Getting It Together
When I started this, I decided I was not going to promote and market it until it was well on its way to being a blog I'd be proud for others to see.
You'll read all over the WWW as to how you need to rush right out and claim your blog on Technorati, then join a bunch of directories and engines and so on, the very minute you decide to start one - and while this is generally good advice, it is just that: general good advice. If your blog sucks, then why bother letting the world know how bad it is? Sit still, keep quiet, and get to work! Only after you are pleased with what you have should you start telling everyone - and once you do have something worth showing, make sure you tell everyone. Twice!
I wasn't going to do a "how-to" blog - for writing or blogging. There are already at least 234902370493729047 million too many of them and almost all of them suck about as much as a blog can suck, but the truth is that I really do know what I am doing and have been doing it for years now; unlike these other, fly-by-night, get-rich-never, "how-to" blogs that say the same things we've already heard a billion times before (largely because they all copy one another) and are written by bloggers you've never heard who abandon them almost as quickly as they start them, I have been doing this for over a decade now. Before that, I was keeping journals in notebooks and submitting my writing to traditional publishing outlets - even managed to get published a couple-few times and win an award and contest or four.
And when I get the writing bug - which is not unlike the acting bug or the music bug - I want to talk about it! Unfortunately, I don't know any other writers - not any that are serious about it, anyway... or any good. And I knew I needed a writing section for The Weirding. So instead of going about it all cockeyed, I decided, "What better way to do a writing section than make it a blog all its own!?" And Weird Ink was born.
It was nowhere near that easy, of course. We've had a lot of ups and downs along the way and I had to really hunker-down and learn a lot about Blogger in order to get this thing going and make it work with the site. But I got it to where it is right now - slowly, I admit, but eventually.
And though I am proud of what I have accomplished so far, the truth is that Weird Ink is fair, at best, and that's my fault. So I decided it was time to either just let it rot away over here or seriously get to work and make it what I know it can be... and I decided to do the latter.
Over the next few weeks, I am going to be posting a lot more frequently than I ever have before, because I am going to be very busy here. You are going to see massive changes as I upgrade the entire blog and work to integrate it into The Weirding. When I am done, Weird Ink will comprise the entirety of The Weirding's writing section; everything The Weirding offers for writing will be found in these very pages.
Once complete (as much as it is ever going to be - websites and blogs are forever-changing and this one will be no different), I will issue a post on how to get the most out of Weird Ink - where everything is, how to find and access it, how to configure your computer and browser to optimize all of this, and more. Along the way, I will also explain how to do what I have done to teach those of you who use the Blogger platform how to customize and optimize your blogs.
Anyway, sit back and enjoy the ride, as Weird Ink - and The Weirding, itself - truly gets underway.
Hey, I'm paying taxes on the damned thing, so it's not just a "hobby" anymore.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Labels: technical, weird ink
Dungeons & Dragons co-creator and author, Gary Gygax, died in his home today at age 69. Read more about it on The Rundown.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Technical Notes
Obviously, I am nowhere near done pimping the design here. I got sidetracked, working on The OddBlog and haven't gotten back to working here yet. Weird Ink is a lot less complicated all the way around - not least of all because it has far fewer posts and tags!
While this one won't take that long to do, I am also going to be promoting it heavily at the same time - joining different groups and communities, submitting to search engines and directories, and just generally getting the word out. Hopefully, comments will pick up then.
One thing you can count on is more frequent posting. But while what I have to do doesn't sound like much, it does take time and effort and I have a whole lot of plates spinning this moment, so there is no ETA; these things will come to pass sometime in March, but I can't say how much or how far.
Weird Ink is especially important because it alone comprises the entirety of the Writing section on The Weirding, so it is its own animal and, as such, I have to approach it uniquely. It's pretty cool when you think about it, but from my perspective, it means that I can't do it the way I do the other blogs which, while stand-alone blogs, are generally part of a larger section or theme.
