Lauren Wayne

Sunday Surf: Responsible blogging & parental dilemmas

2012-05-06T02:59:00.000-07:00

Links to share, from Writing Tidbits:

The Panic of Never

Right there, the title, isn’t it the perfect phrase for a parent and a writer? The panic of never, the panic of never finishing a project, of never starting one, of never again having time to write, or never having the time you need.

I love Rachael’s follow-up suggestions as well:

Some Answers to My Own Question {Plus Some Friday Reads}

Which also includes this rad excerpt by Dean Young from “Selected Recent and New Errors”:

Do you think the dictionary ever says to itself
I’ve got these words that mean completely
different things inside myself
and it’s tearing me apart?
My errors are even bigger than that.

33 SECONDS AGO

writing pressure scheduling parenting poetry publishing failure

Walking On Egg Shells | The Path Less Taken

On writing authentically instead of pre-censoring our words.

22 HOURS AGO

blogging writing censorship judgment negative comments

Skitch - Annotate, edit and share your screenshots and images...fast.

Wanna write on top of photos? Annotate, edit & share screenshots & images.

1 DAY AGO

photos photo editing software apps

Facebook page admins beware! What you CANNOT do on Facebook | MarketingGum.com

Rules about cover photos and giveaways as they relate to Facebook.

1 WEEK AGO

facebook giveaways timeline cover photos

- Navelgazing Midwife Blog - Responsible Blogging

What responsibility do you have toward readers as a blogger when it comes to giving advice (parenting, birth, health…)? If someone takes your advice and has a bad outcome, are you liable?

I think about this a lot since I blog about hot-button issues like homebirth and alternative healthcare and unschooling. I keep wanting people to know it’s just my opinion — but at the same time, I can’t stop myself from writing from the perspective of an advice-giver. I’ve tried, and I can’t do it! I love giving advice.

But when it comes right down to it, I’m not an expert in any of the subjects I write about (or, I don’t consider myself one). This quote kind of sums it up:

… all we bloggers really are are darn good writers (for the most part). We don’t necessarily know any more than anyone else, we’re just good at getting the information out there.

4 WEEKS AGO

blogging ethics liability

Giveaway: Poetry of a Hobo Mama at Hybrid Rasta Mama {5.9; Worldwide}

2012-05-04T11:44:00.001-07:00

I'm giving away a copy of my book, Poetry of a Hobo Mama, over at the fabulous blog Hybrid Rasta Mama.

Please read Jennifer's honest review, enter the giveaway, and enjoy the parenting-inspired poetry!

Lauren Wayne of Hobo Mama fame, one of the two lovely mamas who founded and run the Natural Parents Network, is both an author and a poet in her own right. I had known for some time that she had a collection of poetry but had kind of ignored it. I always felt bad because I love supporting other mamas in their creative endeavors but truth be told, I was worried if I read it I would not like it. This would not be a function of Lauren or her poetic skills, but instead a function of my indifference to poetry.

Did you know that April is Poetry Month? Well it is and I decided what better way to support Lauren than to sit down, read Poetry of a Hobo Mama from start to finish, then share my impressions with you. I took off my “aversion to poetry glasses” and put on my “let’s see what Hobo Mama brings to the table glasses.” You know what? I am really, really glad that I did.

Enter now on the giveaway post at Hybrid Rasta Mama! Giveaway ends May 9 (date extended due to technical difficulties) and is open worldwide.

Sunday Surf: Babies, BlogHer, & the cost of blogging

2012-04-08T05:00:00.001-07:00

Links to share, from Writing Tidbits:

How to merge pdf files in OSX

How did I not know it was SO EASY to combine PDFs in Mac?

1 DAY AGO

PDFs

Report alleged copyright infringement: Blogger - Google Help

Convenient DMCA form for Blogger/Google entities who are infringing on your copyright (such as spam blogs scraping your content).

1 MONTH AGO

blogger spam DMCA

freespeling.com

I could not resist sharing this. Shannon pointed me to this idea of simplifying English spelling. Check it out. I am agog. Which is spelled correctly even though it’s hilarious.

1 MONTH AGO

spelling freespelling editing writing

The Cost of Food Blogging: Part II | Bakers Royale

The second part answers some questions about the cost of blogging and whether it’s worth it.

1 MONTH AGO

blogging finances monetizing

The cost of running a a food blog | Bakers Royale

Actual numbers for how much one blogger spent last year, including time.

1 MONTH AGO

blogging finances

How to make all links open in new windows ~ the original Blogger Tips and Tricks

This tip for changing your CSS template really does work to force all URLs in a blog to open in a new window, saving you the trouble of coding “target=_blank” each time you add a URL. However, I’m conflicted about whether it’s the best choice because:

It doesn’t warn users they’re opening a link in a new window. If they hover over a link, it doesn’t give any clue, whereas in my browser with the “target=_blank,” at the bottom of my browser window it reads, “Open [link] in a new window.” I don’t know how disorienting this invisible change might be for readers.
It makes almost every URL behave this way. I just tested it on IntenseDebate and it doesn’t seem to be a problem, but someone said the submit button with Disqus tried to pop open a new window and so didn’t go anywhere for leaving a comment. I don’t know with Blogger’s inline commenting system if the same errors will occur.

1 MONTH AGO

css templates html

Bringing a baby to the BlogHer conference | BlogHer

What it’s like to bring a baby, and something I might experience this summer!

1 MONTH AGO

blogher conferences blogher12

Throws vs. throes

2012-04-04T05:00:00.001-07:00

The copy editor is in.
I'm presenting occasional posts on the use of English,
not to be pedantic but just for the fun of language.

If you're enduring something, you're in the throes of it. If you've got a ball or a horseshoe, you can practice your throws.

They're pronounced the same, but one's spelled so much more interestingly.

A throe refers to writhing, suffering, despair, or pain (think death throes or the throes of childbirth), and actually shares a root with throw: the Old English þrawan, meaning to twist, turn, or writhe. The common thread likely had something to do with twisting a projectile before launching it.

So if you're in the throes of frustration because your seven-year-old won't stop practicing her baseball throws in the house, you'll now know which word to use for which!

Gmail Tap for Android

2012-04-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

At the tail end of April 1, I just have to share one of Google's videos this year:

My favorite quote is the straight-faced

"I think the people who will be best served by Gmail Tap are people with fat fingers."

To download the app and for more information, go to Google, and for more of Google's technological innovations for 2012, enjoy HuffPo's roundup.

Welch vs. welsh

2012-03-19T13:46:00.003-07:00

The copy editor is in.
I'm presenting occasional posts on the use of English,
not to be pedantic but just for the fun of language.

Ok, I'm going to enlighten you as to the correct phrase for accusing someone of skipping on a bet, and then we all have to agree not to use it.

The fact is, both "welch" and "welsh" as verbs have a similarly long history, but etymologies track both back to suspecting residents of Wales of being cheaters.

According to the OED, the term "welsher" was being published at least as early as the 1850s in racing parlance, and welsh and welch developed from there, not long after. If I had to choose, I'd say "welsh on a bet" is the more accurate form (as opposed to "welch on a bet"), if by accurate we're not referring to how well it describes the actual Welsh.

I love that the OED and Merriam-Webster label this use "sometimes considered offensive." I guess whether you consider it offensive depends (a) whether you know what it means (I'm sure a lot of Americans assume it has something to do with grape juice) and (b) whether you're Welsh. I remember when I first learned it was "welsh" and not "welch" that I thought, "Well, that can't be right. Because isn't that saying people from Wales are all cheaters? … Ohhh."

I think we can put this one in the vault wherein reside other disparaging terms leveled at a whole people group. Wales is such a green and lovely country that it deserves better. How about "skipped on a bet"?

Requested by Teresa of Mom Grooves.
Feel free to let me know your conundrums or pet peeves.

Publish your blog on Kindle

2012-03-12T07:00:00.001-07:00

Want to offer your blog subscription for sale on Amazon? It's easy and free.

Why put your blog on the Kindle?

Some people read blogs on Kindle or other wireless ebook devices. For a subscription fee of 99 cents (U.S.), these readers can have your blog automatically downloaded to their devices every time you update with a new post.

You split the fee with Amazon. And by "split," I mean they get 70% and you get 30%. Hey, it's something, right?

This program is currently open only to those with a bank account in the United States and United Kingdom.

How do you publish your blog on Kindle?

Glad you asked. (You're so helpful that way.) Simply go to Amazon's Kindle Publishing sign-up page and follow the instructions there.

If you don't have a Kindle Publishing account, you'll need to create one.

This is not the same login as any other of your Amazon accounts (whether for buying or selling). I don't know why that is, but so it goes. So create a new account.

You'll need to give your IRS and bank account info for all the sweet moolah you'll be raking in. Again, this is open right now only to U.S. and UK bank account holders.
Click on "Add Blog."
Click images to embiggen.

Witness the fabulous numbers of Kindle subscribers I have!
Don't be jealous.
The next page will bring you through setting up your blog for Kindle publishing. It's just a single page to fill out. You'll need the following information:
- Your blog's RSS feed
- Your blog's title & description to show on Amazon's page for you
- A screenshot of your blog. To take one, open your blog to a pretty post and resize your browser window as large as possible to show as much of your blog as you can. I also turn off toolbars to get as much screen real estate as possible.
  - On a Mac, press Command-Shift-4. The cursor will become a little target thing. You can draw a nice rectangle around as much of your blog as is showing on your screen. When you release, a screenshot will have been captured and be placed on your desktop as a png file.
  - On a PC, follow these instructions from Amazon.
- Your masthead/banner as an image file. Go to your blog, and on a PC right-click on your banner image at the top or on a Mac hit control-click, and then on either choose Save File As… and save the image to your computer somewhere you can find it.
- Other blog information, such as language, categories, and posting frequency.
- Your blog keywords. Consider what terms might help a reader find your blog in an Amazon search.

