A Special Friday post: My New Author Photo! (And what your Profile Pic can do!)

So I just hit my three year blogging anniversary over at "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" and I felt that while I liked my old author photo,



it was really just a candid shot, and maybe it was time to update it a bit.

As Alice Pope and Greg Pincus advised in their breakout session on moving your career forward with social networking and blogging at the SCBWI Summer Conference, an author photo is a way to "brand" yourself across platforms. Their advice was to use the same photo on facebook, on your blog, on twitter... everywhere people would see those little profile photos - and it's true, I've had people walk up to me at events and ask, "Are you that guy that does the Zen of Blogging?" and I'm sure it's because I'm recognizable from my profile photo on this blog.

So I got my amazing writer friend and photographer Rita Crayon Huang (she takes the professional photos at the SCBWI summer conference - check out her flicker feed here! and incidentally took that original candid shot I used for the last few years) and we talked about what the new photo would be.

We were really trying to capture the spirit of empowerment (which is my underlying meta-theme of pretty much everything I do on-line and in my writing.) Heck, even this blog's theme is all about empowering you, my fellow bloggers!

So we decided to try something a little bit crazy. I'm leaping through the air, and Rita snapped the photographs mid-leap. Yup. I'm flying...

Kind of like the logo for my main blog,



we wanted the new photo to say "I'm Here To Empower YOU!"


And I think we accomplished that. Here's the original:




And the close-up:



That's what great photography (and a great photographer) can do.


I'll be changing this to be my new profile pic all across the social media landscape!


Another thing to take into consideration is how Ellen Hopkins handles her profile pic - it's not a photo of her at all - it's the cover of her newest book! Here's her twitter profile, and you can see how she's used the cover of her lastest book, Fallout, as her profile pic.




The way Ellen does it, little pictures of her book cover are popping up everywhere she comments on the internet - on facebook, on twitter on blogs... and it reminds people "Hey, Ellen has that new book out! I want to read that!"


So I encourage you to think about what your profile pic says to the world. Is there a chance to be more consistent? More inventive? A picture, the saying goes, speaks a thousand words. What does your picture say?

Namaste, and remember to keep it Zen,
Lee

This Week's Blogging Secret: Showcase Others ...and the "I Love My Librarian 2010 Award"

I think in the realm of blogging and social media, there are times when you can be at a loss for what to talk about. Do people really want to hear more about YOU? About your book/project/recipe? Again?

Unless you're a celebrity, the answer is probably 'not really.'

You can't repeat yourself endlessly about your new article, or book, or recipe... people will stop coming to your blog to read it if that's all you offer.

The best way to solve this is to talk about other people doing great stuff... Showcase people and projects you can celebrate, and that your blog readers will be interested in as well.

Take my world of children's literature. I talk about books and censorship and the world of GLBTQ teenagers (and teens in general) a lot on my blog - but I don't often focus on librarians.

So there's this cool contest called "I Love My Librarian" - and it's all about celebrating librarians who make an impact for the good on their communities. You can check out last year's winners (I loved reading their nominations!)



And you can nominate your own librarian who has made a difference to you and in your community - the deadline's September 20.

So go toot someone else's horn. It will make you and your blog more of a resource of cool stuff... and it will make you feel awesome.

Namaste, and remember to keep it Zen,
Lee

It's a New School Year... What Are You Doing That's NEW On Your Blog?

Ahh, the school year calendar. Even though it still feels like summer outside, the idea of back-to-school resonates for me - sharpened pencils, notebooks with crisp blank pages, a new backpack to hold all my stuff...

And so, for my "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" blog, I've been thinking about a slight re-design. A stream-lining. A make-it-more useful and easier-to-find-what-you're-looking-for re-thinking.

So I'm experimenting on a private test blog. Trying new things out.

Feeling a bit like a mad (but friendly) scientist.

Einstein -
Just what is the relation between genius and silliness?

Tabs here. No, here.

Add a button. Maybe two.

Move those links...

Simplify.

Expand.

Simplify some more.

And I'm having fun!

It's all work happening behind the scenes, but I groove on the idea that I'll be unveiling something fresh, something new and cool and awesome for the new school year...

And I'll be revealing it to everyone coming up on Sept 15, 2010.

So I challenge you to think about it, too - whether you're in a field that relates to children in school or not, we all went to school once, and the rhythm of the school year is imprinted on most of us. How can you make YOUR blog feel fresh and new for the new school year?

