Writing and publishing articles by author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD
Whether submitting your book to an agent or directly to a publisher, here are a few tips to follow to be viewed as professional, avoid being blacklisted, and increase your chances for success: Following these six tips will increase your chances of having your book published. Of course, the most important tip is to write […]
Another blogging tip is to make one, and only one, point per post. Trying to cover two or more points is a distraction that will turn off readers, cause confusion, or risk them missing key communication. For some bloggers this is easy, while for others, sticking to one point is difficult; but remember, we respect […]
There are two main considerations for formatting your book submission: First, follow the basic criteria that almost all people agree on; failing to do this decreases your chances for success. Second, many publishers and agents post submission guidelines on their websites telling you what they expect. So, start with the basic requirements in all your […]
My eighth blogging tip is to include a picture. Really? Then where are they? I’ve never included artwork on my first blog, Musings. Four reasons why I didn’t include artwork in my posts: Four reasons why we should include artwork with our posts:
Blog Comments Provide Quick Feedback and Encourage Interaction Another successful blogging tip is to engage readers. Interacting with our audience is the best and easiest way to connect with readers and build a following (that is, grow our platform). The best way to engage readers is by encouraging blog comments. Having comments can also increase […]
Here is the final installment in our series on using WordPress for blogging: a platform-building, book-selling tool. For the first six posts, we covered the technical aspects of setting up and using a WordPress blog. In this post, I’ll share implementation tips.
Another blogging tip is to optimize posts for search engines. As we already covered, the post should be at least 200 words long for search engines to have enough content to analyze. Also, making a post scannable helps, too, especially when we use bold or add a headline tag to subheadings (an easy step I […]
Readers are more likely to read short posts. Making posts scannable is another blogging tip to gain attention. Here are four ways to make posts scannable: Use Bullet Points This is a technique I like, as both a writer and a reader. They add clarity without adding words. Have Numbered Lists A numbered list also […]
Another key to successful blogging is to write like Goldilocks: not too long, and not too short, but just right. But how long is that? Although writers often grumble at my answer, I’ve never heard one complaint from a reader. Readers are who we need to please: posts should be 200 to 300 words long. […]
Part 4 in the continuing series on using WordPress for blogging: a platform-building, book-selling tool. Last week we talked about WordPress themes. Today, the subject is widgets. If a theme is analogous to a cover or skin for a cell phone, then a widget corresponds to an app. Just as our smartphones don’t need apps, […]