If you’re like me – starting out in the writing world/deciding you’ll self-publish and thinking you need to have a blog – you’ve watched podcasts, YouTube videos, read books, and articles until your head is about to explode. You’ve probably realized that writing is only one of the many skills you’ll need. The advice I’ve found says you need an author webpage; a blog; an email list and a way to increase it; an editor; a cover that’s professional and will catch reader’s attention in a few seconds; a way to format and upload your book…
That’s a lot! Today, I’ll share a few things I learned when starting this blog. Maybe they’ll help you bypass a few of the roadblocks I’ve hit.
- If they say it’s easy – DON’T BELIEVE THEM. Have you heard the old axiom, “If it were easy, everybody would be doing it?” There’s a reason it’s an axiom. Note: This point does not apply if you are under the age of 12. For everyone else, trust me, you’re going to have to apply yourself to get this done.
- If they say you can do it in 30 minutes, give yourself 3 days max. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
- It’s worth it. Persevere. If nothing else, you’ll learn a little about patience. And if you are worried about your brain in old age, the learning will stretch you and keep your brain flexible and strong.
- It can be done. If I can do it, anyone can.
Now, for some practical advice:
- Find a guru. I followed Scott Chow’s guide and it was awesome. Here’s his “How To Start A Blog Today” site: https://www.theblogstarter.com
- Read it all through first. Then start and not a minute sooner.
- If you use BlueHost and WordPress – don’t be afraid of PlugIns. They are your friends, and a lot of them are free.
- When you think you’ve got it all sorted out and have published your pages/post(s) – test it again on a different device.
- This is a big one folks: Only share your link after you’re sure the URL gets you where you want to go. I shared mine too soon and the cache system on my friends’ and relatives’ devices kept sending them to the unfinished site. Spare yourself this agony. If I’m too late, check out this site on clearing caches: https://kb.iu.edu/d/ahic.
Hope this helps. If you have a comment, contact me.
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Thanks and happy blogging!
ShirleyP