Namaste, and Remember to Keep it Zen,
Lee

If You're Not Failing Occasionally, That Means You're Not Taking Risks...

So I guess I'm taking some risks.

Last week I teamed up with the fabulous Katie Davis, who's launched her new podcast series all about the world of Children's Literature. Katie's an innovator - she's passionate, and smart, and she came up with an iphone app to let people listen to her podcasts seamlessly with their iphones while on the go.

I loved the idea, and when we spoke, I thought it would be fun to do a contest here on this blog to give away a free copy of her iphone app. Now, at $1.99 it's not the kind of prize - like the chance of winning a new car - that will have people dressing up funny. (Anyone else remember The Price Is Right?)

But as the investment was simply to leave a comment with an idea for Katie to cover in an upcoming "Brain Burps About Books" podcast, and no one had to dress up in a chicken costume, we thought it might get a number of people to throw their proverbial hat in the ring.

And we did get a number of people. That number was 1.

Now, at first, I have to admit, I was pretty bummed out about this. I mean, it was my first contest, and it felt a bit like I'd thrown a party and no-one showed up, you know? But the comment/entry we did get was awesome.

Karen from Kidsmomo.com said...

You're right, this is a wonderful podcast! And I definitely have a topic I'd love to hear about in the future: I co-manage a website aimed directly at kids, so it's difficult to reach them. We've been trying to spread the word about our site to educators, hoping that they'll introduce our site to kids. But is that the best way to do it? Or would parents be a better channel? Or are there some strategies for reaching kids directly that others have discovered? Would love to hear any words of wisdom on this topic! Thanks!

The contest, and Katie's podcast, really connected with Karen- she became engaged in a wonderful way - and her show idea is great! And that's really the goal of all of this social networking and blogging... to build community, to build your following, to engage with people who are interested in exactly what YOU are talking about - a community of people with a shared passion.

And yeah, while it would have been nice to have had 20 entries, or 50, or more... I'm delighted to announce Katie as the completely randomly selected winner of our contest!

Like building an audience, a platform, and a community that shares your passion, having a contest with a bunch of people entering takes time. And experimentation.

And you know what?

Like a number of editors and agents kept saying at the 2010 SCBWI Summer Conference,

If you're not failing occasionally, that means you're not taking risks.

And when it comes to blogging, can't we all afford to take some risks?

So think about it: What kind of experiments can you try with your blog?

If you succeed - great! Congratulations, keep at it!

And if you "fail," like I did with this contest - guess what? You can always try something else.

I know I will.

Namaste, and Remember to Keep it Zen,
Lee


ps- I found the photo of the "Play at your own Risk" sign here. I love the idea that if you don't risk anything, then you don't get to play. And what kind of fun is that?

This Week's Blogging Secret: Be Quirky - Be You!

Lisa Yee's business card

Have you met Peepy?

Award-Winning Author Lisa Yee has created this amazing character of the stuffed animal creature Peepy - who she carries around with her and who hob-nobs with the luminaries in the world of children's literature.

Peepy is her adorable companion on her adventures, and features prominently in her blog's accounts of events - check out all the shots of Peepy from the faculty dinner at this past weekend's SCBWI 2010 Summer Conference!

Here's a shot I took of Peepy at the Golden Kite Luncheon during the Conference:




Now, not everyone can take a stuffed animal creature and imbue it with personality and have it make sense with their overall market identity - but Lisa Yee's Peepy is a great example of how you can be whimsical, and have fun, and truly, it adds to your brand, to your blog, to your image.

So, think about how you can let your individuality shine through on your blog in a way that's quirky and synergistic with who YOU are and what you're all about.

And when you see that adorable-plush-yellow-big-eared Peepy, say "hi!"

Namaste,
Lee

Who's the first person who has to take your blog seriously? YOU!

Blogging is this amazing opportunity to show the world that YOU are a professional. That beyond your passion, you have a commitment to your voice and your world.

Getting visitors, and interviews, and other opportunities all stem from YOU taking your blog seriously.

Have a schedule - and keep to it. (Even if it's only one post a week - or a month.)

Follow through on your stated intentions. (If you have a survey for your readers, post the results!)

Be the kind of employee of your blog that you'd hire (Remember, in a one-person blog operation, you're the boss and the worker!)

