Today, Michael Hyatt is featuring a 12-minute interview with me on his blog. We talk about the following:
- How important is an author’s “platform” to their success in the publishing world?
- Do you think there is still a role for traditional publishers in the future?
- What are the best practices of really successful writers?
- What is the role of consistency in writing and publishing?
- What do writers sometimes do to sabotage their careers?
For those of you new to my site, who came here from the Michael Hyatt interview, welcome! Here are a few things you might enjoy:
- My writing advice archive: the best of my advice from There Are No Rules (my Writer’s Digest blog, which is no longer active)
- Draft Your Platform Action Plan: 5 Worksheets
- Get Started Guide: Blogging for Writers
- 3 Principles for Facebook Fan Pages
- How Much Has Book Marketing Changed Since 2005?
- The Basic Pitch Formula for Novelists
Jane Friedman has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. She is the editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2023. Her latest book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal. In addition to serving on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund, she works with organizations such as The Authors Guild to bring transparency to the business of publishing.
Congrats Jane, this sure is great, just heard all of it! Thanks for sharing!
🙂
Jane Friedman’s active blog is now at https://janefriedman.com/ Her Writer’s Digest blog is no longer active. It’s a great blog for all writers and aspiring writers! You can see from this interview she knows her stuff.
Jane Friedman’s active blog is now at https://janefriedman.com/ Her Writer’s Digest blog is no longer active. It’s a great blog for all writers and aspiring writers! You can see from this interview she knows her stuff.
Hello again Jane,
Watching your interview was encouraging, even consoling. I’ve read everywhere that it takes time to build an audience for an internet voice, but it was especially reassuring to hear it from you.
I’m seven weeks into my blog, and beyond Google Analytics data, it’s difficult to determine just what my readers are thinking if they don’t leave comments. I ask for feedback but not much comes back. Still, I’m getting hits, and from people I don’t know! THAT was the happy surprise. However, the open forum I hoped to build is reluctant to blossom. Yes, I know, it’s really early in the game. But maybe my concept isn’t practical. I’d like to know that.
So my question is this: In the first few months of your blog, when your traffic was low and comments were few, how were you able to analyze your content and style success in order to improve it?
Irv
Indeed, it is still quite early!
I think the best way to analyze your success (in the earliest stages) is to simply see what content gets the most in-depth engagement. Engagement = time spent reading the post, number of shares across social networks, number of comments.
That helps you see what content is the “stickiest.”
Assuming this is your blog – http://www.irvingsjourney.com/ – then I’d offer these tips as well:
1. As a general rule, it’s difficult for people to read for very long when it’s white text on black background. Consider modifying for a better reading experience.
2. Bold text, all-caps, or italics can also be difficult to read for more than a few lines at a time.
3. You might have more of an uphill climb than other bloggers since your posts build off each other. Most people, if they feel behind before they even get started, may not continue.
Thanks for these tips, Jane. The white on black would be an easy change but I asked eight people who are following the blog and they said they didn’t have a problem reading it. (I may change it anyway.)
I think you’re right about the bold type, and probably the italics as well. I think I’ll change that to a color difference.
And I also think you’re right about your third comment. I’m the same way when it comes to TV series. If I lose the thread I stop watching the show. This is why I’m starting the posts with recaps.
I appreciate your visit to my site.
Irv
Excellent interview with genuinely helpful info. Thanks for your time, Jane. And your wisdom 🙂
A pleasure! Thanks for visiting my site.
This was a great interview Jane (a great name…my mom is a ‘Jane’). I appreciate your comments and insights. Especially about consistency…okay, now off to writing!
Thank you!
Thanks for taking the time to comment!