Blogs Noted: Karen Benke, James Kunstler, Reading the Past, Karen Maezen Miller, Work-in-Progress

Huffington Post's Karen Benke
On creativity. P.S. Check out her guest-blog for Madam Mayo here.

Right-reading
By Tom Christensen. And this post on his new book, 1616.

Clusterf**k Nation
(Will those twin asterisks fool the google robots? One does hope so.) By James (The Long Emergency) Kunstler. Doom, gloom, general disaster, and deflation and, alas, though my take on human nature is a sight more charitable, I usually concur with his overall diagnosis. (Recently: "the only change Americans want is from the cash register at Wal-Mart." Ouch. This week, he had Senator Dodd slurping the bean soup in the Senate cafeteria.) P.S. For a vibratory antidote, Cute Overload usually does the trick. I am not kidding.

Cute Overload
Best ever: the voiceover for the Carnitas video.

Reading the Past
Like the title says.

Work-in-Progress
By my amiga novelist Leslie Pietrzyk, blogging consistently and informatively on matters all & sundry about creative writing. With a beautiful, all-new cherry-pie-red design! (P.S. Leslie, thanks for the mention.)

Karen Maezen Miller
Zen. But I am not sure about the laundry part.

Ten Reflections on the Occasion of "Madam Mayo" Blog's Fourth Anniversary

The fourth anniversary of this blog has just slipped past... It was March 31st. So, I've been blogging steadily for longer than I imagined, and it looks like I won't be giving it up any time soon. What have I learned / concluded, and what do I continue to ponder? A quick ten items:

1. Blogging is whatever you want it to be. And that morphs. I don't worry about this so much as I once did. I just blog.

2. Thanks to the robots (search engines, web-crawlers), when regularly added to, over time, a blog becomes an increasingly powerful magnet for web traffic. Translation: though there are readers following this blog via RSS feed, and more recently, google blogs and facebook networked blogs, many if not most of my readers on any given day happen upon "Madam Mayo" via a search. This blog gets hits almost daily for ancient posts such as "what to feed your dog" (2007), "Pug Discovers Crop Circle in Carpet" (2008) and "Michael Talbot's Holographic Universe" (2009). I also get several hits a day for Catherine Mansell Carstens-- a name I haven't written under for more than 10 years.

3. But blogging isn't necesarily all writing; it can integrate video, photos, widgets, hypertext-- the genre is getting rich, soupy, and ever-morphingly fascinating. So what does it mean to be a writer? Not what it did, I know that much.

4. Many more writers are beginning to understand the power of blogging. Bless 'em. (But would you all newbies please blog about something besides your new book?)

5. Integrating facebook and twitter does help boost traffic, yes.
Follow the tweets @madammayo
@cmmayo1

6. I'm finding it increasingly less interesting to even think about querying newspapers and magazines. I've written for the LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Mexico, Inside Mexico, and the like, and until I started my blog, I assumed I would continue to do so. But I prefer to put my effort into writing books (long form) and blogging (short form). Maybe I'll rethink this. Sometime.

7. On several occasions, when pressed for time, and wanting to spend more on my fiction writing, I considered quitting the blog. But then I remembered point #1 (see above).
P.S. My personal mantra: THERE IS NO WHITE-BEARDED COMMITTEE IN THE SKY.

8. Because its archive of posts is so easily searchable, a blog can also be a cabinet of curiosities. I sometimes post links (such as 11 Cool Beans and Blogs Noted) just to I know I'll have them handy later. Yes, I could just "bookmark" them, but it's fun to think someone else might enjoy seeing them, too.

9. A really good blog is, alas, rarer than I had hoped. Here are a few of the few I've been following regularly for more than a year:

Apifera Farm
Donkeys, pie & art (and lots of lambs & lavender, too) by artist / farmer Katherine Dunn.

Buzz, Balls & Hype
Ruminations and more about the publishing biz by M.K. Rose advertising guru and author of potboilers (and owner of a very cute little white lapdog).

Christine Boyka Kluge
Gorgeous poetry blog.

Clusterfuck Nation
By James Howard Kunstler. His posts are sometimes a bit much of a curmudgeony downer, but for the zippy zingers, halleluja.

El vino y la hiel
By Mexican poet and writer Agustin Cadena.

Seth Godin
Squiblets du jour by an angel of art and compassion disguised as shiny-headed marketing guru.

David Lida
Photos and more about (mostly) Mexico City.

Phronesisiacal
Founded by a DC area professor of political philosophy; very eclectic; love the fruit pix; could skip the torture parts, though.