Here I am filling in my info for LaurenWayne.com. Click images to embiggen.

Once you're satisfied with your entries, click Generate Blog Preview.

Make sure everything looks the way you want it to.
Then Publish Blog to Kindle!

It can take a little while for your blog to go live on Kindle. Just keep obsessively checking back. That's what I do.
If you ever need to edit your information or upload a new screenshot, simply log in to the main page and click your blog's title in the list under Your Blogs.

Added!

I'm trying to add reviews of blogs I love that are on Kindle. If yours is up there, please add it to my Kindle linky.

And I would love it dearly if you would 5-star review Hobo Mama or Lauren Wayne (once it's live) on Amazon if you like them!

Is your blog published on Kindle? Has anyone subscribed to it there?

Cardshark vs. cardsharp

2012-03-05T05:00:00.000-08:00

The copy editor is in.
I'm presenting occasional posts on the use of English,
not to be pedantic but just for the fun of language.

This is one that people like to fight me on, but it's cardsharp. I don't doubt that enough people use cardshark now that it will become just as acceptable sooner or later. (Language is ever evolving, and it's a very democratic process.)

Sharp and shark as negative nouns actually probably both stem from the same root, sharker. Certainly the idea of a metaphorical shark being one who preys on others (witness loan shark and lawyer jokes) is well established. But sharp is more defined as an expert and/or a cheat, both of which relate more narrowly to card games.

Pawn off vs. palm off

2012-02-27T05:00:00.000-08:00

The copy editor is in.
I'm presenting occasional posts on the use of English,
not to be pedantic but just for the fun of language.

If you're trying to hand off an unpleasant task or an unwanted object, you're palming it off. ("I'm trying to palm off the lawn mowing onto my little brother.") I imagine it as referring to a sneaky roadside magician, or maybe a pickpocket who's trying to incriminate you — the idea is that something is concealed in the palm and then foisted onto someone else.

Pawning is the act of putting merchandise up as security for a quick loan. I'm not saying it doesn't relate at all to the way "palming off" is often used, since you very well might pawn an unwanted object, but it's not the same term.

Whether someone palms or pawns something terrible off onto you, though, you're screwed. See what I did there?

As with many other phrases like this, though, I hear "pawn off" so much more frequently than "palm off" that I have to imagine it's only a matter of time before the former is the more accepted variation.

Hone in vs. home in

2012-02-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

The copy editor is in.
I'm going to present occasional posts on the use of English,
not to be pedantic but just for the fun of language.

Here's a pair of words I hear confused a lot: hone vs. home, used in the phrase "to home in on something."

And that way I used it in the phrase? That's the real way.

See, "hone" means to sharpen, whereas "home" refers to — you might have guessed this — home. So, for instance, carrier pigeons home, in that they fly back to their base after delivering a message (or however the heck carrier pigeons work — how do they work?). So if you want to focus on something, you might be honing your concentration, but you will be homing in on your goal.

I don't doubt that "hone in" will soon pass into the usage books as an acceptable variant, but for now it's better to "home."

How to send from multiple email addresses in one Gmail account

2012-02-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

You now know how to log into multiple Gmail accounts at once and forward other Gmail addresses to a single account.

The next step in our Gmail simplification program is to look like you're still responding to emails from multiple accounts, even though they're really all consolidated.

1. Go into your Gmail Settings.

Click on the gear icon toward the upper righthand corner of your Gmail screen (located underneath your profile icon or name). In the drop-down menu that appears, select "Settings."

2. Go to "Send mail as" settings.

Click images to embiggen.

Select "Accounts and Import" along the top tabs in Settings.

Scroll to "Send mail as:" and select "Add another email address you own."

3. Add another email address.

This will take you to a popup window, and you simply follow the steps.

The name field will be filled in with the name you signed up under for the Gmail account, but you can change it to whatever you want. Enter the email address in its field.

"Treat as an alias" is a new option to me. Gmail help has some more info about it to help you choose.

You can also specify a different reply-to address. For instance, if you're sending from answers {at} yoursite, but you want people to reply to questions {at} yoursite so you can filter them into a special folder, you could specify that here. Just a small warning, not all email systems are compatible with specifying alias email addresses, so a separate reply-to address might not work all the time, either.

I always leave the first, default option selected on this screen, to send through Gmail. Is it ok to admit I don't know much about SMTP or when you'd want to use it? If you don't know either, it's probably safe to assume you want the first option, too.

Obviously, send the verification, and then click on the verification link once it arrives.

4. Choose your settings for "Send mail as."

Click images to embiggen.

Now go back into your Accounts and Import settings. Under "Send mail as" again, decide how you want your alternate addresses' replies to function under "When replying to a message." I select Reply from the same address the message was sent to." That tends to simplify things for me, but you can also have it go to your default address. I've done that previously when I was trying to get everyone writing me at one particular address instead of a hodgepodge of other addresses I'd given out over the years.

Speaking of which, select which one you want to function as your default address by clicking "make default" next to it. The default address will be the one that's automatically chosen whenever you start composing a new email that's not a reply, and it can also be used as above if you always want to reply from it.

5. Configure your signatures for each address.

Click images to embiggen.

If you like having a signature, you can customize a separate sig for each email address. Still under settings, go to "General" in the tabs across the top and then scroll down to "Signature." Select that you want to have a signature, and then click on the address bar there to pop open the menu of all available addresses. You can choose to have signatures for some addresses and not for others, simply by leaving those ones blank. I like to emphasize which identity I'm writing from by rearranging the links in my signature to put the most relevant ones up first.

6. Use your alternate email addresses.

Well, this is the whole point, of course! When you're in the Compose screen, whether you're replying to someone or not, you can always select which email address you want to use. Next to "From," you'll find the same pop-open menu to click on and choose which address you prefer. As you scroll through, you'll see your signature (if you have one) change for each selection.

Pick the email address you want, and start writing!

Notes:

Not all email clients interacting with Gmail recognize alias addresses. I will occasionally receive email responses sent to hobomama {at} gmail (the lowest-level account address) even though I'd sent my email from, for instance, mail {at} laurenwayne.com. For this reason, I suggest not using this function if it's absolutely vital that your addresses/identities stay separate. For instance, if you never, ever want your work contacts to know your personal address (due to security or privacy reasons), I would continue to use separate Gmail accounts.
This Gmail function presupposes that you have permission to use the email addresses you are specifying, and access to any accounts needed to receive the verification code.
If you have a domain name address (such as, webmaster {at} yoursite {dot} com), you might need to first set up your preferences for such email aliases and email forwarding with your domain host.
More info on adding alternate addresses is available in Google Help.

Do I have too many email addresses? Do you? As always, I welcome any suggestions and questions in the comments.

How to forward email to another Gmail account

2012-02-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

As I discussed in "How to log into multiple Google accounts," it is possible to have multiple Gmail windows open in the same browser.

However, it can be even easier for you to have all your Gmail come to a single account, assuming it's prudent to combine them.

For my needs, I have several Gmail addresses that I need to check that all relate to my blogging: my main hobomama Gmail account, mail forwarded from my personal domains (such as {at} LaurenWayne.com), and mail sent to various addresses {at} NaturalParentsNetwork.com (CarNatPar, Lauren, Advertising). Before combining these, I had to log into each Gmail account separately to read the messages, even though it's entirely appropriate to combine them all into a single account for the purposes of checking my inbox and sending replies.

(Note that I've kept my personal email separate, however. I figure that might lead to too much confusion, so I check it separately.)

Here's how you can check multiple Gmail accounts under one login:

1. Go to your Gmail settings of the account you do NOT want to log into from now on.

Click on the gear icon toward the upper righthand corner of your Gmail screen (located underneath your profile icon or name). In the drop-down menu that appears, select "Settings."

What I mean by "the account you do not want to log into" is, this is the account you'll be forwarding mail out of, to flow into the account you'd prefer to check. So right now, set up the forwarding in the reject account.

2. Configure your email forwarding FROM that account.

Click images to embiggen.

Select "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" from the tabs along the top of Settings.

Click "Add a forwarding address" and do so. It will send a confirmation code to the forwarding address, so now you have to log into that account to receive it.

Confirm the code with the first (reject) account. You can click the link in the email Gmail sent you, or there is a box on that same page that will read "Verify [email address]" with a box for the confirmation code. (Will all this require some logging in/out and back-and-forth? Perhaps, if you haven't enabled multiple log-in, or you're forwarding to a non-Gmail account. But it will save you time in the future, so keep on!)

Select "Forward a copy of incoming mail to," and the address you've confirmed should now be in your drop-down menu of forwarding addresses.

Choose what to do with mail forwarded out of this account. Do you want it kept in the inbox, marked as read, archived, or deleted? To keep things tidy but preserve copies in case I choose to separate the accounts in the future, I choose "archive Gmail's copy." What you choose here will affect only the emails as they exist in this account, not as they appear when forwarded. In other words, I selected "archive," but the forwarded emails still appear unread and in my inbox in the preferred account.

3. Ta da!

I don't have another step. I just feel like good tutorials come in threes.

Speaking of which, stay tuned for tomorrow's tutorial: on sending from multiple email addresses, the next logical step in your Gmail account simplification!

Is it just me, or do you also have too many Gmail accounts? Leave any suggestions and questions in the comments.

How to log into multiple Google accounts

2012-02-15T22:27:00.000-08:00

Two Gmail accounts open in the same browser simultaneously,
with no computers exploding

If you want to check multiple Gmail accounts or access (some) other Google accounts without logging in and out or opening a new browser, here's a tutorial to show you the easy way to handle this.

All you need to do is enable multiple sign-in and then sign in to each account, switching among them as needed.

1. Enable multiple sign-in for Google accounts within your web browser.

Go to https://accounts.google.com/b/0/MultipleSessions, select "On - Use multiple Google Accounts in the same web browser," and save.

