mine. :)

Nonetheless, because I like talking about this stuff, I'll share my experience. I was told by the editor who picked up my first short story publication (back in 2009) that I had to create an author website, for, at the least, a landing place where people could find me. It's gone through changes over the years. Initially, because of the novelty of it I think, I put up frequent posts with humor pieces, observations/opinions on cultural topics, and some experimental writing. I'll share the url here:

http://andrewjpeterswrites.com

You may be aware there's an ongoing debate about the effectiveness of blogging for authors, based on saturation and the proliferation of new social media. My advice, which I think echoes Geoff and Sarah's approaches, is to blog if you enjoy it, and if you have topics you love blogging about (including, but beyond your book or books).

Over the past year, I decided to aim to blog about twice a week, but to shorten the content, use more images and video, and focus more on providing different ways for visitors to explore the books I've written. I'd love it if I had time to use the site to share more ancient world-related topics (the setting for most of my books); but I find I can do that faster and easier through my FB author page, and with a lot more interaction.

One last thing then I'll shut up. I also made the decision to try to write more for bigger platforms than l'il ol' me, so I submit my more substantive opinion/observation pieces to more established blogs and sites.

I’m currently planning a blog (about a year ahead of launch) and wonder if anyone else in HF is doing something similar. I’m starting a series that is set in a real place (a market town in Surrey) and a real time (the year 1800), but the stories contain a mix of real people and places and fictionalized (or purely fictional) ones. So my idea is to create a blog that is like the Tourist Bureau Web site for this part-real, part-fictional town at the turn of the nineteenth century. There are lots of images available of the real places and people, and posts would tell their histories as well as the “histories” of the fictional ones (with notes detailing the differences, so I don’t have to clutter up the novels with long notes). Sort of like a Pottermore Web site for Georgian Surrey—or if Trollope had made a Barsetshire blog.

Anyone else plowing a similar furrow? If so, how is it working?

I started my blog in 2007 to write about current affairs in Hong Kong and China, but soon migrated my blog contents to an online magazine site "Asia Sentinel" at their request. I continued blogging for that site until 2014.

In early 2014 I revamped my blog to one where I share my reviews of books that I've read and occasionally chat about music and movies. I used Goodreads' author gadget to post the two books that I wrote on the sidebar of my blog. Whenever a new book is added on my Goodreads author page, it will automatically appear on the sidebar.

I feel that it would help my readers (potential or existing) to know me better through my reviews of the books that I read.

For my upcoming new book (a historical epic), I intend to use this same blog for promotion purpose.

If you want to check out my blog, here it is:-

http://alicewaihanpoon.blogspot.ca/

All very interesting... thank you for the feedback and comments.

And I checked out everyone's blog/website. Very nice !

Geoff - interesting stats in that first story about best selling authors being initially rejected. Its seems rather typical of every author.

Andrew - interesting Atlantis novel. Ive always been intrigued by Atlantis.

I launched my site about a week ago and so far Ive had about 500 unique visitors from 31 countries. Half of the visitors are from the US. The other 50% is from the other 30 countries. Almost none of the traffic is from Google though. Im pushing it all through my social media. Between LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, I have about 20,000 followers from my day job.

Im updating the blog 1-2 times a day. Usually, one post is common interest and the other post is more about my research behind the novel. Since the novel is still in progress I havent even starting blogging about it. But rather laying the ground work to hopefully raise interest in the topic - Italian history, genealogy and the Vatican as well as establish SEO for the website.

If you want to check it out --

https://resurrectionofthescrolls.com/

I can see through Google Analytics that the common interest topics get more views then the posts related to the novel specific topics. My post yesterday about my dog - Moose - really got a lot of views... he's my Beta-Listener.

I just wondering what the typical reader who buys on Amazon finds interesting in author blogs. Do they want to read about the story behind the story ? Read stories about the characters outside the novel setting ? Do they want to read about the process of writing or do they want to see their favorite author on vacation ?

Abigail wrote: "I’m currently planning a blog (about a year ahead of launch) and wonder if anyone else in HF is doing something similar. I’m starting a series that is set in a real place (a market town in Surrey) ..."

