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Monthly Archives: February 2014
Five More Ways to Increase Your Blog Readership
I blogged a couple of days ago with five ways to increase your blog readership. Here’s an additional five that I hope are helpful for those who like to look at their numbers every once in a while. But remember — writing always comes first!
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Posted in blogging, Uncategorized
Tagged blogging, blogging hints, online presence, social media, writing good blog posts
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Five Ways to Increase Your Blog Readership
Those of us living a solitary writing life can sometimes get a little too addicted to Google Analytics. It’s a validation to us if people are reading our blog — and comments are like gold. I freely admit I poke at mine from time to time, trying to figure out what drives numbers up. So here’s five things I’ve noticed that do:
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Posted in blogging, Uncategorized
Tagged blogging, blogging hints, online presence, pinterest, social media, when to tweet
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Teaching and Burnout: Taking a Break
I’ve been teaching online classes for a few years now. They have been awesome and one of the coolest things has been the number of talented writers I’ve had the privilege to work with. However, I’m scheduling a break from teaching during the latter half of 2014, and it’s for a few reasons.
The first and most important is that I can feel a little burnout creeping up around the edges. I’ll be talking in a class and think to myself, “I know I’ve said this before,” and it will be because I have said it before, repeatedly even — but not to that class. I can tell that if I don’t take a break, that feeling is going to drown me.
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Posted in teaching
Tagged burnout, online workshop, teaching online, teaching writing
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You Should Read This: The Dictionary. Any Dictionary.
I love the dictionary. I have, in fact, been known to dip into it for pleasure, to swoon with delight at a new word like lacustrine or neritic. When I was in grad school, we played a version of Balderdash that far predated the boxed set, using an American Heritage dictionary that still sits on my shelf.
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You Should Read This: The Moomintroll Books by Tove Jansson
I found these books as part of the reading list in the back of Jacqueline Jackson’s Turn Not Pale, Beloved Snail. They are why I’ve always wanted to go to Finland.
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Posted in you should read this
Tagged mg, ya, ya fantasy classics, you should read this
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You Should Read This: The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
The Narnia books changed the way generations of young readers would look at wardrobes. Their importance in the field of children’s fantasy literature cannot be overstated. I came to them early and had a boxed set which was, by my teen years, grubby and well-worn.
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You Should Read This: More Notable Young Adult and Middle Grade Speculative Fiction of 2013
I blogged last week about some of my favorite YA of 2013 and I wanted to add some more books to that list. These are all books that I wold’t have run across if I hadn’t been reading for the Norton jury, and I’m very pleased to have found them. With each I’ve identified both the genre (fantasy vs. science fiction) and the gender of the lead character, since I know that may affect some buying decisions.
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You Should Read This: The Complete Drive-In by Joe R. Lansdale
The Drive-In by Joe R. Lansdale has two sequels, The Drive-In 2: Not Just One of Them Sequels and The Drive-In 3: The Bus Tour. Underland Press did a collected edition a few years back that is terrific, but it looks as though it’s out of print now. The story begins when a few friends go to the All Night Horror Show at a drive-in theater and find themselves transported to an alternate dimension, forcing the theatergoers to live on popcorn, fountain drinks, and eventually each other. Then it gets weird.
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Posted in you should read this
Tagged horror fiction, joe r. lansdale, you should read this
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