Integrating Twitter into Your Blog

I'm probably the last person to figure this out. But it's still so cool that I have to share it.

For the past year or so, I have been so enthralled with Twitter that I have neglected this blog. I found it easier to tweet helpful bits of advice there than to write up a few paragraphs about it here. But I know there are people who read the blog but don't follow me on Twitter, so I worry that they are missing out on a lot.

I was poking around on Twitter yesterday trying to verify some stats for an upcoming book. Then I noticed a link at the bottom of the home page that says Goodies. And well, far be it from me to pass up goodies of any sort. The Twitter goodies are buttons and widgets you can put on your site. I clicked on Widgets and found a button that specified that I wanted it on my website (I can't seem to find it today, though!). I was able to pick a widget and customize the colors. Then there was a Blogger button that put it right into my blog. I went into my customization settings and moved it below the AdSense ad (because heaven knows I make a killing off of that! ).

So now, voila! Blog readers can see my most recent tweets. One thing I learned, though, is that things I retweet with the Retweet button do not show up in my widget. So I'm back to doing manual RTs for a while. It takes more time but it also facilitates networking because people can see that I am retweeting them.

And I am deliriously happy with myself!

Got a Fever for the Olympics? I Prescribe "State of the Skate"

The winter Olympics are almost upon us in snow-challenged Vancouver. So what better time to introduce you to a blog on figure skating?

If you want to get some expert analysis of the competition from a true fanatic and meticulous historian, check out State of the Skate. This week, blogger Kelli Lawrence has been running a series to help us "every four years" fans get up to speed.

In the interest of full disclosure, Kelli is my longtime friend and former JIST coworker. As our video manager, she let me do some cameo appearances in her films (you won't want to miss my turn as the caring older sister giving career advice to an earnest teen...). We bonded over '80s music trivia and had our babies within 2 months of each other. She even took me to Stars on Ice one time.

We'll check in with Kelli again in a few months when she finishes writing her book, Skating on Air, about the history of media coverage of the sport (for which she already has a publishing contract). I'm sure she'll have lots of tips and insights from a first-time author's perspective--not to mention great stories of all the skating legends she's been interviewing.

Indiana Blogger Gets Discovered; Loads Up Truck for D.C.

Today I write to offer hope to the millions of us who labor in obscurity on our blogs. One of our ilk has just hit the big time. And he's my co-godparent.

For close to a decade, Sean Medlock anonymously (and unbeknownst to us all) wrote a right-leaning political blog under the pseudonym of Jim Treacher. Then one recent day Tucker Carlson, editor-in-chief of The Daily Caller, came calling. The grapevine has it that he flew to Indy to meet Sean, liked him, and then immediately flew him to D.C. to meet the staff.

So as of January 10, Jim Treacher has his own column, "The DC Trawler," on The Caller's site. Nobody is more amazed about his good fortune than Sean himself. "Isn't this crazy?" he asked me over Twitter last night. "It's happening to me and I don't even believe it."

I asked Sean to share a tweet of advice for all of the bloggers who aspire to go big with their writing, and he responded in classic Jim Treacher style:

Write every day. Or as often as you can. Okay, at least once a month. If possible. Maybe. Crap, I'm no good at advice.

But it sounds solid to me. I look forward to reading more of his adventures as the self-dubbed "Farmy McRube" acclimates himself to the beltway. But I don't plan on talking politics with him at Zack's next birthday party. Looks like we've got a Carville/Matalin problem going on (in which I am the scary cajun Jack Skeleton lookalike).

Why I'm Now Moderating Comments on This Blog

I'll start by saying that this blog has never been a hotbed for comments. Sure, there have been some great comments by loyal readers and many good discussions have arisen. I also enjoy the occasional anonymous tipsters who drop by with a little inside info on the industry--very illuminating. And some of the best discussions have occurred over e-mail and Facebook with people I met through this blog that I now consider personal friends (Katharine, Mark, and Krisan, I'm talking about you!). So comment moderation really hasn't been much of an issue.

Right off the bat, I did set up a captcha so that only real people--and not spambots--would be commenting. That has helped tremendously. But what I didn't count on were the so-called SEO bloggers who are real people that go around comment-spamming relevant blogs. For a long time, I just went in and deleted these types of comments.

