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Showing posts with label blogger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogger. Show all posts
9/11/14
8/21/11
Check out my new look!
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| simply fabulous |
3/28/11
Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference
ATTENTION: BOOK BLOGGERS
The Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference is being held April 13-17 and we are very excited to have some fabulous publishers involved and to be offering thirty audio panels, numerous forums, and chat rooms. The best part is you can attend from the comfort of your home!
We will be giving away books to all bloggers and reviewers attending and all the panels are recorded so that if you miss any live you have a month to catch up. Learn how to work with publishers and get review copies, where you can attend live events, what other bloggers are doing to promote their blogs, and gain a better understanding of how the industry works.
Publishers Participating
Simon & Schuster, Penguin USA, Bloomsbury, Sourcebooks, Bell Bridge Books, Egmont, The Wild Rose Press, MLR, Lyrical Press, Breathless Press, Ravenous Romance, Dreamspinner Press, Dark Castle Lords, and 15 more.
If you are interested in learning more visit the BBP Blog -http://bbpcon.blogspot.com
Registration is $45 for 5 days - Depending on Genre You will receive more than the price of admittance in free books - Shipping of $7 or under may be added for the shipping on the large print giveaways. If money is an issue please email us and see about helping with the conference in exchange for attending.
Thank you for your time and consideration, if you have any further questions you can email Terry Kate at romanceinthebackseat@gmail.com
The Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference is being held April 13-17 and we are very excited to have some fabulous publishers involved and to be offering thirty audio panels, numerous forums, and chat rooms. The best part is you can attend from the comfort of your home!
We will be giving away books to all bloggers and reviewers attending and all the panels are recorded so that if you miss any live you have a month to catch up. Learn how to work with publishers and get review copies, where you can attend live events, what other bloggers are doing to promote their blogs, and gain a better understanding of how the industry works.
Publishers Participating
Simon & Schuster, Penguin USA, Bloomsbury, Sourcebooks, Bell Bridge Books, Egmont, The Wild Rose Press, MLR, Lyrical Press, Breathless Press, Ravenous Romance, Dreamspinner Press, Dark Castle Lords, and 15 more.
If you are interested in learning more visit the BBP Blog -http://bbpcon.blogspot.com
Registration is $45 for 5 days - Depending on Genre You will receive more than the price of admittance in free books - Shipping of $7 or under may be added for the shipping on the large print giveaways. If money is an issue please email us and see about helping with the conference in exchange for attending.
Thank you for your time and consideration, if you have any further questions you can email Terry Kate at romanceinthebackseat@gmail.com
2/2/11
Want to be a part of a book as it is written?
About | 12 Books in 12 Months
I received a very nice email from a another blogger that I want to share with everyone. Ali is a real writer, unlike my amateur attempts. She is doing a really interesting thing over at her blog. Here is part of the note she sent me:
From Ali at 12 Books in 12 Months
The idea was inspired by National Novel Writing Month, an initiative aimed at getting people to write 50 thousand words of their first novel in 30 days, which I completed last November.
I reached the word count surprisingly easily, so I decided to give myself more of a challenge. I am aiming to complete 12 first drafts of genre fiction books by the end of this year, then in 2012 I will write a book about the process that will also include interviews with publishers and published authors.
It is an interactive project, so I would like people to suggest ideas, character names, themes, or challenge me to include things in each book via the website, twitter etc. It would be absolutely fantastic if you and your blog readers got involved! The thinking behind getting people's suggestions is to test whether people really know what they want to read, to which end I am going to try to get each book published. If any of them get picked up, the proceeds will go to charity as I can't claim money for other people's ideas.
So there you have it, want to be part of the writing process? Go sign up HERE
I received a very nice email from a another blogger that I want to share with everyone. Ali is a real writer, unlike my amateur attempts. She is doing a really interesting thing over at her blog. Here is part of the note she sent me:
From Ali at 12 Books in 12 Months
The idea was inspired by National Novel Writing Month, an initiative aimed at getting people to write 50 thousand words of their first novel in 30 days, which I completed last November.
I reached the word count surprisingly easily, so I decided to give myself more of a challenge. I am aiming to complete 12 first drafts of genre fiction books by the end of this year, then in 2012 I will write a book about the process that will also include interviews with publishers and published authors.
It is an interactive project, so I would like people to suggest ideas, character names, themes, or challenge me to include things in each book via the website, twitter etc. It would be absolutely fantastic if you and your blog readers got involved! The thinking behind getting people's suggestions is to test whether people really know what they want to read, to which end I am going to try to get each book published. If any of them get picked up, the proceeds will go to charity as I can't claim money for other people's ideas.
