Category: Business Side of Writing

illustration of woman with book
Posted in Business Side of Writing, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

Tips for Individual Blog Posts

Posted on by Susan Uhlig
  • Create posts in Word and let them sit at least a day or two, then proofread and edit before posting. I like having a number in progress.
  • When an idea pops to mind, make a note of it. I often type a few lines to remind myself of what prompted “that will make a good post” thought.
  • Posts lengths. They can vary. I have very short ones for quotes as it’s only the quote and the attribution. My book recommendation ones are longer. My writing advice is usually longer yet.
  • Add images. Appropriate images help garner attention to your posts.
  • Add links in the text of your post.This helps with search engine optimization (SEO).Options include:
    • Other websites, such as author, illustrator, or organizations.Online articles. Readers often like having the possibility of more information.Links to books.Links to other bloggers.
    • Usually you can set up links to Open in a New Page or Tab, so your website is still open.
  • Categorize each post. Most blogging platforms have this option. It helps readers find more post in that vein. And it’s okay to have subcategories.
    • For example, the “Young Adult” subcategory under my category “So Many Good Books,” is where you’ll find all the young adult books I’m recommending.
  • Add tags. This also helps with SEO and it helps me when I use the search function on my own website for specific types of books on my blog because I’ve added tags such as: diverse, historical, mystery. It may help hour readers too.
  • Schedule the post. Usually the default is to publish “Immediately,” but you can also create a post today and choose next Monday at 8 am for it appear.
  • Before posting use the preview option to make sure your blog post entry looks how you want it. I find it’s a good last chance to find a typo. Or change an image. Or even to make a sentence tighter.

Tips for Images for Blog Posts

  • Image Permissions. Make sure you either took the photo/created the image yourself, or are using ones that are permissible to use. (Don’t steal artwork.) For example, Pixabay is a good site for free images.
  • Crop your images. They’ll look better.
  • Size appropriately. Website images don’t need to be huge. Keep under a meg for sure, but I often do much smaller, like under 300k.
    • You can download smaller images from Pixabay.You can use an editor to change the size of an image. See recommendations above.If after you upload an image it’s too big, resize and reupload.
    • Book cover images from Amazon or usually small enough.
  • Name your images something obvious. Never stick with the numbers and letters from your digital camera. Or the length numbers from Amazon when using a book cover image. Save it as “Susan Uhlig headshot” or “lion roaring” or book title. Again, this is useful for search engines.
  • Add alt text to images. When you upload an image to your blogging platform, most offer the opportunity for alt text. For the two examples above I’d use “photo of Susan Uhlig” or “illustration of a lion roaring” or “cover of Book Title.” Why? To make your blog user friendly to those with sight impairment. They often increase the size of the text or have it read aloud, but an image without alt text can’t be read.
  • Extras. If you want text on an image, to combine two images, or add a background, the Canva website is very helpful.

If you have tips, I’d love to see them in the comments.

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Posted in Before You Begin, Business Side of Writing, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

Deciding to Blog?

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Often writers want to know whether they should blog or not. It IS a good way to add content to your website, but definitely is not a requirement. In my opinion it’s better not to do it at all than have poor content.

Here are some tips:

  • Commit.
    • Blogging won’t happen unless you make plans for it.
    • If you aren’t going to add to it, why do it?
  • How often to blog? You could plan on weekly, biweekly, or monthly blog posts. Come up with a plan and stick with it.
  • Consider a blog theme.
    • I love recommending books, and post them regularly.
    • I also share advice to writers. It started out with articles I wrote. Someone would ask me a question and I’d say, “I have an article on that” (often written for free for newsletters—sometimes written for pay for first rights). So, I started posting those articles for easy reference on my blog.
    • What are you excited to blog about?
  • Schedule times when you want posts to appear.
    • For example, I have a quote of the week, that I auto schedule to show up on Tuesdays.I often post for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday (a group of authors use this and it’s run by Greg Pattridge).I sometimes post on Perfect Picture Book Friday (Susannah Leonard Hill’s blog).My writing related posts go live on other days.
    • When I had a paid blogging job, I had daily and weekly blog posts to do. I scheduled out topics for future weeks to make doing them easier.
  • Advertise your posts.
    • Share where you can, such as on social media, such as Twitter, and include hashtags where appropriate. If you quote someone or talk about their books, tag them if they’re active on that media.If you belong to SCBWI, you can share your blog posts on the Discussion Boards in “What Did You Blog About Today?”Find groups talking about the issues you blog about. Some allow links to blog posts. Some only allow them in comments. But I often find people asking questions in Facebooks posts, and I think, “I wrote on post on that,” so I’ll share a link. Bonus: I’ve made friends by doing this too.
    • Tell your writer friends about your blog and individual posts that you think will interest them.