But back in November, an industrious spammer in Mumbai took a fancy to Publishing Careers and was daily posting the same spam on different entries. One day he or she was posting them faster than I could delete them, and we were doing battle in real-time. I decided to turn on comment moderation, which means that I get to reject comments before they are posted. Immediately, my spammer went away. I might never find and delete all of that spam, but at least I've stemmed the tide.

With this new "power" comes responsibility, of course. Do I go ahead and allow comments that are critical of me? And what do I do in cases where I really can't tell whether the commenter is sincere or just a very sly spammer? I promise to post all but the most obscene criticism, and to do my best to separate the spammers from the true commenters. And I promise not to let comments sit too long in moderation limbo.

Thanks for reading. Sorry I have been a lax poster as of late.

Blog (and Cook) Your Way to a New Career

Kansas City career coach Meg Montford (who not too many years ago joined me for a dinner of "Hot Brown" sandwiches at Louisville's Brown Hotel while we were at a conference) today blogs about a new movie that will inspire career changers. The movie is Julie & Julia, based on Julie Powell's book of the same name.

Meg shares how the movie shows Julie stuck in a miserable career. Then she gets the inspiration to cook every one of the more than 500 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking--and blogging about it--in just one year. Of course, her husband thinks she's nuts. But followers flock and before long Julie has found a new career as a writer. Meg believes you'll find some career inspiration from this delightful-looking movie.

I have to confess that I read Julie's book when it was still in galley form (I picked it up at Book Expo). And it turned me on to the magic of blogging. Seeing what it did for her, I resolved to start my own blog. And although I don't anticipate it being made into a Hollywood production anytime soon, it was still a good decision that has opened doors and made great connections for me. Best of all, it's gotten me into the discipline of writing regularly instead of always fixing other people's work. Both are noble occupations, but they take different skill sets. Keeping both sharp has been a blessing.

You'll note that publishers Little, Brown and Knopf have taken advantage of the movie's release with special editions of both Julie and Julia's books with covers that call attention to their connections to the movie. They will get a new sales boost as a result.

Of course, I want to see the movie. But I used up my "one theatre movie per year without the kid" allowance this weekend on Johnny Depp (and I do not regret it). I might have to wait for the DVD.

Spellr.us Shames Me

Professional resume writer Teena Rose's blog on becoming a resume writer recently featured Spellr.us, a site that will spell-check entire websites for typos. You pay for various levels of access, but can check 100 pages for free. This is useful because once you have content on a site, it's tough to go back and spell-check each document on it.

I decided to give it a try with this blog. Yikes, people. You didn't tell me I used "everytime" 27 times, as well as a couple dozen other howlers. It also looks like I have a particular penchant for "youself."

I've said before that bloggers should get a little slack because of the nature of the medium. But come on: I'm supposed to be the eagle-eyed editor, here. The problem is that I have been working without a net by composing all my posts directly in Blogger. No more, folks. From now on, I'll be typing things in Word first before publishing them into the blog. (I also just discovered, the hard way, that the new version of Word won't let you copy and paste into Blogger; instead, you compose posts in Word and then hit the Publish button.)

The Top 50 Book Blogs

Just caught a tweet from @jwikert that led me to this: blog-rank's list of the top 50 book blogs. Blog-rank (spelled several different ways on its own page, btw) used 20 different factors to rank the blogs, including how many people subscribe in a reader, how many incoming links there are, and the blogs' popularity on social sites.

Joe himself is well represented at #14, and there are several others that I've got on my feeds. But what blows my mind is how many of them I hadn't heard of before (like, oh, the one with the #1 ranking). This either shows my spotty attention span, or it demonstrates just how darn many awesome book blogs there are. And Joe says he thinks they've missed a few.

At any rate, I guess I'll be putting a lot more on my feeds.

The Upside of Getting Your News from Experts

I was reading the excellent Kassia Krozser's rebuttal to Motoko Rich's recent New York Times article on e-book pricing. Kassia points out in several places how the publishing-beat reporter doesn't really work in the book industry and doesn't understand its subtleties. (Of course, Kassia's post is much more complex because the issue is so complex, and I don't pretend to understand it even as well as Motoko does.)