I like the idea of half fiction / real, after all how many people have visited Yorkshire for steam trains and Harry Potter and platform 9 1/2 (I think that's the name of the platform, haven't read the HP books - am I the only one to admit this :-o) )

Andrew wrote: "Geoff and Sarah: I love your sites. You are both doing better than me, and I would suggest to Michael to heed your advice more than mine. :)

Nonetheless, because I like talking about this stuff, I..."

Andrew wrote: "Geoff and Sarah: I love your sites. You are both doing better than me, and I would suggest to Michael to heed your advice more than mine. :)

Nonetheless, because I like talking about this stuff, I..."
Michael,
I agree with your comment about shorter blogs and more pictures. I found that people have limited time to 'read' and go for pictures - sign of the times I suppose, so I altered my contents to fit this 'need'.
On the other hand I read one blog (he blogs several times a week) being an 'educational' blog, e.g history of the pencil sharpener, how the eraser (rubber for the English readers) came about, and the latest being the history of the dumbbell, oddball things that you don't skip over but read . . . wash my mouth out :-o)

Abigail wrote: "I’m currently planning a blog (about a year ahead of launch) and wonder if anyone else in HF is doing something similar. I’m starting a series that is set in a real place (a market town in Surrey) ..."

This sounds like a terrific idea to me, and I would love to do something similar. My challenge is my lack of technical know-how. My husband knows how to use Illustrator and Photo Shop and has put together some artwork (maps, house crests) to go along with a couple of my books. But for the sake of marital harmony, I choose when to ask for my favors, and how many, wisely, and he's can't do video editing, which I think would be even better for such a project.

Are you doing all that work yourself?

Michael wrote: "All very interesting... thank you for the feedback and comments.

And I checked out everyone's blog/website. Very nice !

Geoff - interesting stats in that first story about best selling authors ..."

The posts that get the most views on my blog are those vacation and other 'what I'm doing besides writing' type pieces. I do photo-essays when I can about my travels. So I think that is an indication of what readers want to see in an author blog. A publicist once told me: if readers fall in love with you, they'll fall in love with your books. I have to admit, I find that a challenge since a lot of the things I do in my real life don't relate so well to what I write about (and I'm pretty much an introvert so showcasing myself goes against the grain). But I have made an effort to share more of my personality on my blog.

Andrew - Im the same as you. I have to add in some more personal/travel updates so as to provide a little bit more of a personal touch. And as Geoff suggested, more photos. Thats pretty easy...

Ug, what you say about sharing personal info to attract readers is vastly depressing to me! I have always tried to stay on topic when writing blog posts (which has not been often, so far), because the last thing I want to read about is where the author went on vacay or what he/she had for breakfast!

As for the technicalities of setup, I haven’t started with that yet; just starting to create a bank of entries so that when I do go live, I can post regularly without interrupting other activities. However, I did have a little conversation recently on another thread with a very helpful person, Jyotsna, who had set up a beautiful Web site: http://herstorynovels.com. She said that she used WordPress’s templates and followed a guide, WordPress: The Missing Manual, as well as employing a free theme called Nisarg. I have used WordPress a little and find dealing with images to be frustrating—but I guess that’s what the manual is for!

Abigail wrote: "Ug, what you say about sharing personal info to attract readers is vastly depressing to me! I have always tried to stay on topic when writing blog posts (which has not been often, so far), because ..."

I started with the free Wordpress and am now thinking of a more 'upmarket' Wordpress, whether I put my hand in my pocket and spend money is something else :-o)
https://silverfox175.wordpress.com/

Abigail wrote: "Ug, what you say about sharing personal info to attract readers is vastly depressing to me! I have always tried to stay on topic when writing blog posts (which has not been often, so far), because ..."

I love that Nisarg theme. Has got me thinking about giving my site a rehaul. Thanks for sharing it.

Michael:
"I launched my site about a week ago and so far Ive had about 500 unique visitors from 31 countries. Half of the visitors are from the US. The other 50% is from the other 30 countries. Almost none of the traffic is from Google though. Im pushing it all through my social media. Between LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, I have about 20,000 followers from my day job."

When I started blogging not three years ago, I knew nothing about blogging. Everything I've learned is by reading a lot (there are a lot of fantastic articles online) and trying :-)
I started attracting more Google search when I delved a bit more deeply into SEO. It isn't as scary as it might sound and it is really beneficiary. Apparently, this is one of the reasons having a blog or site still makes sense for an author: Google can find your blog, it can't find your socials.

