Are you going to the American Library Association convention this year? Do you blog about children's literature? Come join us for an informal pizza dinner Saturday night.
Here's the information:
Date: Saturday, June 28, 2008
Time: 6:30-8 p.m.
Location: Marri's Pizza, http://www.marrispi zza.com
Address: 1194 Katella Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92802
Phone: (714) 533-1631
It's about a block and a half from the convention center.
Also on Saturday afternoon, Betsy Bird of Fuse #8 is organizing an extremely cool kidlit blogger event. The times of the two events are staggered, so that you can hang out with Feiwel and Friends, and then join us for pizza.
Let me know if you're planning on coming, so I can make a (relatively) accurate reservation.
P.S. You don't technically have to be a kidlit blogger to come (I attended this get together last year and it inspired me to become a blogger). Basically, it's for anyone interested in children's literature.
Hope to see you in Anaheim!
Showing posts with label Blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogs. Show all posts
Monday, June 16, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
A question for bloggers
What aspects of blogging have surprised you the most?
I'll go first.
The rich community of children's literature bloggers.
When I started, I had no idea how many blogs there were about children's books. I've been delighted to find such a bright, talented and generous community. I've learned so much about children's books and blogging from all of you.
How many people read my blog.
I thought that maybe a couple of people would read my blog occasionally. I've been overwhelmed (in a very nice way) with the number of people who read, comment and subscribe to Wizards Wireless. There have also been far more links to Wizards Wireless from other blogs than I would have dreamed possible, and I consider each one a huge compliment.
Who reads my blog.
Friends and family members from all over the country. People who have never met me. Librarians. Parents. Teachers. Authors. My brother. More people than I could have imagined.
That I still have something to say.
My main concern about starting a blog was that I'd run out of things to say after about a week. It's been nine months (and over 200 posts) later... and there's so many things I still want to talk about. Looks like I should keep writing.
Your turn. What's surprised you about blogging?
I'll go first.
The rich community of children's literature bloggers.
When I started, I had no idea how many blogs there were about children's books. I've been delighted to find such a bright, talented and generous community. I've learned so much about children's books and blogging from all of you.
How many people read my blog.
I thought that maybe a couple of people would read my blog occasionally. I've been overwhelmed (in a very nice way) with the number of people who read, comment and subscribe to Wizards Wireless. There have also been far more links to Wizards Wireless from other blogs than I would have dreamed possible, and I consider each one a huge compliment.
Who reads my blog.
Friends and family members from all over the country. People who have never met me. Librarians. Parents. Teachers. Authors. My brother. More people than I could have imagined.
That I still have something to say.
My main concern about starting a blog was that I'd run out of things to say after about a week. It's been nine months (and over 200 posts) later... and there's so many things I still want to talk about. Looks like I should keep writing.
Your turn. What's surprised you about blogging?
Monday, February 25, 2008
Blogs That Make My Day
Oh, my goodness. I just won an award. I'm all flustered.
No, it wasn't an Oscar or a Caldecott (hey, I can dream, can't I?) But it was just as big a compliment. Jill from The Well-Read Child just gave Wizards Wireless the "Blogs that Make My Day Award."
This is a great opportunity for me to say how much I love Jill's blog. The Well-Read Child is full of tips, reviews and great advice for parents. Be sure to check it out. I read it every day.
As a way of returning the compliment, here are ten blogs that make my day. It was almost impossible to pick just ten... so this isn't a definitive list, but rather just the tip of the iceberg. I listed them in reverse alphabetical order, since my blog name starts with a W, and is usually (and understandably) at the bottom of blogrolls. I thought I'd give those end of the alphabet people a chance to be on the top of the list. If I were doing it again, I think I'd name my blog 100 Aardvarks.
- What Adrienne Thinks About That. I met Adrienne at the Kidlitosphere conference and immediately felt like I was talking to an old friend. Reading her blog feels the same way. She's one of those people I would call a kindred spirit, and I really relate to her posts. And I just love her Real Suggestions From the Children's Room.
- Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Jules and Eisha never cease to amaze me. This blog is always unbelievably thorough and detailed. They have terrific interviews with bloggers, authors and illustrators and they recently added my favorite new feature: 7 Picture Book Tips For Impossibly Busy Parents. If I ever get featured in a Seven Imp interview, I'll know I've made it in the kidlitosphere!
- Saints and Spinners. Alkelda's wonderful blog is always thoughtful and thought provoking. I love her Song of the Week feature and her Children's Books that Never Were never fails to make me laugh. As a librarian-in-training, I find her comments about the library world extremely helpful.
