Come Back after I Go (#BOTB Results)

       
Et Tu, Arlee?

      I'm soon going to do that which I never thought I'd do regarding this blog.  I'm going to take a break.  Seems like a lot of bloggers have done this or will be taking breaks for the summer.  And now me.

        No big deal really because I guess it's not really that much of a break.  After all I'll still post for #IWSG on July 5th and August 2nd.   And in July and August on the 15th I'll still take part in Battle of the Bands with results posts for each posting a week after each Battle.  So it's not like I'll be disappearing and actually I'll be posting pretty much as I have in the past month or so.  However I will presumably be back in some expanded form by September and hopefully that will be my blog and not my waistline.

         So I guess I'm not really going to be all that inactive on this blog. But I will be offline a lot more than I have been.  After all, it's summer.

         What kinds of things are you doing this summer?   What is the longest complete blog break that you've ever taken?    When it's raining where you are, does it feel like it's raining all over the world?

Battle of the Bands Results

       Last week's Battle was Aretha Franklin versus Barbra Streisand singing their renditions of "Lover, Come Back to Me".   I've grown to dislike Streisand in recent decades, but not because of her singing.  Listening to her version of this old standard I recalled how much I used to like her singing.  On the other hand, I've never been a big fan of Aretha Franklin.  I had no idea that she sang more in a jazzy style before she started singing soul.

       Like some voters also expressed, Aretha's delivery of "Lover" was a pleasant surprise.  Although I liked both versions a great deal, I thought Aretha edged out Barbra for my vote.  The total vote outcome came out much the same way with Aretha taking a few more votes than Barbra.

Final Vote Tally

Aretha Franklin            13

Barbra Streisand          10

I'll Be Back

         My next appearance here will likely be Wednesday July 5th with a post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.  That's my plan at least.

And We're Off and Running...

         Or to be more precise, we're off and driving.  As this blog post goes up on site we'll be heading north toward Seattle and then in the days to come we'll arc across Canada as we wend our way to New Jersey.   We have a long route mapped out ahead of us, but within ten days we'll be enjoying a visit with our daughters and their families and especially our grandchildren.

          What this means as far as blogging goes is that I might be a bit more scarce at times.   I still plan to post my Battle of the Bands posts on the 1st and 15th of the months as well as hopefully timely BOTB results posts.   And I hope to have a few other scattered posts for #IWSG, Flashback Friday, and Question of the Month--those might be integrated into other posts if necessary.

           I'll still be trying to visit blogs as much as I can, but if you don't see me then you know what's up.   Things should be back to normal schedule after August 15th.

            Something of interest that caught my attention and might be of interest to some of you over age 50 is the announcement of Karen Walker's anthology on aging.  She wrote about it here if you'd like to submit something for consideration.  Sounds like a project that I might participate in if I can find the opportunity timewise after my trip.   Check it out to see if it might be of interest to you as well.

           Hope you are all having a safe and happy summer.   See you around!

          Oh, and if you missed my previous Battle of the Bands results you can find those here.

   

Playing Favorites (A Monday Post)

English: Extreme points of the contiguous United States. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My Least Favorite State

         Years ago, before I started my show biz road career, if you would have asked me to name my least favorite state of the USA, I probably could have readily come up with an answer.  Now that I've spent a fair amount of time in all of the 48 contiguous states I couldn't come up with an easy answer.  Sure, there are states that I might readily name as favorites, but when I start thinking of some that I might name as a least favorite, I begin thinking of things that I like about each of them.

         Call me a fan of the United States because I am.  Everywhere I go in this wonderful country I can find something of interest or something that I particularly like.  I guess if I were really pressed to answer the question I would have to say the state that I like least is the state of unhappiness.

         Despite its shortcomings, the United States of America is a nice place to visit and I'm happy that I live here.

Travel Day

         I'm keeping this post somewhat generic because if things are going according to plan I'm traveling today.   My wife is staying behind in Houston as I continue traveling by myself heading for a couple week stay in Tennessee and then on to New Jersey with some stops in between.  My wife will join me in New Jersey in August so we can make our way back home.   Since I'm traveling I may not make it online today so I don't want to create much in the way of discussion.

          What I do want to say is be sure to visit my site this Wednesday which is July 1st.  Being the first of the month means that it's a Battle of the Bands post and being the first Wednesday of the month it's also Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.  As I do whenever these events fall on the same day is tie them together into one hopefully clever post.