But then I remembered a time in my short reporting career in which I was assigned the task of calling up a new plant manager, having him explain the process of extrusion to me, and then writing an article about it. I'm quite certain he found a lot to nitpick about the end result. I always felt this way when writing about something I had no hands-on experience with. How much justice was I really doing the subject?

But 20 years ago, people pretty much had to take their truths from the media gatekeepers, even if they were snotty-nosed little English majors like me. How things have changed! Now if we really want to know the facts about something, we can go straight to the experts. We'll no doubt find someone out there blogging about it who is knee-deep in the subject day in and day out.

Of course, with this access comes the need to do your own filtering. How do you determine who the experts are and ignore their occasional erroneous points? How do we know what biases are driving what they are saying? We used to be able to count on the media to do their best to avoid biases and opinion in their reporting, but I think we can all agree that's gone out the window, too. So in the end, traditional journalism is losing its advantage quickly.

As usual, I have no answers. I'm but a grain of sand on the roaring beach that is new media. Hourly my opinions on the evolution of information are picked up, tossed around, and sent back out to sea, only to wash up again, confused.

Hmmm, maybe I just need a vacation?

Chronicle Books Goes on a Press Check

I've had many colleagues go on what is known as a press check: You travel to the printer (which could involve up to eight hours in a car, in the snow, while you're sick) to be there when your book (or catalog) is on the press. Then you check it for color and other errors as each section prints. Somehow I've always been lucky enough to avoid these gruelling trips--possibly because I'm not a designer, but more likely because I rarely work with four-color books. I have gone on a few printer visits, where you get to tour the facility, have a nice lunch, and be on your way. A press check is a whole different beast.

So thank heavens for Liz and Anna at Chronicle Books in San Francisco (whose catalogs I luuurve). They went on a press check and documented it with photos--so we don't have to.

Egg on Face

Yesterday I dutifully repeated the pronouncement of WSJ writer Mark Penn that there are 452,000 professional bloggers in the U.S. (He also implied that if you get 100,000 unique visitors per month, you automatically get a $70K income.)

Well, guess what? Lots of people are contesting his post. Most were just skeptical (with comments such as "huh?" and "I would like to think this is true, but I doubt it"). The most interesting response I've found yet was this one by Patricio Robles on the Econsultancy blog. He points out that this is an illustration of how quickly misinformation can spread if we trust the source (in this case, the Wall Street Journal, for crying out loud). Mark Twain is enjoying a good laugh at our expense.

Even our favorite train-wreck blogger, Penelope Trunk, found a constructive way to blast the report (see here). Her message is good: Don't blog for the money. Blog for the career opportunities it might produce. (I might add, also blog to help people and keep your writing skills sharp.)

Penn had to post a response to explain hs numbers further, but it reads like a lot of blah-blah to me.

Blogging for a Living

Nice article in today's Wall Street Journal about blogging. It quotes MediaBistro's report that 452,000 people are getting their primary income from writing blogs. Of course, that leaves 1.7 million more of us who are getting mere pocket change from it, and more than 18 million others who are doing it for free. Nonetheless, it's inspiring to me to see it emerging as a legitimate occupation. I concur with the assessment that bloggers are becoming "the fifth estate."

Dooce Is on the Loose

Dooce is Heather Armstrong, best known as the first blogger to be fired for blogging. But hey, it turned out pretty good for her: Her personal blog is so popular that now it supports her whole family. And now she's out on the road on the last leg of her book tour to promote her blog-based book, It Sucked and Then I Cried. The catch? She's seven months pregnant and hurtling toward immobility.

Heather is controversial--no doubt about it. She's got a legion of haters who have polluted her book's Amazon page with tags like "read blog for free," "people exploiting their children for money," and "get over yourself." But I love Heather because she is honest, hilarious, and brave. I am going to buy this book because I, too, had a less-than-blissful post-partum emotional experience. I never threw a milk jug at my husband's head, but don't think I didn't think about it.