2. Log into another account.

For most Google products, look in the top righthand corner to find a little down arrow next to your profile icon (if you have one) or your login email address. When you click the arrow, the drop-down menu above will appear. Click on "Switch account."

Presumably you will see yourself signed into only one account, marked "default." Click "Sign in to another account…" to do just that.

3. Switch back and forth between the accounts and add in others.

Yes, it's the same picture again.
Whichever account you're using in that window will have the checkmark next to it and be bolded. Click on a different account to switch to it.

Notes:

This works with Gmail/Google accounts as well as Google Apps accounts that are on a personal domain, such as my lauren {at} naturalparentsnetwork {dot} com address.
Multiple sign-in currently works with a number of Google products, including: Calendar, Docs (Google Apps accounts only), Gmail, Google+, Groups, iGoogle, Maps, Reader, Voice, YouTube, and more. The full list is available in the help section.
The first account you use to sign in will be your default account during that session until you log out of all accounts. If you open a new window for Gmail, for instance, it will load your default account and you'll need to switch to any alternate account you want to see.
If you log out in any Google product, you will be signed out of all your accounts across Google simultaneously.
If you visit Google products that don't support multiple sign-in, that product will automatically sign in to your default account.

Multiple Google accounts on a smartphone

Google presupposes that you're using these products on your computer/desktop, but I've found Gmail and iGoogle on my phone support multiple sign-in as well, handy since Sam and I share a phone but need to check both email accounts.

Here's an article showing how to log into multiple Gmail accounts on a smartphone, which includes a helpful screenshot showing how multiple sign-in is accessed through the menu at the bottom of the Gmail screen.

How well does multiple sign-in work for you? Leave your tips or questions in the comments.

How to tag Facebook pages from your fan page

2012-02-14T15:03:00.000-08:00

I'm banned from Facebook for today due to suspected malware violations,¹ which means I'll write about Facebook from afar.

Here's an(other) Facebook issue that was bugging me for months: I didn't seem to have the ability to tag other Facebook pages from my own fan pages.

So, for instance, I'd be on my Hobo Mama Facebook page and want to @ another fabulous fan page, and sometimes it would let me, but mostly it wouldn't.

I clicked around online, trying to find a fix, but nothing seemed to help. Until … I combined advice I received with one other crucial step: waiting a bit.

So, here is my two-step process to tag any page from your Facebook fan page. (Note that this doesn't work to tag people or personal profiles, as that doesn't seem to be a fan page functionality.)

1. "Like" the pages you want to tag as your Facebook page.

Here's how to do that:

Facebook defaults to letting you use Facebook as your personal profile, in my case Lauren Wayne. If you go up to the righthand corner and click the down-arrow next to Home, you'll see you can select alternatively to "Use Facebook as:" and then select any page of which you're an admin.
Once you click on the page you want to use, it will automatically redirect you to that page (such as, Hobo Mama). You'll then need to renavigate back to the page you want to like.
Click "like" on the page you wanted to tag. Ta-da!

I find little value in regularly using Facebook as my page, because it cuts down on what you can do on Facebook (such as visit your friends' profiles, post to private group pages, or chat²).
Also, if you "like" a page as a person, that page's fan count goes up. If you "like" it as a page, too, it does not.
After you're done liking a page as your page, you can click the arrow to go back to using Facebook as a person again as you wish.

2. Wait awhile.

Yep, this was the crucial second step I was missing. I heard about step #1 and tried it, but it still didn't work. Then I came back another day and tried to tag some of those pages — and it did work! So it apparently just takes a bit of time for Facebook to catch on to the changes you've made. I haven't timed how long it takes, but it seems to be within an hour or so, so check back. If I know I'm going to want to tag something soon, I try to "like" it right away as my page so it will be ready when I go to tag.

That's all!

Click here to Tweet this post!

Has this worked for you to tag other fan pages from your Facebook page? Any other tips or tricks to add?

1 I have run my Mac security update but they won't let me back in for 24 hours. I'm not sure how not letting me post even a comment for 24 hours protects people from malware, but then again, I'm one of those smug people on a Mac.^↩
2 I was trying to confirm what access is limited, but did I mention I'm banned from Facebook? So this is just going off my memory and a best guess.^↩

Sunday Surf: Security, insecurity, and fun new tools

2012-02-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

Links to share, from Writing Tidbits:

Diagramly - Draw Diagrams Online

Need to diagram a plot or your thinking process? Free online tool for flow charts and other visual thinking.

(Source: anktangle.com)

1 DAY AGO

writing plotting brainstorming diagrams

Click to Tweet | The easy, tweet about this link generator

Here’s the service that lets you specify a phrase to tweet.

3 DAYS AGO - 2

twitter marketing 2 notes

Twitter Tool: ClickToTweet.com

Invite readers to tweet a specific phrase or quote from your post with an easy tool.

(via Julia)

3 DAYS AGO

twitter marketing

Here's a sample in action. Click here (http://clicktotweet.com/6f3y9) to autofill the following Tweet for this post: Helpful #blogging links from Lauren Wayne (@Hobo_Mama): http://www.laurenwayne.com/2012/02/sunday-surf-security-insecurity-and-fun.html #SundaySurf

What Writers Need to Know About Formatting (FAQs) | WritersDigest.com

Compilation of manuscript formatting FAQs

2 WEEKS AGO

manuscripts formatting publishing submissions

How to Use a Password Generator to Create Secure Passwords — carrie actually

Secure your passwords!

3 WEEKS AGO

passwords internet security

Top 10 FAQs - SCBWI

Frequently asked questions about children’s book publishing from the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators.

3 WEEKS AGO - 1

writing children's books picture books publishing scbwi 1 note

The Writing Life: My "Duh" Moment

On how accomplishing some goal doesn’t change your day-to-day life.

I remember talking to a writer friend who had a series of books published and was under contract for more. He still had a day job. We asked when he might be able to give that up. He laughed. Heartily.

Ah, well. And to us he was living the dream!

1 MONTH AGO

writing goals publishing

#NaNoProgMo January 2012: Week 1

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

I told myself I'd be better about making periodic progress posts for NaNoProgMo this time around. Easy enough, considering I haven't been making any progress!

Ok, that's not strictly true: I'm 1 hour into my 15-hour goal. Still, I haven't been working on my writing every day as I've meant to. I think setting my goal so low this month has made me feel like I can get behind, because catching up will be relatively easy. I was hoping I wouldn't take my half-hour a day as a maximum but as a minimum to get my momentum going. Um … yeah … I should have known me better.

Well, there's always next month!

I'm feeling discouraged about my mystery novel, the one I thought was almost finished last NaNoProgMo. I'm having Sam read it through for his second time after major revisions. I thought he might have some thoughts for tightening it up.

Well, be careful what you ask for, because he's only a third or so in, and he's already given me ideas for changing the whole direction of the novel.

I don't want to look a gift ~~horse~~ editor in the mouth, but holy crap. It's enough to make me want to throw in the towel and start a new book. (As if that would be easier.) Here I thought I could get published this year. Whom'm I kidding?

I know in the end it's my book and I can choose to take or leave what I'm given with respect to revisions. That said, I knew there were issues with it that I wanted to resolve. I just thought I could resolve them without rewriting the whole stinking thing. Makes me want to burn it, if indeed, it were on something flammable instead of a glowing screen.

I should, then, be working on the NPN Cloth Diapering book. And I will. Eventually. I guess I'm feeling uninspired in general, and of course NaNoProgMo's supposed to cut through that baloney by saying, "You're waiting for an engraved invitation from your Muse? Get typing, doofus."

I think just writing this is kicking my butt into gear, so yea for a no-progress report!

We'd love to have more of you join us for National Novel Progress Month again this month! Sign up on the linky here. Remember, you can sign up for as little or as much progress as you choose — don't let life stand in the way of following your passion to write.

(I'm one to talk, right?)

How are you all doing? Slogging through or stalling or sprinting ahead?
What do you do with a project when you feel like running screaming from it?

The ambition of a writer who's also a mother

2012-01-04T02:06:00.000-08:00

Up through my twenties, I had very little ambition. I mean, I wanted to be a novelist someday, but it wasn't urgent. I had no drive to make money, or impress people, or achieve much of anything.

For reasons beyond my understanding, that all changed when I started blogging. Mikko was three months old when I started Hobo Mama. Especially as the blog grew, I discovered in myself a passion to make something of myself, to be professional, to be taken seriously as a writer.

And yet, even now, even still, four and a half years later, I wrestle with that tension: ambition vs. motherhood, writing vs. parenting, success vs. fear. It's hard to say which will win, at any given moment and over time.

When I blog and when I work on my novel and other projects, or even when I do the business taxes for our family or work on my sewing, I feel the age-old guilt of a mother otherwise engaged. I am not paying attention to my children. I am devoting myself to something other.

But I also feel the spark of that other within me driving me on, compelling me to create, to do, to pursue. When I let it go for a time, I feel stagnant. But when I fall too headlong into it, it becomes repellant to me — what I become seems repellant to me.

Where does this tension come from?

I have to blame some of it on the inherent misogyny of our culture, that says women are not meant to have ambition, that mothers especially are created to be content with their narrow lot in life, raising other people to pursue dreams instead and watching them flourish. I reject this even as I am steeped in it, like black tea, and cannot scrub the cultural stain of it out of myself as easily as splashing myself with the clear water of more modern thought.

Some of it also is truth: I have children because I want to. I am married because I love my partner. I am part of a real-life community that is important to me. I don't want to sacrifice them all on the altar of my work. I do want time for them, and balance.

But I'm amazed and dismayed at how often I feel sheepish about my ambition, even within myself. I self-published a book of parenting poetry and have hardly promoted it. It was a lark, I've told myself, a print-on-demand experiment. No biggie. But others I talk to speak of it with reverence: "You have your own book," they'll say. And I'll question why I am not as impressed with my successes as they are. In how many ways like this do I sell myself short, see myself as less than, present myself to the world as not to be taken seriously?

