Prescheduled Posting

           When I first started blogging I had no idea that there was an ability to preschedule my blog articles to autopost.   At that time I was determined to post daily--yes, seven days per week.  Each piece that I composed was done on the day it appeared.  It became kind of nerve-racking.

           Posts would appear at various times during the day and night, undoubtedly giving my blog an appearance of unpredictability.  After the first few weeks I realized that I was able to compose my blog piece and save it until I could print it manually.  I dutifully began writing my blog bits the day before they were to appear and then wake up at about 2 AM each morning to publish what I had written.

           This still seemed ridiculous and became rather tedious for me.  I was certain that there had to be a better way to post at specific times without actually having to be there to do it.  Knowing that I was going to be going away on vacation soon it became more of an issue for me to figure it out.

           Then I noticed at the bottom of my Blogger compose page that there was a link labeled "Post Options".   When I clicked on that I saw that I had the option to schedule my post and put in on automatic.
If you use this option don't forget to click "Save Now" and then when you return to the list of posts, check the box and click "Publish".   You will then see that particular post marked as "Scheduled"

           I still try to check each day that my post has gone up as scheduled.  Occasionally I have done something wrong to where it hasn't posted and I have to go ahead and manually post the article for that day.  This has become a rare occurrence now that I have become more adept at using the autopost feature.  I am currently writing my April posts and scheduling them for automatic posting.   And if I ever need to change them it is no problem to do so.  I just go back to edit them and repost as I did before.

           I'm guessing that WordPress and other blog hosts have similar features.  If you don't know how to do it yet, do a bit of exploring on your site and I'm sure that you will probably find it. 

            On my last post, a blogger's comment asked if I was a night owl because my post time read 2:00 AM.   No--it was an autopost.  You will notice that nearly all of my posts show 2:00 AM as the posting time.   Autopost is a convenient way to be consistent in posting your blog bits.  I've used it whenever I've been away on vacation.  It will be a tremendous help in April.  

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Be sure to visit Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog today as he visits with two of the participants of last year's A to Z Challenge.  I'm anxious to read this one.

Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs posted Saturday about his plans for A to Z in April and offers some excellent tips for those who are still trying to figure out what to do.

Talli Roland is busy this week as she celebrates the release of the paperback version of her most recent book, The Hating Game.  She has a humongous book giveaway that you won't want to miss.   Talli will be providing readers with A to Z topics as we get closer to April.

Be also watching the sites of the other Blogging from A to Z co-hosts for additional Challenge tips as well as other always entertaining and informative topics.  These co-hosts are:  Jeffrey Beesler, Karen Gowen, Candace Ganger, and Jen Daiker.

And don't forget to keep telling others about the challenge.  500 HERE WE COME!




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