To Blog Or Not To Blog

If your blog isn’t increasing much in readership and traffic, then to blog or not to blog on becomes a nagging question. In other words, is it really worth the time and energy to do so? Certainly authors want to create an expanding audience for their blogs and books. But how does one do that?

The early advice I read on this topic was, “Just write what you want to write on a regular basis, and your audience with grow.” And that’s exactly what I have been doing, but I don’t think that I have been very effective.

So, I read “50 Ways To Optimize Your Blog” by Jeff Bullas. Among other things, he says “Blogging is a journey and as technology develops there will be more ways to optimize your blog. You will also find other keys to keep the blog pumping and energized as you mix with other bloggers both online and offline and hear their stories and hints.”

And he offers 50 suggestions to increase your blog readership and traffic. We’ll take this Optimization Journey in baby steps. Here are the first twi things that a blogger might consider sharing or doing:

1. Industry News – what’s happening this week, this month?

2. Industry Trends – where is the industry going, what are the emerging hot segments?

I have created two specific Googles that help me track down news. One searches for “Children’s Poetry Contests” and the other “Children’s New Poetry Publishers.” Both of them help to keep me informed on those two important topics. You may consider making your own search that fits your writing needs.

I always look forward to my monthly installment of Children’s Book Insider. It’s very informative—a must-read for all children writers.

I am a member of JacketFlap profiles more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for Children and Young Adults. It’s a great way to network.

I am a member of The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators is for novices, authors and illustrators interested in writing and illustrating books for children. It’s an international organization hosting important conferences and publications. At another time I will write about the local Rochester organization, RACWI.

All of the above help to inform me about what’s going on in children’s poetry, including industry trends. So, I am doing some things right!

Of course, I can always do more research, and blog more.

What do you do to keep informed about the wonderful world of writing?  

The Book Festival (Part Three--About Gratitude)

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."  That quote by Melody Beattie is one of my top ten favorites.

The Rochester Children's Book Festival feels like "home" to me because I have been there a number of times at my assigned table striving to get readers more interested in poetry and the ten-year-old inside me that writes poetry.

I feel very grateful to all those that contributed to this marvelous event, especially Sibby Falk, Kathy Biasi, MJ, Christine Horton, Natisha LaPierre and many Dedicated Volunteers, and many more unsung heroes of The Day. We were all showered on that Saturday  with sunshine, energetic readers, and happy adults. Those six hours at the festival were action packed with many memorable moments. For me, as indicated in "Part One", I meeting my personal writing hero, Steven Kellogg, who I first me in 1978 while he visited a school in the area. But my love for his books and my two daughters love for them didn't end there. When such talented writers and illustrators create a large body of work (like Steven), it is such a blessing! I am grateful to him and others like him who are both prolific and immensely creative. Our RACWI group is bursting proudly with many members that fit that description.

I am also thankful for the girl (about ten-years-old) who pointed to the two books on my table Waiting to See the Principal and Other Poems and Picture Poetry on Parade! And then she said, "I have this one and this one, and the one that's not on the table!" (The one not on the table--Bathroom Vacation--is out of print.) After that she ran off, leaving me with a moment to treasure.

Vivain Vande Velde is a member who I treasure because I first met her at my first children's book festival in 1999 sponsored by the Democrat and Chronicle on the grounds of the Memorial Art Gallery. I was happily selling my first book Bathroom Vacation under a large tent and encouraging the book lovers to read at least one poem along the way. If they did, 50% of the time they chose to purchase the book. This didn't go unnoticed by Vivian who was stationed nearby. After greetings were exchanged, she asked me if I would like to attend the Rochester Children's Book Festival which she was in charge of. Of course, I was over-joyed at that possibility, and I have been a member ever since. Besides being the person to ask any question about publishing, she is creative, prolific, funny, and charming. And she always shares a flood of photos from the festival--organized and labeled like a storyboard. Thank you, Vivian. You're quite an asset to the RACWI organization!

I also need to thank the Purple Balloon Lady, Debra Ross, and her helpers for making the day extra special for all our visitors. And, if you're not getting her weekly KOA newsletter, you're missing out on how much fun the Rochester area can be. And as RACWI' s special promoter, you're missing out on promoting what you do as an author or illustrator. In addition to her newsletter, promoting, writing, and being a wonderful mom, she is an excellent critic and editor. I certainly value what she has to say about poetry and writing in general. She can even make dreams come true such as reading your poetry on the radio! So you can sign up right here...

http://rochester.kidsoutandabout.com/email-list-signup.php.

