Wednesday, February 20, 2013

WRITERLY WISDOM: Beth Stilborn







It's time once again for WRITERLY WISDOM where every Wednesday we will sneak a peek into the world of writing and publication.   I am so happy my next guest blogger agreed to do a post for this series.  I was first introduced to Beth Stilborn when I participated in Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) in November 2011 and I consider her a good friend.  Take it away Beth…



To Blog or Not To Blog: A few thoughts on writer blogging, the hows, whys, pleasures and pitfalls
By Beth Stilborn

As writers consider how to “build our platform,” we often ask, “Should I have a blog or a website? What should I blog about?”

Blog or website? I suggest you start with a fairly simple blog, one that allows for “pages” behind tabs. You can move to a full website later, if you choose. An example is Julie Hedlund’s website. Julie started out with a blog but as her career in writing expanded she had a website built which includes her blog and much more.

What platform should I use? Many companies provide blogging capabilities, and each has advantages and disadvantages. For most bloggers, I think either Wordpress or Blogger is simplest. Both offer free blog-hosting and are customizable.

Blogger offers Google Friend Connect, an easy way for people to follow your blog, flexibility in pages and add-ons, and good statistics information.

Sylvia Liu has suggestions to make your Blogger blog more like a website.

Wordpress is comparable, but without Google Friend Connect. I found Wordpress.com to be limited in widget capabilities (which allow for lists, and other add-ons along the sidebar.) It provides some flexibility, and good statistics.

Wordpress.org is the paid version, which gives widget capability, but few statistics, and less flexibility for post appearance. It’s a seesaw of positives and negatives, whichever you choose.

What url to choose? I advise you to use your name for your blog address, in the way it is (or will be) used on your books. That allows a reader, editor or agent to find your blog easily. Purchase your name’s url even if you’re not ready to set up your blog or website.

Content: The content of your blog is the most important consideration. It is what you write that will attract people to your blog and keep them coming back, not the appearance.

What do you have to share? What will show your area of expertise? Does much of your writing focus on a topic such as sports or science? Incorporate that. You don’t have to stick exclusively to one topic, but let that special interest show through so that a reader – or editor or agent – sees the basis for the focus in your writing.

Joanna Marple has a particular interest in endangered animals, and Miss Marple’s Musings highlights this in many creative ways. Patricia Tilton’s blog, Children’s Books Heal, focuses on special needs kids.

You may say, “I have too many interests to narrow my blog so much!” So do we all, but for building a platform it’s best to highlight one or two areas.

Some people, like Susanna Leonard Hill, find ways to reach out and involve others through their blog posts. Her Would You Read It Wednesdays and Perfect Picture Book Fridays allow an eclectic platform.

Cautions: It’s great to blog about the writing process, but leave giving actual writing advice to the experts.

It’s best not to post your manuscripts (in part or in whole). Besides the potential for plagiarism, many editors consider something to have been published once it’s on a blog, and don’t want to publish something that’s already freely available. To demonstrate your writing abilities, it’s better to use writing that you don’t plan to submit.

Copyright: Simply stated, if it isn’t yours, don’t post it on your blog without permission. This applies to photographs and artistic images as well as writing. Just because you can find a photo through google images doesn’t mean it’s okay to use it on your blog. Use a site that offers images for legal free use or a service such as Fotolia through which you can purchase licensing rights to images.

To read more of what I’ve learned about copyright, check out my three-part blog series.

Brevity: This post notwithstanding, brief posts are best. The sweet spot is about 500 words, although sometimes a post will be necessarily longer.

It’s easier on your reader’s eyes if the paragraphs are kept brief.

Scheduling: Schedule one, two or three posts a week. If circumstances prevent you from blogging, give your readers a heads-up.

Overkill: You may have many things you want to say in separate posts, or many books you want to review. Space these out over the weeks. Six or seven blog posts coming in from the same person over a period of a couple of hours can cause a follower to delete without reading after a while.

