How long do you wait to hit "Publish"?
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When you write a new post, do you write it up and publish it right away (or at least, schedule for later posting)?
Or… are you like me, and leave some posts hanging, permanently abandoned in the draft stage?
If you’re in the first camp, what’s your secret for success? And if you’re in the second group, what do you think is holding you back from hitting that “publish” button?
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My secret for success is low standards. I hit Publish once I’m done typing, and away it goes. As a professional writer, virtually everything I’ve ever published has been a first draft. When Vanity Fair starts paying me $10 a word, then I’ll do three drafts.
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I often sit on drafts. I try to make all of my posts at least marginally funny, so sometimes I think something’s funny, but then I have doubts about it. Or sometimes I worry that something is too revealing. Or I write something that I worry might offend a friend or family member (because they might think it’s about them, or because it is about them; not because it’s on subject matter they wouldn’t approve of).
I would say that I should be more confident, but actually, most of the posts that linger in drafts turn out to not have been worth posting when I look at them with fresh eyes a few weeks later.
Also, I tend to want to blog after a couple glasses of wine, so it’s probably just as well I tend to save things to read later. ;)
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I tend to publish straight away, but have decided it is time to get more serious about my writing and do more drafts. Previously many of my posts were sharing relevant material from other blogs or sites. (My blog is on community engagement and sustainability.) Now I’m trying to write more of my own content and if I share something from elsewhere, to add some comment about it.
I’m not a natural writer (I’m so impressed with the quality of some of the blogs I read) and so the idea of leaving it in draft format for longer would probably be wise. -
I have my blog set up to send tweets and post to facebook and linkedin when I publish, so I usually schedule publishing for 9 am Pacific time (12 noon ET).
I’m not sure it has an impact, but since I’m a midnight writer, finishing at 2 or 3 am, I figure the scheduling thing assures at least a few more people will see it.
I also use Live Writer, which allows me to create local “drafts” whenever I have an idea for a post. The calendar/scheduling tool is excellent. I even wrote a post about using Live Writer and Word for blogging tools.
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I tend to let most things sit for a while, The Cannery Hack or my Mumbling site – the sitting tends to be not very long – sometimes a few hours or I will go back and read it out loud to myself. then at some point I hit publish then usually go back and read it a day or so later and fix the typos and such
My main site on Boating Safety I do much more checking, in some cases I get outside review help by people – the review sometimes is a few hours and in other cases it can be a couple of days.
I don’t write very fast and writing is sometimes painful for me. However on Boating Safety I do strive very hard to get things accurate and clear. In the case of how to do things, I will try and follow my own instructions. I will then go back after I have published a new Post and check a time or three over the next two days or so.
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I either get something published right away, or I tend to let it sit as a draft. Sometimes those drafts get finished up later or sometimes they just end up as half-finished thoughts that I can’t flesh out into full posts.
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I always first write several posts in a MS Word document and then just copy it off when I am going to post it and review it one more time… just to be sure .. And add a couple of images and that’s it !! :-)
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You’ll come to grief using Word, mark my words. Use Windows Live Writer, in the name of all that is holy.
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LOL, raincoaster. I prefer LiveWriter myself. But Word in Office 2013/365 transforms itself into an HTML-only, LiveWriter-esque interface when you use File > Share > Post to Blog.
Key advantage of LiveWriter is having your blog template download and appear right there on the screen for you. Well that and that scheduling thing. ;-)
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Actually, Word’s Post to Blog function is better, but it still routinely causes issues.
WLW’s biggest advantages are the ability to add the title and categories/tags and formatting and hit Publish and boom! It just goes up like that. You don’t have to fart around with it.
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A year or two back I tried the Word – Post to blog feature – did not like it at all, some of the formatting was messed up and some other issues – was glad it was just a test Post that I deleted – WLW is better – I still usually fuss around a bit with WLW after the upload
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