This Week in the Blogs, May 8 – 15, 2015

by Joel Friedlander | May 17, 2015

So, how was your week? Were you busy working on your writing projects? There’s always so much to do and so much to learn about writing and self-publishing, isn’t there? I’ve picked out some great articles for you from this week’s blogs. I hope you find them helpful.

Jane Friedman on Jane Friedman
That Overused Word “Community”—But Why We Still Have to Talk About It
“I’ve just wrapped up another semester at the University of Virginia, where I teach digital media and publishing. Many of my students undertake 10-12 week publishing projects that involve generating content from scratch and trying to get attention for it. The ones who gain traction are inevitably those who feel more comfortable reaching out to people through social media, or trying to spread the word through influencers in their network.”

Shawn Inmon on Indies Unlimited
Introduction to Kboards
“Kboards is a booming site for both readers and writers, with over 80,000 registered users and 2.5 million posts. For writers, there’s more to it than just an opportunity to rub elbows with readers. A sub-board of Kboards is The Writer’s Café, which has become one of the go-to places for up-to-the-second information about publishing, with a strong emphasis on independent publishing.”

Nina Amir on How to Blog a Book
How to Reduce Errors in Your Blog Posts
“If you are the only person who works on your blog—or more specifically on your blog posts, you know what this means. As the blogger, you write your posts, format them, find the photos and handle search engine optimization (SEO), categorization, and tagging—all before you hit the “Publish” button.”

Kerstin Stokes on Writehacked
Social Media: How Writers Should Interact
“Engaging with your audience can be one of the most rewarding and best ways to gain readers and followers and getting your name and writing out there.”

Cate Baum on Self-Publishing Review
Sharing Without Reading – How Authors Can Find Readers For Their Online Content
“As authors are encouraged to guest blog, interview, and post on all possible outlets online, is this just throwing it all at the wall when the evidence shows people share to look cool, erudite, and popular, rather that sharing what they have read?”