For a long time, carrieraybooks.com was a ghost town.
I’m a fiction writer. I can weave a plot, build a world, and chase a character development arc down a rabbit hole for days. But the moment you start talking to me about web hosting, plugins, SEO, and domain verification? My brain completely short-circuits.
I owned this piece of digital real estate, but I let it sit empty because the tech side of marketing felt incredibly intimidating.
But today, something clicked.
The Massive Misconception About Blogging
I used to think blogging was just a digital diary. I thought it meant writing posts about what I ate for breakfast or venting about my latest bout of writer’s block. I didn’t see the point. Who would want to read that?
But I’ve realized that successful modern blogging isn’t a diary at all. It’s a library of solutions.
The internet is flooded with generic advice, but it is deeply lacking in real, honest, human experience. When an author wants to learn how to build an audience, they don’t want to read a dense, boring technical manual written by an elite digital marketer who hasn’t written a creative word in their life.
They want to see a regular writer, down in the trenches, showing them the ropes.
Enter: The Author in the Trenches
So, let’s make a deal. I am officially giving up on being intimidated by the tech side of the writing business. I am using this blog to document my journey from total beginner to… well, let’s see where we end up.
I am not a blogging guru. I am an indie author figuring it out in real time.
As I learn how to navigate WordPress, drive traffic through Pinterest, master keyword research, and build an email newsletter list that actually sells books, I’m going to turn around and write a quick, jargon-free guide about it for you.
Every time I hit a roadblock and spend three hours trying to fix a tech glitch, I will write the exact article I wish I had found to save you the headache. My frustrations are going to become your shortcuts.