Today's post is the second in the series "From One Writer to Another." The series is tips, advice, and encouragement for fiction writers. You can read the first post in the series here. I have been blogging for roughly five years. My first blog was youth ministry centered and primarily for the youth and families of my church. I enjoyed blogging so much I decided to start a second blog in June of 2010 called Break the Mold. Break the Mold was about living differently. I wrote about changing your life through simplicity. After about two years, I stopped writing at Break the Mold. The blog was mildly successful, but I grew tired of writing about those topics. Finally, in September of 2012, I launched my current website with a target of readers and writers of fiction.

Through this tangled web of blogging, I've learned two important truths about blogging.

First, blogging is one way to build an audience for your writing. Many writers read that you need to blog to gain traction for your fiction writing. But, blogging is not the only way to find readers for your writing. I use my blog and website as a landing page for new readers. The blogging is secondary and I find more readers through leading workshops and personal connections. I know this isn't true for everyone, but finding readers in a crowded blogging world is tough.

Second, I've learned blogging can easily become a waste of a fiction writer's time. If you want to write fiction, spend 20 hours a week writing fiction, not blogging. Blogging will not get your books finished, but devoting time to writing will.

So my advice for newbie writers is to blog and set up a web home for your work. However, if you are spending more than a couple hours a week on your blog, you aren't doing it right. Make writing the novel and getting published the first priority. Blogging is second.