IWSG Day December 2018

It's time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world - or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you'd like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

The awesome co-hosts for the December 5 posting are:

J.H. Moncrieff, Tonja Drecker , Patsy Collins, and Chrys Fey!

This month's optional question is: What are five objects we'd find in your writing space?

Our Twitter is @TheIWSG and hashtag #IWSG.

We got so many phenomenal entries for the anthology contest. Look for the announcement of the official Table of Contents in January!

Don't forget, the next Twitter pitch event is in January! It's a great way to get noticed by editors and agents.

This month's WEP theme is Ribbons and Candles. You can sign up now, and even get your post up early, as some are doing due to the holidays. We can't wait to see what you create!

If you've got Instagram, you can participate in our daily questions. Here's December:

For those on Goodreads, we have a book club. For great books and discussion, check it out!

The December/January selection is Big Magic, by Elizabeth Gilbert. The discussion begins January 23.

Those who participated in NaNoWriMo are hopefully breathing a big sigh of relief right about now. Even if you didn't complete the full 50,000, any words down "on paper" are worthwhile!

How did you do for NaNo? Did you reach your goals? Have you read Big Magic, or will you be doing so for the book club? Will you be doing WEP? Have you tried out the daily Instagram prompts? Will you be doing the Twitter Pitch?

7 Ways to Grow Your Blog

Most of us have recovered from the frantic, sometimes exhausting, challenge of the A to Z Blog hop. Hopefully during that time some new readers found your blog and you found a number of interesting sites to follow. But perhaps the numbers on your blog have stagnated. Are you picking up new followers on a regular basis? If not, what are some ways you can do that?

1. Bring readers to you. Announce your post on Twitter, Facebook and on Google+. Remember to use an attention-grabbing title on your post. (Use those numbers.) And add a short description to your link so readers want to check it out.

2. Another way to bring readers to you is to join in smaller blog hops that are a one and done or a monthly or weekly happening. (Like IWSG!) Recently I joined in The Then and Now Movie blog hop. Not a huge group and easy to visit everyone during a really interesting hop.

3. There are other ways to go out and find some great blogs. Most of them will follow you back. Check out the sidebar of your favorite blogs. Chances are they will have a list of their favorite blogs there. Click on them and you'll find some blogs you might want to follow. You can meet some nice people from my sidebar on Susan Says.

4. Many times when you're reading your favorite blogs, the poster will also be guesting on another site. Follow those guest post links to find other interesting blogs.

5. And when you're posting your announcements on Facebook and Twitter, don't forget to click on the links other bloggers are sharing in those same venues. They're searching for soul mate bloggers too.

6. Read the comments when you're commenting on someone's post. If you see a comment that is insightful, supportive or perhaps just entertaining, find that blog. You might meet someone interesting.

7. And remember all the rules of blog etiquette. Return comments, post regularly, make your content interesting and relevant to your blog theme.

Don't forget, Wednesday is the monthly posting for IWSG. A great time to grow your blog audience. What suggestions could you add to the above list? Have you found interesting blogs through Facebook or Twitter? Do you have an interesting blog hop that isn't the massive event of A to Z that works well in introducing you to new bloggers?

Don't forget IWSG Wednesday!

Susan Gourley writes epic fantasy and romance as Susan Kelley. Find her blog at Susan Says.