So What Are These Things Called. . . Blogs???

It amazed me when a multi-published author recently asked me what I meant by "blogging." I thought everyone had heard the term by now! Though a relatively new explosion on the Internet scene, the "blog," short for "web log," has become an important tool for those who write on everysubject. Authors find them particularly convenient tools, most are easy to update and considerably less work than basic web sites. Bloggers can find free and inexpensive sites to host their blogs and new posts appear as soon as submitted. Blogs range from promotional to instructional to political, but consistently host the innermost thoughts and feelings of the owner.

Like any public forum, a blog is visible to anyone and everyone, and bloggers must remember this and choose their words carefully. You never know who might view your words-a publisher, an editor, a reviewer, or someone with totally differing political or religious values.

The key benefits I see to blogging:

- The diary effect: A place you can rant or just post your personal opinions on any subject. I was amazed at the number of authors blogging about the recent events in the Middle East.

- Draw in readers: Your insightful entries may keep readers returning and linking to your home page. Maybe they will order your next book, visit your main website or join your organization.

- Experiment with different types of writing: Always been a novelist? Never written for the public? Try devotionals, poetry, even recipes or how-to articles. Always written non-fiction? Kick around creative ideas, start a serial story or develop character vignettes. Post your own photography projects.

- Convenience: The best part of blogging is the ease of making entries. I can handle my own blog, but need a webmaster for my website. The convenience allows us to comment on timely subjects!

The key cautions I need to comment on:

- Personal Info: Be wary of personal information you may not intend to share with the public. Your location, family names and photos, etc., can always be used by unscrupulous viewers. Why take a chance with your loved ones? Anyone can find your address in search engines like Google, why give them extra ammo? Even simple things like a child's name could possibly be used with a stolen debit card as a password. Use common sense.

- Publishing Rights: Carefully consider what material you post. Once web-posted, it's considered previously published material by many publishers, which may result in you being paid for reprints instead of original articles.

- Creative Protection: When you post an idea or outline of a new project, consider whether you want to share these early ideas with the public. Has the material been submitted to a publisher or agent? Would these companies want the proposal made public at this point? You never know who might read your blog.

- Your Viewpoint: Keep in mind that anyone can link to your blog, and/or quote you in their own blog. Today I found a well-known Christian author quoted in a blog as not wanting to read erotic romances. Her comments, taken out of context, ignited an online flame war that at last look had nearly one hundred heated reply comments.

Blogging Basics:

Find a host for your blog. There are many sources of free blogs from sites like ebloggy.com, Blogger.com, blogdrive.com and blog-citycom, which allow you to choose your template and make all changes directly to your blog. You can also investigate blog hosts who charge fees, which may be the way to go depending on the services offered and your needs. One blog host offers management tools to paid bloggers, including tracking for blogs picked up and translated into other languages. It's a good idea to also open a free account with an image hosting site, such as photobucket.com where you can upload and store pictures and images to use on your blog.

Uploading your images on the blog, along with using features like font colors, size, underlining, etc., involves using HTML code. Most blogs have tutorial services on their home page to get your started. If you are familiar with posting messages and pictures on Internet message/bulletin boards, you should find blog codes to be very similar. Also, in most cases you can look at your blog's template and copy code for links and images based on the pre-made code already set for you.

Once your blog is established and you are making regular entries, start to exchange blog links with fellow writers or friends. Consider registering your blog with blog-compiling sites, called "aggregators." And don't forget to add your blog address to your e-mail signature.

What should you include on your blog?

Besides your running log entries, consider posting: -your favorite quotes -Bible verse -links to other blogs -information on your products or business. Include small graphics to illustrate your point

What not to post?

Only you can decide the scope of your blog, how consistently you want to post, and how personal you choose to be.

Sound intriguing? It should, you've got things to say and here is another venue! One final benefit worth mentioning: regular blogging trains you to write/produce material/meet goals on a daily/weekly basis. Think of it as a warm-up, an exercise. And you never know, you may eventually put together enough material for a book. Just remember it's already been published. Happy Blogging!