Pages

Friday, July 2, 2010

My Blog Books

I'm in print!


OK. So I published myself...

But I'm still excited!

I have been wanting to convert my blog to a book for some time. I even went so far as to download My Publisher and started the process of creating my book.

I found I was getting bogged down in making too many decisions, trying to make the pages look perfect, and wasting time because the download took sooo long.


Then this past Spring I read on someone's blog (sorry, I cannot remember who) that they had gotten a book published on Blog2Print.

I went there and made my sample book within minutes. It was very fast, easy to preview with a very simple editor. As for customizable options, MyPublisher has them beat. But I discovered that my blog was too big to try to customize too many options.

When Blog2Print offered a discount a few weeks ago, I decided to purchase the books for both 2008 and 2009.

I am absolutely delighted with the result. I love reading through my old posts and thumbing through an entire year all in one book. They're just great!


As a note, I made the decision to conserve space by allowing the layout editor to fit my pictures on pages in order to maximize space. I think I saved about 200 pages per book by selecting this option which saved lots of money too since you pay by page over a certain amount.



I also chose hard covers with the intention of covering them myself with fabric covers. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the covers when they arrived so I don't think that will be necessary.

I could have added extra photo pages but going back for two years and adding them was a little overwhelming for me. Moving forward, I intend to set pictures aside as I post so that they'll all be ready to go in one file when I print my book for 2010.

Blog2Print is running a 15% discount through July 7 when you use the discount code b2psummer. Creating your sample book doesn't cost anything and you can check it out here. (Note: I have not been paid or given any free product by Blog2Print -- I'm just a happy customer.)

On another blogging note, I wanted to tell you about the results of my latest anti-spam experiment.

This past Spring, like so many of you, I was plagued by spam comments. I noticed that much of the spam was occurring on older posts. So I disabled word verification and changed my settings to review any blog comments that were on posts older than 5 days.

After two months, I'm happy to report that I only received spam once on a current post. All the rest of the spam showed up in my comments to review on older posts and I deleted them quite easily.

I just wanted to share since I know many of you don't like word verification but felt compelled to use it because of spam.

And, one last blogging note...or maybe it's more of a plea...about email permissions.

I have found that by allowing my email to be shared, I have made some amazing connections, friends and relationships through my blog. I have not, in two years, received any spam in my email. So far, for me, the benefits of sharing my email has far outweighed keeping it private.

In turn, I love it when someone leaves me a comment and I can respond via email. In that way, a conversation is continued and foundations for friendship result. For me, it's much harder to respond to questions/comments when an email address is not available. Usually it requires that I click over to someone's blog and try to respond on a post that has nothing to do with the original discussion. It's awkward, not real time and I tend not to do it very often. *sorry, gotta be honest...

If you want your email to be private, by all means keep it private. Or if you've had trouble with spam you could try writing it like playswithneedles(at)verizon(dot)net

I had a friend the other day who didn't even realize that she wasn't making her email available. So for those folks who may not know, you can check it by going to your dashboard and clicking on "Edit my profile" ... There you will find a box to check or uncheck that says "Share my email?"

Have a great weekend. *Smile.

31 comments:

  1. I've seen these books on another blog, they are so awesome!

    Sadly, I've always hosted my personal blog on my own domain and they can't make a book from that - yet. But they did say they are working on. Maybe by Christmas I'll be able to have my own book made.

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  2. Your blog books are awesome! I've also seen them on another blog and can't remember which one now either.

    I agree with the email thing. I was very cautious at first about having it so available, but there have only been a couple spam issues in all my time blogging (over 2 years) so it's a non-issue for me...and it's been so great meeting others that I'm glad I did it :)

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  3. I did not know this was possible. A great idea to thing about. Thanks for the tip!
    Oh, thank you also for finding my wet suit cute :-)

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  4. I did not know this was possible. A great idea to thing about. Thanks for the tip!
    Oh, thank you also for finding my wet suit cute :-)

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  5. I didn't even know that this was possible. Your blog books look great. You should publish a book. I would be first in line to buy it. It would be so neat to see all the work that one has done in a book. You will have it forever. Good for you!!! Lise

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  6. WOW I want to do this... I blog a lot but your blogs are longer so it is probably doable for me too... I always feel whatever I write is dropping off a cliff into cyberspace... (and it is so vital stuff!!! LOL) If I had space I'd tell you about the book I wrote!!! Actually I wrote 2....

    Gerry K.

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  7. i too have been tempted to print myself...you might consider having family and friends sign your book on pages that feature them...your 9[10] nieces would get a kick out of that! though Jack might scoff..

    i too do that with comment stuff and spammers.

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  8. Anonymous1:14 PM

    This was a great post - lots of good information for the blogger. I had heard about the blog book before but thought it might be too expensive. I will take your advice re selecting photos and take another look at this product.

