My Tips On Writing {General Tips}

Long time no see! I'm doing NaNoWriMo, so this month has been pretty busy so far, sorry! 

Now, because of NaNoWriMo, here are my general tips on writing, if you're a writer on Wattpad, Quotev, Fanfiction.net, etc. c: 

1. Always use proper grammar/punctuation/mechanics, text-talk(lol ttyl ilysm omg!) is not attractive and has no place in your stories, unless the characters are texting or something like that. 
2. Don't use fillers. Word count really doesn't matter-- try to keep words like "really", "very" and other fillers out when it's not dialogue. 
3. Update often, but not a million times a day. I get so annoyed when people upload 20 chapters in one day and I get that many emails, & also annoyed when authors update maybe once a month when I'm really into their story! Try to update at a steady pace, like once per day, three times per week, something that works for you.
4. Keep your characters real. No one likes a Mary Sue/Gary Stu character. Period. 
5. Same goes for antagonists, although it doesn't seem to come to mind as much. An antagonist can't be 100% bad. 
6. Watch your word count per chapter online. I might not be able to read ten pages in one sitting, and I can't really put a bookmark in your Wattpad chapter, so... If one chapter ends up really long, just split it in two-- online, that's okay to do! 
7. Love your readers. Reply to comments(because they really help & motivate) and be kind to your readers(because they're amazing, right??)
8. Just keep writing. Don't worry about the number of favorites your story gets, or the number of comments. The reaction it gets online can be totally different to the reaction it gets when it's on book shelves! 

Bottom Line: just keep on improving, man. 

Have anything to add? Send me an email or leave a comment.

Which one is for me?{picking a site to use}

Sometimes it can be hard to decide which websites are best for what you're goal is. So I've made a simple list for you c: 

Fashion Blogging

1. Polyvore 
2. Blogger
3. Wordpress

Photography

1. Blogger
2. Wordpress
3. Instagram
4. Facebook
5. DeviantART

Videos(on whatever)

1. Youtube
2. Vimeo
3. I totally recomend using multiple platforms for this one. Those are the only two video-sharing sites I can think of.

General Blogging

1. Blogger
2. Wordpress
3. Tumblr

Writing

1. Quotev
2. Wattpad
3. Fanfiction.net(if it's fanfiction, of course)
4. Tumblr

To be successful, you should try out multiple sites and see which one works best for you. And don't worry, you can post your wonderful Harry Styles fanfiction story on every website you want. Just make sure to leave a little note about that so your followers don't think you stole from yourself. 

There are a lot of websites I don't know about, too, so don't just still to this list if you find something better. And maybe your amazing covers will get more attention if you make a Facebook page with them, who knows? Do whatever you can. 

Bottom Line: There are multiple websites you can use to gain a following. And don't be afraid to have the same stuff on two websites--it broadens your audience.

Have anything to add? Send me an email or leave a comment.

What even are "multiple platforms"?{& why do you keep mentioning them?}

I have been anticipating this post since the beginning of time. 

Okay, here we go! 

What is this?

When I say you should use "multiple platforms" online, I mean you should use more than one site to boost your views. 

I somehow manage using Blogspot, Wordpress, Polyvore, Quotev, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Wattpad and one or two more sites on a semi-regular basis. This just got real.

Why you should

Personally, when I really like someone's Polyvore account, I like it when they give links to their other profiles so I can follow/friend them on those, too. It makes me feel more connected to them, and more interested.

This helps you. A lot, okay? There is a reason celebrities will have a personal Twitter, a Facebook page and Instagram they use.

Don't be afraid to self-advertise. Most of the views I got for this blog when I first started it came from my relentless self-advertising on Polyvore and Facebook. If your Instagram account is more popular than your Facebook page, ask your Insta followers to check it out!

How to Manage

I'll do an entire post on this schedule thing, but it can take up a lot of time to use multiple websites. Truthfully, gaining a large following generally does not happen overnight, and you're no exception to that majority. It will take a long time, and a lot of time, to work your way up.

Set aside a few hours in your day for your blog and social media accounts. Post enough to keep people interested! Personally, I spend about two hours on my computer and then just switch to mobile for little things for the rest of the day. Don't spend too much time online, unless it's your full-time job. I have school during the day, so I obviously can't spend all day focused on gaining followers.

