Zine Writer- Nannette Croce

zine writer provides insider tips and observations on the world of online publishing and writing/publishing in general. Blogger Nannette Croce has been involved with online publishing for over ten years and has watched it grow from a distant second choice to a venue for some of the best-known literary journals.

I am a writer/editor, but I don’t make a living at it. My living comes from a software design firm in which my husband does the software design, and I handle the administrative end.

I started blogging for two reasons. First, I felt the wealth of knowledge I’d gained over 10 years would be useful now that more and more publications are moving online. Second, I find my own fiction writing benefits from “mixing it up” a little. A blog post on a specific topic flows much more easily than a piece of fiction and the feeling of satisfaction I gain from completing a post and, best of all, having others read it, energizes me to tackle my other writing projects.

I started my own blog nine months ago but prior to that I had created a blog for The Rose & Thorn, the literary zine where I used to be Co-Managing Editor. That was a group blog, but I learned a lot there about the mechanics of blogging and how to promote my blog.

I usually go by the month because I find, like weight loss or the stock market, the daily numbers will drive you nuts. I usually average between 900-1500 visits per month depending on whether I’ve posted a special feature like an author interview that brings in new visitors. I could attract more visitors by posting more often, promoting my blog, and connecting with others, but that’s not my goal. Blogging is only one of the things I do, and I do try to keep it in perspective.

The zine writer blog does not have income. I recently––very recently–-launched a critiquing and editing service that I advertise on another blog and link to from zine writer. It is a little too soon to weigh the success of that enterprise.

Writers in general and writers who have or would like to publish online would find the blog of particular interest, but I’ve also blogged on topics of more general interest like Google digitizing the contents of research libraries, the demise of newspapers, and the future of books, just to name a few.

As I’ve said, I really try to keep a balance between my blogging and other writing, not to mention my business and other activities. I try to put up one new post four to five times per week. In addition I have a book review blog, Cross Reference, that I link to through posts on zine writer. Again, I don’t go nuts trying to review several books per week. When I finish a book, I review it. On other occasions I may post more than once per day, but they are usually links to other blog posts or articles I think my readers would find interesting.

You should subscribe to zine writer if you are interested in writing, and I mean that in a general sense, because, while the blog is geared toward writers, people who enjoy reading good writing will find many of the posts of interest, as well as those who have been following the technological shift from print to online and wonder what the future will bring.

There are two roads to blogging success. You can, like me, target a particular interest group or you can cover a range of topics but make your blog more interactive with polls and give-aways, for example. The second method usually works best when you already have a community of cyber-friends you can invite as followers who will then spread the word exponentially.

This blog can be visited at http://zinewriter.blogspot.com/