As to the comments that the book is nothing more than a rehash of the blog, that's okay with me because I have only recently discovered her. I have some catching up to do, and I don't want to sit in front of my computer to do it. Besides, whatever happened to supporting artists who entertain and enlighten us? If we continue to expect to get all our content for free, eventually it won't be there.

Also, look for Heather on Oprah today. She wasn't in the studio, but she did join the conversation via Skype. The book already made the NYT best-seller list. Today's appearance won't hurt its ranking a bit.

I'm Just Sayin'...

It goes without saying that if you're applying to be an editor, there shouldn't be a single typo in your resume or cover letter, right? Do I also have to say that you should not write your cover letter in lolcats dialect? Somebody forgot to tell this guy.

New Blog Focuses on Media Careers

It is with a mixture of graciousness, chagrin, and envy that I point out the recent startup of MediaBistro's MediaJobsDaily blog. The blog, which mixes industry news with job hunting tips, is everything my blog should, would, and could be--if writing this blog was my job.

Editors Rebecca Fox, Becki Heller, and Rachel Kaufman pelt readers continually with pithy and well-researched nuggets on all things related to publishing careers in this topsy-turvy environment.

There's room enough in the blogosphere for everyone, and the more help these days, the better. I'm totally adding this to my feeds.

My Kindle 2 Review at Publishing 2020

I've been tweeting up a storm about our new Kindle. Joe Wikert of Publishing 2020 and Kindleville fame asked me to do a guest post about my initial reaction to the Kindle 2 that arrived in my mailbox yesterday. You can read it here.

Somebody in Wasilla Likes Me

I still can't help but be fascinated by the widget on my blog that tells me where my visitors live. I admit to checking it daily to see whether I can determine any trends or guess at who might be reading my posts. I've had a few probable brushes with greatness, in that I was convinced that the Time Bandit captains had read my post about them, as I think did the author of The Shiniest Jewel (I still love your book, girlfriend). I also am regularly amazed by the far-flung places where my blog turns up (it doesn't hurt that, due to posting often, I have wicked SEO).

But today I was floored when I saw that I got a hit in Wasilla, Alaska. Could it be? Odds are about 7,000 to 1 that Sarah Palin read my remarks on Harcourt in Boston. She is shopping a book, ya know, so it's not out of the question.

So if you're out there, Sarah, sorry I didn't go see you when you came to Noblesville. I was kind of pulling for the other guy. But I wish you all the best with your book. I admit I'll be curious about it!

Give the Gift of Books

Last week I mentioned that various book bloggers are starting to promote the idea of buying and giving books as Christmas gifts. Of course, we always want people to do that. But this year it's even more important than ever. B&N chairman Len Riggio has warned his employees of a grim holiday season (I'd give you the link to his company memo, but WSJ has taken it down), and every time you turn around you hear stories saying that 51% of consumers plan to spend less on Christmas this year.

Personally, I think it's good to see people backing down from the wretched excess of years past. So what's a more perfect alternative to "Kitchen Aid mixers for everyone" than a thoughtfully chosen little book? Or two? Or a dozen?

To help get the word out about how cool books still are, a coalition of book bloggers has started the Books for the Holidays blog. Go there, sign up, start spreading the word, and start buying those books. For more help, see the Books on the Nightstand blog, which is featuring holiday gift book ideas every day between now and Thanksgiving.

I've always wondered--do people give job search and career books as Christmas presents? I mean really, aren't they a bit too utilitarian to fit in with the spirit of the holidays? Let me know your thoughts. Obviously, people need them now more than ever. But are gift-givers still shying away from sending a message like "instead of sitting there eating another piece of pie, shouldn't you be working on your resume?"

Editorial Ass on Publishing's Bloody October

First of all, love the blog title. Second, this blogging editorial assistant has put together the most cogent explanation I've seen yet of why it sucks to be a book publisher right now. Again, lots of blame goes to the inexplicable model of bookstores being able to send back the inventory they don't sell, and essentially using publishing companies as interest-free loan brokers.

Read the whole post and you'll get a better idea of how the sales and returns processes work. And take Moonrat up on his/her suggestion to buy books--now, and as Christmas presents.

On a tangentially related note, I'm getting anecdotal reports from friends and family of several people losing jobs (non-publishing) they've held for decades and their homes are in jeopardy. I feel like we are poised on the brink of an ever-widening sinkhole. Hang on tight.