          This time around, my theme will be highlighted by one of my favorite songs.  What I consider to be one of my favorite songs might seem like an odd choice to some, but those who visit my BOTB posts regularly know that I can sometimes show what some have thought to be odd tastes.  On the other hand maybe you like this song as well.   I was surprised to find that it had been covered by so many artists so obviously I'm not the only one who thinks it to be a great song.

           Come back on Wednesday to hear two great versions of...

...you'll have to find out then cause I ain't tellin' now.   But I'll provide a clue:   This late 80's release was sung by an "institution" or an "organization" and the topic of the song has to do with space.

           Any guesses about the song in my next Battle?  Do you have a least favorite state in the United States?   If so what about that state do you dislike?




         

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Does Cutting Back on Blog Posting for Summer Hurt? (#!WSG)

Insecure Writer's Support Group

      It's the first Wednesday of the month which as most of you know means it's time again for another edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, the monthly event hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh.   This is the time when writers from all over the globe discuss writing and all of the conflicting good and bad feelings that come with the pursuit of the literary arts.  This is a forum for commiseration and encouragement.  Maybe things aren't going quite like you'd like or maybe you're a bit nervous about what the future holds.   You might even be riding the high horse of success and feel like you're winning the race.   Whatever your circumstance join us and tell us what you're thinking.

Summertime Blogging Schedule

      Most of us would probably acknowledge that our blog traffic tends to drop some during the summer months.  In fact, a good many of you might even cut back during the summer months or even go so far as to put your blog on hiatus until about September or so.  I've seen this and it does make sense in a lot of ways.

         Every year I tend to do some traveling which interferes to some extent with my blogging activities.  I've tried experiments such as focusing on using guest posts to minimize my own energies on blogging.   Last year I cut back on posting days and tried to keep my posts shorter.   That approach worked well for me and when something works it's probably not a bad idea to stick with it.

         So for the summer of 2015 it's gonna be less posts and posts that might be a bit shorter than normal.   My schedule plan will be to essentially post Mondays only.  However there will be a few times when this will vary.  Since I will still be participating with Battle of the Bands posts on the 1st and 15th of each month and also the #IWSG posts on the first Wednesdays of the month there will be a couple of Wednesday posts in July and two Saturday posts in August that might essentially replace my normal Monday posts.   I might throw in a couple odd posts now and then, but for the most part my schedule will be as I've described.

          There will be summer cutbacks on my other blogs as well.  On my spiritually themed blog A Few Words there has already been the post Temporary Hiatus announcing my summer plans.  Since this is like my mission blog in a sense, I almost feel like I should keep that one going over the others, but averaging less than 50 visitors per post and typically receiving only a couple comments at the most, I feel like taking a break on that site won't be a drastic loss to the blogging world.  

           Tomorrow an announcement post will appear on my dream blog A Faraway View telling readers about my intentions for the summer vacation season.  That blog too has a small number of visitors per post, but it does have a loyal readership who regularly leave comments on every post.  Last year I posted dream song videos which didn't do too badly, but still it took time to compile that.  This year I'm going to save the time and not post on that blog at all until September.

           My memoir blog Wrote By Rote will continue to post each Saturday as long as I don't run into complications doing so.  That blog does have a more solid reader base and I'll do as I did last year and tie in my summer travels with the topics I will be sharing on that blog.  I also often tie in my Battle of the Bands contests with posts on Wrote By Rote.   

           Now, some of you might point back to my A to Z Challenge Elements of Blogging post "UpDate!".   I stirred a bit of controversy by chastising "slacker bloggers" who didn't maintain their blogs regularly.  Take note though that I am following my own guidelines about announcing my intentions ahead of time and I will still be posting regularly unless some circumstance prevents me from doing so.  

         Of course, here is where the insecurities develop.   It might be argued that less posting might lose some of my existing audience.  I think anyone else who has cut back on posting days can vouch that all it does is give them more time for other things and give each of their posts more time for other bloggers to visit and leave comments.  I think Alex J Cavanaugh might agree with this point.

         A complete break like I'm doing on my lesser visited blogs might cause me to lose some of my audience so that I have to go back to build them up, but considering the few that could be lost I don't guess that's much building to worry about.  I've got minor insecurities about these blogs but I always do throughout the year.

