PoeWar » March Writing Blog Madness

All About 30 Poems in 30 Days

J.C. Hewitt — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:03:05 +0000

30 Poems in 30 Days is an Internet writing project. It is an attempt by myself, and anyone who wants to play along, to write thirty poems in a month. As part of the project, I will be posting an article about poetry every day. At the end of the article there will be a poetry writing prompt. The prompt is there to help. There is no requirement that you follow the prompt. I may not even follow it myself. The goal is simply to write poetry. This project is similar in some ways to National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO). In fact, this year I have adopted a clever acronym – PD30 (pee-dee-three-oh).

How does PD30 work?

Every day in September I (or a guest writer) will post a short article about a poetic concept, a poem, a poetry form, the poetry world or a poet / group of poets. I will follow that with a poetry writing prompt. The prompt may be related to the subject of the article, but it may not be. As a participant, I would like you to either post a poem or at least post a note saying that you wrote a poem and perhaps include a line or two from the poem. It is also nice to comment on the poems that other participants have written. Additionally, because some writers do not want to post their poems publicly (for a variety of reasons) but still want to participate, I have created a private workshop. To get an idea of how this works, you may want to look as last year’s project.

Do I have to write a poem every day?

No. The goal is 30 Poems in 30 Days. Some people write in batches, other people write every day. As the moderator, I prefer daily postings because it keeps the conversation moving, but I understand that different people have different styles of working.

Do I have to do them all in September?

No. Once the posts are up, they’ll be there for the foreseeable future. You can start and end at any time. Do not expect, however, to have very much feedback after September because most people will have moved on.

I really, really, want feedback. I need to know if I’m any good. Will I get lots of feedback?

First, stop worrying about how good you are and just try to enjoy the assignments. Second, like any group project, the way the project develops depends on the group. If there are people who love to comment, that will be very helpful. I can’t guarantee feedback though, and I can tell you that begging for feedback rarely helps. It tends to annoy people.

How can I access the private workshop?

You can use my contact form to send me a note asking to take part in the PD30 private forum. I will then send you further instructions.

Is the private workshop better than the public posting?

I really have no idea. It is a new experiment this year. It may turn out to be where all the action is or it may be as dead as the careers of VH1 reality show participants. A forum is really only as good as the people who participate in it. There are a few tools in the forum that are nicer than comment tools. There is also less risk of your poem getting caught in the spam filter. Participation is really what will make the difference though.

Can I join the private forum but still post my poems in the comments at poewar.com?

Of course! I would be thrilled to see people participating in both places.

What I Learned from Writing Blog Madness: Content vs. Commerce

J.C. Hewitt — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:51:50 +0000

A lot of sites have something they want to sell you. They may simply run a lot of outside ads, or they may be pushing services such as writing, editing, consulting or design. When I was running Writing Blog Madness, I tried not to penalize blogs that had something to sell, but in many cases the sales pitch did hurt them in the competition. Articles that would otherwise be helpful seemed less valuable because the sales pitch was too strong or the blog’s design would be less attractive because it was weighed down by ads.

I don’t fault anyone for using their blog to make money or promote themselves. I like money too, and I get a fair share from PoeWar. I just think that, with competing sites only a click away, you have to be very careful about how you promote your message because you are competing with plenty of other blogs that are either unconcerned about money or found a better way to promote themselves than you did.

Is Your Sales Pitch Hurting Your Sales?

If you have a strong sales pitch, especially one that you work into your articles, you need to examine it closely. How many sales/queries are you actually getting? If you work a sales pitch into every blog entry and you haven’t made a sale in months, then the strategy isn’t working. If you have a dozen ads and only a hundred daily readers, you need to think about how many people leave your site because your articles are just part of the clutter. You also need to think about how many potential regular readers/customers you have lost because your content took a back seat to your sales pitch.