Bottom Line: Use more than one website to gain a following, it really helps
Have anything to add? Send me an email or leave a comment. 

Who is my audience? {& how to reach them}

Hello! Thanks for visiting Confessions of an Internet Queen again :) Today, I'm going to give you tips on your audience. 

How to find out

Well, who and what is your audience, anyway? 

It's up to you to figure that out. When you created your blog or social media account, who did you think would be interested in you? 

For example, I created my fashion blog for other people interested in fashion, who are generally women from 14+. And I created this blog for, well, you! 

So that's the first step. You've got to identify your audience. Anybody could be interested in your blog, really, but you've got to keep a specific group in mind.

Some questions you could ask yourself to figure this out are "who likes this content?" "Who wants to know this information?" "Who is like me?"

Reaching out 

Now to reach your audience. I'll give more specific tips on using multiple social media platforms later, but if you think you know how to do that, it's a good start. 

If you're running a blog or YouTube channel about gaming, it's probably not going to help a whole lot to advertise your stuff on a Facebook group titled "old ladies love knitting". It's a better idea to advertise in a group for gamers, as long as admins are alright with that kind of thing. 

Advertising is really a big part of becoming popular. No one is going to hear about you if you just post stuff but don't post it anywhere else. Tell your friends about what you're doing, and have them tweet "hey, check out ____'s channel!" or something like that. Hey, maybe your friends already have a ton of Instagram followers and can get you some views!

Personally, I use Polyvore and Quotev very often, because I like fashion and writing.

Bottom Line: before you can start gaining a lot of views, you've got to figure out who your audience is and utilize that information. 
Have anything to add? Send me an email or leave a comment. 

How do I look? {the art of design}

Hey there! This is my first post on this blog, yay. Hope you like the little title design. 

Something that attracts me to social media profiles and blogs right away is how it looks. Because let's be honest, we often judge books by their covers. 

Blogs

Whether you're using Tumblr, Wordpress or Blogspot, they all have a lot of options to make your blog look just the way you want it: super cute, simple, quirky, edgy, etc. Don't just go with a simple design. Customize it, make it your own. 

Fashion blogs are a good example. If bloggers like to dress in a modern, chic way, they design their blog like that, because it looks good. And if they dress up in girly, romantic wear, their blog reflects on that, too. 

When you're deciding on a background and header, don't just pick two you like if they don't go together. It is immediately unattractive if the header picture and the background clash horribly. Make sure you theme works together. 

If you want to get a better idea of what I mean, Google "fashion blog" and click on a few of them. Popular fashion bloggers know what they're doing when designing their blog. 

If you don't have much talent when it comes to design, hire someone or have a friend do it for you. We can assume your super-stylish friend will be able to tell you whether you're blog looks good or not-- fashion is design, that's why it's a good example. 

Social Media Profiles

Some social media websites allow you to costuming exactly what your profile looks like-- background, icon image, bio, things like that. Please be sure to read both of these examples, as a lot of the things I say can be used on various other websites. 

Example One: Facebook

You can customize your profile picture and "cover" photo on this site. Make sure that those two things look good together! It's pretty simple. Just give your selfie a black and white filter to be sure it matches your cover photo, if you can't think of anything else. 

Example Two: Polyvore

On Polyvore, you can change your square icon and your bio. 

Something I find immediately unattractive is a bio with a lot of spelling/grammar/punctuation errors. First, it makes you look really unprofessional, and second, it's just not cute. Some people choose to write in all lowercase letters for their bios, and if you think this looks good, just stay consistent. 

Make sure your icon is just nice-looking. It doesn't really matter what it is, but it' shelter if it's eye-catching and appealing. 

Bottom Line: Design does matter. Stay consistent with the "theme" you choose. 

Have anything you want me to add? Send me an email or leave a comment. 

WTF is this blog? {introduction}

Created because no one ever told you how to be successful online. 

Hey, my name is Amber, and this blog was created on October 5th, 2014. 

I've been interneting for a while now, and after getting a lot of questions about how to gain followers & get your name around, I decided to just direct all of those questions to a pre-made blog! 

Send requests to amber_zoe@outlook.com

My Polyvore

My Tumblr