Sunday, July 20, 2008

Oh, No, Not Another Author Blog!


Well, yes.

All these authors pitching their books, you cry. Will a body never get any rest?

Well, no.

All authors must promote their books. Even New York Times best-selling authors do. Now, I'm not in that league, but my book needs publicity as much as theirs do. And as the cliche goes, it's a jungle out there. (One of the things they tell us newbie writers is not to use cliches (-:).

A blog is one avenue for publicity, as is a website.

Well, here's my blog, such as it is. I think I may subtitle it Adventures of a Newcomer to Authorland.

I also have a website, www.lindabanche.com, under construction, although I still have a long way to go with it.

Ah me, I thought being a writer meant that all I did was write. How wrong I was. I'm a brand new author, and I know next to nothing about blogs (as must be evident by now), and even less about websites (You mean I have to SET ONE UP?). And talking about myself has never been one of my talents.

But I have written a story, and The Wild Rose Press has seen fit to grant me a contract for Lady of the Stars, my Regency time travel. My cover, blurb, and an excerpt are posted on my website.

I certainly hope someone likes it.


Thank you all,

Linda

14 comments:

Shereen Vedam said...

Hi Linda,

Congratulations on your first published regency (a favorite genre of mine).

And good luck with your blog and website (which looks lovely, by the way).

I'd say you're off to a grand start :-)


Shereen Vedam

Devon Gray said...

Ah, yes. The business side of writing. There's a lot to do, isn't there? I had my website professionally designed (by Rae Monet) and also have it maintained. I found that much easier than trying to do it myself (and much less time consuming). MySpace is also an awesome tool if you're not already on there. Congratulations on your upcoming release. And good luck with navigation the "promotion jungle".

Linda Banche said...

Shereen and Devon,

Thank you so much for coming and taking a look at both my blog and website.

And thanks for your good wishes, too.

Barbara Edwards said...

congratulations on getting your blog up and running. I'm still playing with mine.
Barbara Edwards

Susan Macatee said...

Hi Linda,

Good job for your first blog post. I also feel awkward when it comes to promo, either for my books or myself, but it's a necessary part of being a writer these days.

Anonymous said...

Hi Linda,

I do understand your feeling! Now that I've been blogging for a little bit, I rather do enjoy it. The only problem is...what do I write about?...LOLOL..

Just keep hammering at it. It gets easier!

Miss Mae

Margaret Tanner said...

Hi Linda,
Just thought I would drop by and visit you on your new blogspot. Congratualtions.
Kind regards
Margaret

Eliza Knight said...

Thank you Linda!!! Your book sounds good, I can't wait to read it!

Linda Banche said...

Thank you all. How did I manage to wind up in a group with such nice people?

Barbara,
Your blog will get there soon enough. I'll check every so often to see when it's up.

Susan,
Thank you for your kind words on my post. And it's nice to know I'm not the only one out there feeling awkward.

Miss Mae,
Yes, what do we write about? I have a list of a few ideas, but when they run out, I'm in trouble.

Hi Margaret,
Thanks for coming by.

Eliza,
Thanks, and looking forward to your post tomorrow.

Elaine Cantrell said...

Hi, Linda,

I just created a new blog too. I have a total of one entry, and that's it. See it at www.elainepcantrell.blogspot.com.

I'm a WRP author too, and they're considering a second book. Don't know yet if they'll take it.

Thanks,
Elaine Cantrell
www.elainecantrell.com

Beth Trissel said...

Hey you did it! You're a blogger. I enjoyed your humor. :)

Linda Banche said...

Elaine,
Thanks for coming. I left a comment on your blog.

Beth,
Thanks for coming, too. Yes, I did try to make my entry funny. My stories tend to have some humor, so I think my blog entries will, too. At least I hope they will.

Christina Phillips said...

Hi Linda, welcome to blog land! The business side of writing kind of freaks me out a bit - I have a blog, website and Myspace but they all took me forever to set up (I'm not very teckie minded!!)

Love the sound of your Regency time travel!

Kaye Manro said...

Hi Linda! I sent you an email from your new web site. It looks good. Welcome to blogging.