- MotherReader. Pam is funny, insightful and always on the money. Speaking of people that make me laugh, Pam always does, both in person and on her blog. She was one of the very first kidlit bloggers I met, and she's just, well... cool.
- Kids Lit. An amazing blog that is filled with reviews and updates from the children's book world. Tasha reports on everything and her reviews are always top notch. I also love her blog's new design. She blogged live about the ALA awards press conference and her comment about Hugo Cabret winning the Caldecott was priceless.
- Jen Robinson's Book Page. Here's another amazing blog. Jen does wonderfully detailed literacy updates, book reviews, and she writes about so many things related to children's books. I always look forward to her Sunday afternoon visits of blogs around the kidlitosphere, because she manages to find terrific posts that I've missed. She was one of the very first supporters of Wizards Wireless and she's linked to my blog more times than I can possibly count.
- Books Together. I recently had the pleasure of meeting Anamaria, and she's just as wonderful and personable as her blog. She always manages to blog about just the kinds of books my son would love, and I've gotten great book suggestions from Books Together.
- BookMoot. Camille's excitement and love for her job and for children's books comes through in every post she writes. About a month ago, she did a fabulous post about school visits that was both wise and wonderful... and full of essential tips for every author. BookMoot is wonderful and well worth checking out.
- Biblio File. Jennie is a fellow MLS graduate student who attends the same university I do, although oddly enough we've never seen each other on campus (but keep running into each other at library events). I can always relate to Jennie's posts (particularly the ones about homework and papers) and she's really opened my eyes to the field of YA literature. And I just love this Poetry Friday post that she wrote.
- Art, Words, Life. This blog is written by children's book author and illustrator Jennifer Thermes. It's filled with Jennifer's original drawings, which are so beautiful and scrumptious they often make me catch my breath. I also love Jennifer's profile picture, because it's a self portrait. And I keep meaning to tell her how much I liked her book picture book Sam Bennett's New Shoes.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Looking for opinions!
An Ohio children's librarian has created a blog with lots of intriguing questions about Harry Potter, but hasn't received any comments to date. If you have any opinions about Harry Potter (and if you're a reader of Wizards Wireless, then you probably do)... head on over to Deconstructing Harry and add your 2 knuts.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Blogroll Updating Month
According to Mother Reader, it's Blogroll Updating Month. It's time to take a look at the blogs you link to, and make sure they're all still relevant and are regularly updated.
This is a great idea and gives me an excuse to talk about a few blogs I've added to my blogroll recently:
Audiobooker: a lovely blog about audio books, written by Mary Burkey, the current chair of the brand new Odyssey award committee.
Bottom Shelf Books: a funny, funny, funny blog about picture books, written by Minh Le. Did I mention that it's funny?
Class of 2k8: a blog devoted to children's and young adult authors who will have their debut book published in 2008.
Finding Wonderland: an inspring blog about writing YA literature, with a healthy dose of poetry thrown in.
Gotta Book: Speaking of funny blogs, this blog by Gregory K. is always worth a look.
Open Wide, Look Inside: a brand new blog by Tricia Stohr-Hunt of the Miss Rumphius Effect. It's filled with incredibly helpful resources about using children's books across the curriculum.
Saints and Spinners: A wonderful, creative blog about books, music, storytelling and lots more written by Alkelda the Gleeful.
Shelf Talker: All about the joy of being a children's bookseller. I always feel like Alison Morris of Wellesley Booksmith is speaking directly to me.
And, many many more. Check out my blogroll for more wonderful blogs. It's on the sidebar, creatively titled "Blogs."
This is a great idea and gives me an excuse to talk about a few blogs I've added to my blogroll recently:
Audiobooker: a lovely blog about audio books, written by Mary Burkey, the current chair of the brand new Odyssey award committee.
Bottom Shelf Books: a funny, funny, funny blog about picture books, written by Minh Le. Did I mention that it's funny?
Class of 2k8: a blog devoted to children's and young adult authors who will have their debut book published in 2008.
Finding Wonderland: an inspring blog about writing YA literature, with a healthy dose of poetry thrown in.
Gotta Book: Speaking of funny blogs, this blog by Gregory K. is always worth a look.
Open Wide, Look Inside: a brand new blog by Tricia Stohr-Hunt of the Miss Rumphius Effect. It's filled with incredibly helpful resources about using children's books across the curriculum.
Saints and Spinners: A wonderful, creative blog about books, music, storytelling and lots more written by Alkelda the Gleeful.
Shelf Talker: All about the joy of being a children's bookseller. I always feel like Alison Morris of Wellesley Booksmith is speaking directly to me.
And, many many more. Check out my blogroll for more wonderful blogs. It's on the sidebar, creatively titled "Blogs."
