SEO Search Engine Optimization ~ Storyteller

The company I work for, Community Wholesale Tire, my day job, is having the people who created and put together the companies new and improved website come in and teach a class to our many fine Tire Dealers on Website Design and SEO (Search Engine Optimization.)

As I have been with the company for a long time I am going to get to attend the event for free as a representative of our company. I have attended many classes in the past that have dealt with many aspects of tires, repair materials, and advertising but this will be the first class that will also directly be applicable to e-books and Independent Authors.

I have this blog and in most cases where you are signing up for some sort of representation, author interviews and author pages I always list my blog as my website. If this class teaches me enough to build, create, or have my own website created that would be extremely useful. The Search Engine Optimization is what first caught my eye because it would be immediately put to use when placing the Labels at the bottom of my blog posts, which is used to connect up with search words people might be using when surfing the web to pull up your site as a possible match.

The good news today is that what I learn in the class I plan on passing on through my blog posts to the Indie Authors who follow my blog to learn more about our new enterprise, which is being Independent Authors. As I have stated before in previous posts, that being an Independent Author requires you to wear many different hats. We have to learn how to do all the things required to write a great book, format it, develop the cover art, write the synopsis, download it the elements of the book in numerous areas to be sold, and finally market and sell our books ourselves. The more you can do yourself, obviously the more Independent you actually are.

Editing and proofing can be purchased, art work can be purchased, and so can websites. I am excited to find out if I will be able to create my own website or inexpensively pay to get one built for myself and promoting my books. I also can't wait to learn as much as I can about SEO from some people that actually make their living from building websites.

The class is scheduled for the evening of March 22^nd. So after that date I will be doing some blog posts sharing what I have learned from the class with my friends and followers who are also aspiring authors or newly published Indie Authors. Hopefully you follow along with the posts you find interesting but if not mark your calendars to return to this blog after March 22^nd if you're interested in learning about website design and SEO. I have seen classes and seminars on-line where you can purchase this kind of information. Frankly I haven't had the extra money or time to worry about trying to pay to get a website. Since an opportunity has arisen to get this education for FREE I can't see why I shouldn't take advantage of it.

Some might argue that once I learn this stuff I could in turn charge others for this information but I don't care to be in the teaching business. I want to be in the book writing business! I don't mind sharing information as I find it is helpful and in turn makes my blog posts more interesting. I don’t consider other Authors as my competition! I consider us in the same field of interest and where we can help each other I feel we should help fellow authors wherever possible. I don't consider other Authors competition because each author is unique in their style of writing, in what they write, and how they tell a story.

People are going to try my books or they aren't! Following that, these same people are going to like my books or they aren't. If they don't like what or how I write they won't buy any more of my books. If they do like them then they will wait in the wings until they I have published something new and then rush to get it. I know this because that's how I am, and I read a lot!

Once or twice I year, I get forced to buy and read a book from a fabulous and awesome writer who I just hate reading, not because he isn't a great writer, but because of the crap he does to his characters and I don't like feeling sad and miserable ON PURPOSE! That reminds me I need to do a blog post apologizing to this author for saying I hate him. My wife and her best friend jumped all over me when I was upset about a particularly harsh review of my newest book and they both took this authors side in saying, "Think how he feels when he reads what you write about him! Toughen up and take your dues. You can dish it out but you can't take it."

This obviously didn't do anything to help my mood that evening. It didn't seem to matter that I flatter this writer with praise about what a wonderful and more accomplished writer this author is than I am. I would actually be honored and humbled to meet this author in person. I will never enjoy reading his books unless he changes genre or the way he writes. I don't expect him to change for me. It is actually fine that I don't like his stories. Everybody isn't going to like what you write. Whether it's your blog or your book, somebody is going to hate it, no matter how talented you become! So deal with it. I will do a blog post apologizing to Mr. Nicholas Sparks one of these days when I honestly can think of anything to write about. That day hasn't arrived yet!

God Bless and keep writing! Mark your calendars to check back with us after March 22^nd.