Weekly Digest: Writing About Writing, Working on Books, Lots of Speaking Gigs, and Blog Struggles is a Success

I’ve been working non-stop on my upcoming big article series on blog writing and personal blogging. I’ll be posting some requests for your assistance on these issues soon.

I’m also working on two books, as well as the ebook version of Blogging Tips, so stay tuned for more announcements on that.

My schedule is starting to get finalized for all the speaking programs I have lined up this year. If you would like to bring me to speak before your group or conference, please let me know as soon as possible as my calendar is getting full. I cover a wide range of topics dealing with blogging, from WordPress to building a blog to building a blog network of relationships, and everything in between.

Also, a word of warning. We’ll be raising the price of my book, Blogging Tips, soon as the price of shipping and handling is going up, and we’ve extended the introductory price as long as we can. Get your order in soon as the price and shipping will be increasing.

As many of you may know, I write daily articles on the Blog Herald, including the popular WordPress Wednesday news reports. If you are looking for the latest on WordPress news, Plugins, Themes, security issues, new releases, WordPress.com, and all things WordPress, check these out. The most recent article was WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 On Track, Uninstalling WordPress Plugins, Premium WordPress Themes Debated, Permalinks, and More WordPress News.

This is the Weekly Digest from Lorelle on WordPress. To subscribe to the Weekly Digest category of Lorelle on WordPress, you can subscribe by the Weekly Digest feed or by email with the Weekly Digest Email Subscription to stay up to date on what is happening in Lorelle’s world of WordPress and blogging.

The last issue of my weekly digest was Weekly Digest: Blogging on Blogging, Speaking at SOBCon and WordCamp Dallas, and More on Blogging if you want to catch up.

What’s Happening with Lorelle on WordPress

Here’s the latest blog posts on Lorelle on WordPress.

• Blog Challenge: Write a Travel Post got an amazing amount of response from a variety of bloggers writing travel stories. Examples include snow covered dogs, a search for the perfect travel backpack, the family of a comic book fan blogger going on a trip to find a super hero, a gruesome travel story with a blogging point, and the first time seeing a waterfall adventure. Such an amazing diversity in stories.
• Cancer Blogs and Bloggers was a post from my heart, having lost many family members to cancer, and proud to have many more still fighting and kicking. I love celebrating bloggers who really give so much.
• Weekly Digest: Blogging on Blogging, Speaking at SOBCon and WordCamp Dallas, and More on Blogging is last week’s weekly digest.
• What Did You Learn Last Year? Do You Look Back? It’s that time for reflection, though I do it more frequently than annually, and many are writing about what they’ve done over the past year and I highlight a few.
• SOBCon: Be There for the Business of Blogging! I’m going to be there. I hope you are. I talk about the upcoming conference and who is speaking, and look back at last years incredible event.

Blog Struggles Series

I’m astounded at how well received my ongoing series on Blog Struggles has become. I’m really surprised. I was so nervous doing this article series and worked on it with doubt for months. People are really identifying with my stories of some of the struggles I’ve had over 14 years of blogging. This series will continue indefinitely as I dig through my memories of the internal debates, conflicts, and challenges I have faced while learning about the web and what eventually became known as blogging. Let me know if you are enjoying it, and I’ll keep reminiscing.

So far, the series includes:

• Blog Struggles: The Search for Blog Content: We put so much energy into “finding” blog content that we often forget the best source for good blog content: from within us. I offer tips and techniques for pulling content from your head.
• Blog Struggles: Ideas and Drafts: We come up with such great ideas and then what? We jot them down, make lists, start post drafts, and they sit there staring at us, as we procrastinate over what to do with all these ideas and how to keep them in check. I offer tips on how to best keep track of your ideas and drafts.
• Blog Struggles: The Blog Focus: As part one in a sub-series of posts on Blog Struggles, I look at the issue of the blog focus, your blog’s ability to turn you from a blogger into an expert.
• Blog Struggles: Why Should Your Blog Have a Focus: Your blog doesn’t have to have a focus, but if it does, these are the reasons, and benefits, of why it should.
• Blog Struggles: Finding Your Blog Focus: Continues the Blog Focus theme and offers tips for finding your blog’s focus and direction.
• Blog Struggles: Changing Your Blog’s Focus: Once you find your blog focus, how do you change your blog? Or should you start a new blog? I cover the tips you need to know to redirect your blog.
• Blog Struggles: When Spelling, Grammar, and Punctuation Interferes With Your Blogging looks at the issues around the impact of poor writing habits and skills and whether or not they impact the success and reading of your blog.
• In Blog Struggles: When Are Too Many Comments Too Many Comments?, I share a struggle I faced not long ago about an over-enthusiastic commenter who left a ton of comments on my blog within a few hours, making me very suspicious. We are often faced with suspicious comments, so what do we do? How should we handle them?
• Blog Struggles: Taking The Moral High Blogging Ground addresses the issue of deciding which ethical and moral road to take on your blog.
• Blog Struggles: Blogger’s Depression looks at the rarely discussed by normal aspect of blogging: depression. When the enthusiasm for the effort is lost and apathy sets in, and how to overcome it.
• Blog Struggles: It’s The Rituals That Help Us Focus: I share some of the rituals I use to get me “in the blogging mood” and ask you to share yours.
• Blog Struggles: When An Old Post is New Again takes a look at some of the struggles I’ve had when a past post suddenly gets picked up and sensationalized. I discuss the methods I use for keeping my old posts up to date, especially when fame comes knocking.
• Blog Struggles: Recovering From a Traffic Spike really touched a lot of people as they related to the addiction that traffic spikes bring, as well as the hassles.

Lorelle’s News

Download Squad: I’ll be doing an interview soon with Download Squad. If you want the latest in hot computer technology information and news, check out their blog and podcast.