Monday, December 10, 2007
Seven things about everyone else
About a week ago, I did a meme (a list of information) called "seven things about me." (Wondering what a meme is? There's a good definition here). After revealing seven things about myself, I had to tag other blogs. Everyone has come through, so I wanted to share their wonderful posts with you.
I learned 7 things about Travis at 100 Scope Notes. My favorite on Travis' list is: "I have been told I could make a modest living as an Abe Lincoln impersonator. I wish I had a picture, but I don’t, so click here and kinda squint your eyes. That’s sort of what it looks like when I’ve got on the beard and stovepipe."
I learned 7 things about Lisa at Under the Covers. My favorite on Lisa's list is: "I’m a writer. Not yet published (not since various college rags, anyway), but working on it. I write middle grade and young adult novels, mostly realistic but also some near-future science fiction. I’ve wanted to be a published novelist since I was seven, so it’s been taking a while. But I’ll get there someday."
I learned 7 seven things about Jennifer at Art, Words, Life. My favorite on Jennifer's list is: "I think that all the answers to everything can be found in books. Which is why I keep reading."
I learned 7 things about Abby at Abby (the) Librarian. My favorite thing on Abby's list: "I love doing laundry. This stems from finally having a washer and dryer in my apartment after several years of having to trek laundry across a parking lot and use all my quarters to get it done. In fact, the washer is going right now. :)"
I learned 7 things about Laura at Library & Literary Miscellany. My favorite on Laura's list is: "I pride myself on my chocolate chip cookie baking skills (although my gingersnaps aren’t too shabby either)."
I learned 7 things about Susan (look in the comments for the meme) at Chicken Spaghetti which was a list about the Roald Dahl books she hopes to read in the next year. My favorite on Susan's list is: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which I firmly believe can never be read enough times.
To learn seven things about Wizards Wireless, see this post.
Thanks to everyone who did this, it was a lot of fun. And thanks to Jennie at Biblio File who tagged me in the first place. Anyone got another meme?
I learned 7 things about Travis at 100 Scope Notes. My favorite on Travis' list is: "I have been told I could make a modest living as an Abe Lincoln impersonator. I wish I had a picture, but I don’t, so click here and kinda squint your eyes. That’s sort of what it looks like when I’ve got on the beard and stovepipe."
I learned 7 things about Lisa at Under the Covers. My favorite on Lisa's list is: "I’m a writer. Not yet published (not since various college rags, anyway), but working on it. I write middle grade and young adult novels, mostly realistic but also some near-future science fiction. I’ve wanted to be a published novelist since I was seven, so it’s been taking a while. But I’ll get there someday."
I learned 7 seven things about Jennifer at Art, Words, Life. My favorite on Jennifer's list is: "I think that all the answers to everything can be found in books. Which is why I keep reading."
I learned 7 things about Abby at Abby (the) Librarian. My favorite thing on Abby's list: "I love doing laundry. This stems from finally having a washer and dryer in my apartment after several years of having to trek laundry across a parking lot and use all my quarters to get it done. In fact, the washer is going right now. :)"
I learned 7 things about Laura at Library & Literary Miscellany. My favorite on Laura's list is: "I pride myself on my chocolate chip cookie baking skills (although my gingersnaps aren’t too shabby either)."
I learned 7 things about Susan (look in the comments for the meme) at Chicken Spaghetti which was a list about the Roald Dahl books she hopes to read in the next year. My favorite on Susan's list is: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which I firmly believe can never be read enough times.
To learn seven things about Wizards Wireless, see this post.
Thanks to everyone who did this, it was a lot of fun. And thanks to Jennie at Biblio File who tagged me in the first place. Anyone got another meme?
Thank you
I just want to say a quick thank you to Jen at Jen Robinson's Book Page. She has mentioned Wizards Wireless multiple times in her Sunday Afternoon Visit posts since I met her at the Kidlitosphere conference. (See here, here, here and here.) Her comments have been invaluable and they have really helped me to develop my blog further.
So, thank you, Jen. And if you haven't checked out her blog, I highly urge you to do so. It's a wonderfully informative and thorough blog about children's books and literacy.
So, thank you, Jen. And if you haven't checked out her blog, I highly urge you to do so. It's a wonderfully informative and thorough blog about children's books and literacy.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Advice for beginning bloggers
Have you just started a blog? Are you wondering what to do next? How to publicize it?
I've been blogging for about six months... and here's a few things I've picked up so far. I hope these tips help you. If you're looking for specific advice about being a children's literature blogger- look towards the end of this post.
Welcome!
Blogging is fun, scary, exciting and incredibly rewarding. Congratulations on starting a blog! It's a gutsy step. The hardest part is to keep it going after those first few initial posts. Keep it up... you can do it!