Why does the idea of being taken seriously scare me so much?

My husband has given up a lot, and graciously, willingly, to allow me time to write and blog. I have little financially concrete to show for it. He doesn't care, but I'm embarrassed by it. It's culturally acceptable, I know, for a woman to have a hobby that nets her some pin money while the man pulls in the bucks they live on, but this doesn't seem fair to me, or in line with what I want for our partnership.

What is my measure of success when it comes to my blogging or writing? What if in ten years I've earned not a penny more from my writing, but I have a large and caring online community around me still? Is that failure? What if I haven't sold my novels but have enjoyed the writing? Is that humiliation? What will my children think as they grow if I've worked nearly full-time hours on writing and that's the result? Will they be proud regardless? Will I be proud of myself?

For now, I live in the tension. The woman who strives to be professional but dabbles in self-deprecation, the mother who yearns for external success but knows that success can also be measured in diapers changed and bedtime stories read, the writer who puts one word and then another on the screen.

What holds you back from following your ambitions? How do you balance your passions with your responsibilities?

NaNoProgMo: Ready to make some more progress on your novel?

2011-12-31T07:31:00.000-08:00

Hosted by Lauren from LaurenWayne.com / Hobo Mama
and Teresa from Write On, Mom! / Mom Grooves

Well, I don't know about you, but December for me went into a big black hole of holiday festivities. But it's almost the New Year, and you know what that means: time to resolve to start working on your writing again!

I'd like to celebrate what our NaNoProgMos did in November, and invite you to continue making progress with us in January!

Impressive November progress

Here are the writerly participants who joined us for our November journey and their respective daily goals:

1. Lauren @ LaurenWayne. com / Hobo Mama = 2 hrs per dayVisit
2. Tree @ Mom Grooves . com / Write On! Mom = 1 hr. per day finishing novelVisit
3. Stephen @ Poptrope . net = 1 hr. per day finishing novelVisit
4. Zoie @ TouchstoneZ - 30 minutes per dayVisit
5. Moorea@ Mamalady- 30per dayVisit
6. From My Mind to the Page: 1 hr per dayVisit
7. Lisa @ My World Edenwild = 15 min/day or moreVisit
8. Renae - 1 hour per dayVisit

Lauren @ LaurenWayne. com / Hobo Mama = 2 hrs per dayVisit

Tree @ Mom Grooves . com / Write On! Mom = 1 hr. per day finishing novelVisit

Stephen @ Poptrope . net = 1 hr. per day finishing novelVisit

Zoie @ TouchstoneZ - 30 minutes per dayVisit

Moorea@ Mamalady- 30per dayVisit

From My Mind to the Page: 1 hr per dayVisit

Lisa @ My World Edenwild = 15 min/day or moreVisit

Renae - 1 hour per dayVisit

Here are some results and updates from all of us, as I could find them, in order as above:

Lauren @ LaurenWayne. com / Hobo Mama = 2 hrs per day: 60.25 hours. I made it! I can hardly believe it, but I worked over 60 hours on my mystery novel and the NPN cloth diapering book in November. Here are some posts I wrote about the experience:

Progress on NaNoProgMo: Halfway or two-thirds? — what I learned about faling headlong into the world of my novel, the dearth of description, and the fear of failure
#NaNoProgMo: Stop talking and do it:

I'm 2 hours from the end of my goal on this last day, so barring major malfunctions (pray not), I'm confident I'll complete my 60-hour editing goal for November. It wasn't glamorous, but every day I sat at my computer, and I did it. I put in my time, and I made progress.
…
So, wherever you are in your progress today, I encourage you to figure out what you want — what you really, really want, right now — and do it. One foot in front of the other, in as little or as much time as you can commit, make tangible progress toward your goal.

This is mine, and I'm owning it:

Tree @ Mom Grooves.com / Write On! Mom = 1 hr. per day finishing novel: 6.5 hours. Woot!

NaNoProgMo…. How’s your “Prog”?:

I want to encourage everyone participating with us for NaNoProgMo (or anyone who wants to start now!) to pick up your proverbial pen and finish the month writing. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or have not done so far. I doubt anyone can be as far behind as I am, so let’s bring up the rear together!
NaNoProgMo and Beyond!:

I came nowhere near my goal, and that bums me out. However, I’m not one to dwell on the negative and I’m really good at praising the tiniest victory in myself, so I give this month a huge thumbs up. I’ve re-connected with my novel and we’d been estranged for oh so long.
…
What’s pertinent is this. Progress will continue. My novel lives, my writer self lives. Time to settle into the long term care and feeding of both.

I love that last thought! That's what progress is all about — nurturing the writer that you are.

Here's your certificate, Tree!

Stephen @ Poptrope.net = 1 hr. per day finishing novel — how did it go for you, Stephen?

No matter what, you have earned your certificate!

Zoie @ TouchstoneZ - 30 minutes per day — who was also doing NaBloPoMo, where you post on your blog once a day!

Going off Balance on Purpose:

The NaNoProgMo experiment proved to be about half editing and half writing. When I’m tired, I dislike editing with the fire of a thousand suns. And guess what time of night (er, early morning) I was editing? So, if I’m counting hours spent on my book in dog years (which I’m going to because I was a really b*tching during the process) then this puppy far exceeded expectations.

I feel that there’s the possibility of completing this book one day. Although, I’m planning to put it aside for awhile to work on other ideas, I leave it knowing I’m capable of working on it when I want to.
…
I went completely off-balance this month. On purpose. I’ve breathed words, but haven’t lived them enough. I’ve exhaled, but not done enough inhaling. It’s time to return to center, pause and look around, enjoy some deep, full breaths and return to life again.
Lots of good stuff in this post — I recommend a full read, because I was tempted to quote the whole thing.

Grab your certificate, Zoie!

Moorea @ Mamalady- 30 per day

Spread Thin- But Plump with Photos:

In case you didn’t know, I am fervently writing two books: a memoir and how-to. and November is also NaNoProgMo (progress on your book month)- so of course I am doing that, splitting the time between my two books. I will leave out the details there because it is rather bad luck in writing to tell too much about your unfinished manuscripts but I will just say : sleep and potty.

Rock on, Moorea!

From My Mind to the Page: 1 hr per day: 161,000 words written in November and December. Incredible!

THE ICARUS PROJECT: a novel in the works…:

I started writing this story for the 2011 NaNoWriMo…a month of writing frenzy. As the entire NaNoWriMo writing process is dedicated to writing and not editing please bear with typos and potential story inconsistencies…sometimes the characters have a mind to change the story from the beginning to the end.
…
The story is finished…on 21 December…

Such an accomplishment. Hope this helps you celebrate:

Lisa @ My World Edenwild = 15 min/day or more: 7.5 hours. Woohoo!

November Revisited:

November, as I predicted, was a hectic month. I still needed to dedicate a month to working on my novel (as per my “accomplish 2010 list” you will see on my sidebar), and since November is National Novel Writing Month, and Teresa and Lauren came up with National Novel “Progress” Month (NaNoProgMo), I decided I would join in on the novel writing dedication, even though I knew that November was my busy time of year for photography sessions (“busy” meaning that whereas normally I get one photo session per every few months, in November I will get three photo sessions in one week! Just the one week, mind you…).

Happily, I found one Saturday early in the month where I was able to spend about 7 hours reviewing and reworking earlier chapters of my book, fulfilling most of my goal for the challenge, and getting the rest in small intervals, until I got slammed with the photography work. The photography work I am grateful for. …

You win, Lisa!

Renae - 1 hour per day

Adding more tasks to my writerly to-do list.:

Many of us are doing NaBloPoMo. I discovered a fledgling movement to start a National Novel Progress Month. I LOVE this idea. Even though there isn’t much time left in November, I jumped in. I hope the group decides to continue in the upcoming months.
And we're glad you did!
National Blog Post Month ends in less than 60 minutes.:

I’m hoping to participate in National Novel Progress Month for December, and beyond. Even if the group doesn’t tackle the task again, I will absolutely set a goal for myself and track my progress.

Oh. I know one more thing:

BONUS THOUGHT) I will be writing – something, somewhere – tomorrow. Because that’s what I do.

So. That’s it. Congratulations to everyone who finished any of the November writing challenges. And congratulations to everyone who tried.

You're inspiring me, Renae! Here's a big congrats:

November NaNoProgMos: If you have anything to add, let me know! I meant to start this article a bazillion years ago and contact you all personally to find out how things went, but, um, that didn't happen. See above about December re: black hole. I really am super impressed with all that you accomplished and hope you'll keep on making progress!

Join us in January!

I'm heartened and excited by what we accomplished in one short month. I love that we're keeping on keeping on, and seeing those word counts blossom and knowing this truth deep in our bones: We are writers.

Please join us for January 2012 for another round of National Novel Progress Month. Sign up on the linky below and let us know how much time you pledge to spend making progress on your writing.

You choose how much time you spend this month on writing. We find it easiest to pledge an amount per day, though you could break it up differently if you know you have one hour every weekend to devote. Your amount per day can be a fraction of an hour or multiple hours, whatever you find achievable. You are allowed to catch up if you fall behind. And, frankly, you're allowed to fail! Just do your best to make progress, and we'll be alongside doing the same.

Goodies

Progress Certificate
If you rocked it with us in November, download or grab your free progress certificate now! They're featured below your name above, in case you somehow scrolled past and missed them…

Here's a blank one if you didn't sign up on the linky but want your prize!

Or if you let me know, I can make one just for you!

NaNoProgMo Gifts
A huge thank you to Teresa for the amazing gifts from Rock Paper Tree she sent out to every November participant! I know I feel inspired by my writer's crystal and so appreciate the thoughtfulness. Thank you!