So, I am totally into doing this for all sorts of reasons, it's just a lot of work and I have to be careful with it.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Labels: blogging, technical, weird ink
Some Quick Objectives
I am going to clean-up this template some today and then do some promotion. That means that things may be get a little funky in the meantime.
Any long-time readers may recall we went on a hiatus for several weeks a few months back when the template went funky. If any of those readers were with The Rundown a long time back (after it had been moved to BlogSpot and after Blogger had switched to their new templates), we had some layout issues there when we first upgraded as well. I eventually fixed the template here, literally by starting over from scratch and developing my own (modifying a free one I found online), but The Rundown "fixed" itself, meaning it was somehow a fault of the new Blogger template thingy.
What I'm getting at is that this next update is going to be pretty sweeping, so there is a possibility the template could get hosed again and I have so many plates spinning right now that, should that happen, it may be wonky for a week or two before I can fix it completely. I am actually setting aside chunks of the days remaining in the week specifically for this, so it shouldn't happen, but you know how I am with these things, which is why I am giving you the heads-up.
I am also going to clean-up the tags and do some promotion and marketing of the blog across the Web. I will likely make an entry or two detailing this in the Blogging the Write Way series. I am still figuring out how to do income taxes, and will have some more on that as well.
After that, I am going to be able to get pretty regular here because I am drafting a lot of "interim" posts - a technique I will explain in one of the Blogging the Write Way entries one of these days. To run it down, it just means that I am putting together posts that contain no timely material for "quick"-posting at a later date - such as market listings and grammar lessons. But, while I enjoy blogging here and on writing and blogging in general, Weird Ink will never be as regular as the other blogs.
It just doesn't have that high a fiber content.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Labels: agenda, blogging, general, technical
Sick
Sorry guys. I got really, really sick - about as sick as I've been in years, actually.
Luckily, it appears to have passed (knock wood), even though my stomach is still roiling a bit. At least the fever has broken, but I have to go to the store sometime today and then to the doctor's tomorrow. I can only pray it doesn't flare back up.
Anyway, it will be touch-and-go for a few days here, but I feel better than I have most of the week, so keep your fingers crossed for me!
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Labels: blogging, general
Um... So About the Strike?
Yeah, so I'm sure you're wondering why I haven't weighed-in on the whole Writers' Strike settlement or arrangement or whatever you want to call it. Well, it's pretty simple: I don't get it!
And if you want me to be blunt, I'm not sure too many other reporters and/or bloggers do, either. I mean, I have yet to read - or even find - a report that lays out what, exactly, the terms and agreements are in the damned thing! Most of what I've read is just talking about which shows are coming back when and so forth. And trying to actually read the agreement itself is roughly akin to taking a handful of Xanax with a beer. Roughly.
So why should I bother combing through the fine points of something I do not understand and, since I am not a member of the WGA, something that only affected me generally (because it affected my entertainment choices and regimen)? Instead, let me speak on how the whole thing was handled:
I feel left-out and confused and I don't like that.
I am not a member of the WGA, but as a writer, I have looked into joining several times. I do not yet qualify but, even if I did, I never saw any real benefit to joining. I only understood that I have to, or else... maybe the "G" in the acronym stands for Google?
Still, I was certainly interested in the strike and what was happening - what it meant for writers, the entertainment industry in general, the WWW's influence, and so much more on so many levels - but was intentionally excluded from, not only the entire process but also any news and developments. Now, after all is said and done, whatever the hell these people supposedly agreed to is so obtusely worded that I don't even care anymore.
And I think that's why the whole thing was carried-out the way it was: to make it so that those of us who aren't in one of the guilds could not follow it so that we lost interest and they could go forth and do as they wish without being subjected to any "common sense" that we uninvolved parties might have to drop on the subject along the way.
Of course, as a paid writer, I now have no idea if my WWW work "qualifies" me for Guild membership - or rather indicates I must join - or if that even has any part or substance in the matter!
But I refuse to sit here, crippled with fear over the fact that Ed Asner may appear on my stoop at any moment and break my fingers. I met this guy named Guido and he says, so long as I give him money every month, he will make sure to keep those "Wigga fuckos" away from me. I kept saying, "No, Guido, WGA - WGA - not 'wiggas'" and he playfully slapped me with a closed hand, then told me I was his "best client" and assured me he only did that because he likes me.