Don't apologize
It's hard to blog consistently. It takes a lot of time. All blog readers know that. When you have a chance to blog, don't write posts apologizing for not writing. Instead, just write a post saying something you haven't said before. Some people blog daily, some blog weekly, some blog monthly. Find a schedule that works for you, and don't be embarrassed by it.
Be proud of what you write
Don't say that you're rambling or incoherent. Your voice and opinions are valid, whatever it is that you have to say. The more you knock yourself down, the less likely a reader is to take you seriously.
Find a topic
Decide on the general subjects you want to write about. For example, Wizards Wireless is about three very specific things: Children's books, comic strips and Harry Potter. I try to keep myself limited to these topics because it carves out a niche and lets a reader know what they'll find when they visit my blog. If it's not related to one of those three things, I'll mark the post as off-topic (which I try not to do too much). And if you have too many topics to chose from, don't worry, you can always start another blog on that subject.
Find a mission
Why are you blogging? To advance your career? To tell family and friends about what's going on in your life? To become a better writer? To talk about topics that you're passionate about? All of these are valid reasons... just figure out what you hope to achieve by blogging. That will inform almost every other decision you make. For example, a person blogging for professional development reasons is much more likely to use their real name than someone who wants to let off steam about work.
Above all, write about what you want to write about, not what you think you have to write about.
Contribute original content
There's no need to post every news story on your blog. As a reader, I come to your blog for original content, not recycled information. If there's a big announcement, chances are I've already read about it somewhere else. The exception here, of course, is if you have something to say about a news story or if it's relevant to your subject matter. For example, I wrote quite a bit about J.K. Rowling's announcement that Dumbledore is gay. (The posts are here, here and here, if you're interested). Obviously, people read about it elsewhere... but since I write a lot about Harry Potter on my blog, I felt it was relevant and I had opinions I wanted to discuss.
Steal from yourself
Coming up with new things to say can be difficult. Why not post something you've written in the past? Whether it's a blurb, an annotation or a paper, you can adapt it into a blog post (if it fits your topic and mission). For example, I took excerpts from a paper I wrote for graduate school about The Man Who Walked Between the Towers and posted it on my blog. I changed it and edited it to make it appropriate. It remains my favorite review to this day, because I worked for weeks on the original paper and I'm proud of the writing and research.
If you've written something that's been previously published, make sure you say where it's been published, and make sure you own the rights to it before posting it. Otherwise (if possible), post a link to it.
Tell people that your blog exists
Let your friends and family know that you have a blog. If someone in your real life mentions an interest in the topic you write about, give them the link to your blog. Mention your blog (if it's relevant to the topic being discussed) on listservs and electronic discussion boards.
Join the Community
Connect to the community of bloggers who write about the same topic you do. There are communities of book bloggers, parent bloggers, etc. They link to each other, promote each other and toss around new ideas. Be part of the discussion. Find out who else is in your community.
If someone leaves a comment on your blog, respond to it within the comments section. Most blog programs have an option that will e-mail you whenever a person comments on your blog. This is extremely helpful... particularly when keeping track of comments on old posts.
Leave comments on other people's blogs. If you do, post under the name of your blog. It helps you build a reputation.... and it's a great way to join the discussion in the blogosphere.
If someone links to your blog, add a link to theirs.
Remember that ANYONE can read your blog
Your neighbor, your third cousin, your ex-boyfriend, a potential employer, the person in the next cubicle who drives you nuts... all of these people are potential readers of your blog. It's on the web, it's unbelievably public. Don't insult other people... they'll figure out who you're talking about.
The best advice I've gotten is to write your blog as if your boss reads every post you write.
Protect yourself
Some people put their full names on their blogs... some don't. It's a personal decision. But whatever you decide to do, take steps to protect your family. Unless your blog is specifically about parenting, you may want to refrain from mentioning your kids' names or providing pictures. Don't reveal that you're going out of town until after you come back. It's okay to be vague about who you are.
Publish your e-mail address
Include an e-mail address on your blog. Obviously, it's not a good idea to post your main e-mail address because of the potential for spam, but I highly recommend that you create an e-mail account just for your blog. Go to Gmail to set up a free account which you can forward to your regular e-mail you read all the time. Keep it simple... such as: thenameofyourblog at gmail.com
Why is it important to include an e-mail address? So that people with legitimate questions and compliments can contact you. For example, I'm in the process of writing a paper for graduate school on blogs written by children's librarians. I would love to ask bloggers for their permission to be included in my paper and get a bit more background about why they are blogging. But on the majority of the blogs I've been reading, there is no way to contact the writer. It's not really appropriate to leave a note in the comments, it would be extremely off topic.
Link to blogs
Link to other people's blogs and find out who is linking to you. Technorati is a great way to keep track of this. Sign up for a Technorati account (use your new blog gmail account to sign up for all of these various accounts) and claim your blog. Once you've done this, you can see who is mentioning your blog. If someone does link to your blog in a post, go to their blog and thank them. It's always nice to add a reciprocal link to their blog if it's relevant to your blog's topic.
Check your links
Whenever I add a new link, either in the sidebar or in a post, I click on it to make sure that the link works. It's frustrating to a reader if you have broken links.
Create a feed
Burn a feed for your blog. This isn't nearly as scary as it sounds. You may have heard of an RSS feed (which actually, just stands for Really Simple Syndication). A lot of people (myself included) read blogs primarily through feeds.
Do you subscribe to My Yahoo? Then you already know all about feeds even if you don't realize it. Feeds are the headlines that keep appearing on the page, such as the most recent stories from CNN, or the current top sports headlines. I subscribe to blog feeds on my page, so that in addition to seeing what the New York Times Bestseller list is, I also see the most recent blog posts from Fuse #8 and What Adrienne Thinks About That (and many, many others). When I see a new post that I'm interested in, I click on it. You don't have to use My Yahoo to subscribe to feeds. You can also use blog readers such as Bloglines.
The important thing is for you to create a feed for your blog, so that people who prefer to read your blog through RSS can subscribe to it. How do you do this? Go to Feedburner. The instructions are fairly simple. After you burn a feed for your blog, BE SURE to add a graphic on your blog for people to access your feed. How to do this? Once you have a Feedburner account, go to Publicize and follow the directions from there about creating a chicklet. Pick the simplest one, the top one that is a generic "Subscribe in a Reader." I also recommend selecting PingShot and SmartFeed (both available on the Publicize menu).
Once you have a feed, log back into Feedburner regularly so that you can see how many people access your blog... what searches they use to locate it and what sites they're being referred from.
Another great (free) source for statistics is Google Analytics.
UPDATE: Google has purchased Feedburner. You still need to create your RSS in Feedburner, but it no longer tracks statistics. Use Google Analytics for that.
Also, be sure to subscribe to your own feed. That way, you can see if it works, and you can see how often it's updated. Sometimes my feed is updated a few hours after I post, sometimes it takes a day.
Kidlitosphere
If you blog about children's literature (which I do), the community of like-minded bloggers is called the Kidlitosphere. It's a vibrant and wonderful group of people who love children's books and includes librarians, teachers, professors, booksellers, editors, authors and illustrators. They do multiple blog efforts such as the amazing Robert's Snow posts organized by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.
Every week, bloggers from the Kidlitosphere join in Poetry Friday and post fantastic poems on their blogs. One blogger each week volunteers to post a round-up of all the Poetry Friday links. See this round-up at Big A little a for an example.
There's even an annual award given by kidlit bloggers called The Cybils. Nominate your favorite children's books from the past year today. Literally. Nominations close November 21, 2007.
How do you get involved with this wonderful community? Head over to Kidlitosphere Central to find out about the various activities of this hardworking group. And then join the Kidlitosphere listserv on Yahoo Groups. Once you've been approved, be sure to introduce yourself and add your blog to the Blog Directory. And then, join the discussion!
JacketFlap
If you're a Kidlit blogger, I highly recommend joining JacketFlap. It's a terrific resource for anyone involved in any way with children's books. You can read other people's blogs though JacketFlap... and be sure to add your blog to their list.
What's the point?
Why bother with all this technical stuff? Because blogging takes a lot of time and effort and creativity. If you're willing to do all of that, and put yourself and your ideas out there, it's worth it for people to see what you have to say. And it allows you to get feedback and be part of the blogging community. But, no one is going to know about your blog unless you publicize it a little.
If you make it hard for people to link to you, locate your RSS feed or e-mail you... they're not going to. And the more that other people link to you, the more your rank rises in Google and other search engines. This means that your blog will come up closer to the top of search engine results pages, and more people will see what you have to say and be able to use the information you provide.
So, take the time (it really doesn't take long)... do the technical things described above. If you're overwhelmed, you can do them slowly, one piece at a time. But let your voice be heard.
And once, again... welcome!
I've been blogging for about six months... and here's a few things I've picked up so far. I hope these tips help you. If you're looking for specific advice about being a children's literature blogger- look towards the end of this post.
Welcome!
Blogging is fun, scary, exciting and incredibly rewarding. Congratulations on starting a blog! It's a gutsy step. The hardest part is to keep it going after those first few initial posts. Keep it up... you can do it!