Stay tuned for prizes to come…

Progress Meter
Teresa found this excellent free progress ticker source:

Ticker Factory

Here's mine, refreshed & ready to go:

Choose an Exercise Ticker as the type.
Enter your own password/pin, put in Hours for Units, enter your current progress, and put in your target for the whole month (e.g., if you chose 1 hour/day, you'd put 30 hours for the month). Your Message is whatever you want to title your ticker, so put something NaNoProgMo-inspirational!
Pick your ticker & slider designs. Click on the numbers along the bottom to see all the designs available.
On the last screen, you'll get the HTML code to add to your site in a post or a sidebar!
Go back to Ticker Factory daily to update your total, and enjoy seeing your progress!
If you used Ticker Factory last time, just wipe clean your hours and reset your goal, OR make a new ticker — your choice. If you wipe it clean and reset, you might want a screenshot first to save the memory of your progress!

Button
Show off your NaNoProgMo participation with one of our cute buttons! Here are a few options for you:

Blog post size:

200 pixel wide button:

150 pixel wide button:

FAQ

What if it's after January 1, and you still want to join in? Then do it! Any time you spend working on your novel is worth it, right? And I'm sure we'll all still have more work to do in future months, too!

Why January? Why not? If January doesn't work for you, maybe you can catch us in another month soon! But our feeling on writing your novel is that the best time to do it is now.

Why "national"? We're mirroring NaNoWriMo on this one. We welcome everyone from any nation!

Why novel writing? We say novel, but you're free to choose another project if it's on your heart. I just recommend that you don't make it a project you would have done anyway, like how blogging is for me, but to reach into that drawer of abandoned manuscripts and pick one that really needs the love.

What if you get behind? Make up your hours on another day — or just move ahead. Whatever works for you! We know most of us who'll be doing this are parents and writers. We simply want to use the power of community to motivate all of us to take our writing seriously, and have a little fun in the process!

If you have questions to add or suggestions to offer, comment!

Get started!

Sign up on the linky to let us know you're traveling along!

You can include your name (optional) or pseudonym, blog name (optional), time per day or per month you're pledging, and what you're working on (optional). If you have a blog to link to, we'd love to visit you. If you don't, feel free to put in my blog URL as a placeholder.

On January 1, we begin, again.

Let's make some progress, together!

How to support bloggers

2011-12-24T13:29:00.000-08:00

Want to make your favorite bloggers happy? There are many ways you can support your must-read bloggers and show you value their writing that won't cost you a penny. There are other ways that cost you some money but are cents well spent.

Is this a self-serving post? Well, as much as I appreciate any support for little ol' me, I also use the techniques below to support my own favorite bloggers! I hope this can be a resource for all of us to spread the love around to the writers we admire.

I'll also include three linkies for anyone who's interested in linking up or supporting those who do:

One for blogs on Kindle
One for blogger-run businesses
One for affiliate links from relevant bloggers

Read on for the linkies and more information!

Comment

This is probably the most important way to show you care — and one of the most natural. If you read a post that resonates with you, say so! If you have a follow-up question, ask it. If you have a different perspective to offer, do so gently. If you have advice to share, most bloggers will appreciate it. There are commenting challenges, such as at Adventures in Mommyhood and IComLeavWe, which makes it fun to join the crowd in commenting. But even apart from those, you can make it your own little mission to spread some comment bliss. Writers love to know there are readers out there.

Email

Even more direct than a comment, sending a note of encouragement and appreciation can mean so much to a blogger.

Promote blogs on your blog

If you have a website, put other bloggers' buttons in your sidebar or on a special page. Add their URLs to your blogroll.

Connect

Follow your favorite bloggers on Facebook, Networked Blogs, Google Friend Connect, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, Flickr … wherever you are that they are, too. Interact with them on the sites that are meaningful to you. This is beneficial for you in that you get to build more connections with the writers you like, and it makes your beloved bloggers feel the warmth of your presence.

Social media-ify posts

Pass around the posts you enjoy. Share them on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, etc. — whatever will get some more eyes on the article. (This can help build your own community of like-minded folk as well!)

Link back

Write posts building off what someone wrote that interested you. Participate in link-love pursuits like blogging carnivals. Share relevant articles in a link round-up like Sunday Surf. If a subject comes up in a post and you know someone else who wrote about it, link away. Bloggers always appreciate good linkage!

Link up

If bloggers offer a linky for Wordless Wednesday, giveaways, or bloghops, join in! Fill up those linkies and make a blogger feel popular.

Click on their ads

Only if you're interested, of course, but if you see an interesting ad in their sidebar or in their feed, click through and check it out. Those clicks are being tracked by someone, and it can help boost their revenue (as with Adsense) or their reputation with the advertiser.

Review their blogs or products — with Kindle linky!

If bloggers have products online (like a poetry book) or have
their blogs on Kindle, a lovely thing to do is write a nice review (if you like it and it's in a reviewable place). This goes for Etsy and eBay sellers as well, or even places like Yelp or Facebook place reviews if it's a local business. It can take a little time to write something up, but it makes a big difference in alerting other people to what you love about this blog or its related products, and it gives a huge boost to the blogger you're reviewing.

Is your blog on Kindle? I'm making my way through reviewing the blogs I love, and I'm sure others would like to do the same. Link up if you have a blog on Kindle. Put the link directly to your Kindle blog page. (I reserve the right to delete from the linky blogs that would not be of interest to my readers here or at Hobo Mama.)

Become an affiliate

If your favorite bloggers have an affiliate program for something they sell, sign up! Post a button in your sidebar for the product, and include your affiliate link when you write about the item (and you should write about it if you like it!).

Enter their giveaways

As with linkies, bloggers appreciate multiple entries for giveaways they're hosting — and they want their sponsors to feel the love, too. Check out the prizes bloggers you know are offering, and take a minute or two to enter ones you're interested in.

These next ideas require money to participate, but it can still be worth it and not mean a lot (or, in some cases, anything) extra out of your pocket. Read on:

Subscribe to blogs through Kindle

If you have a Kindle and want to keep up with your blogs conveniently, paying 99 cents for a blog will subscribe you, and a portion of that will go back to the blogger you like.

Pay to visit

There are a couple sites that let you "tip" the writers you enjoy. I found out about Kachingle because someone's graciously been Kachingling me. (Who it is is anonymous to me, so thank you, whoever you are!) Basically, it's an online tipping service. You put $5 a month into a blog-reading kitty, and then you divide that $5 among the sites you visit. You can read more about it on Kachingle, add your site if you're interested, and pay in $5 a month if you want to start giving some much-appreciated micropayments back to others. Flattr is a similar version based in Europe that speaks in Euros if that's more comfortable for you.

Donate

Some bloggers have donation buttons set up, through PayPal or other means. If you're willing to give a tip directly, send some money their way. Another idea to support bloggers is by sending them gifts. Sometimes a blogger will put up a book list or other sort of gift registry, but even if they don't, gift certificates or small gifts that show you care are always welcome.

Purchase a blogger's products — with business linky!

Many bloggers are also entrepreneurs in other ways, running their own shops (on Etsy, eBay, Hyena Cart, or their own websites) or selling other products and services (ebooks, patterns, mp3s, courses, podcasts, coaching, etc.). If you're in the market for a product they offer, why not buy directly from them? I did some of my Christmas and baby gift shopping through sellers I know — you get a custom present that way with a personal touch.

If you have an online small business or a product for sale you'd like your readers to support, link up below. (As with the other linkies, I reserve the right to delete listings that are irrelevant to my readers. I'm requiring an email address in case I need to contact you about your entry.) You'll want to include your blog name so people know whom they're supporting, if it's not obvious. If your shop name isn't descriptive, I recommend listing also a little bit of info about what a shopper might find there, to make it easier for people to see at a glance which stores to visit for a particular need. An example: "Hobo Mama - Hobo Depot — walking sticks."

Advertise

If you're one of the businesses featured above, perhaps you'd like to advertise your wares! Many bloggers offer advertising space, and you're almost sure to find rates that fit your budget. If you can't afford any money going out, consider offering to sponsor a giveaway — one product for review, and one as a prize. And, bloggers, another way to support blogging businesspeople is to offer to host giveaways by them!

Buy through affiliate links — with affiliate linky!

Finally, if you're shopping for something online, consider purchasing through a blogger's affiliate link. Nearly all of us shop at Amazon at some time or another, for instance, and many bloggers have Amazon affiliate links. If you buy an item after clicking on a blogger's link, a (minuscule but appreciated) portion of that sale goes from Amazon to the blogger. You're not out anything more by going this route, because the price is the same as if you went directly to the site. To make it easier to find bloggers' affiliate links, I'm offering a linky below for us to click on when we're in the mood to buy something online.

If you are a blogger and want to enter an affiliate link, please read these simple instructions:

Please enter your blog name AND the affiliate link name, such as "Hobo Mama - Amazon." If it's an unfamiliar site or product, you can include more information, such as "Hobo Mama - Hobo Depot - walking sticks."
Feel free to enter multiple times for multiple affiliate links (e.g., Amazon, cloth diaper stores, eBay, books you're promoting, etc.). But please don't enter more than one link from a single store for yourself. In other words, you can enter an Amazon link if someone else has (please do), but don't enter a link for books at Amazon, then one for music at Amazon, then one for car parts at Amazon … you get the picture.
I don't get a whole lot of spam on this blog, but I'm requiring a name and email address to (hopefully) cut down on any spammers of this linky. I apologize for the inconvenience to you legitimate folk.
If you need help editing any entries for any linky, just let me know.
Again, I reserve the right to delete listings that are irrelevant or offensive.

Link up!

What are other ways you support bloggers? What are your favorite ways to give bloggy love? What are your favorite ways to receive it?

