January 19, 2008

On Tuesday I mentioned a free “how-to blog” course from Simpleology. It has fifteen easy-to-understand mini lessons, and the lessons build logically from the basics of setting up a blog and finding your niche to six “revenue streams” to consider if you want to make money from your blog. For me, it condensed and organized a lot of information I’ve read in bits and pieces on a number of fine blogging websites.

What I decided though–and this was the most valuable thing to me–was that moneymaking wasn’t the focus of my blog, nor did I want it to be. For one thing, I don’t want to invest the time it would take to turn my blog into a moneymaker. Yes, I hope people will find the posts helpful and then maybe buy my Writer’s First Aid book. I know the book has helped thousands of writers get through tough times and stay in the writing game. But as I listened to (and watched) the multi-media presentations on blogging, I realized that my original goal for having a blog–helping other writers–was still my main focus. My income comes from my books, published by traditional publishers, who pay royalties and advances. That’s where I want to invest the bulk of my time and energy. Writing books is what I love most.

If my blog helps sell my books or snags me some speaking engagements, that’s great! But that isn’t the primary purpose of the Writer’s First Aid blog. It’s to connect with other writers so we can help each other. We’re all in this together!