So there you have it, want to be part of the writing process? Go sign up HERE
1/18/11
How to Set-up a Facebook Fan Page thats Successful
You know how I mentioned I was clueless on setting up Facebook page for my blog?
Well, Stacie had a twitter link up just now that led me to The Blog Cafe which explained it all!
The Blog Cafe: Techie Tuesday - How to Set-up a Facebook Fan Page thats Successful
Well, Stacie had a twitter link up just now that led me to The Blog Cafe which explained it all!
The Blog Cafe: Techie Tuesday - How to Set-up a Facebook Fan Page thats Successful
1/16/11
Google Forms: How To (for blogger users)
I don't create a new form for each contest. I have a master form and just copy that one, adjust the information and post it. I would recommend signing up for a gmail account, since it will make accesses your forms much easier.
Here are the steps to setting up a new form:
1. Open Google Documents
2. Click on CREATE NEW (upper right side of screen)
3. From the drop down menu, select FORM
4. A new window should pop up with a form for you to edit.
5. TITLE your form
6. Enter any information that might help your entrant complete the form. I include my email address in case there is an error or someone is having a problem.
7. Edit the questions: Start with a name, then you can continue adding questions until you get what you want.
8. You can choose different options from the drop down menu for each questions, either text, multiple choice or check box.
9. When you are happy with your form SAVE IT.
You can also make it fancy and insert a background by clicking on the THEME button on the upper right side of the template maker. They add new ones all of the time. I prefer plain so it doesn't clash with my blog layout.
OK, now let's insert it into your blog post. You have two choices: It can be part of the post or a link that will open in a new window. They both work the same and if you have formatting issues, you may want to use the link.
To LINK:
1. On your google form, look down at the very bottom of the form where it says:
You can view the published form here: https:="" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4581275855741224398" id="view-form-link" spreadsheets.google.com="" viewform?formkey="
( I deleted the rest, since it won't go anywhere.)
2. Click on that link which will take you to your form.
3. Copy the web address from your browser and paste that to a link in your post.
4. Please paste the link to something easy to find. If you are typing all caps, use the whole line as your link. Or just use caps on the word you are linking to. I can't tell you how many times I have searched for the form link. Make it obvious!
5. Test your link! I learned this important lesson from another blog I post to. You don't want angry people looking for a contest and the link doesn't work.
To INSERT (embed)
1. Click on the MORE ACTIONS tab on the left side of your form
2. Be sure to be in EDIT HTML of your blog post. The code may or may not work on COMPOSE. I haven't figured out why it works sometimes and not other times.
3. Click on EMBED and you will get a code which is what you will paste to your blog post.
4. Your code should look something like this:
iframe src="https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dDk3TkxFSzlPMXJpdlRGdzVGNU5HNnc6MQ" width="760" height="954" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0">Loading...
5.If you want your form to look nice and neat, you will want to edit the WIDTH of the form so it fits your post. I change that standard 760 to 420, which makes my form fit my blog perfectly. You may have to adjust your width and experiment. I leave the height alone, so you don't have to scroll down to enter. Yes, it takes up more room, but I think it makes it easier for people to enter their information.
6. Again, check out your post in PREVIEW to make sure it looks right.
To check your responses, go back into google documents and your entries should be visible when you re-open the form.
Once you create your sample entry form, you can just make a new one by copying it.
1. Open Documents and find your form.
2. Open your form and click on the FILE tab.
3. Choose the MAKE A COPY option
4. RENAME your form. I just use the book title. You need to do this if you have multiple contests.
5.Edit your form by opening it and clicking on FORM at the top of the toolbar if you need to make changes.
NEW INFORMATION: (added 12:52pm)
Recently Google added new features to FORMS that I didn't know about. You can do more with it. To read all of the new features -- check out this link HERE
If I missed something or it doesn't make sense, post a comment or send me an email: maryinhb@gmail.com
Here are the steps to setting up a new form:
1. Open Google Documents
2. Click on CREATE NEW (upper right side of screen)
3. From the drop down menu, select FORM
4. A new window should pop up with a form for you to edit.
5. TITLE your form
6. Enter any information that might help your entrant complete the form. I include my email address in case there is an error or someone is having a problem.
7. Edit the questions: Start with a name, then you can continue adding questions until you get what you want.
8. You can choose different options from the drop down menu for each questions, either text, multiple choice or check box.
9. When you are happy with your form SAVE IT.
You can also make it fancy and insert a background by clicking on the THEME button on the upper right side of the template maker. They add new ones all of the time. I prefer plain so it doesn't clash with my blog layout.