When I went looking for a photo to illustrate this post,
I found the amazing top one on Flickr by Lisa Clarke,
who incidentally has her own post on the subject!
That's where I found out about Flattr.
If you know any other services like that, let me know.

Sunday Surf: Mystery plotting, indexing, & Google nonsense

2011-12-04T23:10:00.000-08:00

Links I've read, from Writing Tidbits:

Yea, I’ve gone up in page rank!

I don’t know where else (or why, but whatever) to brag about this. I just got an email from a possibly suspect ad company telling me “because you’re PR 4, we’ll give you this rate, blah blah blah,” and I was like, I’m PR 3 (for www.HoboMama.com). But I went to check — herehttp://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php www.HoboMama.com). But I went to check — here http://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php — and I am 4 now! Woohoo!

Yes, this is out of 10, but 4’s pretty good for a blog. Most blogs I read (Hobo Mama included till just recently) are 1-3, and there’s no shame in that. (LaurenWayne.com is a 2, and NaturalParentsNetwork.com is a 3.) It’s just kind of fun to have moved up a notch!

In case you were wondering, Google, which sets the PR algorithms, ranks 10/10. ;)

There’s a PR checker I usually prefer, by the way, because it doesn’t have captcha, but it wasn’t working today so I’m not sure if it’s defunct. In case it works later, it’s here: http://www.page-rank-calculator.com/ A little easier to deal with.

4 DAYS AGO

google page rank blogging

Occupy Google Reader: Changes to the RSS feed irk the ‘sharebros’ - Arts Post - The Washington Post

The protest, organized throughFacebook, brought Google Reader fans — or “sharebros,” as they’re sometimes called — together with signs like “Google: Don’t Mark All as Read,” and “We are the 1000+.” There were 10 protesters total, if you count one protester’s daughter, a toddler.

Funniest & aptest protest ever. ;)

5 DAYS AGO

google reader google rss feeds

So You Want to Write a Book With MS Word

Comprehensive resource of links and tutorials for laying out a book in Word. Doing so is one of the most frustrating experiences, but at least here are some tips.

5 DAYS AGO

publishing self-publishing design layout Word

Official Google Blog: More spring cleaning out of season

Google Friend Connect—Friend Connect allows webmasters to add social features to their sites by embedding a few snippets of code. We’re retiring the service for all non-Blogger sites on March 1, 2012. We encourage affected sites to create a Google page and place a Google badge on their site so they can bring their community of followers to Google and use new features like Circles and Hangouts to keep in touch.

On the one hand, what do I care about GFC? It’s just used to boost giveaway sites now as far as I can tell.

On the other hand, how in the world does Google equate GFC with Google+? They’re entirely different models. It’s like saying, “Twitter’s shutting down; go use Facebook instead.” GFC is primarily for public followers on public blogs. G+ is all about using your real name and having circles of friends. I don’t doubt that people are figuring how to use G+ for business, but if you want to keep a separation between your professional & personal life, right now G+ doesn’t offer many options.

Why does Google keep fixing what ain’t broke? And why do they do that to the exclusion of things that are broke, like the Blogger commenting system that users have been complaining about for years? Huh?

via Jennifer

5 DAYS AGO

google google friend connect google+ blogging

Index a Book Using Word and Excel

Sounds like a decent way to work on an index. I need one for the cloth diapering book and am hoping the actual indexing feature in Word will help me out. But if not, this sounds like the way to go.

6 DAYS AGO

index nonfiction writing writing tutorials

How to Make Your WordPress or Blogger Blog DoFollow | DoFollow Blog Directory & Compendium

How to make links in comments “dofollow” on Blogger and WordPress. This can help add comment love to your site; however, it can also open you up to more spam comments.

6 DAYS AGO

blogger wordpress tutorials blogging blogger tutorials wordpress tutorials

Online Stopwatch

In case you’re curious, this is what I use to time my NaNoProgMo hours.

6 DAYS AGO

writing time

Sandra Parshall: Writing — Clues Drive the Mystery Plot

Tips on cluing in readers.

1 WEEK AGO

novel writing mystery novels plotting writing

KILLER HOBBIES: How to Plot a Mystery

Good tips on mystery management, including not naming your characters all the same, keeping the cast down to seven (whoops!), and starting the plotting with the “Let me explain” bit and working backwards. I should have read this a long time ago!

1 WEEK AGO

mystery novels novel writing writing plotting

FeedBurner feed too big? How to fix it

2011-12-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

My recent FeedBurner woe:

Click any image to embiggen.

The past few days, I noticed signs that my RSS feed for Hobo Mama wasn't updating, though it took me awhile to believe it.

I caught glimpses first in CommentLuv entries when I commented on other sites. It kept pulling up my "Gratitude Challenge" post from Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, even though I subsequently posted on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I didn't really think much of it the first few times, or the first couple days — I just used Ping-o-Matic to give my feed a little boost and figured it would fix itself.

But after it had been a week, I noticed the delay wasn't just in CommentLuv. It was in the sidebar widgets on my other sites; it was in Google Reader; and — most obviously, now that I looked for it — the delay was on my feed's page itself.

I went to FeedBurner, through which I burn all my feeds, for the answer. I clicked right through to the humorously named "Troubleshootize" tab, hoping the humor didn't mean they wouldn't take this plight seriously.

Not having the RSS feed update, after all, is death to a blog. Readers who rely on feed readers, email subscriptions, and apps on handheld devices to notify them of new posts will assume that silence means there's no new content. My pageviews and comments would fall off the map, because no one would be seeing the posts I was writing. Indeed, my FeedBurner stats for the past few days were dismal.

Here's what Troubleshootize suggested:

The trouble: Your FeedBurner feed isn't up-to-date with your Original Feed.
The fix: Try pinging FeedBurner using our Ping page. This action tells FeedBurner to go check your feed for updates immediately.

So I tried pinging FeedBurner directly, waited a bit, and checked my feed again. No updates.

Next idea:

The trouble: Invalid characters or XML markup in content items, often introduced by composing your posts in Microsoft Word or embedding JavaScript code in a post.
The fix: Check your feeds for validity problems: Original Feed Validity, FeedBurner Feed Validity. See if any errors are reported, Then, check out this help topic for removing unwanted characters from your posts if mysterious characters seem to be to blame.

Nope, both verifications came back as valid.

This one seemed promising:

The trouble: Your Original Feed is too doggone big! FeedBurner does not process feeds that are larger than 512K. Remember, your feed is an update on your content — not an archive for it — and you should use your publishing tools' controls to make sure your feed doesn't grow like kudzu possessed.
The fix: Follow this help topic to control feed file size with Blogger; other publishing tools have similar controls.

But I couldn't figure out if my feed was too large. The help page suggested going to web-sniffer.net to "look at the report it returns; there should be a value in kilobytes for the size of your feed in an 'uncompressed' format." Well, I looked, and I didn't see any such thing. I had a really hard time locating any other (working) calculators online that would confirm whether my feed was too large or not — and I couldn't even figure out what made it too large. How was I in control of its size? Why wasn't FeedBurner?

I also checked The FeedBurner Status Blog and the help group, but there wasn't anything more helpful than what was in the troubleshooting documentation.

So I moved on to the bottom:

The text:

The Nuclear Option: "Resyncing" your feed
As a last resort with a regular feed or a podcast, you can resync your feed. You should only resync if your feed is more than 1 hour out-of-date and pinging FeedBurner does not update it or your podcast files are not being turned into enclosures by our SmartCast service.

"More than 1 hour"? Mine was a week out-of-date!

After a search to see if anyone reported this "nuclear" approach as destructive, I hesitantly pushed the resync button, then waited.

Nothing. Still not updating, even with a nuclear attack.

All that was left was to return to the "too big" idea.

From the help page:

FeedBurner will not process an original feed from your blog if it is greater than 512K in size. (This limitation only applies to the actual size of the feed file itself and does not include any images or media files you may have linked to or embedded in your posts.) To get a feed larger than 512K back down to size on Blogger, you need to add a parameter to the address for your original feed's URL — the one that FeedBurner checks for updates in order to keep your FeedBurner feed current — that tells Blogger to shorten it to a specific number of posts.

Well … OK. I was in fact on Blogger, so maybe that was it.

Here are the steps to shrink your feed size, as per the help file:

In FeedBurner, click "Edit Feed Details…" below your feed's title. It's up at the top of your particular feed's page, above the tabs.

In the Original Feed Address field, change the URL there to the following format: http://myblogname.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?max-results=3
(So mine was http://hobomama.blogspot…)

Click Save Feed Details. Wait for FeedBurner to reburn the feed and update.

What confused/concerned me at this point were these notations:

(Note that max-results sets the number of posts you want to have appear in your FeedBurner feed. Any integer value between 1 and 500 is permitted.)

And later:

Bloggers: Do you write lengthy posts and come up against FeedBurner's 512K limit to total feed size? You will want to set max-results to a small number in order to keep the feed file size under control. You may need to experiment with the max-results setting to get the ideal feed size. How to tell the filesize of your feed? Enter its address into www.web-sniffer.net and look at the report it returns; there should be a value in kilobytes for the size of your feed in an "uncompressed" format.

Oh-kaaay. I tried 500 first, then 400, 300, 200 100, then 50, 40, 30 … and then gave up and went with 3. You can experiment as you want, but nothing but 3 worked for me.

What bothered me about this was there was no indication of what the number meant. Were they saying they would look for a maximum of three new posts at a time (every half-hour, as I understand their usual pinging process)? Or did it mean it would slice the archives in my feed to a measly three posts back?

The error I got until I got to 3 was the same every time, telling me my feed size was "larger than 576K," no matter if I had 500 or 10 as the limiting number. Only 3 brought it below this, according to the error message. How did my posts from Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday push it over the edge to such an extreme? It just didn't make sense.

Then there was this:

podcasters: Don't ever want an episode to drop off of your feed? Set this value to 500. (What happens on episode 501? Pandemonium!)