Michael:
"I just wondering what the typical reader who buys on Amazon finds interesting in author blogs. "

One thing that you'll read again and again in marketing posts is that there is no typical reader. You have to find your own.
I've learned by experience that 'my' reader prefers posts about history, about social issues, about connection with the past.
Personal posts always gets lots of hits, but I don't post them very often, so there may be something there ;-)
I post very very seldom about my book. Normally, I do it when there is an occasion. For example, I wrote a series of diaries of my characters when I launched my book. It was popular enouhg, but not nearly as popular as my history posts.

Geoff:
"I agree with your comment about shorter blogs and more pictures. I found that people have limited time to 'read' and go for pictures - sign of the times I suppose, so I altered my contents to fit this 'need'"

It actually looks like things are changing now. Shorter posts were the thing to do a few years ago, but since the Google algorhythm has changed, longer post seems to do better.
I've read that Google prefers longer posts because that hint at the fact that the post will cover a topic thoroughly, rather than coursorily, and so it's potentially more useful.
1500-2000 words seems to be the sweet spot now.
When I started my New Woman's New Look series I asked my readers whether they mind long posts, because I knew they were going to be over 1000 words each. Almost everybody said they didn't care about the lenght, as long as the post was intersting. Which, incidently, it's what experts suggest too ;-)

Geoff:
"I started with the free Wordpress and am now thinking of a more 'upmarket' Wordpress, whether I put my hand in my pocket and spend money is something else :-o)"

I started with the free version of WordPress and moved to the pay version after one year. Never ever regretted it. The pay version gives a lot of freedom and it's easy to use.
Once again, I've learned by trying, reading and watching tutorials.
I'm not a techy person at all, but there are lots of occasions to learn out there :-)

Sarah wrote: "It actually looks like things are changing now. Shorter posts were the thing to do a few years ago, but since the Google algorhythm has changed, longer post seems to do better.
I've read that Google prefers longer posts because that hint at the fact that the post will cover a topic thoroughly, rather than coursorily, and so it's potentially more useful.
1500-2000 words seems to be the sweet spot now."

Thanks for sharing that, Sarah, and that does prove true when I look at my Google Analytics. I have some longer posts on certain topics from years ago, and they perennially get hits. My all-time most-viewed post is on the subject: "What did the Atlanteans look like?" Every day, I get at least 5-10 hits on that post, and it's almost 5 years old.

That's a frustrating example, I feel, in that I doubt many viewers turned into book buyers. Maybe if I was a conspiracy theory author. :)

But I guess you never know, and in any case, you make a good point that the overall goal is to keep content interesting.

I started a blog a few years ago for a class I was taking for my masters in library science. I'm now working on a novel (historical fiction, of course), & have tried to revitalize my blog (mostly by posting reviews of historical fiction & writers that I've enjoyed) because I've learned that you need to "build a platform". I'm still stumbling around with what I want to do, but I just found this discussion & I've appreciated reading all that you have written & shared here, so wanted to thank you all. I plan to go over some of your ideas again, & hopefully, will have more to share with you later.

I recommend that writers interested in “building a platform” sign up for the Reedsy blogs. (Reedsy is a cooperative of publishing professionals.) If you sign up, they give you access to a compilation of past blogs titled “Self-Publishing 101.” Whether you’re self-publishing or otherwise, take a look at the marketing chapters, especially the one on working the blogosphere, pp. 180–185; also pp. 106–114 and 115–125. Some interesting ideas and strategies!

My books are set in the Dark Ages and I set up this blog - https://darkagevoices.wordpress.com/

It's only been going a couple of months, but my content varies, although I do ensure there is a link to the Dark Ages, although it may be tenuous! For example. I might write about current affairs, but comparing them to Dark Age history. I have written about my books or aspects of them that have been particularly interesting or challenging to me. I have also written about visits I have made to historical sites.

Abigail wrote: "I recommend that writers interested in “building a platform” sign up for the Reedsy blogs. (Reedsy is a cooperative of publishing professionals.) If you sign up, they give you access to a compilati..."
Thanks, Abigail! I'll definitely look into that.