I have one more quote for you. It's from Albert Einstein, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

I would consider it a small miracle if you signed up to be one of my "followers." Why would you want to do something like that? This blog isn't just about poetry. I am a former teacher, but I haven't lost my class forever. I love to perform poetry. I will come to any class for free in the Monroe County area, and I'll leave them laughing. After nine years of not teaching daily, I miss the kids and the ambience of the classroom. So the more people that know how eager I am to spread poetry, the more I will be sharing the joy of poetry. Poetry for kids is win-win.

At night I periodically share whatever I have learned during the present 24 hours right here. The more followers that I have, the more likely I will write at night before or even during the Charlie Rose Show.

It’s important for you to read this blog now and then because I need to write and find out what I know. That might sound a bit self-centered. But I am sure Anne Lamott agrees with me. She says, "We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason why they write so little."

According to Bonnie Friedman, "Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences. They are the ones who keep writing. They are the ones who discover what is most important and strangest and most pleasurable in themselves, and keep believing in the value of their work, despite the difficulties."

If I stumble across any golden writing nuggets, I’ll share them here first with you!

We are better than sheep lice.

Joe Sottile
joe-sottile.com

Just A Moment

Some short poems are like snapshots that capture moments in time. This poem is like a short video that carries the viewer down a school hall around noon, and it's true as written...

Just A Moment

While carrying copies of our latest poetry book

to my colleague and illustrator,

I race down the hall to the back of the school,

hoping that she’s eating lunch in her room.



My heart is pounding with delight,

my visitor’s tag is flapping in the breeze.

Sweat is beading on my forehead,

and rolling into my left eye. It burns.



I cannot wait to show this gifted artist

how well her illustrations turned out

in our third poetry book for kids.

I know that she will be ecstatic.



But I slow down as I approach her room

and peek into another teacher’s room—

one whom I admired for her teaching ideas,

zest in teaching, and sensitivity to others.



Some would call her a “mover and shaker.”

I call her passionate, professional, and perky.

Some kids near the door are chanting repeatedly,

“Someone is at the door! Someone is at the door!”



As I open the door and stroll through,

I say, “Someone silly is here”—hoping the kids

will laugh and enjoy the moment.

And I take a close look at Ms. Perky.



I see this former cheerleader, valedictorian,

and 3rd grade team member hunched over her desk,

looking shorter than I used to remember her.

Retirement is not too far off for her.



Suddenly I am blinded by the reasons I left

teaching public school—teaching for the test,

test mandates, district goals, building goals, and

personal goals that were not that personal.



I stumble toward Ms. Perky who is rooted

at her desk with one student seated nearby,

while the rest of the class pretends to do math,

as they eyeball me clutching ten poetry books.



She tells me that her son’s college roommate

had me in elementary school as a teacher

(in this same room that we are in now),

and he discovered the love of writing here.



I am surprised by this wonderful compliment

that seems to have come out of leftfield.

So I simply say, “Invite me in to do poetry.”

Winking I add, “Give yourself a poetry break.”



I don’t hear cheers for a poetry visit

from a tired and gray Ms. Perky,

but the boy at the table says,

“How much is your book?”



Ms. Perky launches instant dart eyes at him,

yet they bounce off of his rubber face

and he says, “I have money in my lunch bag.”

Ms. Perky ignores the outspoken student.



She says, “Yes, I should.” But she won’t.

Poetry is a marginal activity.

And there are tests to be taken,

and benchmarks to be met.

A Poem

I feel a rush of joy when I discover a poem that speaks to me. I especially like quotations or poems about the writing process. Here’s one that I recently discovered…




A Poem                                          


By John Travers Moore

A poem must be waited,

Not sought after,

Enjoyed,

Not worried about,

Written spontaneously,

Not over-worked,

But built with enthusiasm,

Not despair,

Created for self

Not neighbor

Filled with music

Not studied cadence—

It makes its own rules

By it is own right

Whether in a pattern

Or on a new trail.

But a above all,

A poem must be demanded by itself.



Copyright 1971 from Poems: On Writing Poetry


Libra Publishers, Inc, page 19


John Travers Moore's poetry has appeared in the New York Times, Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, Horn Book, Child Life, among other publications.

Sunshine On My Shoulders

While watching a taped concert of John Denver for the third time on WXXI, I was feeling rather nostalgic. I loved his music. I have several of his albums.I play them in the car and in my writing den. So I was wondering about his plane crash. I did a little research on the Internet. I discovered that God really wanted John with Him in Heaven because John was a rather experienced pilot. Research on the accident strongly suggests that John's hand hit the wrong button and he went into a dive on taking off that he could not correct.

John Denver was an amazing singer and performer. There are many singers, artists, and writers that strive to be like John: amazing and entertaining. And we are all trying to communicate the same thing, just like he is quoted as saying:

“My purpose in performing is to communicate the joy I experience in living.”

Knowing our purpose in life makes for a poetic life one way or another.

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