Don't apologize
It's hard to blog consistently. It takes a lot of time. All blog readers know that. When you have a chance to blog, don't write posts apologizing for not writing. Instead, just write a post saying something you haven't said before. Some people blog daily, some blog weekly, some blog monthly. Find a schedule that works for you, and don't be embarrassed by it.
Be proud of what you write
Don't say that you're rambling or incoherent. Your voice and opinions are valid, whatever it is that you have to say. The more you knock yourself down, the less likely a reader is to take you seriously.
Find a topic
Decide on the general subjects you want to write about. For example, Wizards Wireless is about three very specific things: Children's books, comic strips and Harry Potter. I try to keep myself limited to these topics because it carves out a niche and lets a reader know what they'll find when they visit my blog. If it's not related to one of those three things, I'll mark the post as off-topic (which I try not to do too much). And if you have too many topics to chose from, don't worry, you can always start another blog on that subject.
Find a mission
Why are you blogging? To advance your career? To tell family and friends about what's going on in your life? To become a better writer? To talk about topics that you're passionate about? All of these are valid reasons... just figure out what you hope to achieve by blogging. That will inform almost every other decision you make. For example, a person blogging for professional development reasons is much more likely to use their real name than someone who wants to let off steam about work.
Above all, write about what you want to write about, not what you think you have to write about.
Contribute original content
There's no need to post every news story on your blog. As a reader, I come to your blog for original content, not recycled information. If there's a big announcement, chances are I've already read about it somewhere else. The exception here, of course, is if you have something to say about a news story or if it's relevant to your subject matter. For example, I wrote quite a bit about J.K. Rowling's announcement that Dumbledore is gay. (The posts are here, here and here, if you're interested). Obviously, people read about it elsewhere... but since I write a lot about Harry Potter on my blog, I felt it was relevant and I had opinions I wanted to discuss.
Steal from yourself
Coming up with new things to say can be difficult. Why not post something you've written in the past? Whether it's a blurb, an annotation or a paper, you can adapt it into a blog post (if it fits your topic and mission). For example, I took excerpts from a paper I wrote for graduate school about The Man Who Walked Between the Towers and posted it on my blog. I changed it and edited it to make it appropriate. It remains my favorite review to this day, because I worked for weeks on the original paper and I'm proud of the writing and research.
If you've written something that's been previously published, make sure you say where it's been published, and make sure you own the rights to it before posting it. Otherwise (if possible), post a link to it.
Tell people that your blog exists
Let your friends and family know that you have a blog. If someone in your real life mentions an interest in the topic you write about, give them the link to your blog. Mention your blog (if it's relevant to the topic being discussed) on listservs and electronic discussion boards.
Join the Community
Connect to the community of bloggers who write about the same topic you do. There are communities of book bloggers, parent bloggers, etc. They link to each other, promote each other and toss around new ideas. Be part of the discussion. Find out who else is in your community.
If someone leaves a comment on your blog, respond to it within the comments section. Most blog programs have an option that will e-mail you whenever a person comments on your blog. This is extremely helpful... particularly when keeping track of comments on old posts.
Leave comments on other people's blogs. If you do, post under the name of your blog. It helps you build a reputation.... and it's a great way to join the discussion in the blogosphere.
If someone links to your blog, add a link to theirs.
Remember that ANYONE can read your blog
Your neighbor, your third cousin, your ex-boyfriend, a potential employer, the person in the next cubicle who drives you nuts... all of these people are potential readers of your blog. It's on the web, it's unbelievably public. Don't insult other people... they'll figure out who you're talking about.
The best advice I've gotten is to write your blog as if your boss reads every post you write.
Protect yourself
Some people put their full names on their blogs... some don't. It's a personal decision. But whatever you decide to do, take steps to protect your family. Unless your blog is specifically about parenting, you may want to refrain from mentioning your kids' names or providing pictures. Don't reveal that you're going out of town until after you come back. It's okay to be vague about who you are.
Publish your e-mail address
Include an e-mail address on your blog. Obviously, it's not a good idea to post your main e-mail address because of the potential for spam, but I highly recommend that you create an e-mail account just for your blog. Go to Gmail to set up a free account which you can forward to your regular e-mail you read all the time. Keep it simple... such as: thenameofyourblog at gmail.com
Why is it important to include an e-mail address? So that people with legitimate questions and compliments can contact you. For example, I'm in the process of writing a paper for graduate school on blogs written by children's librarians. I would love to ask bloggers for their permission to be included in my paper and get a bit more background about why they are blogging. But on the majority of the blogs I've been reading, there is no way to contact the writer. It's not really appropriate to leave a note in the comments, it would be extremely off topic.
