When I asked viewers of my YouTube channel what they wanted to see from me, one reply was:

I’d love to see a video on ideas for blog posts for fiction writers.

Now, I didn’t really want to show my pen names’ blogs on video, so until now I haven’t done anything about this question. But I kept it in mind.

And here’s my reply.

Blog Posts for Fiction Writers

This is what I’ve done myself so far, but I just found a ton of other ideas, which I’ll share with you in a moment.

New Books

Obviously. Every time you have a new book out, publish it on your blog. But don’t wait until the book is out.

Publish Every Step of the Way

Your cover is ready? Share it.

You finished first draft? Share it.

You wrote a short paragraph you really love? Share it.

You researched something? Share it. I’ve shared pictures and a text from my research about a specific area. You can share history facts, and everything else you research, like hair style, clothes, physics, anything you found interesting might interest your readers, too.

Let Your Characters Write

On my sadly neglected author blog for my own name, one of my characters took over and told the world that I’d written utter crap. That was one of my more popular posts over there.

Likewise, I let the villain Carabosse write a post, where things were seen from her point of view. That too became popular. At least among spammers 😀 But one person asked me where he could buy the book. (Note to self: finish the book!)

Still Need More Ideas?

Of course you do, so here we go.

50 blog topics for fiction writers — If you write one blog post per week, you have almost a year full of stuff to blog about here. This is a great list of very useful topics, and haha, look at number 10. I didn’t invent anything new here.

It’s hard to pick a favorite on that list, because they are all good, but perhaps this one:

Do your characters have special hobbies or interests? Do a post in character talking about those interests (cooking, gardening, various collections, etc.)

Check it out, and you’ll not run out of blog post ideas any time soon.

16 blog post ideas for novelists that will engage the right audience — This blog post goes in depth with each of the 16 ideas, and the purpose of all of them is to engage your readers. The right kind of readers, that is.

I love that they understand a fiction writer’s problem. We’re writing fiction, not nonfiction, and the audience is different. Here’s what Chris Well has to say about it:

Fiction authors, I know your pain. Like you, I have read the books on marketing and listened to the experts on how to build my platform and grow my audience. Unfortunately, so much of their advice is driven by their experiences with marketing nonfiction — and their marketing suggestions make for an awkward fit for fiction. Sure, they casually throw off something like, “Oh, and these will work for fiction, too,” but offer either an obvious example or no example at all.

The other problem is that so many experts and authors think that you can just start writing about writing. As I can tell you from experience, all that does is draw an audience of fellow writers who have zero interest in buying your books — they just want more free writing advice. Whatever you do on your blog, avoid talking about the craft in a way that will appeal primarily to other writers. Unless your audience is other writers — and nobody else — then the biggest mistake you can make is to write about writing.

You should definitely check out that blog post. I’m sure it will spark some ideas for your own author blog.

5 Steps to Blogging Mastery for Fiction Writers — In an article by Jason Kong, Your Writer Platform shares the five steps a blogger can take to maximize their blogging efforts. He knows there’s a huge difference between blogging as a nonfiction writer and a fiction writer. A nonfiction writer can show his expertise in an area. How about the fiction writers?

Any blogging you do before you have a published story will have a different focus: entertainment and engagement. The impact may be more difficult to measure, but you are still laying the foundation for your most important marketing element–your stories.

Go and check it out. You’ll love it.

Are You Ready to Blog Now?

Or is something still holding you back? Let me know in the comments, please.

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