Publishing - 3/3

Thesis WordPress Theme Review — An Editor’s Perspective

February 26, 2010 By Charles 3 Comments

One of the 2 WordPress products I’m proud to be an affiliate reseller of is the Thesis WordPress Theme by DIY Themes (the other is Organic Themes — more on that in a future post).

For a non-code-loving writer and editor like me—and presumably you—the real selling point about Thesis is the no-hassle, back-end control panel that allows you to control its powerful features with deft and ease.

What this means is we never have to look at, let alone touch, steaming piles of PHP, CSS or HTML — just some well-labeled check boxes and the amusing ”Big Ass Save Button” to confirm my changes. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: blog software for writers, Brian Clark, Chris Pearson, diy themes, editors and bloggers, editors and publishers, professional writers, readability, search engine optimization, themes, thesis, thesis theme review, Thesis theme screenshots, wordpress, wordpress themes

Who Are the Outliers of Modern Publishing?

November 4, 2009 By Charles Leave a Comment

fog Having just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, I was struck with the immediate question: who will be the next outliers of the now-turbulent publishing industry? Who will do for the publishing world what Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Bill Joy did for the computer world?

To put this question in context, I refer to Gladwell’s theory. He claims the most successful people in the world don’t just get there by magic fate or raw talent, but rather by an inexplicable blend of opportunity, luck, hard work and timing. (By the way, Outliers is an excellent read.)

While I can’t predict a specific answer to this, I can predict the likely characteristics and scenarios of these outliers, such as: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business and Marketing, Publishing Tagged With: elements of publishing success, predictions, publishing industry future, publishing outliers

The Modern Rules of Domain Names

September 8, 2009 By Charles 1 Comment

nametag It’s almost 2010 and the internet is only getting bigger and better. You absolutely will need a great domain name to help you stick out from the masses.

Here are 5 quick and snappy rules to keep you clean and out of domain name trouble:

Take the .Com

If you’re looking to build a business and make money online, ditch any domain name that doesn’t end in .com.

If you can’t get your perfect name in .com, then it’s not perfect. Find a new one. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business and Marketing, Publishing Tagged With: blog domain name, domaining, free Wordpress blog setup, how to name your blog

The Power of Publish

July 1, 2009 By Charles 3 Comments

Alas.

After all this time, you’ve crafted something great.

Starting from those ideas in your head, you’ve self-educated, planned, prepared, procrastinated, anticipated, taken notes and finally started writing, rewriting and editing.

And now, there you sit, eager and excited, steward of your final product–your content.

Will they love it or hate or think it’s just okay? Will they be back for more? Where will your content take you?

The answers to these questions will never be known until you click that little button labeled “Publish.”

For some, pushing it is too much risk to bear. For others, it’s all too easy. What is it for you?

If you’re facing the button, let me tell you what’s going to happen after you click it: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: attention economy, how to overcome fear of blogging, power of free, publish button, self-publishing

The Significance of Personal Publishing

October 23, 2008 By Charles Leave a Comment

The ability to self publish on the internet, where nobody controls anybody, may very well be one of the greatest milestones of the early 21st century. Anybody with access to a computer and the web can exert their full intellectual and emotional facilities to whomever chooses to listen. I must say this has got to be one of the truest freedoms of expression to date.

Even with all of the marketing, the hype and even the money, blogging remains a natural extension of one’s persona. The writer must now be mindful of their audience, their readers and their market as they attempt to deliver a consistent message of value and authenticity.

This is no easy task for me, personally, because blogging under Wordful has so far been an intellectual struggle. I’m constantly at odds with connecting my deep, evolving thoughts to a mainstream, monetizable audience. In other words, writing as a marketer marketing as a writer does not come easy to me.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: Blogging, blogging for money, personal publishing