I set up my website and blog 10 years ago, when my first historical novel came out. I posted a few times a week, at first mostly about my research and writing process. When I traveled on book tours, I posted about those experiences. After I joined Goodreads in 2009 I linked it to my blog so posts appear in my Update Feed, and I started posting my Goodreads book reviews on my blog as well [GR makes that really easy to do]. I occasionally post personal stuff, but mostly I tried to keep to book biz.
Here's the link - http://www.rashisdaughters.com/blog/#...

Maggie Anton

My blog site is http://authorharoldtitus.blogspot.com. I have been blogging for four years. I blog about the historical novel that I am writing, "Alsoomse and Wanchese," which focuses on the Algonquian natives at and near Roanoke Island in 1583 and 1584 up to their encounter with Englishmen sent to American to find a suitable place to establish an English colony. I am also posting episodes about the life of Frederick Douglass, the great pre-Civil War black abolitionist. Once every four or five weeks I review an American historical novel. Past writings available to read include excerpts from my 2011 novel about the Battles of Lexington and Concord -- "Crossing the River" -- biographical information about its characters, information about the life of Declaration of Independence signer Thomas Nelson Jr. of Virginia, my teaching career, interviews of me, and interviews that I have conducted of American historical novelists launching their first novels.

Sarah wrote: "Michael:
"I launched my site about a week ago and so far Ive had about 500 unique visitors from 31 countries. Half of the visitors are from the US. The other 50% is from the other 30 countries. Alm..."

Hi Sarah,
I've done it and spent some money on the upgrade - did you allow adds on yours?
I've also changed the home page colours etc - not sure if the new one is more attractive or not :-o) I'll soon fin out I suppose . . .

Hi Geoff ^_^
No, my site is add-free. I know many bloggers allow adds and that's a way of income, but at the moment I'm not interested in pursuing that path. Maybe in the future, who knows? ;-)

My website is:

https://www.stevenspen.com/

The blog is eclectic but is lace with things about the writer's life and writing historical fiction.

Wander around. Check the blog achieves. Read articles and excerpts.

AT first I blogged mostly about my book and/or the characters (who are real historical characters, fictionalized) or the late Roman/early medieval era. Now I blog about pretty much whatever comes into my mind. The posts that get the most hits are the ones where I reveal something personal about myself. I wrote about the summer before I started high school, when my family was poor, and that was very popular on Facebook. I post a link to my blog in all of my book reviews on Goodreads. Here's a link to my blog in case you're interested: http://www.kathrynbashaar.com/blog/

Kathryn wrote: "AT first I blogged mostly about my book and/or the characters (who are real historical characters, fictionalized) or the late Roman/early medieval era. Now I blog about pretty much whatever comes i..."

Well I certainly enjoyed your recent Trump post. Reminded me of something they would do in Vanity Fair. :)

Andrew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "AT first I blogged mostly about my book and/or the characters (who are real historical characters, fictionalized) or the late Roman/early medieval era. Now I blog about pretty much ...".
Thanks, Andrew. My husband and I were cracking up the whole time I was writing it. We just kept coming up with more & more things that had to be Hillary's fault. The only thing I forgot to add was: SNIFF.

Good topic!

I blog on my site:
http://haraldjohnson.com/

But I don't call it a blog (always hated the word). Instead, I do "posts" under the "Posts & Stories" tab. I favor behind-the-scenes kind of content. For example, here's latest post about the final research I did for my “1609” novella:
http://haraldjohnson.com/new-york-new...
As you can see, I’m big on images, and use them a lot. I think they’re crucial these days.

The site is the hub of my author platform and brand. And one of its objectives, of course, is to attract subscribers (with emails), but I also like to just engage with people (readers and non-readers) about what I’m doing.

Technically, it’s a Wordpress site (paid). Actually it’s just a subdomain of my master account with HostGator (my ISP). There’s no extra charge to have multiple subdomains, and I have a few. When I set up this site, I wanted a different look-and-feel from my others so I went with a theme from Studio Press: Genesis. It’s basic, clean, responsive (critical for mobile), and easy to work with. For email, I had been using MailChimp but switched to MailerLite. ML is great on customer support (I always look for that), and it has free Autoresponders (also very important). A lot of authors seem to be moving to ML, and I recommend them.

Look forward to any comments.

Harald wrote: "Good topic!