OK, now let's insert it into your blog post. You have two choices: It can be part of the post or a link that will open in a new window. They both work the same and if you have formatting issues, you may want to use the link.
To LINK:
1. On your google form, look down at the very bottom of the form where it says:
You can view the published form here: https:="" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4581275855741224398" id="view-form-link" spreadsheets.google.com="" viewform?formkey="
( I deleted the rest, since it won't go anywhere.)
2. Click on that link which will take you to your form.
3. Copy the web address from your browser and paste that to a link in your post.
4. Please paste the link to something easy to find. If you are typing all caps, use the whole line as your link. Or just use caps on the word you are linking to. I can't tell you how many times I have searched for the form link. Make it obvious!
5. Test your link! I learned this important lesson from another blog I post to. You don't want angry people looking for a contest and the link doesn't work.
To INSERT (embed)
1. Click on the MORE ACTIONS tab on the left side of your form
2. Be sure to be in EDIT HTML of your blog post. The code may or may not work on COMPOSE. I haven't figured out why it works sometimes and not other times.
3. Click on EMBED and you will get a code which is what you will paste to your blog post.
4. Your code should look something like this:
iframe src="https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dDk3TkxFSzlPMXJpdlRGdzVGNU5HNnc6MQ" width="760" height="954" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0">Loading...
5.If you want your form to look nice and neat, you will want to edit the WIDTH of the form so it fits your post. I change that standard 760 to 420, which makes my form fit my blog perfectly. You may have to adjust your width and experiment. I leave the height alone, so you don't have to scroll down to enter. Yes, it takes up more room, but I think it makes it easier for people to enter their information.
6. Again, check out your post in PREVIEW to make sure it looks right.
To check your responses, go back into google documents and your entries should be visible when you re-open the form.
Once you create your sample entry form, you can just make a new one by copying it.
1. Open Documents and find your form.
2. Open your form and click on the FILE tab.
3. Choose the MAKE A COPY option
4. RENAME your form. I just use the book title. You need to do this if you have multiple contests.
5.Edit your form by opening it and clicking on FORM at the top of the toolbar if you need to make changes.
NEW INFORMATION: (added 12:52pm)
Recently Google added new features to FORMS that I didn't know about. You can do more with it. To read all of the new features -- check out this link HERE
If I missed something or it doesn't make sense, post a comment or send me an email: maryinhb@gmail.com
Spam Control on Blogger
Blogger is consistently updating the comment and spam control function. I just read a few articles that said the new spam control function is interactive. The more you use it, the better it works. When you mark a comment as spam, Blogger acts like your email spam inbox and blocks that IP address.
If you haven't tried out the new comment tab on Blogger, please give it a try. I have mine set up to email me each time a new comment appears so I can see what is happening on my blog. This is a pretty recent advancement on Blogger. I think it started in August and there was an update in December, 2010. I had one period where I was getting 100-200 spam comments each month and had to turn on word verification. Once I started using Blogger's Comment control, I now get 2-3 a week and Blogger seems to catch them all.
I do have comment moderation turned on for any post over 31 days because for some reason, the spam bots attack my older posts. Weird, isn't it? The only reason I have it set for such a long time is that I have contests that run for a month. The spam comments are all from anonymous users. I have several readers that comment as anonymous and I don't want to block them, but you can also set up comment control to moderate ALL anonymous user.
To make it easier for you to manage your comments, we’ve created a new Comments tab for you to access them. Here, you can manage published comments, comments that have been flagged as spam and comments awaiting moderation if you have turned on Comment Moderation.
Users with Comment Moderation turned on will continue to see comments that need moderation and have not been flagged as spam in Comments | Awaiting Moderation. Users without Comment Moderation will not see any comments in Comments | Awaiting Moderation.
Spam Inbox
Blogger now filters comments that are likely spam comments to a Spam Inbox, much like the spam folder in your email. When someone leaves a comment on your blog, it will be reviewed against our spam detector, and comments that are identified as possible spam will be sent to your blog’s Spam Inbox, found at Comments | Spam.You can help improve our ability to automatically detect spam comments by checking your Spam Inbox and deleting spam comments and marking real comments that may have been flagged as spam as Not Spam.
We are always seeking feedback on how to improve this feature, so please share your feedback with us by clicking on the Report Spam Filtering Issues.
If you have questions about what constitutes spam on Blogger, please review our Content Policies.
11/6/10
The Day The Internet Threw A Righteous Hissyfit About Copyright And Pie : Monkey See : NPR
So you might have heard a story yesterday about a little magazine called Cooks Source. Up until then, you might never have heard of Cooks Source. But maybe you've heard of "the Internet." Cooks Source now undoubtedly wishes it never had.