I'm guessing this is some sort of joke, but I don't find weirdness particularly helpful in a help article. I don't even have podcasts, but it's cryptic statements like this that made me wonder if the purpose of the number was to trim my archives to 3 (or whatever number) posts.

Well, here's the good news: Set to 3, my feed refreshed and updated. I almost immediately received an email (I subscribe to my own feed both by email and in a reader, to keep tabs on it for just this reason!) with the last three posts it hadn't mailed out before. Google Reader showed all the recent posts, and I checked the archives to see what the toll had been. My RSS feed in Reader stretched back to September 2009 before I changed the code, and afterwards, it stretched back to … September 2009. (Hobo Mama began in September 2007, by the by.) So, no worries. I just wish the help topic had indicated that!

Besides the shoddy attitude in help, other things that irritated me:

FeedBurner's link (web-sniffer) to determine my feed's size did diddly squat for the purpose.
I received no emailed notice from FeedBurner that there was a problem with my feed. It was up to me to recognize that it wasn't updating, and it took a week for that to sink in. A week with who knows what percentage of my readership bailing!
Even more egregious, there was no indication when I logged into FeedBurner, on my dashboard, or on my feed's page, that there was anything wrong! Until I started typing a new "?max-results=X" code and playing around with what number to put in place of the X, FeedBurner gave me no error message to tell me (a) that there was anything wrong with my feed and (b) what it was! That screen capture at the top of this post is what finally appeared, and here's what it said: "Your feed filesize is larger than 576K. You need to reduce its size in order for FeedBurner to process it. Tips for controlling feed file size with Blogger can be found in Tech Tips on FeedBurner Forums, our support site." Note, no links to the appropriate tips, just a shove to go find them yourself.
As I mentioned before, I also think it's bizarre that feed size isn't something FeedBurner controls for you. Instead of chiding you, "Remember, your feed is an update on your content — not an archive for it — and you should use your publishing tools' controls to make sure your feed doesn't grow like kudzu possessed," why doesn't FeedBurner just make sure that feeds follow its size limitations by imposing them from the start? They handle most of the other inner workings of feed-dom. Why leave this one to the novices?

My advice to you?

Don't let this keep you from using FeedBurner, because it has awesome functionality. But do subscribe to your own feeds and check in on them regularly to be sure they're working and that they look the way you want them to.
If your feed isn't updating, try pinging first.
If that doesn't work, head to resyncing under Troubleshootize, with no fear.
If you're on Blogger and there's still no joy after — oh, I don't know, maybe give it an hour — then Edit Feed Details as in the above steps. You might as well go straight for "max-results=3," though you're free to play around with other numbers if you think you'll get lucky.

So that's my experience with shrinking feed file size and getting a feed to update again. Here's hoping it never gets mysteriously bloated again!

Has this ever happened to you? Is it because I'm too wordy? Is it kind of cool that my wordiness broke FeedBurner? No? Why not? Discuss.

#NaNoProgMo: Stop talking and do it

2011-11-30T05:09:00.000-08:00

Recently my husband was talking with a friend about a direction he wants to take, and the friend said, "If you wanted to do it, you'd be doing it. You wouldn't be talking about it."

This has stuck with me. I might not be properly transcribing the words and tone intended, but this is how it's reverberated in my brain. Applied toward other people, it might come off as a bit harsh, but applied to myself: It's so, so true.

For years, I said, I want to write a novel…someday. When the stars aligned. When I had oodles of free time. When an editor called out of the blue and gave me a contract and an advance, work unseen.

I talked about writing a novel. I wrote plot notes. I brainstormed character names and traits with friends. I subscribed to Writer's Digest
for years and absorbed all the articles. I checked Writer's Market out of the library, repeatedly. I even took a leisurely nine months while Sam concentrated on earning money to try my hand at being a professional novel writer. I did not complete a novel in that time, not even a first draft.

One year, I heard about National Novel Writing Month from a friend's Facebook status update. It was already several days into November, but I was intrigued. Could I do it? I'd give it a shot.

I was cautious about sharing what I was doing. I told people, but not too much. I was afraid to jinx it.

In some ways, this was the worst time to try, finally, to write a novel. I had a young baby and a home business I was heavily involved in and a blog to keep up.

But I wrote that novel, my first to be completed. I stopped talking, and I did it.

In some ways, I feel guilty that I haven't written much about my NaNoProgMo-ing as I've gone through it. In other ways, it feels completely natural now to hold off on bragging about progress until I'm sure I'll make good on my promise. I'm 2 hours from the end of my goal on this last day, so barring major malfunctions (pray not), I'm confident I'll complete my 60-hour editing goal for November. It wasn't glamorous, but every day I sat at my computer, and I did it. I put in my time, and I made progress.

I'm still not done with either project (I'm waiting on a second read-through from Sam of my mystery novel, which incidentally is that first NaNoWriMo one), and I have lots to do still as editor of the NPN cloth diapering book. But I'm feeling more confident that I can continue to do instead of just promise to do.

So, wherever you are in your progress today, I encourage you to figure out what you want — what you really, really want, right now — and do it. One foot in front of the other, in as little or as much time as you can commit, make tangible progress toward your goal. It might be writing a novel. It might be querying magazines, or ramping up your blog. It might be unrelated to writing: pursuing a new relationship, or calling your parents more, or cleaning out the garage, or learning to run.

If you're not making progress but you're still talking about it, you probably don't really want to do it after all. And that's OK, too. Maybe you'll want to later. Maybe you'll realize you never really wanted to and will choose a new dream.

But if you do cling to that dream, stop talking. Start doing. I believe in you.

You have this last day to make progress for NaNoProgMo.
Seize it and all that jazz.
How's your prog? What have you learned about what you want?

How to take a blogging break … but keep your blog going

2011-11-29T05:57:00.000-08:00

Today I would like to welcome Dionna from Code Name: Mama, who has written a guest post about taking a rest from your blog while keeping up your readership.

Lauren's note: When I was expecting Alrik, I was brainstorming ways to continue my blog for the sake of my readers and my advertisers while taking a highly valued babymoon. Now Dionna's in the same boat! For you it might be a vacation or family trip or just some needed time to disconnect from the screen. These are Dionna's ideas for stepping away from the blog but keeping up a basic amount of posting.

New babies, vacations, outside obligations, blogging burn-out. All bloggers need a break sometimes — it can even be healthy to plan a regular break into your annual blogging schedule. If you're worried about losing readers and subscribers during your absence, here are some tips that might help ease your mind.

1. Republish your own guest posts.

Have you had guest posts published at other sites? Run those! Unless you made a deal to the contrary, you still retain the copyright. Just be sure to check the other site's guest post policy to make sure you're within its exclusivity terms.¹ Include a note that it's been republished from a post previously seen on the host blog, with the appropriate link.

2. Repost old posts.

Readership changes from month to month, year to year. If you've been blogging awhile, surely there are old posts you can rerun. If you republish posts from when you were a beginning blogger with less of a following, you may be pleasantly surprised by the increased response to old posts. Include a note again mentioning that it's been republished (and possibly edited) for any hardcore archive delvers among your readers.

3. Book guest posters who will promote their own posts.

If you're going to be AWOL from your blog, you'll likely also be taking a hiatus from social media. Call on guest posters you trust to promote their own posts on their blog, Twitter, and Facebook and to respond to commenters. Don't hesitate to tell them that part of the deal is they need to interact, since you'll be taking a break.

4. Skip regularly scheduled posts.

Do you have a habitual post you put up every week (Wordless Wednesday, recipes on Friday, Sunday Surf)? Skip it, and don't feel guilty AT ALL.

5. Schedule some quick shots.

Try to schedule a few posts ahead, but don't make them be ambitious. There's something to be said for short, 1-2 paragraph posts — think of them as the blogging equivalent to a witty or insightful status update.

6. Warn your readers.

Let your readers know in advance you will be taking a break. Turn it into a post asking for guest posters! Your readers will understand, and they will welcome you back when you return.

Dionna is a lawyer turned work-at-home mama of an amazing son and an incredible new daughter. You can normally find Dionna over at Code Name: Mama where she shares information, resources, and her thoughts on natural parenting, consensual living, eclectic learning, and compassionate advocacy.

Photo courtesy sylvie szafranski on flickr (cc)

1 For example, here is the guest post "exclusivity" policy for Natural Parents Network: "While contributors to Natural Parents Network maintain the copyright to all their work, we ask that you not post your submission anywhere else (including your own blog) whether paid or unpaid, for 90 days after publication on Natural Parents Network. This exclusivity adds value for our readers without our asking you to give us copyright on your work. Similarly, we will wait 90 days to republish any previously published article."^↩

Sunday Surf: Introducing Writing Tidbits

2011-11-27T20:36:00.000-08:00

As with my Sunday Surfs at Hobo Mama, I thought I'd bring you a taste over here. I've been collecting somewhat extravagantly all the writing-relevant links I use and enjoy in a new Tumblr commonplace book: Writing Tidbits: Shared Items on Blogging & Writing.

I often will follow blogging tutorials or use writing resources and then later struggle to remember just where or just what it all was. This is my new attempt at keeping them all cataloged, and searchable by tags.

And here I will disseminate them for you, so far. You might be able to guess the themes of this week's research: securing my passwords and backing up my email, writing a novel synopsis for NaNoProgMo, and, well, figuring out Tumblr!

Famous Authors' Harshest Rejection Letters - Romy Oltuski - Entertainment - The Atlantic

Here — this’ll make us feel better.

10 SECONDS AGO

novel submissions novel writing writing rejections

When Does a Writer Become a Writer? - Betsy Morais - Entertainment - The Atlantic

I remember how decadent and sheepish I felt the first time I answered someone’s question of “What do you do?” with “I’m a writer.” I go back and forth with identifying myself that way — you?