Powerful New LinkedIn Apps

I got an e-mail from LinkedIn yesterday about a new set of applications they've added which enable you to use the online networking tool in some interesting new ways. True, they're still not letting us feed people to the zombies like they do on Facebook, but these tools sound infinitely more useful.

There are a few tools that enable you to collaborate online with your network. I don't see me using those anytime soon, but somebody might like them.

The BlogLink tool enables you to link your blog into your profile and see an aggregation of blog posts from the people in your network. I just did the former but had trouble getting the latter to work. It says nobody else in my network has their blog URL on their profiles. I find that kind of hard to believe, but whatever.

And here's a good one for Jason: TripIt lets you tell your network where you're traveling so that maybe you can meet up with them on the road.

Probably the coolest new app is ReadingList by Amazon. You can put up covers and comments about the books you've read, are reading, and plan to read soon. Pearson's John Pierce and I have already a book on our profiles. He's being smart and featuring a book from his own company. My choice reveals that I like to read lighter things in my spare time than I do on the job. Anyway, this feature makes it easier to find people who have read the same books you have, get suggestions for the next book to read, and even go straight to Amazon to buy books.

Check out all these features and more here.

Job Action Day 2008: Jobs, Baby, Jobs

Popular career advice site Quintessential Careers has declared today Job Action Day. They've devoted their site to articles on all aspects of improving your career situation, bracing for layoffs, and finding jobs.

"To rally those who have lost their jobs or are facing possible job loss in the current devastated economic climate, Job Action Day 2008 aims to empower workers and job-seekers to take proactive steps to shore up their job and career outlook," say Katharine and Randall Hansen of Quintessential Careers. "Our challenge to you, our readers, is to ask you to do at least ONE proactive thing TODAY, Job Action Day 2008, to improve your job and/or career situation. Whether you update your resume, develop a backup plan in case of job loss, or add contacts to your network, take at least one action Today for Job Action Day. As our regular contributor Joe Turner says, 'Don't let all the hype about the economy spook you into a state of panic and inaction.'"


The very timely articles include the following:

• How Secure is Your Job? A Job Jeopardy/Layoff Assessment from Quintessential Careers
• Is Your Job in Jeopardy? Impending Layoff Warning Signs
• Developing Your Job/Career/Life Survival Plan: Preparing for the Possibility of Losing Your Job in Weak Economic Times
• Silver Linings in a Financial Meltdown: How Workers and Job-Seekers Can Make the Best of a Bad Economy
• Job-Search Advice for College Seniors and Recent College Grads: Job-Hunting in Times of Uncertainty
• Attacking the Job Market and Workplace Proactively in Tough Times: A Roundup of Expert Advice

In addition, a whole host of career bloggers is joining the effort with Job Action Day-themed posts:

• Quintessential Careers Blog
• Career Doctor Blog
• Quintessential Resume and Cover Letter Tips Blog
• A Storied Career
• Alexandra Levit: Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom
• Barbara Safani: CareerSolvers
• Career Manangement Alliance Blog
• Curt Rosengren: The M.A.P. Maker [Meaning Abundance & Passion]
• Darrell Gurney: In The Line of Hire
• Dave Rigotti: Career Fire
• Deborah Brown-Volkman: Surpass Your Dreams
• Diane Danielson: THE WOMEN'SDISH with Diane & Friends
• Jacob Share: JobMob
• Jason Alba: Jibber Jobber Blog
• Lindsey Pollak: Lindsey Pollak Blog: Career Advice & Commentary
• Louise Fletcher: blueskyresumesblog
• Maggie Mistal: what if...
• Miriam Salpeter: Keppie Careers
• Rich Milgram: EmploymentMetrix.com
• Steven Davies: JobPerfect Job Search Techniques
• Steven Rothberg: CollegeRecruiter.com Blog
• Wendy Terwelp: Rock Your Career
• Willy Franzen: One Day, One Job

In the spirit of Job Action Day, read all of this great free advice and do something proactive today. Then go vote tomorrow, and as the QC team says, hold your candidate's feet to the fire over job creation.