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  9. Thank you Susan for being so honest about printing the blog-book. I had my doubts, read about it on one other blog too.
    Now I have ordered my book about 2009. the preview looked very nice. Thank for the code, I saved almost $6.00 :)

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  10. I've been thinking about ending my blog, since I don't really use it that much, but did want to save what I have. Now I know how to do it - thank you as always!

    I hope you and your extended family have a wonderful July 4th and enjoy your time at the beach!!

    Susan

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  11. Those books would be absolutely wonderful!

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  12. What a wonderful thing to have for posterity! Your posts are always so chock-full of gorgeousness I imagine they'll get looked at quite frequently!

    I had a horrid issue with spam on my blog a while back but that seems to have cleared up. Of course I don't post much to it these days so it really doesn't matter. I seem to have a lot more time for updating my Flickr account.

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  13. Thanks so much! I've heard of several different ways to publish your blog into a 'book'..I'm going to check this out! I'm sure they'll get bombarded with orders!

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  14. First the books are great and will be a real treasure. How nice to look back on the years with these well put together books. Now about the email thing, thank you I thought my email was accessable, but it wasn't I've changed that.
    Debbie

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  15. Well, there are several people I know that have blogs I would actually buy and you and Gerry are at the top of the list!!

    I love books. period. I may not read as many novels as I used to, but when it comes to Creative, I want to have the paper in my hand to read and drool over, to take along when I want something to read, and for reference.

    A book of your blog is like an art journal put into print. Are the comments included? That would be nice to remember what comments were made.

    Does you mind EVER slow down?

    Happy 4th!
    xx, Carol

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  16. The books look great. It makes them "real" journals in the old fashioned sense... something your descendants can see. It's something I want to do, too.

    I tried to change my e-mail in my Blogger, but it insists my e-mail (the one I actually use) is not valid, so I just added the anti robot version to my signature.

    ~Faith
    Sew Many Blessings
    Needle & Fabric Art
    airycat(at)airynothing(dot)net

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  17. I think I saw a reference to something like this on CraftyPod when Diane was discussing archiving your blog.
    This is the first time I've seen anyone do it - it looks great!

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  18. What a wonderful idea and your blog is perfect for it because your pictures are always incredible. Just think, you now have a person journal of all those years.

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  19. What a wonderfull Idea to go into print! Must be lovely to have your own books at your bedsidetable.

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  20. I also saw the blog book on another blog, and I'm intrigued with the idea. Thanks for spreading the word about the sale. Now that I'm coming up on 5 years in the blogosphere, it'd be nice to have. Your books must be really nice since your photos and writing are so wonderful.

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  21. Thanks for sharing your experience with the book. I've been wanted to print my blog too. I will set that as a goal for the summer!

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  22. Thanks so much, Susan, for turning us on to this! I’ve always felt that cyberspace wasn’t a great way to preserve our stuff, so I’m thrilled to learn about this service. BTW, we need to bug Gerry to tell us about the books she’s written! Hugs, Cathy

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  23. What a fabulous idea and a wonderful service!! I ahve often wished that I could literally page thru my blog.. I am definately going to do this!!
    Happy 4th!!

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  24. What a fun idea, Susan, and what a nifty way to preserve your wonderful photos/commentary. Sure beats having your photos stuck in a box somewhere! Hope you had a great Fourth!

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  25. These are wonderful! What a great way to preserve all your neat photos and writing. 10-15-20 years from now, they will be a great record of your work. Well, you know what I mean. They are a great record now, too. ;) Who knows, someday you'll be inspiring some grandchild, or grand-niece/nephew. Neat idea, thank you for sharing how to go about doing it. I really love how you pass along your tips and techniques. You're a good teacher, Susan!

    Cheers! Sheila

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  26. I agree with Carol. You have a wonderful blog with wonderful art you create. Publishing it was a good decision.
    Marty S
    Crackpot Beader

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  27. Thank you for posting about your blog book! I have just ordered one as I think this is a brilliant idea.

    I am so looking forward to having all my tatting growth and learning in hard copy to look at whenever I choose!
    Fox : )

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  28. Oh my Gosh! I have been saying that to my family that I wish there was a way to have a paper copy of my blog - thank you soooo much for telling us about this!

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  29. I'm baaack.....just wanted to say thanks again - I just ordered my book!

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  30. Susan, this is wonderful news! I've been thinking about it and am glad to know that it worked out well for you. Sorry I've been out of the loop lately. I'll have to spend some time catching up on all your wonderful posts.

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  31. Me again :)

    Got my book today and am jumping for joy! The quality is beyond my expectations-I just keep feeling it and opening it up randomly to read a post. The paper is so nice and the cover is excellent. I was shocked at how clear the pictures are. Thank you ever so much for telling us about this.

    You're the best!

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It's always a happy day when I see that you've stopped by and left a note. Thanks for taking the time to send me your beautiful thoughts. I try to comment back when life isn't too hectic and when Blogger has your email.

Have a wonder-filled life!