I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve managed to attend three writer’s conferences over the last five years. Despite all the advice that I attend as many as possible in order to mingle with fellow writers, agents, and publishers, my bank account and day job don’t seem to cooperate.

But despair not. For I give you…the blog.

No! Wait! Keep reading. This is not another post telling you why you need to blog three times a week or die a lonely unpublished Starbucks barista. No, I’ll leave that to Edie.

I’m here to tell you that following blogs is your path to rubbing electronic elbows with those who may launch your career. Yes, agents and publishers happen to love blogs about writing. And they take note of the frequent responders.

How do I know this? Because I’ve been contacted by agents who share a love of the same blogs I frequent. Maybe even this one… ; )

So here are my top 5 tips for blog-nobbing:

1. Don’t try to keep up with every popular blog. You don’t have the time or energy. Pick one or two that you enjoy and stay with them.
2. Comment! I know, this should be obvious. But you’d be surprised how many lurkers there are out there. This is your chance to stand out. And don’t slap something into the comment box. Write it. Read it. Edit it. You’re a writer. Show it.
3. Comment on comments. Frequent commenters form a bit of a community. Like a micro-Facebook. These are the people who are likely to succeed as writers. Befriend them. There’s a good chance you’ll gain valuable friends and allies.
4. Social share. Share your favorite blogs on Facebook and Twitter. The blog owners will likely know that you’re promoting their blog and will show their appreciation by promoting you as well. And they have a lot of followers.
5. Get a blog reader like Feedly. Feedly loads all your favorite blogs into one web page or app on your all your mobile devices. Your blogs are always with you.

Remember, this is much like a conference. Be yourself. Be interesting. Don’t push yourself onto those agents on publishers. Stick to these few rules and good things will start to come your way!

So which blogs (besides this one, of course) do you like to frequent?

~*~

Ron Estrada is the author of YA and Middle-Grade novels. His first release, Now I Knew You, is available on Amazon. He also writes for several blogs and has a regular column in a print magazine, Women2Women Michigan. He can be reached at ron@ronestradabooks.com or you can visit his website at ronestradabooks.com.