So, it's kind of like I'm already in the Guild.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Labels: entertainment, legal, strike, wga
After 'The Jump'
The Web is well-known for its unique lingo, often centering on acronyms. An increasingly integral part of our everyday culture and lives, many of these online acronyms have entered the vernacular. "lol," in particular, can increasingly be heard on TV and in conversation - sometimes spelled-out (as in ell-oh-ell), sometimes spoken as a word - so much so that it has spawned an online version of the offline version (based on the original acronym used online), "lawl."
A while back, I noticed a phrase I had heard before but could not place and was not quite sure what it meant. Suddenly, it seemed that every page I read contained it! "After the jump."
The usage went, "There are more pics, after the jump..." and "Read more about it after the jump..." Common sense told me that it must have meant "after you click the handy-dandy link labeled, Click Here for More..." but I wasn't exactly sure, due to the fact that it was used so frequently.
It turns out that that is, in fact, exactly what the phrase means. So why are so many people suddenly using it? Just to be "cool."
Seriously, this is one of those insider things - a hold-over from journalism. When newspapers employed the phrase, "after the jump," they meant "after you jump to the page on which the story is continued"; if the story was continued on page 12, you had to jump to page 12 to finish reading it. Eggheads have decided to rejuvenate the term so they can seem "hip" - because, you know, there isn't enough insider lingo when it comes to computing and the Web. Not to mention that more and more "real" journalists have started blogging, and I guess they wanted to show us upstarts that we don't know as much as we think we do.
You don't need this phrase for a very good reason: simply hyperlink the phrase (or the word, Continued...). See how that works? Wherever would we be without these "professionals" crashing into our industry to show us how it's done?
Oh yeah! Right here - where we've been for the last 15 years or so!
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Labels: journalism, lingo, structure, technical, writing, www
Blogging the Write Way: Blogging is a Business
This is going to start an ongoing series-within-a-series as to the business-side of sponsored blogging. While I know you have read many, many, many "how-to" articles that suggest you "treat your blog like a business" and so on and so forth, that is not what this is about.
Sure, you should approach your blog as a business, but that's because, if you accept advertisers and sponsored posts - even low-paying programs like AdSense and Amazon Affiliate - it is a business! It doesn't really matter if you get dressed as though you are going into the office (I don't - in fact, I am nekkid right now!); it doesn't make much difference how well you research your subject; it does not matter how good your grammar are. These little rules and tips are about approaching your blog as a business; no matter how you approach your blog, if you are making money, the IRS considers your blog a business. So you can approach your blog however you choose, but you have a legal obligation to handle your blog as a business.
Obviously, none of this applies if you do not advertise on your blog or otherwise receive monetary compensation. While it may apply if you receive PayPal donations or readers send you things from your Amazon Giftlist, you'd have to receive a shitload of either; unless your donations/gifts amount to several hundred dollars, I wouldn't worry about it. Of course, just to cover your butt, I highly suggest you look into it on your own.
On the other hand, if you make $400 or more from your blog, you must file taxes on that. You are considered "self-employed"; specifically, probloggers are considered independent contractors.
What I am going to do is continue adding to this series as I prepare my taxes for the 2007 year. While it would be neater to wait until the end and write one, overall post telling you what needs to be done and so forth, the very nature of researching is finding things as you go along, then dismissing them when you are finished; in this process, a lot of the intermediate steps which are not pertinent to my situation (but may be to yours or others') will get lost in the shuffle and would not make it to the final draft. This way, I can basically give you a kind of flowchart of my progress which you can then use to direct your own research into the matter.
For the most part, I would expect all of our tax needs and so forth to be the same, but because of the very nature of the business - some receive products/services to review, some make more than others, some may choose to actually set-up a business (with a DBA, license, so forth) - there will likely be exceptions.
Look forward to following articles on this subject over the next several days.
