Please welcome bestselling author and blogger Rebecca Livermore to the blog today.
8 Simple and Creative Blog Post Ideas for Fiction Authors
As the author of Blogging for Authors, it should come as no surprise that I’m a fan of blogging. I see blogging as a great way for authors to build their platform. However, this is easier said than done, particularly for fiction authors. Some of the difficulty is due to the challenging nature of coming up with blog post ideas. Sure, nonfiction authors have an abundance of things to blog about, but coming up with blog post ideas for fiction authors is a bit more challenging.
If you’re a fiction author and you’ve ever struggled with knowing what to blog about, keep reading to discover eight blog post ideas for fiction authors.
8 Blog Post Ideas for Fiction Authors
#1: Book Reviews
Review books by popular authors in your genre, to get more eyeballs on your blog. This works because people search for reviews and other information on their favorite authors.
Once you get people to your blog, you can in subtle (or not-so-subtle) ways promote your own books.
For instance, one subtle approach is to have your own books prominently displayed in your blog sidebar. A less subtle approach is to, at the end of the post, include wording such as, “If you enjoy books by ______________, be sure to check out my book ___________________.”
Bonus tip: Book reviews are a great way to connect with other authors in your genre because we all appreciate it when others promote our books. Be sure to reach out to the author to let him or her know about your review. If you don’t have the author’s email address, share the link to your review with them on social media.
#2: Author Interviews
Speaking of reaching out to authors, author interviews are another great blog post idea for fiction authors.
There are a few ways to go about this. The easiest way is to provide a list of questions for the author to answer in writing. This doesn’t require any scheduling or special equipment. Just copy and paste their responses, do a bit of formatting, and publish. As a courtesy, correct their typos and other minor mistakes, but if you do more extensive editing, be sure to run the edited version by them before publication.
Video and audio interviews require more technical expertise and are more complex from a scheduling perspective, but if you’re comfortable with those aspects, go for it!
It may be challenging to snag interviews with big-name authors. To increase the odds, focus on authors with books about to be published, as they’ll be in promotion mode and more likely to accept your interview request. Also, don’t snub less-known authors. Even newer authors have interesting insights to share and they’ll also likely share the interview with their friends, family, and fans.
Bonus tip: If you go the video or audio route, consider having the interview transcribed or writing notes to include in the post. In addition to broadening the appeal to those who prefer to read, written content also helps your post to show up in Google and other searches.
#3: Behind the Scenes
We all love to get the inside scoop on authors we love. Providing a glimpse into how you work or some aspect of your personal life is a great way to do that.
For instance, if you have an interesting story about how you came up with the idea for your book, or if one of the characters in your book was inspired by a funny or tragic event in your personal life, pull back the curtain and share that with your blog readers.
You can also share your writing process, photos of your office and so on as a way of sharing the more personal side of your life and writing business.
#4: Blog Your Book
I first learned about blogging a book from my friend, Nina Amir, who wrote the book, How to Blog a Book. If you feel like you don’t have time to blog and write books, this approach may be for you since it allows you to kill two birds with one stone. In addition to that, you can grow a following while you write your book, as well as get feedback on your book during the writing process.
The way it works is to write your book one blog post at a time. I recommend publishing about 50-75% of the book on your blog. Be sure to end your last post with a cliffhanger, so that your blog readers will want to buy the book to find out what happens next!
Note that there are a few downsides to this approach. First, if your goal is to traditionally publish your book, many publishers won’t publish something that is largely available for free on your blog. In addition to that, if more than 10% of your book has been published elsewhere – including on your own blog – your book will be ineligible for KDP Select.
#5: Blog from Your Main Character’s Perspective
Blogging from your main character’s perspective is a great way to give more insight into the character.
What types of things does your character think or do that didn’t make their way into the book? Would they have an opinion on any current fads or news stories? Do you have things you really wanted to include in the book but didn’t quite fit? Your blog is a great way to use that material!
#6: Publish Deleted Chapters
Similar to blogging from your main character’s perspective, you can also publish deleted chapters or scenes from your book.
Did it kill you to cut something from your book that you really loved and yet didn’t quite fit? Perhaps your editor told you that you need to delete one of your favorite parts. Why not publish those bits and pieces that weren’t quite right for the book on your blog? You can even give the inside scoop into why they were cut.
#7: Share Bloopers
While we’d all like people to think we’re perfect, people relate better to imperfect people. Did your editor alert you to the fact that you mixed up the name of one of your characters or include information that wasn’t historically accurate? Share those bloopers with your blog readers.
#8: Write Nonfiction Related to Your Fiction
Just because you’re a fiction author doesn’t mean that your blog has to be fiction. Why not write nonfiction related to your books?
Here are two examples.
Do you write historical fiction? If so, why not blog about the historical time period in which your book is set?
If you write crime-based thrillers, blog about true crime. You can blog about current crime-related events that are in the news or about some of the infamous criminals throughout history.
These two examples may not be your genre, but I hope they got the wheels turning.
Bonus tip: Ask yourself, “What real world events tie into the topic of my book(s)?” Make a list of everything that comes to mind, regardless of how far-fetched some of them may seem. Then look for blogs on similar topics to gauge the potential.
Mix and Match
While it’s perfectly fine to take just one of these ideas and focus exclusively on it on your blog, consider choosing at least three of the ideas. Doing so will not only provide a lot of variety to your blog readers, it will also give you a chance to experiment to see what works best for you.
Which of the blog post ideas for fiction authors is your favorite?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re a fiction author, I’d love to hear which of these blog post ideas resonated the most with you. Did I miss any of your favorite blog post types? Let me know by leaving your thoughts in the comments below.
Happy blogging!
About Rebecca Livermore
Besides being a best selling author and blogger, Rebecca is the owner of Professional Content Creation. She has worked as a freelance writer since 1993 and has served as a content manager for top bloggers such as Michael Hyatt, Amy Porterfield, and Marcus Sheridan.