How to Know When to Turn Down Your Sales Pitch

The tips below are mostly based on numbers and statistics. Statistical tracking is a key to any advertising campaign. If you are trying to make money from a web site and you aren’t tracking your statistics, you need to start. Try Google Analytics, they monitor everything I’m about to discuss and plenty more.

If your readership is under 500 people a day, you should probably work on expanding that before you hit the readers with the hard sell. You need an audience before you can sell to an audience.
If your readership hasn’t grown in three months or more, you should keep a close eye on your sales pitch. It may be driving readers away.
If the average number of pages readers view per visit is under 1.5, you are almost certainly driving people away. When readers like your site, they tend to explore, looking for more articles to read and checking out that all important “About Me” page. If your site is loaded down with ads or your articles come on too strong, chances are they’ll look at one article and then move on to another site.
If you aren’t getting comments on your articles, it may be because of the sales pitch. People tend to comment when they feel their opinion has value and the article leaves them with something to say. If they feel like they are reading a sales brochure, they aren’t going to add to the conversation because there is no conversation to add to.
If you aren’t getting many links from other blogs or web sites, then the chances are pretty good that they aren’t finding value in your articles or they see through your sales pitch. Bloggers like to feel as if they are part of a community. A heavy sales pitch can take you right out of that community.

Four Quick Fixes

There are four quick steps that can help you get your sales pitch down from a shout to a whisper.

Be upfront and brief. Say very clearly what you offer and then move on.
Do not work a pitch for your services into an informational article. Let the article stand on its merits. If you feel you need to discuss your services in a blog entry, save it for a separate entry and keep it down to once a week or once every five posts or more. Put the content up front.
Pick one spot per on your page to promote your services. It can be a prominent spot. People understand and accept the need for advertising. Just keep it to one spot and say what you have to say. The people who are interested will look.
Take out any poorly performing advertising. If your page is filled with ads, chances are only a few of them (if any) are actually making you money. Get rid of the ones that aren’t selling. They are just clutter.

Writing Blog Madness Final: #1 Seed Daily Writing Tips Versus #1 Seed John August

J.C. Hewitt — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:40:35 +0000

The Matchup

After four full rounds of competition, two top seeds have fought their way to the finals. Both of these blogs are popular and make a point of helping their readers through minor and major writing issues. Beyond that, these two blogs are very different. Daily Writing Tips is a team blog with five writers. Its focus is on the nuts and bolts of writing such as word usage and grammar. It also features articles on general writing topics such as freelancing and fiction writing. John August is a niche blog aimed specifically at screenwriters and aspiring screenwriters. The titular author, John August, is a successful screenwriter with credits that include indie favorites such as Go and The Nines as well as box office blockbusters such as Charlie’s Angels and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the two Charlies are unrelated). This is it, the final match. Lets do it!

Best Headlines

Interestingly, looking at their last 10 posts, both blogs feature an article with 101 in the title. JA has Screenwriting 101 while DWT has Creative Writing 101. Both blogs also feature a headline that asks a question. DWT has, Should You Use Footnotes or Endnotes? JA has Does a working writer keep improving? There are definite similarities. In the end though, I have to give the nod to DWT because you can always get the gist of what the article is about from the headline, while JA has headlines such as Time spent thinking and Uggh that are a little hard to interpret.

DWT strikes first with a turnaround jump shot from six feet out. DWT leads 2-0.

Best User Experience

Neither of these blogs is flashy. Both have a professional but conservative look and their user features are a bit on the basic side. Both make occasional use of graphics in their postings, but generally stick to text. DWT is weighed down a bit by its advertising though. At some points, because of the ads, there are four columns of material with the ads taking up two columns. That’s a bit much for a web page to handle and in the end it costs them this category.

JA gets the ball and breaks a screen to get to the inside, putting the ball in off the glass to tie the game at 2-2.

Best Community Experience

JA has a large and informed community that often adds solid information of its own to the posts. The community at Daily Writing Tips is smaller, but does stay on topic, although they tend to be overly critical of the posts.