Link to blogs
Link to other people's blogs and find out who is linking to you. Technorati is a great way to keep track of this. Sign up for a Technorati account (use your new blog gmail account to sign up for all of these various accounts) and claim your blog. Once you've done this, you can see who is mentioning your blog. If someone does link to your blog in a post, go to their blog and thank them. It's always nice to add a reciprocal link to their blog if it's relevant to your blog's topic.
Check your links
Whenever I add a new link, either in the sidebar or in a post, I click on it to make sure that the link works. It's frustrating to a reader if you have broken links.
Create a feed
Burn a feed for your blog. This isn't nearly as scary as it sounds. You may have heard of an RSS feed (which actually, just stands for Really Simple Syndication). A lot of people (myself included) read blogs primarily through feeds.
Do you subscribe to My Yahoo? Then you already know all about feeds even if you don't realize it. Feeds are the headlines that keep appearing on the page, such as the most recent stories from CNN, or the current top sports headlines. I subscribe to blog feeds on my page, so that in addition to seeing what the New York Times Bestseller list is, I also see the most recent blog posts from Fuse #8 and What Adrienne Thinks About That (and many, many others). When I see a new post that I'm interested in, I click on it. You don't have to use My Yahoo to subscribe to feeds. You can also use blog readers such as Bloglines.
The important thing is for you to create a feed for your blog, so that people who prefer to read your blog through RSS can subscribe to it. How do you do this? Go to Feedburner. The instructions are fairly simple. After you burn a feed for your blog, BE SURE to add a graphic on your blog for people to access your feed. How to do this? Once you have a Feedburner account, go to Publicize and follow the directions from there about creating a chicklet. Pick the simplest one, the top one that is a generic "Subscribe in a Reader." I also recommend selecting PingShot and SmartFeed (both available on the Publicize menu).
Once you have a feed, log back into Feedburner regularly so that you can see how many people access your blog... what searches they use to locate it and what sites they're being referred from.
Another great (free) source for statistics is Google Analytics.
UPDATE: Google has purchased Feedburner. You still need to create your RSS in Feedburner, but it no longer tracks statistics. Use Google Analytics for that.
Also, be sure to subscribe to your own feed. That way, you can see if it works, and you can see how often it's updated. Sometimes my feed is updated a few hours after I post, sometimes it takes a day.
Kidlitosphere
If you blog about children's literature (which I do), the community of like-minded bloggers is called the Kidlitosphere. It's a vibrant and wonderful group of people who love children's books and includes librarians, teachers, professors, booksellers, editors, authors and illustrators. They do multiple blog efforts such as the amazing Robert's Snow posts organized by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.
Every week, bloggers from the Kidlitosphere join in Poetry Friday and post fantastic poems on their blogs. One blogger each week volunteers to post a round-up of all the Poetry Friday links. See this round-up at Big A little a for an example.
There's even an annual award given by kidlit bloggers called The Cybils. Nominate your favorite children's books from the past year today. Literally. Nominations close November 21, 2007.
How do you get involved with this wonderful community? Head over to Kidlitosphere Central to find out about the various activities of this hardworking group. And then join the Kidlitosphere listserv on Yahoo Groups. Once you've been approved, be sure to introduce yourself and add your blog to the Blog Directory. And then, join the discussion!
JacketFlap
If you're a Kidlit blogger, I highly recommend joining JacketFlap. It's a terrific resource for anyone involved in any way with children's books. You can read other people's blogs though JacketFlap... and be sure to add your blog to their list.
What's the point?
Why bother with all this technical stuff? Because blogging takes a lot of time and effort and creativity. If you're willing to do all of that, and put yourself and your ideas out there, it's worth it for people to see what you have to say. And it allows you to get feedback and be part of the blogging community. But, no one is going to know about your blog unless you publicize it a little.
If you make it hard for people to link to you, locate your RSS feed or e-mail you... they're not going to. And the more that other people link to you, the more your rank rises in Google and other search engines. This means that your blog will come up closer to the top of search engine results pages, and more people will see what you have to say and be able to use the information you provide.
So, take the time (it really doesn't take long)... do the technical things described above. If you're overwhelmed, you can do them slowly, one piece at a time. But let your voice be heard.
And once, again... welcome!
Monday, November 5, 2007
Great books to re-read
My friend Jody at By the Nightlight wrote a post about books that you always enjoy, no matter how many times you read them.
I started to answer her in the comments section of her blog, but then it got so long that I had to write a separate post about it. I've listed a few recent favorites below... most of them are ones that have been published in the last ten years. For my favorite picture books when I was growing up, see this post.
