Self-Publishing a Children's Picture Book: The Joys of Blogging by Louise Gibney

As a seasoned blogger, with thousands of views a week, Louise Gibney is the perfect person to advise us about how to get the best out of your blogging...

Double Blogging

Travel. Writing and books. Travel. Writing and books. You’d be forgiven for mistaking this as my list of my hobbies. It’s actually my weekly blogging cycle. I do my travel blogging at Born To Be A Tourist and Miss Write is my base for blog posts about books and writing.

How did you start blogging?

I started with just one blog, which soon grew into two. I created my Miss Write website in 2011 and made sure the host I chose could provide a blog page. I wanted to update the blog weekly (Fridays) and on a writing theme; it’s also expanded into talking about reading and books – they dovetail very nicely!

Sometimes I lapse into ‘life in general’ as well (e.g. ‘Not So Bonkers About Bacon’), but I know this kind of material is viewed as the normal fodder for reading and writing blogs, and these kinds of posts show more of my personality too.

Blogging about bacon...

I post about all things travel on Born To Be A Tourist every Monday and it has been going over two years now. I was a little more apprehensive about #BornToBeATourist, to be honest. Would I have enough to say?! Also, I didn’t want it to be a “look at me and my amaaaaazing travels” diary, figuring a few, but not many, would be interested in how lucky I’ve been. Of course, when I go somewhere new, I blog about it but I try to stick firmly to posts inspired by travel news, travelling tips, reviews and the odd comic comment.

I wasn’t quite sure how successful my blogs would be in terms of readership, but I was pleasantly surprised – my humble blogs get around 3500 views every week now. My blogs are often around the 500 word mark – sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, but this seems to be my optimal writing length. I can get most things said in a concise manner and I, as a lazy blog reader, hope my readers will stay to the end of the piece.

Why these two genres?

Travelling, reading and writing are three enormous passions I have. I feel refreshed when I discover some place wonderful and new. And I find incredible, relaxing escapism in a good novel. Writing is another form of therapy. It can be a way of organising my thoughts, proves I do have a creative side, helps me to share some random thoughts, and to clarify how I feel about controversial or emotional subjects. Of course, I also hope to help inspire other writers.

It was a conscious and considered decision to keep the two blogs separate. I wanted to ensure I blogged on wide subject matter, and thought this idea might possibly attract more than one type of reader. However, occasionally I’ll blog about a travel poem or book, or write about something which inspired me while on holiday, and the two blogs interlink.

Blogging sounds like a lot of work – what do you get from it?

I mentioned therapy already, but there is so much more to it than that.

Sure, I’m a writer, but I need to remember this and write regularly. A mixture of a deadline and a feeling of responsibility to keep my blog fresh and active gives me the stamina to write each Monday/Friday – mostly without fail. I think I’ve missed about 2-3 weekly posts over three years, so that’s not bad at all! My boyfriend pointed out I didn’t have to beat myself up if I don’t have anything to say one day and I miss a post, but I feel like, if I start skipping posts, I might stop all together. The more I write, the more inspired I am and the more I want to write. This is especially fantastic, as I’ve been writing a monthly column for MK Pulse Magazine for four years, and blogging develops my writing skills and teaches more about what I love to write about.

Even after three years of blogging, I still get a real thrill when someone leaves me a comment or retweets something I’ve published. It’s a real ego boost (which most writers need in droves!), it’s exciting to hear what other people think about the subject I’m blogging about, and it encourages me to write more and more.

Guest bloggers are always welcome on both my blogs, so drop me a line if you’re interested!

Thanks for hosting me on your blog, Lorna.