10 Years of Blogging

Ten years in the blogging world is a major achievement—so congratulations to everyone who has contributed to this blog over the past decade. Blogs come and go with wild abandon, so to consistently create content for ten years is an event worth celebrating.

I've been an avid blogger for years. I have multiple blogs (too many to admit too). And although I dabbled with publishing words online in 2008, I didn't become a consistent content creator until 2011. I looked back at my posts from ten years ago and in May 2011 I was living a fortune cookie lifestyle.

I was blogging in stealth mode back then. I didn't have my photo or identifying information on my blog, and my website and social media accounts were all set up using my pen name - Roving Jay. I had a corporate job, and "blogger" didn't fit with the all-business facade I was trying to maintain.

I've come a long way in ten years. I not only share my words in blog posts, but I've also published multiple travel guides and books about writing and self-publishing, and a couple of poetic memoirs. I look back at my writing adventure and see that it was a series of building blocks—with my blog as the spark that fanned a flame.

I wasn't thinking long term, I just wanted to explore the process of writing. I never dreamed of being an author. I just loved writing and decided a blog would be a good idea. I dabbled with writing about a variety of different topics, and my writing style was all over the place.

I began blogging about buying a house in Turkey, and each time we visited our holiday home I collected information about the local vicinity  Back then there weren't any English language travel websites for this area in Turkey, and tourist information was thin on the ground. I carried a little notebook around with me, and used it to collect travel tips and recommendations from locals and expats, as reminders for the next time we visited. I launched another blog to organise my travel tips online, so I could access them wherever I was. After a couple of years I realised I had enough information for a book, and this year the 4th edition of that travel guide was published.

I don't think I would have written and published a book if I hadn't started blogging. I might still be in my corporate job, feeling unfulfilled—a frustrated writer with no confidence, and no creative outlet. That initial decision to start a blog has led me down a path I never imagined.

So if you love to write and have been contemplating starting a blog, take the bull by the horns and start it today. Who knows where you'll be in ten years, and what you will have achieved in the interim.

About Jay Artale

Jay Artale abandoned her corporate career to become a digital nomad and full-time writer. She’s an avid blogger, podcaster, and nonfiction author helping travel writers and travel bloggers achieve their self-publishing goals. She shares tips, advice, and inspiration to writers with an independent spirit at Birds of a Feather Press, and documents her travels and artistic endeavours at Roving Jay. Follow her on Instagram or Facebook or Twitter.

Blog Queen Memories

Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, one of the Blog Queens and author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic women’s fiction with light paranormal elements.

Today is a special day for me as I share my memories about how fate takes a hand in our lives---or maybe its synchronicity? I saw a post on the Rose City Romance Writer’s loop about getting together with other writers to talk about all things writing.

Who knew when Sarah Raplee McDermed and I met up for coffee/tea at the then Border’s book store and café, that out of those conversations, Romancing The Genre would be born.

Judith and Sarah - our first book signing

It wasn’t that we were excited to start or even be a part of a blog.

In fact just the opposite. We were dismayed that in 2010 – 2011 blogging was a “thing” for writers to do to get exposure, establish a platform, gain an audience, etc. Neither Sarah nor I wanted to blog – at least not every day or multiple times a week as recommended.

An idea to “share” a blog was born when we decided we’d be okay to post once a month. Who else might join us? That discussion blossomed into the idea of a diverse group of international authors who write in a variety of genres. That has not changed!

When we launched on May 1, 2011 not all the Genre-istas were published. That slowly changed over the years and now, not only are we all published (both indie and traditional) but our definition of genres has expanded. We started out with only romance authors. Now we have authors who write in various genres including non-fiction!

You are invited to check us out. Our right side-bar lists all our authors. We have an alumni page so you can see who has been with us and who has moved on.

It’s been a wild and crazy ride at times. And I’ll admit, I’ve thought of giving up but then I see one of the Genre-istas’ posts and maybe I’m inspired or maybe I laugh or maybe I’m more thoughtful. And thus I recommit to another year.

And do join us throughout this year. All the Genre-istas are talking about 10 – very creatively I will say. Next month our theme is Relationships/Partners. July we’ll talk about Peace and in August our topic is Thankful.