JA gets the ball back and shoots a mid-range jumper – nothing but net. JA takes the lead 4-2.

Best Branding

John August has been an Internet fixture for years, writing for IMDB long before the concept of blogging took off. He has the advantage of a great reputation in a high-profile industry, and he has named his blog after himself, so he really is the brand. The content on his site offers information specific to his industry, and the advice is consistently informative. DWT has been around for a year, and has quickly jumped to the forefront of writing blogs, with one of the highest traffic totals in the competition. It stays true to its purpose of improving people’s writing skills while also providing the occasional nod to the writing business.

Jump Ball. Both blogs have done a great job of branding and developing their reputation. The score remains 4-2.

Best Archives

JA doesn’t have a true archive page, at least not one that anyone can find. The site does list featured articles and has a small Screenwriting 101 list as well as a category guide at the bottom of the pages. DWT has an archive that lists every article ever written in chronological order. Chronological order isn’t the best choice, but at least you can go through every article on a single page. DWT also has a substantial popular articles list.

DWT breaks the full-court press and races to the basket, scoring two with a finger-roll basket. The score it tied 4-4 going into the final round.

Best Post

Setting Your Freelance Writing Fees

This is a lengthy and informative article about all of the factors that a freelancer should consider when setting their rates. It goes through such issues as the type of work, the amount of knowledge and experience the writer has, who owns the rights, research, expenses, the going rate and the all-important gut feeling.

Does a working writer keep improving?

August answers a question from a screenwriter with a few credits under his belt who wants to improve on some of his weaknesses so that he can move up to the next level. August advises him on how to improve his story and plotting by dissecting successful movies and shows to examine their structure. He also advises the writer to work outside of his comfort zone so that he doesn’t rely so much on his strengths.

John August gets possession the ball one last time and dives to the basket, dunking the ball just as the buzzer goes off. John August wins 6-4.

Post Game Analysis

It was a nail-biting battle. Daily Writing Tips is a great site for writers. John August was just a little bit better. The real kicker is that August can speak from such a depth of experience. In his field, he has been through the battles at every level and come out as one of the top writers in Hollywood and on the Internet. My hat is off to him and his site.

This ends 2008’s Writing Blog Madness. It was great getting to know all of your blogs better and seeing all the different ways that blogs can help writers. I’ll write a proper wrap-up over the weekend, but thank you to everyone who took the time to comment and link to the contest. Without you this would have been a very lonely month and a half.

The Articles

So people can compare for themselves, here are the past 10 articles from each site:

John August

Daily Writing Tip

Game 30: #1 Seed John August Versus #5 Seed Men With Pens

J.C. Hewitt — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:22:33 +0000

The Matchup

Top-seeded John August has the reputation and the goods. John August the man (rather than the blog) is a successful screenwriter with a pocket full of hit movies. His blog has fended off all of its opponents thus far, but the underdog, fifth-seed Men with Pens, has the support of the crowds (at least in the comments).

Best Headlines

JA isn’t known for great headlines. Over the past 10 headlines, there are several that really wouldn’t tell you what the content of the article is about. MWP writes descriptive titles that pull you into the article. The headlines aren’t flashy, but they are simply more descriptive than the ones at John August.

MWP works the ball inside and scores on a short jumper. The score is 2-0 in favor of MWP.

Best User Experience

The strength of JA is the simplicity of the design. There are some nice graphic touches that let you know some work and skill went into the design, but the site isn’t flashy, just readable. The lack of ads (except for an Amazon link or two) also keeps the look pure. As for features, the pages at JA have only subscription options, featured articles and a few key links. He includes, however, a wiki that allows you to explore screenwriting concepts.

MWP is an attractive site as well. It doesn’t have the simple elegance of JA, but it does have plenty of features such as subscription options, recent posts (yeah!), top 10 commenters and recent comments. They also incorporate graphics into their site and their posts to keep things visually interesting. They have to work in a lot of ads too, which makes the site a little busy.