I blog on my site:
http://haraldjohnson.com/

But I don't call it a blog (always hated the word). Instead, I do "posts" under the "Posts & Stories" tab. I favor behind-the-scenes kind ..."

I like your personal photos, Harald. That's something I'd like to include more of on my site. For one thing, you don't have to worry about usage issues for images, but even more important, I think readers find personal photos more interesting. Once or twice a year, I do photo-essays when I travel someplace interesting that also ties into my books or research.

I have an author's blog at http://helens-daughter.livejournal.com

I don't post so much about my writing process as I do about the Mycenaean and Minoan cultures about which I write. I do a lot of artwork and research that I like to share with my readers.

Andrew wrote: "I like your personal photos, Harald..."

Thanks, Andrew. And I like your dispatches from Trump Headquarters! :)

I enjoyed looking at your blog, Laura! Great images and a lot of interesting info about the material culture and archaeological practices. You clearly know your stuff. And I agree with your focus on the culture and research. People say that readers want personal stuff about the author, but I’d rather bring them into my literary world than into my banal personal world.

Laura wrote: "I have an author's blog at http://helens-daughter.livejournal.com

I don't post so much about my writing process as I do about the Mycenaean and Minoan cultures about which I write. I do a lot of a..."

Oh boy, I'm going to be visiting your blog. I love Minoan culture, and that's been the inspiration for some of my work as well. :)

Thank you to the people who visited and liked my little blog.

Thanks for starting this thread. I use my blog to showcase other indie historical fiction authors with interesting or unusual takes on things. You can check it out at www.WayneTurmel.com. Also, if you are an HF author who'd like to be interviewed, drop me a private message and we'll connect. The more obscure or unusual the time period, the better. (Seriously can we take a break from the Tudors and the Civil War for a bit?)

Wayne wrote: "Thanks for starting this thread. I use my blog to showcase other indie historical fiction authors with interesting or unusual takes on things. You can check it out at www.WayneTurmel.com. Also, if ..."

I can vouch for Wayne's offer... he interviewed ME! And not a Tudor or Civil War combatant in sight!

Thanks for posting the link to your blog, Wayne! I enjoyed the most recent post and commented on it. The subject especially touched a chord with me because I am currently working on one of those uncategorizable tales that has a child protagonist but is not written for children. (In fact, it’s written in Georgian prose—being set in England in 1800—so probably it’s not written for anybody! But so be it.)

I blog about books, travel in the 60's (when I was at sea) and recently when I travel for pleasure - anything that comes to mind that I hope might be of interest to readers - all mixed with photos of course :-o)

https://silverfox175.com/

I blog about writing, about all things Shakespeare, as well as my favorite books and authors.

https://slayingthejabberwocky.wordpre...

I write about the Byzantines, both my fiction and in my blogs. The blogs are mostly about the history with photos from Byzantine sites I've visited, but some book reviews and recently an interview with an art historian who specializes in the Byzantines.

I don't mean to be too critical, but I would never write about writing in my blogs about the Byzantines. I have read other author blogs who seem to be blogging more about their writing process than they do about their books or the subjects of their books. Personally, I do find the blogs about writing interesting, but I don't think most readers really want to know how we produce the work we do. I suspect their interest is more likely centered on our novels and the historical period we are writing about.

I’m glad to hear you say that, Eileen! I am planning a blog that focuses entirely on the world of the novels I’m writing, but people keep telling me not to take that approach—instead, they want me to personalize the author. But I feel that’s just boring. Especially when it comes to historical fiction, zeroing in on the historical context seems the best way to go.

I started a blog about a month ago. I also wrote several for my ebook tour. Most of my blogs focus on my research. I have a lot of material too, as I'm sure is the case for most HF authors.

Abigail wrote: "I’m glad to hear you say that, Eileen! I am planning a blog that focuses entirely on the world of the novels I’m writing, but people keep telling me not to take that approach—instead, they want me ..."

I don't think there's anything wrong with personalizing your blog with a little info about yourself, especially when it relates to the research or travels you've done when writing your novel.

I just think that if you want to blog about writing, do it separately from the blogs attached to your author website that readers of your novels might visit.

You’re right, Eileen! I do that with my Goodreads blog—just post occasional things about writing and more personal stuff.