Real Delia
By Delia Lloyd, political scientist turned generalist. "Tips for Adulthood" and more. An especially intelligent blog, and rich with links.

Right Reading
Eclectic, aesthetic & amusing, by California-based translator, writer, editor, designer Tom Christensen.

Derek Sivers
By the founder of CD Baby. A music business outside-the-box thinker.

Swiss Miss
By a New York-based Swiss designer. Astonishing fun, like a daily jelly bean in a wierdly yummy flavor.

Work in Progress
Announcements, guest-blogs, advice, reflections both practical and personal, by my amiga novelist Leslie Pietrzyk.

10. More anon.

Blogs Noted: Kevin Kelly, Bricolage, Reb Livingston, Right-reading, The Tao of Dana

The Art of American Book Covers

Bricolage

Kevin Kelly

The Neglected Books Page

Reb Livingston
(RIP "Homeschooled by a Cackling Jackal"?)

Out-of-Print (Fairfax County Public Library)

Right-reading

The Tao of Dana

More anon.

Follow Madam Mayo on Twitter

Why do so many people seem to, in the words of writer Gina Hyams, "totally heart Twitter"? (And why, pray tell, do so many use it to describe their lunch?) I am still pondering these and so many other questions.

Who's on twitter? Obama, the BBC, Los Angeles Times, La Jornada, xensen (that's Right-reading blogger Tom Christensen), poet E. Ethelbert Miller, 32 Poems (journal), and, well, Madam Mayo, among about a ba-gillion others.

So far my "tweets" are almost all links to:
---> new Madam Mayo blog posts
---> old Madam Mayo blog posts (e.g., a year ago today)
---> the daily 5 minute writing exercise
---> C.M. Mayo news (publications, readings, workshops)
---> whatever else strikes me as interesting enough to share.
More anon.

Obamicon Yourself (Inaugural Obama Link Du Jour)

Via one of my favorite blogs, Right-reading: Obamicon yourself! Surely, if you need to procrastinate about something, this beats a large number of alternatives. More anon.

Writers's Blogs: 3 More Dos & 3 More Don'ts

This Sat May 3rd is my Writers's Blogs: Best & Worst Practices Workshop at the Maryland Writers Association Conference. On this subject, so far novelist and "Work in Progress" blogger Leslie Pietryzk has weighed in with 3 dos and 3 don'ts, as has writer, translator, and editor and "Right-reading" blogger Tom Christensen. And recently, on the occasion of Madam Mayo's second anniversary, I offered "5 Lessons Learned." Herewith 3 more dos and 3 more don'ts:

Do:
--->Mine your blog--- by which I mean, feature the better / most interesting / traffic-generating posts on your menu (see right-hand column of this page, scroll down, and you'll find, for example, Top 10 Books Read in 2007; Hypnerotomachia Poliphili; and Ten Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Writing Workshop);
--->Keep your text brief and link rich (surfers prefer to click rather than scroll);
--->Offer RSS feed.

Don't:
--->Use that generic "blogger" header (I must admit, it took me over a year to put in something original--- it's designed by Kathleen Fetner);
--->Get into endless rounds with anonymous and crank commenters (surely there are better things to do, for example, write?) I don't even allow comments--- though, certainly, I am happy to hear from readers (note link to "send e-mail" on right hand side of the page);
--->Forget to include the link to your blog on your e-mail signature.

---> For the archive on "Gone to the Litblogs" click here.

Guest-blogger Leslie Pietrzyk, "Work in Progress" Blogger, on Writers's Blogs: 3 Best + 3 Worst Practices

More on writers's blogs! As many of you know, I'm gearing up for a workshop on this very subject for the May 3rd Maryland Writers Association Conference, apropos of which, last Friday, San Francisco-based "Right-reading" blogger Tom Christensen offered his do's and don'ts--- if you missed that excellent post, be sure to check it out. Today, my amiga, novelist, short story writer, workshop leader and all around outstanding blogger, Leslie "Work in Progress" Pietrzyk offers her 3 dos and 3 don'ts. Over to you, Leslie.

Best

1. Keeping the site updated on a regular basis. Why should I return if there’s nothing new?

2. Providing information that is interesting, useful, or really funny. I like getting a sense of the blogger’s personality and life, but I also want to be gaining useful information about the blog’s topic. Yes, there are some blogs that I read just because the writing is hilarious: The Fat Cyclist is about biking, and I don’t even own a bike or want to. But please keep the rambling about your trip to the grocery store to yourself (unless you’re funny!).

