Friday Favorites: Favorite Blogs

I’ve decided to include an addition to my blog which may or may not have anything to do with writing.  I love to write, I consider myself an author and I do aspire to be a published author but I also have more depth than that.  I have other interests beyond writing:  I have hobbies.  I have a family.  I have pets.  I have a day job, which is about to change…but more on that later.

Sometimes, based on my mood, I may not feel like writing what I believe I should be writing about. 

To keep my various moods happy, I’ve given myself the option of adding posts to this new addition to my blog so that I can take a break in order to write about something else when my mind is wandering and in need of a break.  Although I might need a break on any given day of the week, Fridays are usually when I like to lay low, gather my wits after a hectic week and take on only what I feel like tackling when I feel like tackling it.    

Today I will start with ten of my favorite blogs.  I honestly did not begin reading blogs until last year, when I was furiously researching about writing, so many of the blogs I follow are about writing in some form or another.  However, some of the blogs may be helpful to many individuals and businesses who are interested in social media, platform building and also with regard to marketing a business. 

1. My Name is Not Bob by Robert Lee Brewer:  this is the first blog I became hooked on due to the seemingly endless amount of writing advice available on Brewer’s blog, from writing tips to social media insight to motivation and beyond. 
2. A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing by J. A. Konrath: Konrath is a self-published author with an enormous amount of insight surrounding the publishing world.  He is also not one bit afraid to speak his mind and the results of that are interesting. 
3. Ask Allison by Allison Winn Scotch: Allison is a freelance writer and author and her blog is filled to the brim with writing tips and advice. 
4. Cat’s Eye Writer by Judy Dunn:  Judy is a writer, a blogger and a copywriter and her blog is for writers who blog and bloggers who write.  She focuses on quite a few areas, including how to attract more blog visitors, how to engage the reader and using social media to get your brand out there. 
5. Jane Friedman, Being Human at Electric Speed:  Jane is a media professor and speaker and the information found on her blog with regard to writing, motivation, creativity, social media and marketing are just the beginning of the limitless advice she has to offer.
6. Writer Unboxed is a blog with multiple contributors and is largely based on the craft and business of fiction.  This blog also offers a very large list of other useful blogs.
7. The Prosperous Writer by Christina Katz:  I have found her blog and her books to be very useful.  Christina has a wealth of information she is more than willing to share on her blog, which focuses on writing well, selling what you write, building your platform, learning and prospering from writing.
8. Wildfire Marketing by Rob Eagar: Wildfire Marketing is a consulting firm with the goal of helping “individuals and organizations spread their message like wildfire.”  Rob Eagar’s posts relating to marketing are very helpful and very informative.  A recent post from him last month titled The Dark Side of Social Media was very interesting and I learned something I hadn’t been aware of with regard to this topic.
9. Alexis Grant, The Traveling Writer:  Alexis is a journalist, a social media coach, an entrepreneur and a travel writer.  I found Alexis’ blog only recently but I enjoyed reading her past posts and I especially look forward to reading the upcoming posts she will be sharing as she journeys through Nicaragua and Costa Rica. 
10. PsyBlog by Jeremy Dean:  This blog has nothing to do with writing but everything to do with research when it comes to how the mind works.  Jeremy is a researcher at University College London working towards his PhD.  There are many interesting articles on this blog about why researchers believe we do the things we do.

If you have any favorite blogs, whether they are about writing or any other interesting subject, I’d enjoy hearing from you about them.