Format: You’re competing for people’s attention with thousands of other blogs. You need to catch their interest with a hook sentence and keep their interest with a good post.

Keep your font simple, not too large or bold, easy to read. Note: light text on a dark background is very difficult to read. A “busy” background or sidebar can detract from the overall effect of your blog.

You can learn much about format at Laura B. Writer’s blog. (Search for the word critique in her blog’s search box.)

Comments: Comments are one of the perks of blogging. It’s common courtesy to respond to comments left on your blog. (When you get to the point that your posts have a couple of hundred comments on them, we’ll cut you some slack!) Comments build friendships, community, and that all-important platform.

Some people use Disqus for the comments on their blogs, which allows them to respond both on their blog and via email. I’ve heard positives and negatives about Disqus, but have not used it myself.

It is also crucial to read other people’s blogs and comment on them. The more you involve yourself with others’ blogs, the more they’ll involve themselves with yours.

Purpose: A personal blog can be random. A writer’s blog needs to have focus.

What do you want your public to know and what is it not necessary for them to know? They don’t need to know that you cleaned the bathroom yesterday – they do need to know what sort of a writer you are, what drives your imagination, what you read.

What would you want an editor or agent to see if they checked your blog? Heed this agent’s post – don’t air your dirty writing-laundry on your blog.

For more about blogs, check out Kristen Lamb’s post on blogging in which she calls it “an author’s most powerful social media tool”, and Robert “My Name is Not Bob” Lee Brewer’s blog.

Joy: Blogging can be, and usually is, a joy. It is a great way to hone your writing skills. It is a way to build community as you interact with your readers and reach out to other bloggers. I wish you that joy!






Beth Stilborn lives in a prairie city, and writes in a converted bedroom in her apartment, but she’s often elsewhere in her imagination! Most, but not all, of her writing projects (picture books, chapter books, middle grade fiction, adult fiction) include a focus on the arts, particularly theatre and music.

Beth blogs about “reading, writing, the arts and life” at By Word of Beth. She is a member of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers), the Saskatchewan Writers Guild, the online Children’s Book Hub, and 12x12 in 2013. Along with Emma Walton Hamilton, she is co-host of the Children’s Book Hub Facebook Group.

You can find Beth at her blog, http://www.bethstilborn.com


35 comments:

  1. Another great post in your series, Donna. Thank you, Beth, and for the shout-out. You offer some great tips here. With limited time to make it around the many excellent kidlit blogs out there, I do find the length of the post and whether the blogger interacts with her/his commenters can influence whether or not I return frequently to a blog. I try and follow up with new commenters on my blog and make a return visit to their blog, often making new friends in the process.

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    1. Hi Joanna!

      Beth did a great job with this post...just wish I would have known all of this way before I got started with my blog...might have been easier...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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    2. Thanks, Joanna! It is hard to get to all the wonderful blogs. Yours is definitely worth the visit!

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  2. Really nice post. Beth, you covered the subject very well. So far, my blogging has been limited for the most part. I would say I blog for learning and for the community. I participate in blogs like Susanna Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Book Friday because I feel it helps my writing by reviewing books and by having a continual source for finding more picture books to read. I have to admit that I read a lot of posts that I don't comment on. I found that I was spending way too much time on the Internet and not nearly enough with my actual writing. It's a balance that I am trying to find.
    Thanks Donna for another winner in your series.

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    1. Hi Penny!

      I too read a lot of blog posts each day but also comment on a lot of them...it's one way I connect with other writers and help encourage them to keep on keeping on...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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    2. Thanks so much, Penny. It is really hard to find the balance between interacting, building community, and getting the necessary writing time in!

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  3. GREAT post, Beth! What a comprehensive overview of blogging. Thank you so much for mentioning my blog while you were at it - you're very kind :) As you know, I use disqus, and I'm just about at the point where I'm going to cut it loose because so many people have trouble commenting, but I would love and alternative that works better and still allows me to reply to people's email inboxes so they know I've responded without having to remember to go back and check or clicking the notify me of all comments button which I fear would fill up your inbox so fast you'd have trouble digging out. If you have any ideas on that front, I'm all ears! Thanks, Beth and Donna, for another great post in the series!