3. Indulging in a few off-topic obsessions. This may seem to contradict #2, but I enjoy feeling that there’s a person—complete with quirky taste—behind the magic curtain. So whether it’s the Tour de France (The Elegant Variation), your crazy upbringing in Florida (Maud Newton), or pugs (you know who!), please don’t be afraid to give us a glimpse of who you are. It’s just a blog; have fun!


Worst

1. Being too, too cozy with a select circle of friends (often other bloggers) so that the average reader feels as though she’s accidentally stumbled into the “cool kids” bathroom in high school.

2. Abusing my trust. If you write that you love a book, please do so because you love the book, not because you got a free copy from a publicist. Or, at least admit that you’re shilling.

3. Absolute self-absorption. I’m happy you have a book out; I really am. But if that’s all there is to your blog—YOUR book, YOUR readings, YOUR conferences, YOUR mother loving the book—I am going to move on. Please learn to promote yourself shamelessly in a discreet way.

--- Leslie Pietrzyk

---> For more of Madam Mayo's guest-blog posts, click here

--->For more Madamn Mayo posts on lit-blogging, click here

Guest-Blogger Tom Christensen, "Right-reading" Blogger, on Writers's Blogs: 3 Dos + 3 Don'ts--- or, the Basics of Karma

Re: my upcoming panel on "Writers's Blogs: Best (& Worst) Practices" for the Maryland Writers Association Conference on May 3rd, I'll be blogging about writers's blogs for the next week, and inviting other writers to offer their tips. Tom Christensen's eclectic and charming, always suprising, and beautifully written blog, Right-reading, is so outstanding that I recently included on my list of top 10 writers's blogs. A delight and honor it is to host this post! Over to you, Tom.

Just as there is no one way to write a novel, so there is no one way to write a blog. I imagine Joyce's blog would look a lot different from Proust's, or from Kafka's, or from Celine's, and so on. But I would subscribe to all those feeds.
That said, there are a few things that I think can limit or expand a blog's interest, effectiveness, and reach. Following are three dos and three don'ts to consider in developing a writer's blog.

1. Don't be too self-referential
The approach that is usually the least appealing and most limiting is the navel-gazing diary--- what I had for dinner, what I'm listening to on the radio, which friend I am annoyed at, me, me, me. I suppose this could work if you are a really celebrated and fascinating person, but for most people, unless you are simply writing for friends and family, being too self-referential is a common, and deadly, mistake.

2. Do have a consistent focus
So if you're not going to just write about yourself, what will you write about? The best blogs have a defined focus. Regularly addressing one area of interest will help attract readers, since they will know what to expect, and by returning they confirm an interest in the topic. (Some bloggers apply the 80/20 rule: if 80 percent of posts are on topic, 20 percent can be on other things.)

How tight does the focus have to be? I think my blog.rightreading.com suffers a little from having a focus that is not especially rigorous. I address all aspects of print and electronic publishing, particularly editorial and design, which are seldom fully integrated. As a generalist, I find it difficult to get much more narrow than that. Still, I did spin off several other blogs-— on Asian art (7junipers.com), on Mesoamerica (buriedmirror.com), on northern California (friscovista.com). These are all things I am interested in that I thought would be better off having their own domains rather than mucking up the content at rightreading.

Am I talking too much about myself?

3. Do create useful and original content
Whatever the topic, you have to have something original to offer. Some bloggers do succeed as aggregators of content produced by others, but I think it is more difficult to get by with that approach than it used to be. Sure, many posts can consist of passing along items spotted elsewhere, but unless you create some original content with a unique point of view, it will be difficult for the blog to grow.

Some web marketers like to talk about "link bait." While the term sounds a bit cynical, it encapsulates an important truth. If you have at least one excellent piece of content that will draw readers to your site, that can help to unmoor the blog and carry it into deeper waters. Rightreading gets more visitors than my other blogs in part because they are drawn to popular pages on how to get a book published, Taoism and the arts of China, my book publishing glossary, my rendering of the Yi jing, and more.

(I will not abuse my host's hospitality by inserting links to those pages; anyone who is interested can find them by typing the search term into the Google search box followed by site:www.rightreading.com; that is, for example, by typing book publishing glossary site:www.rightreading.com.)

It's good to distinguish between print content and web content. Broadly, print is about sustained concentration; the web is about instant gratification. While some bloggers-— Conrad Roth (http://vunex.blogspot.com/) and Gawain (http://heaventree.blogspot.com/), for example-- manage to sustain excellent blogs built on the model of the literary essay, these writers are battling the basic nature of the medium. It is better, I think, to keep things short and sweet, for example by breaking up print paragraphs into two or three web paragraphs.