        The biggest problem with the summer schedule is that I have less time and opportunity to make the visiting rounds that are required to keep visitors coming to my blog.   I have my regulars who I can usually count on--I thank all of you--but there are always those who need to be reminded to visit me by my visit to them.   If I use the past summers as an indicator, I know my comments will drop which is something that would happen whether I was keeping a summer schedule or not.  The fact is that a lot of people are busy doing non-blogging activities like I'll be doing.  If I don't visit your posts as much during the summer, I hope you will understand my situation.

       Really it's not a big issue--just a little nagging insecurity.  It's the old out of sight out of mind conundrum of marketing and maintaining a public image.  But it's only a blog.  But it's my blog and I've worked hard to keep it active and to have a relatively high profile.  It's my baby and I worry about my babies.   

        I may be slowing down for the summer, but I will be here.  I hope you'll be here with me.

        Do you see your summer blog traffic slow down in summer?   Do your blogging activities tend to slow down during summer?    What will you be doing this summer?

*************************

Arlee's A to Z Summer Road Trip

        I wonder if I might be able to meet up with some of you during my travels this summer.  I'm going to be all over the country and bound to have some time on my hands.   If we could set up some summer meetings that might be fun.  If you're interested, be sure to visit Wrote By Rote in my post upcoming Saturday June 6th and I'll give you some more details.    

Don't forget to vote on my current Battle of the Bands 

If you have not voted yet then visit Battle of the Bands and cast your vote.   I'll be adding votes up tomorrow Thursday June 4th to announce the winner on Friday June 5th.

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Update! (Elements of Blogging) #AtoZChallenge

Slacker Bloggers

        One thing about blogs that really annoys me is when they aren't kept updated.  This is especially true when the URLs are posted on social media profiles such as Twitter for example.  If an interesting sounding Twitter account recommendation comes my way and I see a blog URL listed, I often don't bother following them if I go to the blog address and find that they haven't posted for six months, a year, or even more.

        This is true for any place where a person advertises their blog URL whether it be FaceBook, a business card, or even an author's recently published book.   If you aren't going to keep your blog updated then don't advertise your blog link as a place for me to go visit!

         Exceptions to this might be those blog owners who are essentially using their blog page as an informational web site to provide contact details, biographies, or any other strictly business facts that might enlighten visitors who just want additional information.   If this is what is being done then the page should not be referred to as a "blog".   Using this terminology for a static site is misleading.

The Blogging Commitment

        Anyone who decides to become a blogger should accept the responsibility to keep their site updated.  When I go to a blog that doesn't have any posts for a month or more it leads me to question the professionalism of the blog owner and wonder why that person blogs.  Especially if the most recent, now months old post is open-ended leaving the readers to expect a new post to come soon.  That's when I have to ask, "Where is that post?"

         Life can get in the way and a blogger is entitled to change his or her mind about their blogging agenda, but that's when some sort of finalized post should be put up.  At least tell us "Closed Until Further Notice" or something of that nature.  And then be sure that you don't have any promotional material or on line links that are directing people to your dead or sleeping site.

Blogging Consistency

          You don't have to post every day or even every week, but you should make it clear when visitors can expect to see posts.   If you only post every first Monday of the month then make that clear.  If you are one who doesn't like being confined to a schedule or merely blogs when the whim strikes then you should make that clear to visitors as well.

         Personally, I am not at all impressed when I visit a blog where there has only been sporadic activity and when it does happen the writing is banal and of little interest to readers.   The worst are the bloggers who admit that they have been slack in posting and then mention something about their uninspired state of mind--"goodbye that's all I can think of today, see you when I feel like posting again."  If that comes from an author especially, do you think I want to read that person's books?

The A to Z Test

        During the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge we see some of this blogger reliability exemplified.   So many blogs are stricken from the list during the month of April because they aren't able to keep up.   With the exceptions of sickness or other unforeseen life circumstances, most of the bloggers who get booted because of inconsistency of blog posting are just blogging like they normally do.  You can look back over their older posts and see the evidence of inconsistency everywhere in their blog history.

        Part of the A to Z goal is to instill good blogging habits like consistently posting content of reasonable quality.  Those who fall behind due to old bad habits need to coerce themselves into building blogging muscle and creative mind stretching.

       If you keep up the daily A to Z pace then you are either blogging in your usual professional manner or you are working towards that goal.  If you fall behind but are catching up, then you know you have what it takes to be a real blogger with a professional attitude about the craft of writing and now you just have to start pushing yourself a bit more.

