Comments on: Five challenges faced by an adolescent blog

By: Emma

Emma — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:56:19 +0000

There is some great advice here already! I appreciate the time you’ve all taken in passing on your wisdom, and the encouragement too.

The About and FAQ pages were written 3 nights before I launched the blog. Wow, what difference this 3 months or so has made…

@Terry – I’m glad I did this too!

@ Joanna – great advice, to be implemented as soon as I can!

@Paul – this advice means a lot to me as I know you are sharing the same boat as I on this huge sea. Thank you.

@Diana – Yay indeed! And of course I will share the answers

@Ulla – Again, great ideas, thank you – I especially like the “Out of my Archives” – I never thought I would ever be the proud owner of my own archive

By: Ulla Hennig

Ulla Hennig — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:57:23 +0000

Emma, regarding #5: That's a thing I neglect, too, the linking of certain posts. You could write just a short blog post which has to do with the content of one or two older posts which you want to promote, and then refer to them with a link. Or a post like "Out of my Archives" in which you tell the reader why you think your older post is important and then the link. And, I think your blog is fine! I enjoy reading it very much. Ulla Hennig’s last blog post..Blossoms

By: Diana

Diana — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:26:05 +0000

Those are very good questions and I’m sure you will find the answers that make the most sense to you. I hope you’ll share the answers with us when you find them.

A freelancer! Good luck and congratulations!

By: Paul Squires

Paul Squires — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:27:16 +0000

As a writer who has been maintaining a blog for nearly three years now I thought I might have a bash at answering your questions, with the proviso that in bloggoland there are never any right answers.
1. Checking your blog they will do but it will only be after a long process of examining the MSS and will have little or no effect on their decision.
2. Using the blog to promote your publishing efforts is essential but subtlety is the key.
3.Keep any work sites separate from writing sites unless there is a really good reason to link them. A work site is about controlling the image.
4.The only way to grow the blog is naturally. There is no magic place to drop links. The best way is to comment other people, create a genuine community by sharing ideas and offering encouragement and support. In three years of experimenting I’ve never found anything else that works.
5.To promote old posts, write new ones that develop the idea and link to them from there or create a collection of pages and use the private/public option on the pages to shuffle them around.

There are lots of other ways of doing these things, prompt sites, submitting to ejournals and so forth but time is the only commodity on the internet and success is about offering people genuine value for their time whilst using yours most effectively.
Hope that helps. The absolute number one rule of successfully using a writers blog as part of a larger career is… Have Fun.

Paul Squires’s last blog post..In the absence of evidence

By: Joanna Young

Joanna Young — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:16:53 +0000

Hi Emma

First off I’d say… don’t worry too much

It makes perfect sense to link to your new professional blog and tell people about it, just as you would in a conversation. It would be odd not to, wouldn’t it?

Same with the links and highlights of older material – if you can see a connection, work it in. But don’t overdo it.

I like the idea of you using the blog (and twitter ) to build buzz, but you can’t do that quickly without turning people off. There’s plenty of time before the book’s available for sale isn’t there? Keep us hooked in, and we’ll be gagging to buy it!

I do think your about page could be redone. The about page should be about the blog, not you. It’ll make it much easier to write. If I’m visiting here for the first, and perhaps only time, what would I like to learn about the blog? What will I find here? What’s in it for me?

You could put something about ‘who I am’ in the FAQs if you wanted, or a separate page (but not on the nav bar if you don’t want to go overboard on it)

I think I might make the FAQs a bit easier to follow & less jokey, in case is is a first port of call for someone who wants to make a quick assessment

Hope that helps – I think you’re doing great by the way

Joanna Young’s last blog post..Blogging, Writing and Community: A Round Up

By: Terry Heath

Terry Heath — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:51:13 +0000

Wow, Emma. You've done some real thinking about this and I know it will all pay off. Glad you're in the contest; some very strong entries. Terry Heath’s last blog post..Set Email Subscription Delivery Times

By: Emma

Emma — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:51:41 +0000

That *has* cheered me up! Thanks ever so for such warm, positive words Jan, and welcome too!

By: jan geronimo

jan geronimo — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:47:01 +0000

My gut feel is that you'd do just fine. You write well and readers will find you. Look, I've found you all right. Ok, of course, Terry's wonderful blog helped me find you. I clicked on the link you've left on one of his posts. I think I can help you spread the word about your posts. I would love to read them and tweet about them. Or perhaps bounce some posts off them. But that will be my assignment for tomorrow as it is 2:45 am here in the Philippines. Cheer up. The world is watching. And soon they will be beating a path to your door. jan geronimo’s last blog post..Blog Contests To Help You Become a Better Writer