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1. 

   Maria Staal
   Member

   With interest I have read all the posts of Suzy's case study and I have learned a lot from them.
   I am however, a bit confused as to how it all relates to my own situation.

   In the last three years I have written (and self-published) two non-fiction books about the history of York United Kingdom, the town I then lived. Since I have returned to my native country (Netherlands), I have written a third book, which happens to be a travel book, telling the story about the time I worked on containerships.
   Although I have travelled a lot, I have never written anything about it (apart from the containership book), so I wouldn't call myself a travel writer.
   I will probably write more books after this one, but they could be about a variety of subjects or maybe they will be about travelling. I just don't know yet.

   The only blogging that I have ever done was on Lifejournal, which I have always seen as just some loose thoughts from my side, more like a diary that everyone is allowed to read, than anything serious.

   With all this in mind is it therefore a good idea for me to start up a proper blog as decribed in the Suzy case study?
   I do realise that a blog (particularly one in a niche market) doesn't necessarily needs to go about travelling. It could be about anything the writer interests. But I understand that part of the purpose of a blog is that prospective publishers/literary agents can have a sample of your writing, without having to go through the trouble of having to email you etc.

   I am looking for an agent/publisher for my new book, that happens to be a travel book, but I wouldn't be able to put together an interesting travel blog, simply because I wouldn't know what to write about.
   Should I start a blog regardless (my niche market would be architectural history...) and still direct agents to it even though it is not about travelling?

   I am rambling, but I hope you can see my problem. What would you guys do if you were in my situation?

   Posted 2 years ago #
2. 

   Trisha Miller
   Administrator

   Hi Dutchie

   I do understand what you're asking, and it's a good question. You are in a unique situation, one that is different from most - but not likely all - of our site visitors.

   The "Suzy" case study is one that involves a 'typical' travel writer, which is to say one who writes for periodicals and online outlets - newspapers, magazines, webzines, travel/destination websites, etc. Most of these 'typical' travel writers are freelancers, but some are staff writers for magazines or guidebook companies.

   You would be better classified as a 'travel author' (one who writes books - fiction or non-fiction - where the destination is in many ways as important a character as any of the people in your story). Often travel authors are also called travel writers, and it's not at all inaccurate, just not as specific as it could be as it lumps you in with those who write travel articles rather than travel books.

   You should definitely have a website to promote yourself and any books you've written, and I think it's a great idea to offer a page that is perhaps the first chapter from [each of] your books. This could intrigue readers enough that they would buy your book (so you'd want to include a link to where they could do so, for example Amazon) and could serve as a writing example that editors, agents, and publishers could also read.

   You wouldn't necessarily need to 'blog' (which basically just means to add regular content in a journalistic fashion) but you certainly could use that to post information on what you're doing, such as book signings, appearances, news of upcoming books you're working on, etc. WordPress is still a very easy method of setting up a simple website regardless of whether or not you choose to blog, because over the past few years it's become a very robust Content Management System ("CMS"). I can envision a site that would have a page for "Books", and that page would have sub-pages, one for each of the books you've written. WordPress makes structuring a site this way very easy as it allows for "parent" and "child (sub)" pages. A good WP developer could even help you customize the layout ('Theme') to your liking for under $500.

   I like the idea of combining a promotional/portfolio site about your books, promoting yourself as an author, and using the blog capability to keep attracting new readers who are interested in architectural history, or architecture, or history. You don't need to promote the "travel" part of your writing or even call yourself a 'travel writer' if you'd rather not get pigeon-holed - just call yourself an author and write about what you like.

   It is a good idea to keep a narrow focus on what you blog about because it will help Google to send you the most qualified site visitors (those who would be keenly interested in what you write about and would thus be more likely to buy your book, or commission some writing).

   I hope this helps!

   Posted 2 years ago #
3. 

   Maria Staal
   Member

   Thanks for your clear and helpful reply, Trisha!
   It is now a lot clearer to me what the differences are between me and travel writers and what that means for me and the way I promote myself.

   I love the idea of having a website where I can promote all my books, regardless the genre. If a blog was included in that webside, it would be really cool.
   Obviously this is not something I should rush into, it should be carefully planned to have the maximum effect.

   So you have given me a lot to think about.

   Posted 2 years ago #
4. 

   Maria Staal
   Member

   I have done a lot of thinking over the last few months and am finally ready to set up my new website.
   I have decided to incorporate a blog into it and have thought of a new niche market, which is something in between travelling and history.

   As the main focus of my website is to promote myself as a writer, I have choosen my name as the domain name.
   Re-reading all the Suzy case study notes posted on this site, I have become a bit confused about my domain name.

   In week 3 of the Suzy case study it is explained that it might not be a good idea to have your name as your domain name as the blog will need to be snappy and tell people what it is about.
   But my blog will just be part of my website, like the blog on travel writer Peter Moore's website.

   I am using Bluehost and wordpress and in Week 4 of the study it is explained that when installing wordpress I will be asked for a name for my blog. Should I at that point give the domain name I mentioned before, or register another domain name that describes my blog?
   So far I haven't installed wordpress yet, because I don't want to muck it up.

   I hope someone can help me with this.

   Posted 2 years ago #
5. 

   Trisha Miller
   Administrator

   Hi Dutchie

   I still think you are in a somewhat different situation than typical "travel bloggers" or "travel writers".......even though what you write about has some aspect of travel in it.

   If your main focus is truly to brand and promote yourself as a writer, rather than earn an income from your site, then you should definitely use the domain you've already registered that is your name. It would make your site much more clear to anyone who comes there that it's about you, not any particular article or destination you've written about.

   When you install Wordpress, for the name of your Blog, use your name, and although you don't need a tagline, it can't hurt to use something like "Author and Freelance Writer", so that someone who hits the site knows in an instant what you do. If you choose not to use a tagline, at the very least, remove the "Just another wordpress weblog" that is the default tagline".

   Above all, be sure to consider what you want people to do when they get to your site, and make that very clear to them, on your home page, in your sidebar, and in your navigation (because some people may arrive landing on a blog post or page other than your homepage). If people don't know what to do when they arrive, more often than not they'll leave without doing anything.

   So if you want them to buy a book, say so and have your books easily accessible (like in your sidebar) with a link to where they can be purchased.

   If you want them to hire you as a writer, be clear about that and have a prominent excerpt and link to your "hire me I'm a great writer" page on your homepage and sidebar.

   Good luck and please let me know how this progresses - I would really love to see your new site, and would be happy to offer more suggestions before you do a "launch" or promotion of it.

   Posted 2 years ago #
6. 

   Maria Staal
   Member

   Thank you again for your great advice, Trisha. I now know what to do.

   I will set up a website using the domain name I have already registered that is my name.
   On the website I will have a blog, which will hopefully in time attract readers to my site. I have now a much better understanding of how to set things up then I did when I set up my previous website, which in the two years of its existence has attracted a total of 182 people... Obviousley I did something wrong then and hope this time things will go better.

   I have spend some time at the google keyword tool and think I have found some usefull ones for me. I am not yet sure how to implement them, but I think that will come in time.

   I have also, on paper, set up a schematic of my new website with parent and child pages and how to navigate between them. I agree with you that the navigation of a website is very important. I have often been frustrated on sites where the navigation was unclear and where I didn't know where to go.

   I am very excited about my new website and am looking forward to setting it all up. I will of course keep you posted on its progress.

   Posted 2 years ago #

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