SOBCon 2008: SOBCon: Be There for the Business of Blogging! I will be there, will you? The Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference is one of the hottest events for bloggers. The best of the best gather and I’m so honored to be one of the lucky ones. It’s in Chicago on May May 2 – 4, 2008. There is limited space available so register fast.

WordCamp Dallas: I’m one of the fantastic team of speakers at WordCamp Dallas on March 29-30, 2008. Registration is required so sign up fast. The line up includes some top multimedia, WordPress Plugin and Theme experts, and other top bloggers and industry leaders.

Blogger and Podcaster Magazine: Blogger and Podcaster Magazine will feature me as a regular columnist this year. The next article coming out soon will be on the business of blogging, part of a series. Get your issue now!

Blogging Tips: What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging

We will be ending the introductory “cheap” price on my book, “Blogging Tips: What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging” very soon. So get your order in now before the price goes up, along with the shipping rates.

You can order a copy from SplashPress or the new Blog Herald Bookstore. If you would like to order multiple copies, please email me first as that requires special handling.

For more information on the book, see the original announcement and a recent update with reviews and other information, as well as the Blogging Tips Book official page.

Most Popular Articles on Lorelle on WordPress

I was really surprised at the overwhelming response to Cancer Blogs and Bloggers and a new post in my Blog Struggles series called Recovering From a Traffic Spike. I really am proud when my articles touch the heart and spirit. Thank you for paying attention to them.

The most popular posts on Lorelle on WordPress the past few weeks were:

• WordPress 2.4 Release Delayed
• Cancer Blogs and Bloggers
• Blog Struggles: Recovering From a Traffic Spike
• Subscribe, Email Mailing List, Blog Update Alerts, and Newsletter WordPress Plugins
• What Do You Do When Someone Steals Your Content
• Learning About Blogging and How to Blog
• Designing a WordPress Theme From Scratch
• HTML, CSS, PHP, and More Cheat Sheets
• More Must-Have Bookmarklets Than You Can Swing a Browser At
• Contact Form WordPress Plugins
• WordPress Pages: Exploring the Pseudo-Static Pages of WordPress
• Adding Avatars and Gravatars to Your WordPress and WordPress.com Blog
• Do-It-Yourself Search Engine Optimization

Blasts From the Past

Here are some blasts from the past I’ve written that still are interesting today:

• Why is Country-Specific Words Important to Bloggers?
• Will You Be Blogging in the July 28 Blogathon 2007?
• Blog Challenge: How Do You Blog?
• Blogging Challenge: Hobby Blogging and Blogging About Your Hobby
• Integrating FeedBlitz Feed Email Service Into WordPress
• Integrating Google Gadgets Into WordPress Themes

Blog Herald Columns

Recent articles on the Blog Herald included:

• What Do You Bring to the Blog Table? A Remix or Your Own Special Recipe? This is a look at what goes into your blogging pot, a special mix of ingredients that makes your blog special. If you don’t know what the ingredients are, I’ve included a list.
• Black Hat Commenting takes a look at bloggers using comments in ways that attract attention and traffic, but also get the ire of many other bloggers.
• Does Your Blog Comments Strip HTML and Links? Many are tired of blog programs which strip out links and HTML tags from blog posts, taking away one of the great connectors of the web.
• Putting Value Into Your Link Lists is another attempt of mine to help you give more when you create your link lists.
• My Blog is a Resource For Me. Is It? This brought up a lot of controversy, but it’s clear that the really swift bloggers got the point. Your blog may be about you, but if you hit the publish button, it’s about the readers.
• I Need to Comment More. Don’t You? I needed a kick in the butt reminder that I needed to comment more. Don’t you?

Some recent weekly WordPress Wednesday News reports included:

• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.5 On Track, Uninstalling WordPress Plugins, Premium WordPress Themes Debated, Permalinks, and More WordPress News
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.4 is 2.5, Release Delayed, Security Release Issued, WordPress Groups Group, Talking to Plugin Authors, and More
• WordPress Wednesday News: Mandatory WordPress Security Release, Sneak Previews of WordPress 2.4, Hoodies, Vote for WordPress, Moving to WordPress, Custom Fields, and More
• WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2007, Nominated for TechCrunch Crunchies, More WordPress Blogs Hacked, WordPress Events in 2008, WordPress.com Blogger Wins, and Snow
• WordPress Wednesday News: Akismet Day, Two Million Bloggers, Plugin Security Warnings, And WordPress is the Best CMS

Lorelle’s Linkworthy Links

As I crawled through the web recently, I ran across some interesting posts and articles you should check out:

• Perishable Press » WordPress: Comprehensive URL Canonicalization via htaccess for WordPress-Powered Sites really impressed me. From the beginning of my use of WordPress, I’ve been struggling with the limitations of permalinks and Apache. Now, with the amazing improvements in canonicalization by Ryan Boren and others on the WordPress team, we have more control over our blog’s URLs.
• Andy Skelton: Apology: Not Useless Code really clicked with me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to say “Um, you’re wrong” when people pontificate on their “expertise” of WordPress and blogging. Andy has done so beautifully in describing the WordPress Loop and how it isn’t useless coding.
• Whom Are You Writing For? from Daily Writing Tips is a great look at exploring who your readers are. If you don’t have Daily Writing Tips in your feeder, you are missing an invaluable blogging resource.
• Ever wish you had a Virtual Assistant? Freelance Switch points to a contest in which you can win a virtual assistant. Are you ready for a virtual assistant? I’m getting close and giving it serious thought, so maybe I’ll enter the contest. Come join me.

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Lorelle VanFossen is a member of WordPress, WordPress.com, the 9Rules Network, and author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging.