#creativewriting – Jean's Writing

How to produce a beautiful cover for your book

Published on February 19, 2018February 19, 2018 by Jean M. Cogdell5 Comments

After writing, editing and formatting, what’s next?

Picking the perfect cover.

While no easy task, it doesn’t have to break the bank. So in case you missed this great post from Fiction University, I’m attaching a link below.

J. Kathleen Cheney gives sound advice on when and where you can design your own cover. And more important when you might want to bite the bullet and pay for a professional.

In her article, Ms. Cheney also provides links and suggestions on how you can produce a great book cover for your next project.

Love Canva. It’s one of my favorite programs. Very user-friendly and short learning curve. And best of all you can art for FREE or only $1.00.
Her idea of checking out the competition is great. That is definitely going on my to-do list for next book.
Get a critique on the cover from your friends, family and writing group. Big one!
Suggestions on how and where to look for professional covers.
My tip: I prefer paint.net or sumopaint.com to Adobe.

Thanks, Ms. Cheney for all of these great tips. Wish I’d read your suggestions a long time ago.

3 Ways to Get Book Covers on a Shoestring Budget By J. Kathleen Cheney, @jkcheney

Have you made a book cover?

What program did you use?

Or do you prefer to hire a professional?

If you aren’t at this stage yet, what do you think about the process?

I HOPE YOU TAKE A MINUTE AND FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA, JUST CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW. I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON.

What is the best length for a blog post?

Published on February 5, 2018February 3, 2018 by Jean M. Cogdell28 Comments

Is there an ideal length for a blog post?

Well, like all opinions, everyone has one on this subject. Some “experts” suggest 2500 words. Listen, I’m no “expert” but I think that is way too long. Just my opinion. I try to keep my posts between 250-500 words. However, I do add links for those who want to dig deeper and read more in-depth on whatever the subject.

If you love to write long meandering posts, have at it. But I’m busy, and like many of you, I receive dozens of emails every day.

Not wanting to miss anything, I try to read them all. Well, maybe not each and every word. I’ll confess, the longer ones I scan for nuggets of information.

This past week I received a wonderful compliment from another writer. She likes that my posts are brief and to the point. Thank you, Marian.

“I like too that your posts are not long and laborious, attractive to busy writers like me. Thank you!” – MarianBeaman

Readers may prefer shorter content but search engines will hit more often on longer content. SEO or not, I believe brevity is important.

Readers need to know what to expect from your blog. Long or short, get to the point.

Here are my tips for writing good, consistent blog posts.

First, decide your blogging goal.
More readers? A shorter blog post may be the way to go. 250-600 words.
Selling a product? Very short blog content. Average under 250 words.
Desire more comments and conversations on your blog? The ideal blog post length should hit in the middle. 500-600 words.
Want more shares on Social Media? Again, hit for the middle. Write an informative article somewhere between 500-600 words.
More Google searches? The best blog post length for SEO should be longer. 1000-2500.

Know your audience and keep your blog goals in sight.

Have time to read more details about ideal blog posts? Then click the links below and read these bloggers/writers have to say.

How Long Should Your Blog Post Be? A Writer’s Guide by Joe Bunting

How Long Should My Blog Post Be? By John Rampton

For Blog Posts in 2017, What’s the Best Length for SEO?

Okay, question time.

How long are your average posts?

Have you thought about blog post length?

Do you think articles should be longer or shorter?

Do you prefer to read shorter or longer posts?

I HOPE YOU TAKE A MINUTE AND FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA, JUST CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW. I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON.

How to Write Blog Post Introductions That Make the Rest of Your Post Irresistible

Which social media sends you the most readers?

Published on December 11, 2017December 10, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell8 Comments

Is WordPress Reader, Google, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, or Twitter the best choice?

Or how about Reddit, StumbleUpon, Medium, or a market I’ve yet to discover? Seems a new one pops up every day. So how do we discover which is best for our blog?

Do you have a favorite you search engine?

Okay, Bloggers hold on to your hat! Deep diving for answers today.

All of these questions were rolling around in my head this past weekend and got me to thinking…

Am I wasting my time on the wrong platforms? Should I concentrate on just one or two and not spread myself like mayonnaise on bread.

Time for research. Which translates into dropping down the ole rabbit hole.

The first place I started, of course, was the Stats page in WordPress. But that was just a starting point. You can see from my image, according to WordPress, most of my referrers come from WordPress Readers.

But, does that tell me how readers actually discovered Jean’s Writing? I’m not sure. The term “referrer” is referencing online sources – specifically sites or services that the referring page or link clicked on to get to my site. Clear as mud, right?

Look at this section on your STATS page to get a better idea of how many people are seeing your blog. Below is how many views, visitors, likes and comments made to my blog.

However, that still doesn’t let me know which social media gets me the most bang for my time.

So, I did a little more digging.

Another great source is Google Analytics. Takes a little while to set it up but once you do you can see which social site is sending the most people to your website. I set up my account last year but hadn’t checked on it since. So, I headed over to see what was what.

Holy Cow! Google Analytics had zero stats for my website. Please don’t judge me too harshly. Because I’m embarrassed to tell you, I’d forgotten one very important step. The freaking Accept button. You know that button that says you agree to terms, yadda, yadda yadda…