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    1. Susanna, The first time I used Disqus was while leaving a comment on your blog, but I must say, I became a convert right then:) I now use it on my website, and it's been the single biggest relief against spam comment. Before installing Disqus, I would get about two hundred bot-generated spam daily. Now, there's none!

      Beth, thanks for bringing a lot of niggling what's and how's from the blogging world all together in this post!

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    2. Hi Susanna!

      I am so pleased with how this series is going. I hope everyone is learning as much as I am and I can't wait each week for Wednesdays!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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    3. Hi Richa!

      I can't wait to ready YOUR post for this series!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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    4. Thanks, Susanna -- I so appreciate your blog. I wonder if it makes a difference in Disqus if the person actually registers in Disqus? I had to do that for someone's blog, and now commenting is more automatic for me on your blog as well (although I haven't had trouble commenting on your blog).

      And Richa -- Thanks for your comment, as well!

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  4. But I DID clean my bathroom yesterday. ;-) Great advice, Beth. Thanks for the series, Donna.

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    1. LOL... now come clean mine! Thanks cwm!

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    2. Hi CWM!! I'm glad you are enjoying the series...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  5. Great blogging advice, Beth! Thanks ladies!

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    1. Hi Catherine! Beth is keeping the ball rolling on a great lineup of fabulous posts!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  6. Thanks, Beth and Donna, for a very helpful post! I've been blogging for a long time so I know great info when I see it. :)

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    1. Thanks, Teresa -- it's good to hear from someone who's been at this a long time, and thinks what I said made sense. :)

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    2. Hi Teresa! I'm glad you found Beth's post helpful. I plan on lining up great posts all year long...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  7. Thanks, Beth and Donna. Excellent advice Beth! You and Donna both know I am finding my way in the blogging world. And you have both been very supportive - thank you.

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    1. Thanks, Alayne. I so enjoy your blog!

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    2. Hi Alayne! You have such a wonderful wealth of experience to be able to share with others...it's just a pity you didn't think to start your blog sooner! ;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  8. Excellent post, I still haven't decided what my blog is about. Maybe some day, but all good information.

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    1. Thanks, Yolanda. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what direction we want to go with our blog. That's okay.

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    2. Hi Yolanda! The great thing about blogs is that they can become any thing you want to be become. They evolve and grow as we do and sometimes blossom into something more than we ever imagined!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  9. I'm trying to find a rulle I haven't broken :/

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    1. Note that these aren't rules, they're suggestions and guidelines -- and so "breaking rules" isn't really the issue. Finding what works for you, and what builds the sort of blog and online presence you want is what matters, really. (In the area of copyright, though... those are rules. lol)

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  10. Lol, JP...are we still talking about writing? ;~)

    Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  11. Nice post, Beth (and good choice, Donna)! These tips are very useful for new bloggers. Lord knows Cupcake could've used a few tips when she decided to become a blogger two years ago! Commenting and responding to comments are critical. That's the whole charm of the blogging experience!

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    1. Hi Genevieve! I agree about replying to the comments left on a person's blog. Not only does it tell the commenter their words are important, I personally have begun friendships just based on someone's comments left on one of my posts... like yours and Cupcakes...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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    2. Thanks so much, Genevieve! I love Cupcake's blog -- it's a delight. I think she's done very well indeed.

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  12. Great post Beth. Thnaks for posting this Donna. Some wonderful tips on blogging. I think blogging is a great way for authors to let their readers know more about them. Readers seem to love that. I guess that is why we still enjoy reading Jane Austen's letters!

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    1. Hi Darlene! I agree blogging is one of the best ways to keep in contact with others and to show a bit of the personal side of ourselves in the process...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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    2. Thanks, Darlene. Great point about reading bygone author's letters!

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