      For those who dropped out or never responded to the communications of the co-hosts, maybe you need to reassess why you have a blog and whether or not you should continue to have one.  While you're at it you might want to take a good look at everything you do in life and how well you are doing at those things.   Blogging is a responsibility that to a great extent mirrors your character.

        Finally, if you are one of those people who has a blog that is rarely updated, please don't share that link with us.   I might go to read your out-dated post one time, but if it's still there when I return later you've lost a great deal of credibility with me.

        Do you think I'm taking blogging overly serious or would you tend to agree with what I've said here?    Do you blog according to a certain schedule?   Do you take any action if you know you won't be posting for a designated period of time?  

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Ask Arlee & Battle of the Bands Winner

 Needed for inforbox User:Titodutta/userboxes/Busy Wikipedia Editor
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         I'm still taking questions for my occasional "Ask Arlee" feature here on Tossing It Out.   If you have a question you'd like to pose to me then leave it in the comment section.   I still have plenty of questions from previous calls, but it's nice to get some interesting new ones.

         The question I'm addressing in this post comes from Buck at Buck Inspire.
     

bucksaver said... ...Arlee, "How do you keep blogging when your schedule gets busier than normal?" Thanks!
February 25, 2013 

           That's a question that many of us struggle with and something I touched on in my previous post.   Many of us have busy enough lives without adding social media into the mix.  Blogging is often just a part of a social media regimen that can suck up hours if we don't keep things in check.  If you're like me you probably go beyond the time you intend to spend on activities such as blogging and other social interactions.

            It all has to come down to priorities.  To me family matters have to come first--these are the people who mean a great deal to me and the ones I deal with directly on a regular basis.   Blogging has its place in my life and there are a few approaches I use to make blogging fit more easily into my regular schedule even if busier than normal.

             Here are some of my suggestions:

• Write posts in advance as much as you are able.  
• Keep a few non-time-sensitive posts in reserve in case you have to throw something up quickly.
• Maintain a list of blog post ideas that will help you compose posts more quickly.   A brief outline or list of discussion points for each topic can help greatly.
• If you are overwhelmed in your schedule, write short posts.   Avoid trivialities as much as you can so your readers can still feel rewarded or have something they can relate to.
• Avoid posts that require a lot of research and searching for links to add.
• Write about personal topics that can be composed quickly, but still be of interest to many readers.
• Sometimes you might have to cut back on visiting other blogs.  This may cut down on the comments on your own blog, but there's only so much time in each day.  You can't spend what you don't have without having to pay for it later and time cannot be recouped.

       Yeah, I might be stating the obvious here, but if this helps someone then it's worth my time to put it up in this post.

We Have a BOTB Winner!

          My last Battle of the Bands installment pitted the original version of "It's My Life" by Talk Talk against the remake by Gwen Stefani and No Doubt.  Both versions are quite good and the voting outcome bears this out.

           It was another close one.

           I think the remake is excellent.   I had heard Stefani's version recently as part of the piped in music line-up in some business establishment I was visiting.   Not knowing who it was, but recognizing the song, I researched it on Google and decided this might be a pretty good Battle match-up.

            There's nothing wrong with Stefani's version of "It's My Life"--it rocks--however I still prefer the original sound of Talk Talk's version of the song.  That's where my vote goes--Talk Talk.   Still it was not enough to bring them a win.   No Doubt nudged ahead for the victory.

Final Outcome:

 Talk Talk             15

Gwen Stefani and No Doubt   16

Stay Tuned for the Next Battle

        On Wednesday October 15th I'll have another one of those Battles that may provoke some controversy.   It's a weird one, but Halloween is coming soon and it's a time to be weird.

        How do you find time to social network without interfering with the other aspects of your life?   Have you cut back on blogging activities?   Do you have any suggestions for finding more time for blogging?

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Getting Organized for the #atozchallenge

 

      Todays post was inspired by a post by Lynn at Connecting Stories.  That post is actually a few years old, but just as relevant now as it was then.  Take a look at Lynn's post and see if you suffer from "Organizationitis".

Getting Organized

       I'm one of the worst people in world when it comes to being organized.  I've got my systems, but they don't always look so good.   My office is chaos and I don't even want to talk about my garage.  I do have my moments of organizational genius, but things in my everyday life are often in shambles--or would at least appear so.

       One area of my life where I tend to do pretty well organizationally speaking is blogging.   My last few A to Z efforts have come off very smoothly due to structure and planning.  Since the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is an event, I plan it much like I would plan a trip, a party, a meal, or anything else you are expecting to happen within a designated time frame.