And remember that if you act like a professional, you're on your way. After all, the first person you need to convince that you're serious is yourself.

On my journey, I blogged for more than a year at I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read? before the tide started to shift and other people saw me as a professional, too.

And now, I get to blog professionally, as part of the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrator's SCBWI Team Blog. (I'll be leaping into action once again starting tomorrow when the 2010 SCBWI Summer Conference begins! Check out all the fun at the Official Conference Blog here.)



That's pretty awesome. And it all started because I believed in myself and my blog, first.

So Believe In Yourself.

...and Keep it Zen.

Namaste,

Lee

Who Can You Interview? Another Secret To Build Your Blog Expertise and Audience

Think about the world that you explore in your blog.

Now think about who you might interview from that world.

Make sure to read their previous interviews (and know their work well) so you can make your interview questions (and the whole interview) really stand out.

One of the coolest things I've been able to do on my main blog, I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?, as part of the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators TEAM BLOG is interview luminaries in the world of Children's Literature.



From literary agents like my recent interview with Josh Adams, to Newbery Medal-Winning Authors like Paul Fleischman, to tomorrow's interview with the incredibly successful and funny author M.T. Anderson, my interviews add to the cool unique stuff people can only find on my blog.

As much as they've built my expertise and brought me additional traffic, these interviews have been a wonderful opportunity for me to learn and grow as a writer - and connect with some fantastically kind and gifted professionals in my world.

So, consider the question: Who can you interview for your blog?

Do your homework, and then send them an e-mail...

Who knows what you'll learn?

Namaste, and Remember to Keep it Zen,
Lee

This Week's Blogging Secret: Be Helpful

One of the ways to make your blog successful is to figure out how you can be helpful to your readers - is there something you can do for your community that could make your site a resource for others?

A great example of a blog that does this beautifully is Author Casey McCormick's blog, Literary Rambles.



Casey has an Agent Spotlight series covering literary agents that represent Children's book authors. What Casey has done so well is that she's compiled much of the available interviews and internet sources on the agents and then made them available as a resource on her blog - making her blog one of the first places writers go when researching agents. Casey has done other writer's homework for us, and by providing this service, she's created enormous good will (in addition to traffic and platform and stature) for herself.

On my own "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" Blog, I've made being a comprehensive listing and source of information on all the GLBTQ Teen novels one of the major pillars of my blog (the entire left hand column) - and it's made my blog a unique resource for Teen readers, Librarians, and everyone else with an interest in GLBTQ Teen fiction.

So take it as a challenge: Is there a way you can provide a resource on your blog for the members of your community?

Namaste, and Remember to Keep it Zen,
Lee

PLUG IN - A metaphor for blogging (and life) that keeps on working!

So this week, I challenge you to figure out how you can better "plug in" to your target audiences - to your blog readers and to your potential blog readers.

In my world of children's literature, there's a monthly event called "The Carnival Of Children's Literature." The idea is that every month there's a different host, and many bloggers share their favorite blog post of the month - and the "carnival" is a giant of a post, with links to 30 or more wonderful posts from all across the world of children's literature.

I've watched this event for years, and finally, I signed up to host.

The June 2010 Carnival of Children's Literature takes place tomorrow, and I've literally invested two whole days of what would have been writing time to make this happen in a way that's artful and organized and hopefully very professional.

And tomorrow, hundreds of new readers will come to my blog to find out about all the wonderful things going on in the kidlitosphere, and while they're there, they might check out the things I've been talking about on my blog.

It will be a lot of traffic and, more importantly, community coming by to visit - for me and for everyone who sent in a link and a blurb to participate.

It's a wonderful opportunity, and I'm grateful to have the chance to be the Carnival Ring Leader for this month.

So here's YOUR challenge - where is there an opportunity in YOUR world to plug into what's going on with your community?

Think about it, and feel free to share your ideas in comments! (Oh, and check out the carnival at 12:01 AM Pacific Coast Time, June 25, 2010!)

Namaste,
Lee

A Quick Blogging Tip - Schedule Blog Posts In Advance

Here's the automatic time and date the computer entered when I wrote this post:


...And Here's the NEW time and date for when I scheduled this post to publish.




One of the important things to consider is that while inspiration doesn't arrive in consistent bursts, it really helps a blog build a following if there is a consistent pattern of posting.

