Remember to include a picture with your blog posts, preferably an entertaining or otherwise memorable one. For one thing, posts can't be pinned on Pinterest unless there is an image.Those of us living a solitary writing life can sometimes get a little too addicted to Google Analytics. It’s a validation to us if people are reading our blog — and comments are like gold. I freely admit I poke at mine from time to time, trying to figure out what drives numbers up. So here’s five things I’ve noticed that do:
Repeat yourself a little. It’s okay to tweet about the same blog post more than once, but space it out so you know you’re reaching a different group. Not only do I repeat announcements of blog posts, I sometimes go back and remind people about old posts that were particularly noteworthy, like my Pink Hair Manifesto or Three Strategies for Snaring the Senses. Similarly on Sundays, lately I’ve been posting a recap of that week’s activity.
Post or tweet outside your time zone. Apps like Buffer or Hootsuite allow you to queue up posts in advance. I have mine set up to tweet several times during the night because I know that’s a different group accessing my Twitter stream than the ones showing up when I first get online in the morning.
Be responsive. Remember that social media’s a conversation, not a soapbox. “But Cat,” you’re saying, “what about the point just above, where you told me to use some canned tweets?” You don’t always have to respond immediately. But do at some point.
Think hard about titles. Some titles are attention grabbers. Intrigue your reader or tell them why they need to read your piece. For example, one of my most popular posts, which still gets a lot of hits, is Popping Pimples on Paragraphs.
Be consistent. I’ve started using the scheduling function on WordPress to make sure something goes up every day, and if I feel the urge to blog, well then, cool beans, it’s a two (maybe even three) post day, and that’s fine too. A consistent post schedule gives people a reason to visit your blog on a consistent basis.
Want access to a lively community of writers and readers, free writing classes, co-working sessions, special speakers, weekly writing games, random pictures and MORE for as little as $2? Check out Cat’s Patreon campaign.
Want to get some new fiction? Support my Patreon campaign.
"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."
~K. Richardson
You may also like...
Reading List: Superhero Fiction
I recently posted in a Reddit thread about superhero novels and thought that the list I put together there might form an interesting blog post.
Superhero novels are near and dear to my heart for several reasons.
One, I grew up reading comic books and loved some of them dearly. The only fanfic I have ever written involved the uncanny X-Men and the super villain Arcade, along with a thinly veiled version of myself. It has, luckily, been lost and not recorded for posterity.
Two, I loved playing superhero RPG’s like Villains and Vigilantes and Champions. Superhero 2044 came out around the same time, but it wasn’t as interesting to my gaming group, which tended to stick with Champions.
This led in fact to three, which is that I once wrote a novel involving superheroes. I wrote it while in the Masters program in writing at Johns Hopkins. At the time, watchmen had just come out, and the possibilities of superhero literature had not, perhaps we shall say, been realized as effectively as it is today. In fact, I took the book to Tom Disch, who was teaching in the office next to me, and who read a chapter, fixed me with a gimlet eye, and asked, “but why bother?” Several publishing houses looked at the novel and felt it was well written but not commercial. Some time later, tragically, the manuscript was lost in the course of moves. Its heroes can be found in a short story which appeared in Strange Horizons, Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut, which can also be found in story collection Near + Far. Other superhero stories by me appear in Corrupts Absolutely and Eyes Like Sky and Coal and Moonlight
The Wayward Wormhole - Barbados February 2026 / The Art of the Novella
Novellas are growing in popularity, and we want to help yours stand out.
Structurally, they can get tricky—they’re not mini-novels anymore than children are mini-adults—while still demanding full, fleshy, character arcs and immersive descriptions.
What if you could learn from professionals, while editing YOUR novella with a real-time feedback during a workshop?
Applications for this Science-fiction/Fantasy/Horror Novella Workshop
OPEN: March 21, 2024 CLOSE: MAY 15, 2024, AT 11:59:59 EST
SUBMIT: One page, single spaced, novella synopsis and the first ten pages by April 30, 2025
Hone YOUR novella during the workshop, and leave knowing you’ve effectively incorporated new tools into your work. Selected students will be randomly sorted into cohorts of six. Each cohort will spend three days with each instructor.
Day One will include a morning and afternoon workshop that includes specific exercises that focus on the day’s topic.
Day Two is your chance to apply one or both exercises to any scene from YOUR novella. You’ll send both the original scene and the edited version to the people in your cohort and the professional for critique and discussion.
Day Three is for critique circles. Your scene will be critiqued by each member of your cohort and the professional.
PLUS: A full novella, One on One discussion with a professional
WHEN: February 7 to 21, 2026
WHERE: Oistins area, Christ Church, Barbados
Why Barbados? Karen Lord invited us, and we couldn’t say no to Barbados.
FEE: $2,500.00 US
(travel, accommodations, and food NOT included)
The Wayward Wormhole is working to secure group rates at selected hotels.
