So, Tuesday has come and gone and I thought I'd interview Jean about her personal blog. It's quite different from the Tuesday Tales, although, naturally, her contributions to that challenge appear on her blog. She also has regular postings for Free Chapter Friday. I'm curious about Friday, do you offer a different chapter each week? Is it always the first chapter? Do you repeat occasionally or only post when you have a new release?I do post only the first chapter. That should be enough to tell a reader if they want to read the whole book. I won't post more than the first chapter. I change books each week. When I run out of my books, I will then post first chapters of other people's books alternating with repeats of my own.
That's a LOT of books! You post very regularly (every few days). Do you ever find keeping the blog overwhelming? Do you plan posts in advance so you can dig one out when you're stumped or too busy?
I do sometimes find blogging overwhelming. I've tried to organize a couple of days so I know what I'm doing and can plan in advance. I also leave blogs up longer than I used to. One day is not enough. So I've reduced 7 weekly blogs to about 3 or 4, which is much more manageable.
Yes, I started out recommending a blog everyday and found it more beneficial to cut that back and post every other day or so. Obviously, you participate in Tuesday Tales. Have any of the shorts you write for that feature turned into full length novels or novellas?
Yes, in fact I just finished the first draft of a 60K romance novel that started at a 300 word picture prompt! I have two other books that got started on Tuesday Tales: Champagne for Christmas and my bestseller, The Marriage List both were launched from short stories on Tuesday Tales. Quite a few other authors have done the same thing.
A beneficial use of time and space! I look forward to doing something similar. Where do you find inspiration for posts?
Everywhere. I often do just pictures, like "The Dogs of Central Park" where I posted 25 pix I took while walking with my dog. I added quotes from famous people about dogs. Or springtime in Central Park. Or pix from a town that resembles Willow Grove, my imaginary town from my Now and Forever series. I do blogs where I donate a buck for each comment to charity. There is no dearth of topics for my blogs. Just a shortage of time! lol.
I wish I had that problem. I LOVE the idea of donating based on comments! I'll have to try that. What social media platform do you meet most of your readers on? How has your audience grown or changed?
I am most visible on Facebook and through my two blogs. I'm on Goodreads, too. I tweet also but am not proficient with that source. I have no idea if and how my audience has changed. It has grown through advertising and social media—putting out samples of my writing, I believe. But who really knows what works?An excellent question. One that requires knowing what measures success and accurately measuring it, both difficult to impossible tasks. Thank you so much for your time, Jean.
Jean is the author of many books through Secret Cravings Publishing (Now and Forever), Moonlight Books and on her own. Please visit her site for a complete listing.