Sound like a lot of work? It is. But now you’ll perhaps have a better idea of what is involved before you jump in.

illustration of woman sitting on couch with laptop and cat beside her
Posted in Business Side of Writing, Craft

Advice to New Writers

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

“Writers are not born. They are made. Made through willpower and work. Made by iteration, ideation, reiteration. Made through learning — learning that comes from practicing, reading, and through teachers who help shepherd you through those things in order to give your efforts context.” – Chuck Wendig

Read, read, read what you want to write. Especially new books in the genre or age category. Learning what is out there—the styles, the lengths, the ways “things are done”—will improve your own writing.

Take classes, workshops, webinars, and go to conferences and retreats where you can learn craft and connect with other writers and with editors and agents. I always glean some nugget by participating in these events. I got some work-for-hire work because of word of mouth from another writer. If I’d stayed in my house, I wouldn’t have met her and heard about this opportunity.

Get in a critique group or do manuscript exchanges. I have learned so much from my critique partners over the years. Not only do I learn by what they say about my pieces, but I learn from what I see in theirs. We teach each other because we all have different areas where we excel. For example, I have a tendency to be an underwriter and my ciritque partners will ask, “What is she thinking here?” “How does she feel.” (I found most of my critique partners through SCBWI.)

Write, and keep writing! If you want to be a writer, that means you have to actually write. This is where the will and hard work comes in. Schedule a time. Put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and put something on the blank page. Any kind of writing is better than none, but it’s better if you have some kind of goal and meet it. E.g. “Today, I’m going to get one scene written.” “I’m going to write for a minimum of one hour.” “I’m going to complete the first draft of my short story.” I love this quote from Jack London, “Don’t loaf and invite inspiration; light out after it with a club, and if you don’t get it you will nonetheless get something that looks remarkably like it.” Yes, the act of writing itself can inspire you. Putting thoughts down will make more thoughts come.

Rewrite. Isn’t it a relief that you don’t have to get your writing exactly right the first time? You can revise and rewrite and edit it as many times as necessary. I find it helpful to have space between the time I wrote something and when I come back to edit. That helps me see it afresh and discover what isn’t working so well, or is overdone or incomplete. Reading aloud helps me hear errors and see missing or wrong word. Only when it is the best I can make it, do I submit.

To sum up there are: “Three Rules for Literary Success: 1. Read a lot. 2. Write a lot. 3. Read a lot more, write a lot more.” – Robert Silverberg                            

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Posted in Business Side of Writing, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

Hiring Someone to Build Your Website

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

You’ve decided to hire someone. Now what?

First, read this article about costs: “How Much Does an Author Website Cost in 2022?” It will give you an idea of what fees you may expect. (Note: article written by a website designer.)

If hiring an individual, I’m presuming you’ve decided on a website builder and a host. If not, see this post.

How to Find a Designer

  • Ask Around
    • Ask authors (illustrators) you know, “Who designed your website? Did you like them? Would you work with them again?”
    • Ask on list serves, Facebook groups, or in writing groups for recommendations.
  • Find a Web Designer Company (who understands the needs of creators)
    • Websy Daisy – I found this company by asking the above questions. They create  custom WordPress websites for authors, artists, and creators. The sampling of sites they’ve created look fantastic. No price is listed. You have to fill out the form and then they’ll get back to you. They do not fix or maintain sites they did not create. I noticed on one author’s site that there was a favicon (the image you see in a website browser like the Facebook icon).
  • Join the Author’s Guild and use their website service. Annual dues vary. You can start with a free website. Plus there are other benefits of membership.

Thoughts to Consider

  • Make sure the person/company understands author or illustrator website needs.
  • It’s perfectly acceptable to ask for references or to check reviews.
  • Talk with them over the phone or via Zoom to see if you click.
  • Do they build custom sites or use templates?
  • How much control you’ll have.
  • Will your website have a “website designed by” or “website by” notice that shares the company/or individual designer’s name? (Free WordPress themes include a notification “xxx theme powered by WordPress.”)
  • How many web pages they include, if it’s a set fee. And what additional pages will cost.
  • Will they continue to do maintenance on your site and how much will that cost?
  • Or, will they train you to update the site yourself? Do they provide tutorials? Or is it individual training? Is this included in the fee or separate?
  • Can you afford their fees?

Questions to Ask an Individual Designer

In addition to the maintenance and training questions above, ask:

  • Do you have familiarity with WordPress (or whatever builder you want to use) sites?
  • Have you used this host?
  • Will you do the initial set up of the site?
  • Will you give me advice on themes? (Choosing a theme can be overwhelming. And you may find it helpful if someone is willing to give you some choices to start with and/or give you feedback on themes you’ve chosen.)
  • Can you make custom changes with html or CSS? (Themes often have limited choices, but this is additional coding for further choices.)
  • What are your fees? (It could be a flat fee, an hourly fee, a page fee, etc.) What does that include? (5 pages or ?) Or, I have a budget of $xxx—what can I get for that?
  • Will you give me an itemized invoice?
  • How and when do you want payment? (If you don’t personally know this person, they will probably want some money upfront.)
  • How do you want me to send you the text, images, and URLs for my site? (Or you can have them find images and URLs, but that will increase your cost.)
  • What’s your time schedule for delivery of the website?
  • After your initial design, can I still request changes before the website is final? (You may not like placement of images, font size/color, etc.)