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Labels: blogging, blogging the write way, business, finances, taxes
More to Come...
I am in the middle of income taxes and credit reporting, so I apologize for the slowdown.
There is some exciting news taking shape concerning the writers' strike - at least I hope to bring some good news to you soon - but I also have some really important posts concerning making money online writing that I will get to shortly.
A lot of us take on sponsored posts and affiliate advertising - as well we should, to offset our time and effort - but not a lot of us handle this little bit of extracurricular income as a business. And that's a mistake!
Let me get my little ducks in a row here and I will be able to bring you some really in-depth information - not only on how to approach your blogging as a business, but how to handle it as such - from a practical angle that even the IRS can appreciate!
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Labels: blogging, general
Stephen King, the WGA, and Politics
I guess if I had ever thought about it, I should have known Stephen King had his own blog. Of course, had I ever thought of it, I wouldn't have expected it to exist on his own site; I mean, it's Stephen King - you know? If you were the best-selling author of all-time, then you probably wouldn't maintain a personal blog for free, either.
So I found his blog (or one of them - whatever) earlier through Yahoo! and the article is quite interesting. He draws a connection between the WGA and celebrity endorsements of Presidential hopefuls and a seeming interest in the elections amongst the general American population.
And while his point is more than valid - insightful, if a tad trite (especially since I have been complaining of this very thing for years now over to The Rundown) - I have to wonder if King thought about the fact that he is actually using his celebrity to knock the pull of celebrity? Along those lines, I started wondering if there even is any other way...
I mean, when a George Clooney or Stephen King knocks an Oprah Winfrey for getting involved in politics, they are basically getting involved in politics. And while their message may be more down-to-Earth (and certainly more welcome), is there any real difference in what they are doing? Of course, without such celebrity, there is no real platform; it isn't just that we pay more attention to a Name like Stephen King or George Clooney, it's also that a no-name like me simply cannot get my message out there. It's a bit of a catch-22, obviously, but there it is.
Still, if the overt commercialization of politics is the only way to attract attention and ensure interest and voter turn-out, then maybe it is just what needs to be done. As King points out, the younger generation - for all their (many) faults - are definitely savvier when it comes to advertising than we were at their age. They're hipper to it than many of us are even today!
Scary, sure - but maybe it's just the natural evolution of selling-out everything. And what's more American than that?
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Labels: blogging, politics, stephen king, wga, writers
Subtleties in Language
You had to have been living under a rock this week if you did not hear about the passing of actor, Heath Ledger. But while you may know the generalities, it is very possible you missed some of the criticism leveled at paparazzi and other yellow journalists as to how they treated mourners and those close to the star.
So I was reading an article today and one of the lead sentences caught my eye. It said:
Although his family has refused to release details about the late actor's funeral services or final resting place, a private viewing apparently took place Friday at a New York City funeral home.
Notice how that is worded: "...his family has refused to release details..."
That is a subtle jab at attendees from E! News Online.
Why do I say that? Simple: E! is in the business of reporting information on celebrities and those celebrities, and non-celebrities close to them, are being tight-lipped as to the details of Heath Ledger's funeral and burial plot. Since police set up a barricade around the event
...ostensibly to shield the family from a barrage of onlookers as they paid their respects...
E! and other reporters are having a difficult time getting said information, and this is their way of prodding celebrity readers into talking.
Think about it: if you were reporting on this, you probably wouldn't use the word, "refused," you would say "declined" or "wish to remain quiet about." But that is not E!'s job; E! News Online is there to get the facts (well, it's entertainment news, so "facts" is a bit nebulous, but you know what I mean) and you cannot always sweet-talk people to get what you want. Not to mention that this is headline news - there are literally hundreds of reporters and photographers there, all trying to get "The Scoop" - this is not a time for playing nice.
This shows how important, and effective, precise wording and usage is to achieving the intended effect. It also shows that, regardless of their chosen field, even entertainment journalists have to be good at what they do to land a premium gig!
© C Harris Lynn, 2008
Labels: english, form, grammar, journalism, language, writing
