Finding a Blog Voice

Justine Lee Musk, aka Tribal Writer, regularly has good articles about the art of blogging particularly for writers. Her most recent post, The Art of Discovering + Developing Your Compelling Online Voice (+ Why You Need To), is typical, in that it addresses a lot of issues that new author-bloggers might have, such as building the dreaded “platform”, what you should blog about, and whether you should start blogging before your book is even written. Her advice, though drawn from marketing and PR types, is especially writerly, to match our strengths.

One excerpt that forms the core of the article:

“…Seth Godin recommends that you start marketing your book three years before it comes out. Three years gives you time to cultivate those people formerly known as your audience, so that when the book comes out they are ready and waiting. (a.k.a. your ‘platform’.)

But how do you market a book that doesn’t even exist yet? That maybe hasn’t even been started yet? Especially if the book is supposed to be marketing itself because of its baked-in awesomeness?

Especially if you’re writing fiction?

It might help to reframe what it is you’re selling (and baby, I know it’s not romantic, but in the end we’re all selling something). You are not just selling a book. You are selling your ability to enlighten and entertain the reader through the content you provide….

Which means that you are marketing your unique and distinctive ability to make people feel and think.

And you do that by…providing unique and distinctive online content that makes people feel and think.”

This makes sense to me, and offers some good advice to any of us who are blogging already or thinking about blogging as a means of marketing a novel some day! But go read the rest of the article and then come back and discuss your thoughts….