Read the rest of the story here:
The Day The Internet Threw A Righteous Hissyfit About Copyright And Pie : Monkey See : NPR
And here is another good article about it:
http://www.edrants.com/the-cooks-source-scandal-how-a-magazine-profits-on-theft/
Oh, then there's this:
(Hurry and watch this before it is taken down. I have seen many parodies done with this same film clip.)
Read the rest of the story here:
The Day The Internet Threw A Righteous Hissyfit About Copyright And Pie : Monkey See : NPR
And here is another good article about it:
http://www.edrants.com/the-cooks-source-scandal-how-a-magazine-profits-on-theft/
Oh, then there's this:
(Hurry and watch this before it is taken down. I have seen many parodies done with this same film clip.)
10/16/10
Following Followers
I just cleaned up my list of blogs that I am following. If I unsubscribed to your blog by mistake, post a note here with your link and I will re subscribe. Or if you have a blog and I am not following you, I would be happy to return the favor.
I found over 20 blogs where I was the only subscriber left....the owners had moved their site or discontinued blogging. There were also many blogs that were inactive.
I found over 20 blogs where I was the only subscriber left....the owners had moved their site or discontinued blogging. There were also many blogs that were inactive.
9/16/10
9/11/10
Parajunkee's View: Book Bloggin 101 - List
Parajunkee's View: Book Bloggin 101 - List
In going through the blogs on BLOG FEST 2010, I came across The Unread Reader blog. I spent probably 20 minutes reading her posts. She has a fantastic interview with Rachel from Parajunkee's View and that led me to Rachel's posts about blogging. I wish I would have had this information before I started blogging almost 2 years ago. I would have done things a lot differently.
In going through the blogs on BLOG FEST 2010, I came across The Unread Reader blog. I spent probably 20 minutes reading her posts. She has a fantastic interview with Rachel from Parajunkee's View and that led me to Rachel's posts about blogging. I wish I would have had this information before I started blogging almost 2 years ago. I would have done things a lot differently.
8/22/10
NEW! Comment Moderation on Blogger
I am in lurrvvveee.....
Have you tried the new comment moderation on Blogger yet? I just started playing around with it and it seems to work wonderfully. For those of you who use Word Press, you would recognize this feature at once.
Sign on to your Blogger Dashboard and check out the new COMMENT tab. So far, it has caught all of my spam comments. You will need to go to the SETTINGS tab and fill it in which is really easy. I have put in my email address so I get a notice when there is a suspect comment. I also set it up to only moderate comments on posts more than 21 days old. For some reason, this is where all of my spam is posted. I know most people won't comment on a closed contest, but that is where I get the unwanted links posted.
Have you tried the new comment moderation on Blogger yet? I just started playing around with it and it seems to work wonderfully. For those of you who use Word Press, you would recognize this feature at once.
Sign on to your Blogger Dashboard and check out the new COMMENT tab. So far, it has caught all of my spam comments. You will need to go to the SETTINGS tab and fill it in which is really easy. I have put in my email address so I get a notice when there is a suspect comment. I also set it up to only moderate comments on posts more than 21 days old. For some reason, this is where all of my spam is posted. I know most people won't comment on a closed contest, but that is where I get the unwanted links posted.
7/8/10
How Many Followers Do You Have? Do You Want To Know?
This question drove me up the wall. I think I searched for the answer for the last year and it was right in front of me. I signed up for Google Analytics (you can sign up yourself HERE) and found my total subscribers right away.
There is a lot of great information which I haven't quite figured out how to use yet, but some day I might. I thought that if I can save one person from having to search for this the hard way, it would be important to share.
I FORGOT THIS PART OF THE POST
Once you sign up for Google Analytics, sign in to your account.
It will default to a monthly view and you can change this by clicking on the tabs in the upper right hand corner. You will have a choice of DAY WEEK MONTH YEAR
Then scroll down and where you see your blog address, click on VIEW REPORT
On the right side of this screen, you will see a DASHBOARD, click on the second option, VISITORS and you will get your total number of unique visitors.
There is a lot of great information which I haven't quite figured out how to use yet, but some day I might. I thought that if I can save one person from having to search for this the hard way, it would be important to share.
I FORGOT THIS PART OF THE POST
Once you sign up for Google Analytics, sign in to your account.
It will default to a monthly view and you can change this by clicking on the tabs in the upper right hand corner. You will have a choice of DAY WEEK MONTH YEAR
Then scroll down and where you see your blog address, click on VIEW REPORT
On the right side of this screen, you will see a DASHBOARD, click on the second option, VISITORS and you will get your total number of unique visitors.