5 MINUTES AGO

writing identity

Query Samples

Sample query letters for romance novels that won agents or editors.

23 HOURS AGO

query novel writing writing novel submissions

Synopsis Samples

Several sample synopses of novels that sold, I believe all romance.

23 HOURS AGO

synopsis novel writing writing novel submissions

Writing a Synopsis

Lots and lots of links on the subject of novel synopses.

23 HOURS AGO

synopsis novel writing writing novel submissions

Format Novel Synopsis

Sample synopsis format. There are a lot of possibilities for formatting, I’ve discovered, but something similar to this seems promising.

23 HOURS AGO

synopsis novel writing writing novel submissions formatting

Synopsis Project

Several selling romance novel synopses.

23 HOURS AGO

synopsis novel writing writing novel submissions

Long Ridge Writers Group

Tips and an example of a mystery novel synopsis (one that sold the book in question). Recommendation of losing subplots when writing the synopsis.

23 HOURS AGO

synopsis writing novel writing novel submissions

Making tags visible when using a Tumblr theme that doesn't show them - Web Applications

I wanted to keep my Tumblr theme but noticed it wasn’t showing tags. This was an easy fix.

I want to use tags to keep track of related tips and articles. This seems like the best type of blog to have such a search function.

2 DAYS AGO

html tags tumblr blogging

IMAP - Gmail Help

Continuing my hacker-proof backup plan, I’ve decided to set up IMAP using Apple Mail 4 in hopes it will sync nicely with my online inbox. (I’ll have to let you know if that’s a big fail.) My fear, see, is that 90% of the email I get is crap and I don’t need it saved in perpetuity. I’d like deletions to be recognized in both my offline and online inbox versions.

If you’d rather do POP, it’s here: http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=12103

2 DAYS AGO

gmail google email backups

Signing in using application-specific passwords - Accounts Help

You might also need this help, particularly if you decide to back up Gmail with a POP or IMAP mail account or use Gmail on your phone. You have to generate a specific, one-use password for some apps and clients.

2 DAYS AGO

backups gmail google email

Getting started with 2-step verification

I’m trying out 2-step verification to help protect my Gmail from hackers. If they hack your account, they’ll delete ALL your email and contacts. Gone. Gmail can retrieve it — maybe, eventually. But if you’re anything like me, your LIFE is in your inbox.

Two-step verification means that whenever you (or anyone) tries to log into your Gmail on an unrecognized computer, Gmail will send a login code to the phone number you put in, either text message or voice call. I’m going to see if it’s annoying. So far, it’s ok, but it’s been only the one day.

(Source: maydela.blogspot.com)

2 DAYS AGO

backups gmail google email

Hacked! - Magazine - The Atlantic

Shannon of Pineapples & Artichokes shared this article with us and the new Gmail 2-step verification process to help stop it from happening.

2 DAYS AGO

gmail backups google

Backups | Backupify

I’m in the process of backing up my “cloud” accounts (Gmail, Blogger, Flickr, etc.) from potential hacking or other data loss. Backupify is a service that lets you back up 3 accounts (I chose Twitter, Facebook fan page, and Google Docs) for free, more for a monthly fee (two tiers). I’ll try it out to see if it’s worth doing more. I’d love to add Blogger, for instance, but I already have some Blogger backup systems in place.

2 DAYS AGO

blogger backups blogging twitter gmail google google docs

How to Write a Synopsis for Your Mystery Novel: Special Guest Blogger | Uphill Writing

Helpful tips for creating the dreaded novel synopsis, and I like that it’s particular to mysteries since that’s what I’m struggling with!.

2 DAYS AGO

synopsis novel writing writing

Writers and Financial Woes: What’s Going On – Whatever

Interesting overview of why it’s tough financially to be a (fiction) writer (or artist in general).

6 DAYS AGO

Progress on NaNoProgMo: Halfway or two-thirds?

2011-11-20T16:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some things I've learned through National Novel Progress Month:

I have less time to write blogposts.
I seem to be able to do either intense blogging or intense editing, but not both. I'd hoped to do more of a play-by-play as I was going through NaNoProgMo, but all my free time is going toward editing instead. Well, that's as it is.

I don't need to edit two hours a day.
What Zoie of TouchstoneZ wrote in a comment really resonated with me. I'll quote her here, if I may:

Okay, I'm very happy to see we're all behind. Setting the bar high and happy with how we balance it! I love L'Engle's quote about putting two things first. YES! I've learned this month that I do not want to blog every day and I'll be glad when NaBloPoMo is over. And I abhor editing every day, which is partially what I'm doing with the book. But, I must haveto needto write every day. I'm driven to do it and I'm incomplete without it.

I have yet to figure out the balance of writing and the rest of life. I'm failing at it on purpose this month.

Part of this month's experiment has been to go completely off-balance-to dive into my writing so hard that I can never look back and regret not giving myself enough license or time to write. I can point to this month and see what it really is like. And I can know that I'm not happy this way either. There are days when I wish I were choosing something else. It's a huge lesson and if I learn nothing else, it will have been worth it.

I'm realizing that editing two hours a day is more than I need to — if only I hadn't procrastinated the rest of the year (or more). In other words, I could get by and get a novel done rather speedily (on my terms) by editing only 15 minutes a day, as long as I consistently did so. And it would be nice to do things other than edit, such as write blog posts. Which brings me to my next point:

I can enjoy intensively entering into the world of my novel.
Since I do procrastinate the rest of the year, it's important for me to have one month at least where I say, "This is what I am doing this month. All else can go to perdition." I like entering it fully, and I find it easier to keep track of threads of my story when I'm editing for an extended time each day for an intensive month rather than catch as catch can, with long breaks between each session. I love during this time feeling like a writer. But…

At some point, I feel unbalanced if I enter too headlong into novel writing.
I think of my novel all day. Ideas and fragments come into my head. It's hard for me to shake it off when I'm talking to other people, so real does my own story seem to me. I feel like a writer, but kind of like a jerk, too.

On a more pragmatic, novel-centered level:

I did not write any description before now.
During NaNoWriMo, it was write-write-write, don't stop to think. So I wrote the story. Now I'm having to go back and figure out what people look like and write all that down! I feel a little silly shoehorning all that description in, but it needs something.

And on an am-I-a-real-writer? level:

I'm scared of failure.
One thing I don't allow myself to do (much) during NaNoWriMo is fool around by daydreaming about submitting to agents — no goofing off for hours each day making tiered lists of whom to submit to, drafting query letters, researching advances for first novels, etc. (No, I only allowed myself to do that about a single hour a day during NaNoWriMo, ha.) Now that I'm actually in "editing" territory, I'm allowing myself to dream, plan, research, and get pragmatic like that. And I found something out: I'm terrified. I was looking up agents and reading about novel synopses and how to format email queries, and I started physically shaking. Up till now, it's been a lark. I can imagine I'm a good writer, that my novel is publishable, that there are an agent and editor out there waiting for me. Once I start submitting and the rejections roll in? Then it's real, and it will be hard. I didn't realize how much I was holding myself back out of fear.

And that's what I've learned so far from NaNoProgMo.

So: We still have 10 days left, which means one-third of our time! So we are officially two-thirds through — woot!

The goodish news is I am halfway through my pledged time. I think that means I can maybe catch up.

Even if you're not caught up, or you have no intention of doing so, or you're just starting, the point is to keep on keeping on. Let me know if there's any way I can encourage you.

Teresa is generously offering all our participants (all! of! you!) a sweet surprise writerly gift. Stop by the post she wrote and send her your address so she can mail it to you.

How's your progress? What have you learned so far in the successes, the failures, the progressing and halting of this month?

Lauren Wayne

Sunday Surf: Responsible blogging & parental dilemmas

Giveaway: Poetry of a Hobo Mama at Hybrid Rasta Mama {5.9; Worldwide}

Sunday Surf: Babies, BlogHer, & the cost of blogging

Throws vs. throes

Gmail Tap for Android

Welch vs. welsh

Publish your blog on Kindle

Why put your blog on the Kindle?

How do you publish your blog on Kindle?

Cardshark vs. cardsharp

Pawn off vs. palm off

Hone in vs. home in

How to send from multiple email addresses in one Gmail account

1. Go into your Gmail Settings.

2. Go to "Send mail as" settings.

3. Add another email address.

4. Choose your settings for "Send mail as."

5. Configure your signatures for each address.

6. Use your alternate email addresses.

How to forward email to another Gmail account

1. Go to your Gmail settings of the account you do NOT want to log into from now on.

2. Configure your email forwarding FROM that account.

3. Ta da!

How to log into multiple Google accounts

1. Enable multiple sign-in for Google accounts within your web browser.

2. Log into another account.

3. Switch back and forth between the accounts and add in others.

Multiple Google accounts on a smartphone

How to tag Facebook pages from your fan page

1. "Like" the pages you want to tag as your Facebook page.

2. Wait awhile.

Sunday Surf: Security, insecurity, and fun new tools

#NaNoProgMo January 2012: Week 1

The ambition of a writer who's also a mother

NaNoProgMo: Ready to make some more progress on your novel?

Impressive November progress

Join us in January!

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Sunday Surf: Mystery plotting, indexing, & Google nonsense

FeedBurner feed too big? How to fix it

#NaNoProgMo: Stop talking and do it

How to take a blogging break … but keep your blog going

1. Republish your own guest posts.

2. Repost old posts.

3. Book guest posters who will promote their own posts.

4. Skip regularly scheduled posts.

5. Schedule some quick shots.

6. Warn your readers.

Sunday Surf: Introducing Writing Tidbits

Progress on NaNoProgMo: Halfway or two-thirds?

I have less time to write blogposts.

I don't need to edit two hours a day.

I can enjoy intensively entering into the world of my novel.

At some point, I feel unbalanced if I enter too headlong into novel writing.

I did not write any description before now.

I'm scared of failure.