Blog Spotlight: Deborah Woehr of the Writers Buzz

Deborah Woehr's popular blog, The Writers Buzz, highlights the work of new authors by posting excerpts and reviews of their books. Deborah also has a blog under her own name at www.deborahwoehr.com where she comments on the writing industry and on her writing experience. She also blogs professionally for Syntagma Media.

When she makes observations about writing and about books, Deborah knows what she's talking about. Deborah is an editor, a writer, and (of course) a blogger. She recently created the 2006 Writer's Blog Anthology, and has several other books are currently in progress.

The reviews and excerpts on Deborah's The Writers Buzz cover a wide variety of genres. From fiction to nonfiction, from Young Adult to Horror, from Romance to Politics - this blog reviews them all. In the interview that follows, Deborah shares a few of her favorite titles.

Deborah Woehr's blogging skills have already landed her a spot on the C-List at Blogebrity and The Writers Buzz has the potential to become even more popular as booklovers and writers explore them as a way to discover and discuss favorite new books.

Recently, I caught up with Deborah and she kindly agreed to the following interview. I think you'll find that she's got some interesting things to say about blogging, publishing, and where the writing industry is going.

What sparked your interest in blogging?

"A few years ago, I clicked on a Google ad for Blogit, curious about how I would make money by writing. I clicked on this ad, prepared for another scam and wound up signing up for a membership. That was my introduction to the blogging medium."

"What ultimately hooked me onto blogging was the ability to meet and form relationships with other writers and readers. I also saw blogging as the best possible way to market my books on the Internet, especially since I had no HTML skills at the time."

What caused you to decide to focus on promoting the work of new writers?

"I know many writers who are in the same boat I'm in. Getting your name in front of potential readers is tough, especially if you are a debut author. That's why I founded The Writers Buzz."

What impact has blogging made on your career and on the writing industry in general?

"Blogging has made a big improvement for my career as a writer in several ways. For one, I can communicate with my readers to find out what kinds of books they enjoy reading or to determine their interest in a project that I'm considering. I also use my blog to create a buzz about my upcoming novel and other writing projects."

"Late last year, I broached the subject of creating a "best of writer's blogs" book after I read Blogosphere: Best of Blogs. I felt that this book barely skimmed the topic. The majority of my readers panned the idea because they could get the information for free. If I had proceeded without gaining their feedback first, I would have wasted my time on a book that they would never buy."

"I feel that blogs have had a huge impact not only in the media, but in the writing community as well. I've seen several different ways that writers use blogs to promote themselves. Some treat a blog as a traditional journal, while others sell their books directly from their site. Others use it to educate fellow writers on the process of writing, publishing, and promotion."

I see lots of book excerpts and book reviews on your site as well as informative articles about writing. How do you determine what material to include?

"I always ask myself how this article will help writers achieve their goal, whether it's getting their book written or promoting it. Then I'll check my website statistics to see how many page views an article received. If there was little interest, I'll pass on that topic and research for another."

Do you have any favorites among the books profiled on your blog?

"Yes, I have three favorites from this year. Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle is #1 because it made me cry. I found myself devouring that book, hoping the little boy in the story would be saved from his monstrous parents."

"Elizabeth Crook did a phenomenal job of researching southwest history while weaving a complicated family history in her novel, Night Journal."

"Burning Candles is the first Tabitha King novel I've ever read, and she co-authored it with Michael McDowell (deceased). I'd seen her in an interview a year after her husband's accident and saw her feisty nature then. Her nature came through in Calliope Dakin, who "saw dead people." "

The Writer's Buzz has quite an audience out there. To what do you attribute your success?

"Persistence, patience and the willingness to learn. Originally, I had set out to create a writer's blog community and kept that format for the first year until I accepted the fact that people came to The Writers Buzz to read about new books and the articles about writing and book promotion. I never considered it to be a success until FSB Associates approached me about participating in their first annual virtual book fair."

"I participated as a guest blogger on their site, which has generated a good amount of traffic for mine. The book fair was such a success that I plan on participating next year. My goal for 2007 is to see if I can find similar online book fairs as well as conduct author interviews."

Can you recommend any resources for those authors who are just starting out, or perhaps trying to make the transition from another form of writing?

"If a new author is going to start a blog, I recommend that they read popular authors' blogs to study how the writers format and write their posts. Some of the best include House of Mirth, Neil Gaiman's Journal, and Syntagma Media."

"For blogs on book marketing I recommend reading Buzz, Balls & Hype and A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, John Kremer's Book Marketing Bestsellers."

"Last but not least, a new blogger needs to read these sites on blog promotion: Darren Rowse's Problogger and Performancing. These sites are very useful in teaching blog etiquette (although some flame wars have occurred), how to write for the blogging medium, and how to network with other bloggers."

Can you identify any trends in the writing industry?

"This past summer, I read Anonymous Lawyer, a book that was originally written on a blog. These books have been coined as "blooks" by Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine.com. I'm watching this trend with growing interest because publishers have begun to take notice of blogs."

"However, from what I'm seeing right now, your blog has to be extremely popular with the mainstream public before a traditional publisher will give you the time of day. Because of this, many would-be authors will use Lulu and similar POD companies to self-publish their blogs into books."

Tell us about your other ventures. I understand you have several other successful projects.

"Yes, I do! I write for two of Syntagma Media's blogs: Supernatural and Home Cooking. Now I can finally say that I'm a professional writer. Last month, I edited and published the 2006 Writer's Blog Anthology, which is available at Barnes&Noble. I'm actively trying to promote this book while finishing up on a ghost story, entitled "Prosperity," that I've been writing for a while."