Jump ball! Neither blog is the clear winner. MWP remains in the lead, 2-0.

Best Community Experience

Both web sites have active, knowledgeable communities. These are definitely sites in which you read the comments as well as the posts. The community sizes are about the same, with fifteen to twenty comments on the average post and occasional spikes of 40 comments or more.

Another jump ball! The score remains 2-0 in MWP’s favor.

Best Branding

Men With Pens does a great job of getting their brand out. They actively comment on their own articles and articles on other sites. They write with personality and passion. Their posts are almost always informative and helpful. John August has something most other blogs dream of – authority. His blog helps position him as an authority, but his string of hit movies is what puts him on top. He also put his name on the blog, so there is no avoiding him as a brand. He writes with authority as well. His articles show his level of expertise in his craft.

JA finally answers back with two points in the paint. The score is now tied 2-2.

Best Archives

When it comes to finding past articles, MWP is loaded with options. There is an entire column of featured posts as well as a new recent posts widget that you can access from individual posts. The actual archive page is excellent. It has an extensive list of posts as well as the ability to scan by page, category or month. JA has a list of featured articles and a Screenwriting 101 list as well as a category archive at the bottom of each page.

MWP goes for the alley oop, Chartrand lobs it up to McLeod who goes above the rim to drop the ball in the basket. MWP leads 4-2.

Best Post

Fiction Writing: Overactive Imagination

James Chartrand writes about the benefits of having an overactive imagination when it comes to creative writing. He encourages readers to embrace their imagination, not suppress it. The article is an appealing look at creative writing.

The six-hour scene

John August discusses a single scene that took him six hours to write. His post centers on the difficulties some scenes present, and the ways to get through writing them. He also discusses what he would have done if he hadn’t had the luxury of time and was forced to put the scene out in an hour. It is a great mix of philosophical and practical advice.

JA breaks to the basket, laying the ball in just as the buzzer sounds. The score is tied at 4-4. We have to go to the tie breaker.

Tie Breaker

Even the margin of comments was extremely close, but John August wins out, 240 to 236. In case you are wondering, yes, that is total comments including comments by the authors. I said I would go by total comments. Even if I had weeded out author comments, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome. MWP clearly replies to comments more frequently than John August, who tends to respond once a day and do so with a massive comment rather than respond individually.

Post Game Analysis

These were two very well-matched blogs. This was the first time we had to go to a tie breaker and even the tie breaker was extremely close. I will miss MWP, which has become one of my new favorite blogs because of this competition. We have out final matchup. Two top-seeded blogs will duke it out for supremacy. Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion of Writing Blog Madness as Daily Writing Tips takes on John August.

The Articles

So people can compare for themselves, here are the past 10 articles from each site:

John August

Men With Pens

Game 29: #1 Seed Daily Writing Tips Versus #4 Seed Confident Writing

J.C. Hewitt — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:32:54 +0000

The Matchup

Top-seeded Daily Writing Tips has stayed strong throughout the competition, dominating with its daily focus and its team of writers. Confident Writing has been the surprise hit of the tournament with its positive approach, even taking down presumptive front-runner Copyblogger.

Best Headlines

Judging from the past 10 articles, DWT doesn’t have the flashiest headlines on the block, but they do tend to be clear and concise. Headlines such as Should You Use Footnotes or Endnotes? or A While vs Awhile tell you pretty much everything you need to know about the articles that follow. CW tends to write longer headlines that incorporate her latest theme or explain the topic at length. A headline like Chicago Pulse: Why The Windy City Was The Perfect Setting For SobCon08 tells you what you need to know, but it also feels a little long-winded.

DWT gets the ball and works it down court, scoring in the paint for two. DWT leads 2-0.