6/16/10
Barking Planet Children's Books
Hey! I was featured at Barking Planet -- go check out Schatze's picture!
Barking Planet Children's Books
Barking Planet Children's Books
5/12/10
New Facebook Page to post stuff!
So swamped, I just saw an alligator float by (a Facebook page) was just started by the lovely and talented Susan over at Win a Book - West Of Mars site HERE
Stop by and join the fun. You can post your own blog giveaways or whatever floats your alligator.
Click HERE to see what I am talking about!
I have to say alligators and crocodiles are the most boring animals to watch. When my son was young he was fixated on both and we used to go to the zoo just to watch them. They did nothing but float. In order to get some action, we did take a trip to Florida to Gatorland near Orlando where you can watch the feeding frenzy.
Stop by and join the fun. You can post your own blog giveaways or whatever floats your alligator.
Click HERE to see what I am talking about!
I have to say alligators and crocodiles are the most boring animals to watch. When my son was young he was fixated on both and we used to go to the zoo just to watch them. They did nothing but float. In order to get some action, we did take a trip to Florida to Gatorland near Orlando where you can watch the feeding frenzy.
5/11/10
Technorati Claim Code KQ7V9F5F32FV
I am trying to claim my blog at Technorati Claim Code KQ7V9F5F32FV
This is supposed to tell me how many followers I actually have, I hope!
This is supposed to tell me how many followers I actually have, I hope!
3/3/10
I need a new look....
So I am bored with the look of my blog. I am saving up to find someone to re do the darn thing. I have fooled around with it but I just can't get the look right.
Does anyone have any recommendations for designers that are reasonable?
Does anyone have any recommendations for designers that are reasonable?
2/9/10
Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference
This is a really cool idea and I wish I was going to be around for this. I will definitely attend the next one!
Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference
Book Bloggers and Publishers Online Conference
Bloggers and Publishers have the same goals, to bring in readers. This Conference is to discuss what is working online to promote books and what we can do better. How can we work together and with authors to bring readers online? What are Publishers goals in working with Bloggers? What are Bloggers and Reviewers looking for? Join us for panels, discussions and giveaways.
PUBLISHERS ATTENDING
DORCHESTER PUBLISHING
LYRICAL PRESS
ETERNAL PRESS
MIDNIGHT SHOWCASE FICTION
LIQUID SILVER BOOKS
ASPEN MOUNTAIN PRESS
EIRELANDER PUBLISHING
FREYA'S BOWER
WILD CHILD PUBLISHING
BLACK VELVET SEDUCTIONS
AUTHOR GIVEAWAYS
Register Before February 10th for an extra chance to win.
Register by February 15th recieve a free Ebook Anthology from Heetr Publicity
GUEST SPEAKER TIFFANY JAMES
Talk About my Favorite Authors
Bitten By Books
Lyra Rose
The Pen Muse
Cheeky Reads
Bookalicious
DORCHESTER PUBLISHING
LYRICAL PRESS
ETERNAL PRESS
MIDNIGHT SHOWCASE FICTION
LIQUID SILVER BOOKS
ASPEN MOUNTAIN PRESS
EIRELANDER PUBLISHING
FREYA'S BOWER
WILD CHILD PUBLISHING
BLACK VELVET SEDUCTIONS
GIVEAWAYS
PUBLISHER GIVEAWAYSAUTHOR GIVEAWAYS
GRAND PRIZE
E-BOOK READERRegister Before February 10th for an extra chance to win.
Register by February 15th recieve a free Ebook Anthology from Heetr Publicity
GUEST SPEAKER TIFFANY JAMESBLOGS
Romance in the BackseatTalk About my Favorite Authors
Bitten By Books
Lyra Rose
The Pen Muse
Cheeky Reads
Bookalicious
How the Conference Works: This is a two day online event that will feature Blog Talk Radio Discussion Panels and open Forums for more inclusive debate on subjects raised. Attendees can listen to panels live or using the links provided at a later more convenient time. The Forums will remain open and those speaking on the panels will be in the forums afterward to answer questions. The Forums will be held in a private Ning for the Conference.
Registration Information: The Conference is open to Publishers, Bloggers, and Industry Professionals. There is a $20 registration fee per person. The Conference will be held on a private Ning. The code for entrance will be emailed March 1, 2010 allowing Attendees to profile their companies and leave questions for the live panel discusions ahead of time. Links to the Private Blog Talk Radio Show Panels will be emailed to attendees and listed on the Ning.
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