4. Don't confuse press releases and publicity materials with blog posts
Corporate bloggers often fall into this trap, and most publishing companies are among the worst offenders. When blog posts are always pushing a product, they push readers away. Consider Veer, a good example of a smart corporate blog (http://blog.veer.com/)-— it rarely promotes its own products. It is entertaining and informative, so it attracts readers.

Mention your own articles and books, but be judicious-— limit those mentions and keep them pertinent. Try to look at the blog as the product, not as a vehicle for promoting the product: that is how your readers will look at it. If your blog becomes a destination you will earn links and rise up in the SERPs (search engine result pages).


5. Don't blog in a vacuum
Have you heard the new blogger's anthem (http://www.catbirdseat.org/catbirdseat/aug06/blog.mp3)? Especially with a new blog, you have to be patient. Search engine specialists argue about the nature of a possible Google "sandbox"-— a holding area to which new websites may be assigned for months before they are allowed into the top-ranking SERPS. What is clear is that you need to establish trustworthiness (to build up your "trust rank" in web lingo) before you can consistently rank well for most search terms. That means acquiring links from established authority sites in a natural pattern (certainly not by buying irrelevant links en masse, a technique that might have worked in 2002).

One of the best way to acquire links is to participate on other blogs and forums. By that I don't mean making a quick self-promoting comment on somebody's blog (which is likely tagged "nofollow" in any case), and then never returning, but instead actively participating in web communities. When the conversation comes around to topics on which you have made good posts, you will get links.

6. Do be generous
Old-media types look aghast at bloggers providing links that lead readers away from their websites and off to other areas. And some SEO (search engine optimization) specialists are leery of squandering page rank by leaking away link juice. These approaches will not work. You must credit your sources and link to excellence whenever you can. Most people will notice when you link to them, and they may reward you with a link back.

Your "link neighborhood," the constellation of sites you link to and that link to you, says a lot—- both to your readers and to the search engines-— about the nature of your blog. It's karmic-— if you are generous with credit, praise, and links, I promise you will be repaid.

---Tom Christensen

---> For more of Madam Mayo's guest-blog posts, click here.

---> For Madam Mayo's archive posts on lit-blogging, click here.

Madam Mayo's Top 10 Writers's Blogs

Coming up Feb 9th: the Washington Independent Writers (WIW) All-Day Fiction Seminar at American University, Washington DC, for which I'm chairing the panel on writers blogs. So, what makes for a good writer's blog? I'm working on a list; meanwhile, here is a list of 10 that, though not necessarily my personal favorites, are outstanding examples of the genre.

#1. Design expert and author Edward Tufte's Ask E.T.
He calls it a moderated forum. Yeah, I'm calling the page a blog because I want to.

#2. Novelist and journalist James Howard Kunstler's Clusterfuck Nation
Once a week, a zippy op-ed style essay.

#3. Novelist and creative writing teacher Leslie Pietrzyk's Work-in-Progress
Highly focused and meaty with helpful information. Frequently updated and features many guest-bloggers.

#4. Poet and literary magazine editor Deborah Ager's 32 Poems
Wide-ranging, quirky, frequently updated. Big on Web 2.0 tools.

#5. Childrens writer Erica Perl's Pajamazon
Childrens' book recommendations (and a bit more). Part of Offsprung news.

#6. Travel writer Rolf Potts' Vagabonding
Fun, daily updates, multiple bloggers working for him.

#7. Professor of History, Middle East expert and author Juan Cole's Informed Comment
One of the go-to places for news about Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. Updated daily with multiple links and commentary. (Boy howdy does he sell ads!)

#8. Novelist Laila Lailami's Moorish Girl
She's been around almost from the time blogging began.

#9. Editor, graphic designer, translator and writer Tom Christensen's Right-reading
Eclectic quality links, and he encourages both mail and comments.

#10. A cabal of crime novelists's Naked Authors
Regular posting by Paul Levin, Patricia Smiley, James O. Born, Jacqueline Winspear, and Cornelia Read.

------>Is there a writer's blog you think I should know about?

More anon. And meanwhile, click here for the Gone to the Litblogs archive.

Right-reading: Trajan Schmajan and Elmore Sez

Tom Christensen's Right-reading is a blog I really like, and here are two reasons why:
(1) He quotes Elmore Leonard
(2) He cares about fonts.
Ya gotta care about fonts. (Madam Mayo prefers Gil Sans--- and, FYI, so does E.T.)