Best User Experience

Both sites have clean and attractive interfaces. The banners for both sites are both conservative and based on single lines of options. DWT concentrates on key options such as a list of popular articles, recent articles, a category list, subscription buttons and some links. CW has a couple more bells and whistles, but nothing dramatic. CW has subscription options, cornerstone posts (too few), recent comments, recent posts, recent readers, and a list of other places you can find author Joanna Young at. Overall, neither blog stands out in the user experience category.

Jump ball. The score remains 2-0 in favor of DWT.

Best Community Experience

The community at DWT is a picky one. They often write in to take issue with DWT’s explanation of a word’s usage or to point out any minor grammatical or typographical errors. Sometimes a nice discussion of the topic springs up, but nitpicking seems to be the order of the day. CW has a more positive, supportive community. That doesn’t mean all of their comments are substantive either. There are a whole lot of “I love this article” sort of comments that don’t really further the discussion. On the other hand, Joanna Young dos take the time to engage her readers, replying to most of her comments, while the crew at DWT tends to step back more. CW also gets about twice the number of comments as DWT.

CW works the ball down court and puts up a short jumper for two. The score is tied up at 2-2.

Best Branding

DWT has a unique style that is summed up by their name. Every day you get a writing tip. The majority of the tips are based on word usage, but they also branch out into resources, freelancing and other topics. CW also has its purpose — Confident Writing. The focus of this site is building up both a writer’s skills and self-image. DWT has a more professional image, while CW has a more personal and emotional appeal. Each develops this well. DWT has the advantage in traffic, with far more visitors, but the active community at Confident Writing indicates a more connected community. In the end, neither blog has a clear edge.

Jump Ball. The score remains tied at 2-2.

Best Archives

DWT’s archive page is quite simply a chronological list of every article that they’ve published. On the plus side, that means you can go directly from that page to any article on the site. The subjects are rarely time-sensitive, however, so a chronological list isn’t that helpful. DWT also keeps a popular posts list on each page. CW’s archive is really more of a “best of” style list. You can also search by theme, but that delivers full blog posts, not a list.

DWT gets the ball back and breaks for the bracket, putting in a layup for two. DWT takes the lead 4-2.

Best Post

3 Keys to Powerful Writing: Guest Post By Robert Hruzek

I haven’t really been that interested in Young’s recent articles about SobCon08, so I am going to go back to the same article I chose in the last round, a guest post by Robert Hruzek titled, 3 Keys to Powerful Writing. It’s a fun article about having a clear focus on your goals when you write. It measures these things in three categories, targets, boundaries and gravity. They aren’t the first things I would have thought of, but Hruzek makes it work.

Creative Writing 101

This is an excellent example of the way that DFW manages to cover new information using the tips format. The post is aimed at beginning creative writers, and gives them a bit of advice on how to get started writing, and on what other sites they can visit for more information. There is solid information there, and it should be quite helpful to beginners.

DWT makes it down the court for one more scoring opportunity, a light finger roll into the basket. The final score is 6-2 in favor of DWT.

Post Game Analysis

If I had to sum up what won the game for Daily Writing Tips, I would have to say focus. The headlines were more focused and the articles were more focused. Both sites have focus, but at this point, DWT is just a little sharper.

The Articles

So people can compare for themselves, here are the past 10 articles from each site:

Confident Writing

Daily Writing Tips

Writing Blog Madness: The Final Four

J.C. Hewitt — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:05:08 +0000

We’ve reached the final four of our Writing Blog Madness. We are down to four excellent blogs that have each proven themselves by winning three previous contests. These are battle-tested blogs, each worthy of a shot at the top spot. Two top-seeded blogs have managed to make it this far, as well as a fourth-seed and a fifth-seed. Can the two top seeds take out their competition to meet in the final? Will the fourth and fifth seeds overcome the favorites? Stay Tuned. Meanwhile, here are the remaining blogs and links to the contests that got them this far. Congratulations to our remaining contestants and thanks to all those who have taken part.