        Trip planning is something I've always been meticulous about.   In part this is due to my years of travelling.  I like for things to go without a hitch so I can enjoy the scenery and not worry about the trip details while traveling.  When I've planned well I'm better prepared for surprises if the unexpected awaits around the next bend.

         In the same way the A to Z April Challenge has a destination and a schedule so I start with a roadmap and a calendar.   I'll decide on my theme in January or February at the latest and then wait for the ideas to come.  When those ideas start popping into my head I'll start a post prescheduled for the date on which it will appear.

         Another way to start ahead is to put placeholders for each letter on the designated day on your blog composition pages.   If you happen to get inspired you can go ahead and write posts in those reserved dates as they come to you.  Or you can set aside a portion of each day to come up with an April post or at least part of one.  Sometimes I'll sit down on a Saturday or Sunday when I've got time and write several posts.   I don't know about you, but when I get on a roll I can sometimes crank out several posts at a sitting.

        Once you've got a post that's completed then go ahead and schedule it to post automatically on the day you want it to.  If you've started this process in February or even before, you'll find that prior to April's arrival you'll have all of your Challenge posts done.    When your blogging chores are already finished come April then you can cruise through the month and have plenty of time for networking and visiting the other participating blogs.   It really takes a load off when you do it that way.   How else do you think I managed to manage four blogs in the previous two years' Challenges?

        And one of the many positive benefits of participating in the April Challenge is that you'll likely establish the habit of preplanning posts in your regular blogging.   A to Z can make you a better--a more efficient--blogger and writer.  If you're using the excuse that you can't participate in the A to Z Challenge because you don't have time, scrap that poor excuse and just sign up to the list.  Start your posts now and you'll find that you have more time than you thought.   Getting organized to blog through the alphabet is your key to successfully winning the Challenge.

         Have you decided on your A to Z theme yet?   Do you set up your letters ahead of time and fill the posts in prior to April?    What are your organizational strategies for making the April Challenge go more smoothly?


     

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Today I Don't Feel Like Doing Anything, But I Feel Obligated to Do Something

            One commonly cited bit of advice I've seen suggested to bloggers who want to have a more successful blog is to publish content on a regular basis.   I'm in agreement with the philosophy that a sporadic and inconsistent posting pattern can have a detrimental effect on building a blog audience.

            The blog that lies dormant for long stretches of time can be easily forgotten by readers.  There are a lot of other blogs out there to take up the slack from the blogger who is not producing.  Waiting for inspiration can be hazardous to blog vitality.   Let's face it, if we treat blogging as an obligation of sorts--like a job or a business--it's up to us to come up with something whether we feel like it or not.  If we decide to keep our business open only when we are inspired then our customers (or readers that is) might choose to go elsewhere.

            Sometimes a break is good.  Sometimes a break is needed.   Sometimes we may have no choice than to take a break.  It mostly depends on why we are blogging and what kind of blog legacy we are trying to create.  Sure, there can be a place for the rogue blog than puts something on line when the flash of genius hits.  However, this is not the blog readers can count on to be there when we expect it.  If we don't expect anything from a blog, we might see a post or we might not

           Personally, I like to have content appear at the same time on the same days much like a show on television.    The intent of Tossing It Out is to post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 2 AM Pacific Time.  This seemed like the  logical approach for me when I set up this schedule three years ago.  For the most part I've been consistent.   My scheduling may not matter all that much, but over all I think it has been effective for my purposes.

         The bottom line of this current post is that I'm filling space with content.   Not spectacular content perhaps, but content with an idea and some questions.  This blogging limbo period during the holidays sees a decrease in blog traffic for most of us.   I know I've been having a difficult time making blog visits--or should I say a more difficult time that I normally have been doing in the past year.

          Things on the blog scene will be picking up after the first of the year and I plan some deeper content to come.   For today though, I was tempted not to post anything, but then I decided that this is like my business and I need to open at the regular time on the scheduled day.  I thank those of you who took the time to stop by.

          Do you publish your blog posts according to a fairly strict schedule?   If you are a sporadic blog publisher or someone who only blogs when inspiration hits you, does that seem to work well for you?  Do you think a schedule would help you?   Do you tend to look for postings from blogs with a schedule and do you tend to sometimes overlook the sporadic posts?    Do you find a decrease in your traffic and comments during holiday stretches?





       

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