So, in general, it's better to have one post a week for four weeks than four posts one week and nothing for the next three weeks.

Life, though, can make keeping that kind of schedule a real challenge in the long run. And it is the consistency and quality of your blog posts will build your audience.

Enter a little technological trick:

Scheduling your blog posts to go up in advance.

I'm actually writing this post at 6:04AM Wednesday. It will go live tomorrow morning. But I have time now.

There have been times when I've scheduled posts a week in advance!

I blog here at The Zen of Blogging blog once a week, every Thursday.

And I blog over at I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read? Five days a week, Monday through Friday.

Scheduling lets me be consistent as a train schedule with my blog posts, yet flexible as an artist in the time I put into blogging.

In blogger (the host for my blogs) you click the little triangle "Post Options" under the composing window and adjust the "Post Date and Time" to whenever you want it to go live. Then, when you hit "Publish Post" it won't go live right away - it will wait and go live when you've scheduled it to.

Scheduling posts in advance is a great tool for any blogger, and can really take a lot of the stress out of blogging.

Namaste, and remember to keep it Zen,
Lee

"Jingle Bells," karaoke, and what every blogger can learn from American Idol

Adam Lambert (of last season's American Idol)
was so awesome, in part, because he never did it "karaoke-style."
He understood that every time he got the microphone,
it was his opportunity to be unique. To be remembered.
We bloggers can learn from him.
Every time we sit down to write a blog,
it's like someone's handing us a microphone...

So I was cooking dinner the other day, listening to a favorite song on my playlist, and my hands were all goopy rolling up non-meat-meatballs so I just let it play on from the songlist in alphabeltical (get it?) order. And I discovered that I had 3 versions of jingle bells. And I listened to them all. In a row.

Now, outside the fact that it's nowhere near Christmas time, it got me thinking - what a great lesson in the importance of "voice."

It's what Simon and the other judges are always saying on American Idol - don't just sing the song the way we've always heard it. If you do, it's too "Karaoke," and while karaoke is fun to do, it's not so much fun to listen to (unless it's one of your friends, dancing on top of a table, humiliating themselves.)

So now it's your turn to Play Along At Home (or on the go) with these versions I found for you. Listen to these:

Ella Fitzgerald's version of Jingle Bells

Barbra Streisand's version of Jingle Bells

Kyle Massey's version of Jingle Bells

Diana Krall's version of Jingle Bells

Melinda Doolittle's version of Jingle Bells

And go ahead, sort your playlist alphabetically by song title and see how many versions of the same song you have (it doesn't have to be jingle bells - any song you have multiple artists' versions of will do.)

Listen to them all in a row.

Note how each artist really puts their own spin on it. And for those artists that don't put their own spin on it, think about how ultimately forgettable their efforts are, in a sea of versions of the same song.

This is a good lesson to think about when blogging.

It's very possible that you're going to be blogging about something other people are blogging about, too. Whether it's about American Idol, or wishing Raven had won RuPaul's Drag Race, or even the new gay character in the Archie comic book universe, often we're blogging about stuff that's already been discussed elsewhere in the blogosphere or on the web.

Whatever you're blogging about, make sure your version is unique - an expression of you and your voice.

Otherwise, it'll just be Karaoke.

Oh, and will someone let me know when Adam Lambert puts out a version of "Jingle Bells?" I can't wait to see what he does with it!

Namaste, and keep it Zen,
Lee

1 Minute To Blogging Greatness, Episode #3: It’s Earth Day. You Wanna Blog About Holidays? Here’s what you need to know.

So I’m hiking, and leaves and gravel are crunching under my feet, when an eye-height spot of yellow catches my attention, and I get An Earth Day Inspiration...



One blogger who is a master at threading their theme through each post is my friend and writer Sara Wilson Etienne, who blogs about things in her life in a way that always brings it back to the process of writing. Check out how her insights and humor are anchored to her theme, which lets her blog posts dance!

Happy Earth Day, and like me, I hope you get inspired by Nature.

Namaste, and keep it Zen,
Lee

A Blogging and Social Media Secret: Butt OUT of Chair

I know, you're all thinking, "Lee, you got it wrong, it's 'butt IN chair' because you have to write your books, create your art, make your products. You have to create your "real estate" before you try to sell it, right?

Well, yes. You do need that "butt in chair" time.