Some of these questions may be appropriate for a company as well, but usually they’ll have information laid out for you ahead of time.

Getting Started with an Individual Designer

  1. Agree on fees and what that includes.
  2. Sign up for your host. You can share your login and password with your designer or create a new login and password for them to use. The latter is the safest method.
  3. Register your domain name with your host or transfer control to your host if you already have a domain name.

What Information Should I Expect from an Individual Designer?

  • Login and password to the website builder, e.g. WordPress.
  • A statement or invoice for use on your taxes.
  • Contact information.

What Additional Information Should You Request?

  • Guidance as we plan the website together. (For example, on one website I built, I suggested the author send me additional images to accompany text.)
  • If they customize your free or purchased theme, I personally would want the html codes for the colors they use. For example, on my site the yellow of my name is #ffd859 and the green of my background is #377a46. Why would I want to know this? To create borders, new headers, or icons, etc. with the exact same colors or if I want to change the color scheme or find a color that compliments.

Whether you choose an individual designer or a company, going in with knowledge ahead of time will be very helpful. And don’t be afraid to ask questions! Especially if you don’t understand something.

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Posted in Business Side of Writing, The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing

Choosing a Platform and Host for Your Website

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

First, you don’t have to know html to build a website. There are many website builders that create the html for you.

Second, a disclaimer. If the information below feels overwhelming, either hire someone to help you build a site and teach you how to maintain it, or hire someone who will build and maintain your site. In either of those cases, I strongly recommend WordPress.org as your platform because you’ll be able to find many others to help if your original person can no longer assist. (More on this later.)

Third, definitions. The platform is the software that runs the website—the website builder. For example, WordPress sites (the software that builds the site) do not have to be hosted on WordPress.com. The host is usually where your site live—it’s also called a CMS—content management system. They probably hold your domain name renewal as well, though someone one else can do that (a domain registrar). Hosting sites may have their own software, but it won’t be as easy to transfer to another host. Many of these will let you play around with a trial site for free.

This article, “How to Choose the Best Website Builder in 2023” is a good place to start. But you may also want to talk to friends about their experiences. I personally have used various WordPress sites on various hosts, and Weebly and Wix, each on a different site. I looked at Godaddy’s builder on a friend’s site and could not see an option to add a link to a box or image.

Let me add my comments on their feedback in the above article.

  1. WordPress.org – many people know how to use this software and it’s very flexible.
  2. Web.com – blogging functionality being limited would be a “no” for me.
  3. Wix – fairly easy to use; complicated to move your site to another software system.
  4. HubSpot – good for simple site, but does have WordPress plugin option.
  5. WooCommerce – is aimed at selling—not usually what an author or illustrator is primarily doing on their website.
  6. Gator – no free trial.
  7. Hostinger – not easy to change templates; can’t schedule blog posts.
  8. Domain.com – no free website builder; does not migrate well to another site.
  9. BigCommerce – again aimed at selling; more expensive.
  10. Shopify – a third aimed at selling; requires their own payment platform.
  11. WordPress.com – more limited than using WordPress.org elsewhere.
  12. Squarespace – a fourth aimed at selling.
  13. Weebly (now owned by Squarespace, so I found difficulty getting help) – again limited to what it offers.
  14. DreamHost – uses WordPress, but will require hosting elsewhere, so what is it they do?
  15. GoDaddy – limited set of features.

The article’s conclusion, and my own, is WordPress.org. If you just want a one or two page website where a lot doesn’t change, any of the non-commerce sites would probably be adequate.

So next up is choosing a host, which is where a monthly or annual cost is charged.

PCmag recommends Bluehost and WP Engine, “The Best Web Hosting Services for 2023.” Forbes has a list of ten, “10 Best Web Hosting Services (2025).” This site shares nine, “The Top 9 Best Web Hosting Providers.” Bluehost is mentioned in all three articles. WP engine in the first and the last. SiteGround, which I use, is mentioned in the last. (It was top-rated when I found it last year.)

I personally would compare prices and make sure they each support a WordPress website builder. Some will provide your domain for free, although there will still probably be an annual renewal fee. (Your domain is your url. Mine is susanuhlig.com.)

See what you think of the host’s website and how easy it appears to get support. Many offer searchable knowledge bases, online support, support chats, demos, a help desk, etc. If you can’t find this kind of information easily, that’s not a good sign.

Do they have any free WordPress tutorials? If so, that will be a helpful resource. My host does, and I’ve used them to lead me step-by-step through setting up a new site and migrating an existing site.

Looking at reviews, cost, and support should help you come to a decision on which host to use.