And thank you for being along for the ride!

If you are not yet on my mailing list, you can sign up for Choices here. I’ve created a new free offering that includes the novella Sarah’s Ankh along with the first chapter of Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl. I hope you enjoy them.

Look for my next non-fiction Yes, You Can Create The Life You Love by late spring aka early summer. And if you need guidance on handling stress, Staying Sane in A Crazy World is available as are all of my books at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local library if you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshley.net

Follow Judith on Twitter: 
JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2021 Judith Ashley

Ten Growing Years by Paty Jager

 

I want to thank the blog queens, Sarah Raplee and Judith Ashley, for asking if I would like to do a guest post this month. It seemed fitting that I did, because 10 years ago, not only did I join this blog but I took a huge leap into self-publishing. So not only is this a 10^th anniversary for this blog, it is my 10^th anniversary of being a self-published or Independent author.

It took several other authors I admire to talk me into going Indie. I wasn’t sure I wanted to deal with all the details the small press I was published with took care of for each book. But on the other hand, I hadn’t been happy with the covers and when you work with a small press, you learn a lot about the whole publishing process. It also helped I had been an editor for the press for five years and had learned how to format both print and ebooks. All of that and my friends saying you can do more promoting and make more money by going Indie.

Because at that point- 5 years of being published with 10 books, what I made still wasn’t covering my writing expenses. I was glad I not only was editing but had a job with the 4-H Extension Program. One year after going Indie, I was paying my writing expenses and tucking some money away.

Being my own boss wasn’t a problem for me. I’ve always been driven to get things done. However, I had to learn to give myself time for more than writing and researching a book. I needed time to write the back cover blurb, work on metadata, purchase ISBNs, run the books through my critique partners, then a beta reader, and then a line editor, and finally a proof reader. Then I had to format and give the number of pages to my cover designer. But, of course, that is after we had settled on the cover design which can take a bit of back and forth between myself and the designer until we are both happy with the outcome. 

Once the cover and book have been formatted and are ready to publish, I have to upload them to the ebook and print vendors. Another thing I had to learn. I was thankful for author friends who were willing to help. I started back when it was mostly me reaching out to another self-published author and asking questions.

My goodness, in the last ten years there are now companies who will do all the work for you or you do the work and they will upload the book to the various vendors. There are books, workshops, webinars, Facebook groups, and authors all over the internet who will help you with learning how to self-publish.

When I started, I’d write the back cover blurb, send it to my CPs, then to another person and that was it and is pretty much how I work now. But these days there are people who will write your blurbs, or help you write your blurbs and there are always workshops on how to do it.

The best organizations I’ve found for Indie authors are:

Alliance of Independent Authors- ALLi - https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/

Northwest Independent Writers Association – NIWA - https://www.niwawriters.com/

Maggie Lynch has a box set of books to help someone who wants to self-publish. The Secrets to Becoming a Successful Author  She also has a POV Author Services. 

I’m also thankful I was asked to become a member of an author co-op. We are independent authors who have a website where readers can purchase our books and learn more about us all in one place. Windtree Press - https://windtreepress.com/  This co-op purchases ISBNs that are used under the Windtree Press name and logo. So while I am an Independent author – which means I do all the work and spend all the money to make my book published, I have the Windtree Press as my publisher and use the logo on my books.  Because I purchase the ISBN from the co-op and it (the co-op) is down in the International Standard Book Number identifier as the company that recorded the number.

Again, this is all information I had to learn as I became a self-published author. I encourage you to do the same, if you have been writing and find you tend to write outside the box.

The journey has been challenging and rewarding, and I wouldn’t change a minute of it.

This month, I’m not only celebrating my 15^th year as a published author, my 10^th year as a self-published author, but also my 50^th published book!  And to celebrate this ?? in my career, I’m hosting a month-long Facebook 50 Book Bash party where I’ll be talking about the 50 books I’ve published and giving away prizes every day to people who stop by and visit with me. Here is the link to the Facebook page. I suggest you click on plan to attend so you get notices when the party starts which is today!  https://www.facebook.com/events/887343232080078

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 50 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

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