Here's a short list of books that never get old:
Peggy Rathmann's books: Goodnight Gorilla, Ten Minutes till Bedtime, and of course... Officer Buckle and Gloria.
Sandra Boynton's and Michael Ford's musical books/albums: Dog Train, Blue Moo and Philadelphia Chickens.
David Wiesner's books, particularly Flotsam, The Three Pigs, Tuesday, Sector Seven, Free Fall, June 29, 1999.... okay... all of David Wiesner's books.
Mordecai Gerstein's The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. It moves me every time I read it. For more about it, see my review.
Mo Willems' books, including: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, and Knuffle Bunny. I wrote a Pigeon review here, and a Knuffle Bunny review here.
Jon Muth's Zen Shorts. I'm crazy about this book.
Oh, there are so many more... but at least this is a start!
Let me take this opportunity to say how incredibly adorable Jody's son is... and how lucky he is to have such a great mom. And I'm very sympathetic to constant re-readings of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Goodnight Moon. I have them memorized too. =)
I started to answer her in the comments section of her blog, but then it got so long that I had to write a separate post about it. I've listed a few recent favorites below... most of them are ones that have been published in the last ten years. For my favorite picture books when I was growing up, see this post.
Here's a short list of books that never get old:
Peggy Rathmann's books: Goodnight Gorilla, Ten Minutes till Bedtime, and of course... Officer Buckle and Gloria.
Sandra Boynton's and Michael Ford's musical books/albums: Dog Train, Blue Moo and Philadelphia Chickens.
David Wiesner's books, particularly Flotsam, The Three Pigs, Tuesday, Sector Seven, Free Fall, June 29, 1999.... okay... all of David Wiesner's books.
Mordecai Gerstein's The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. It moves me every time I read it. For more about it, see my review.
Mo Willems' books, including: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, and Knuffle Bunny. I wrote a Pigeon review here, and a Knuffle Bunny review here.
Jon Muth's Zen Shorts. I'm crazy about this book.
Oh, there are so many more... but at least this is a start!
Let me take this opportunity to say how incredibly adorable Jody's son is... and how lucky he is to have such a great mom. And I'm very sympathetic to constant re-readings of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Goodnight Moon. I have them memorized too. =)
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Halloween Books
Do you have a favorite picture book about Halloween? There's a post up at Parent Hacks on this subject. Be sure to check the comments section of the post to see all the suggestions.
As a side note, if you're a parent, I highly recommend reading the Parent Hacks blog. It contains some of the most helpful and practical tips I've ever seen. It's a fantastic resource.
And if you have a favorite Halloween book (whether you're a parent or not), I'd love to hear what it is.
As a side note, if you're a parent, I highly recommend reading the Parent Hacks blog. It contains some of the most helpful and practical tips I've ever seen. It's a fantastic resource.
And if you have a favorite Halloween book (whether you're a parent or not), I'd love to hear what it is.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
More Blogs!
I've been spending the weekend at the fabulous 1st Annual Kidlitosphere Conference in Chicago. I've meet incredible people, all interested in children's literature. I also discovered their wonderful children's and young adult literature blogs and their fabulous book reviews. I've added a huge number of new blogs to the links list on the right hand side of this blog. Check them out!
The best part (besides meeting all the wonderful people, of course) was that just about EVERYONE had finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and I could talk about it to my heart's content. And everyone was talking about children's books. And I even got a comic strip discussion going at one point. Pure bliss to talk with such wonderful people.
Also, I learned an incredible amount about the kidlit blogging community and the etiquette and ethics. And, since half the attendees were authors, I got to hear their perspective, which was terrific.
Update: For more about the Kidlitosphere Conference (which was awesome), check out any kidlit blog, because everyone has a post about it! For more specifics, there's a great round-up on Kelly Herold's blog Big A little a.
The best part (besides meeting all the wonderful people, of course) was that just about EVERYONE had finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and I could talk about it to my heart's content. And everyone was talking about children's books. And I even got a comic strip discussion going at one point. Pure bliss to talk with such wonderful people.
Also, I learned an incredible amount about the kidlit blogging community and the etiquette and ethics. And, since half the attendees were authors, I got to hear their perspective, which was terrific.
Update: For more about the Kidlitosphere Conference (which was awesome), check out any kidlit blog, because everyone has a post about it! For more specifics, there's a great round-up on Kelly Herold's blog Big A little a.
Monday, July 16, 2007
By the Nightlight
Check out a wonderful new blog about children's books called By the Nightlight. It's written by two sisters (who I first met about twenty years ago) who both love books and are top-notch writers. Good luck to Jody and Liz and I can't wait to read more!
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