But for your blogging and social media efforts to truly pay off, you need to get your butt OUT of the chair, too.

You need to get out of the house and go to some events. Meet some people. To borrow a phrase from social media guru Greg Pincus, let those "happy accidents" occur.

Here's a double example of what I'm talking about:

This past weekend, the Los Angeles Region of SCBWI had it's annual "Writer's Day" conference. I went, and decided to wear my blog logo t-shirt.

Me and the amazing Eve Porinchak at Writer's Day,
photo taken by the wonderful Rita Crayon Huang

At the conference, a woman approached me because she recognized me (maybe my t-shirt, maybe my profile photo) and asked if I was the fellow behind "The Zen Of Blogging."

I smiled and said, "Yes, I am."

And then she said "Oh, The Zen Of Blogging saved my life!"

I asked her if she'd say it again, on camera. She graciously agreed:




So it was good for me to get out in the world, because lo-and-behold, I got an amazing testimonial out of it. On video, no less.

But look at it from the other perspective.

Diane Browning is an author with a new book coming out. She got her butt OUT of her chair, went to this event and had her book right there in her hands. She said hello to a blogger she recognized, and shared her appreciation for what he was doing.

And then, lo-and-behold, she got the opportunity to plug her upcoming book (Signed, Abiah Rose) and her blog on HIS blog. (Right here - you just saw it.) On video, no less.

So Butt OUT of Chair worked rather elegantly for both Diane and myself.

And it can work for you, too.

Namaste, and remember to keep it Zen.

Lee

A Great Video About The State Of The Internet

It's fun. It's animated. It has a great soundtrack. And this short video has a fantastic overview of just how BIG the internet and our world of bloggers has become...

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo.

While the numbers can seem overwhelming, remember, we each just need to find OUR Zen path to blogging.

You need the one thing that can distinguish your blog from the 126 million other blogs out there.

And you already HAVE that one thing. It's YOU.

Here's the secret:

Be yourself when you blog.

Your passion.

Your perspective.

Your voice.

Now that's Zen.

Thanks to Jess3 for creating this video, and to

Greg Pincus, my friend and social media guru who shared this video on his social media blog, The Happy Accident, which is where I saw it for the first time.

Greg has the incredible ability to make the whole world of social media (including facebook, twitter, blogs, etc...) more comprehensible and less overwhelming, and his blog is a Zen must read.

Namaste,
Lee

How to deal with the urge to make your blog posts perfect

So originally this post was going to be my kanji disclaimer.

In fact, in response to my facebook launch party invitation, a few kind souls pointed out the mistakes in the Chinese character for "Zen" that I used as the cover image of my e-book and featured in last week's blog post.

Zen

Not-so-perfect Zen

I knew that image wasn't perfect. And I could have used stock imagery, or paid an expert to do it for me.

But I wanted this endeavor to be personal, messier, and to feel more expressive and artistic... So I did them myself. I had a friend write the characters out properly for me in my journal, and then I spent a few wonderful afternoons trying to capture the spirit of each symbol with ink, brush, and the thinnest of rice paper.

Now I knew my kanji characters were possibly cringe-producing-kindergarten-level efforts for a native speaker of Chinese, but I chose to accept that.

Could I have studied Chinese calligraphy for years to perfect my brush strokes and the alignment and form of each character? I suppose, but to what purpose? I might have looked more accomplished and the art would have been more polished, but it would have delayed my e-book and this blog launch by years.

And I felt (and feel) that I have so much to share about blogging that people could forgive the imperfections and go with the overall spirit and beauty of the big idea: Blogging can be Zen.

In the math equation in my mind, it was better to be imperfect.

Now I'm not saying to post stuff you haven't given thought to, or to tweet when angry, (as Social Media Guru Jenn Bailey famously says, "Trying to get something off the internet is like trying to get pee out of a swimming pool.") but the way I see it, we can get frozen into doing nothing because we're afraid of it not being perfect. And it's better to do something good than hold out forever to do one thing without flaws.

Many authors say that when they read their published books, they find things they would still change. At some point they had to let go and put their story out into the world.

Same with blogging.

Get some stuff out into the world.

It doesn't have to be perfect. You don't have to be perfect.

I know. Because I'm not.

And you know what? It's okay.


Namaste,
Lee


ps - my thanks to Julie Sullivan in particular for keeping it real, and whose critique inspired this post!