4. Confident Writing — Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3

1. Daily Writing Tips — Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3

1. John August — Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3

5. Men with Pens — Game 1 / Game 2 / Game 3

Note: There won’t be any big category changes this time. We’re plowing through to the final.

Game 28: #2 Seed I’d Rather Be Writing Versus #5 Seed Men With Pens

J.C. Hewitt — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:58:20 +0000

The Matchup

Second-Seeded I’d Rather Be Writing is coming off a victory by forfeit, which was disappointing for the fans and the teams alike. I am anxious to see this blog get tested again. Fifth-seeded Men with Pens is a crowd favorite that won a narrow victory in the first round but followed it up with a resounding second-round victory.

Best Headlines

Tom Johnson over at I’d Rather Be Writing is a technical writer and it shows. Judging by the last ten blog headlines, Johnson tends toward long (11+ word) descriptive headlines. When you read a Tom Johnson headline, you tend to know exactly what you are going to get out of the post. They aren’t clever or flashy, but if it is a topic that interests you, you’ll know it from the headline. James Chartrand and Harry McLeod over at Men With Pens are more concise, but for the most part they achieve the same effect. Their headlines are informative, and are often goal-oriented, such as How to Show You Care About Your Customers. They do occasionally go for flashier headlines such as Fiction Writing: Discover Your MonkeyBoy.

Both teams scramble for the ball, but MWP comes up with it, driving to the basket for a two point shot. MWP leads 2-0.

Best User Experience

Both of these sites are run by bloggers who think they know what people want when it comes to a blog. MWP sells blog design services, and IRBW teaches classes in WordPress. The two sites have a very different idea of what their readers want though. IRBW has the more traditional blog design. It is a three column design that can look a little busy. That’s because Johnson piles on the features and widgets. He has sixteen different features on the page, including a live traffic feed and his latest tweets. The MWP home page is also chock-full of stuff. In fact, the featured blog entry takes up less than a third of the page. The rest of the page is dedicated to featured content, ads and a few comment-oriented widgets. This is a magazine style format that creates a relatively attractive page. The one thing that it lacks which I would like to see is a chronological list of the most recent articles. If a recent article isn’t featured for some reason, it tends to just disappear. One reader noted this, saying “It seems like there was another post here a little while ago that I didn’t even get a chance to read.” I’ve had the same problem myself, struggling to find an article that was recently in the RSS feed but isn’t on their front page. This is an easily solved problem. They just need a most recent posts list somewhere on the page.

This is a close one, but IRBW gets the ball and scores based on ease of navigation. The score is tied up 2-2.

Best Community Experience

IRBW has an active and intelligent community. My last review complained that Johnson wasn’t responding to comments, but he seems to have picked up the pace since that last review. MWP takes pride in their community. They not only get a lot of responses, but they actively engage their readers and promote conversation. The community is a big part of why people go to MWP.

MWP gets the ball back and races down the court. It’s the old Alley Oop play! Harry lobs the ball at the basket and James goes above the rim to put the ball in. MWP takes back the lead 4-2.

Best Branding

I am judging this category on personality, purpose and value. MWP has the personality part wrapped up. Harry and James are characters. I don’t just mean they have strong personalities; they are like characters in a story. The blog is their story. IRBW doesn’t have the strong personality of MWP, but it does an excellent job of staying true to its purpose. IWBW is a blog about technical writing and the Web 2.0. Johnson rarely strays from those topics. MWP writes about blogging, fiction, design, business and themselves. It’s a big tent over at MWP. When it comes to value, both blogs have plenty to offer. Both have informative articles that are worth reading.

Both teams got their hands on the ball in this one. Jump Ball! The score remains 4-2 in MWP’s favor.

Best Archives

This is a study in contrasts. MWP has its own way of featuring posts. They divide them up into categories and run the headline along with the first few words of the posts. This magazine-style best-of is attractive and pushes recent posts. There is no traditional list of recent posts or top posts though, which I for one miss. On the other hand, they have a terrific archives page. It sorts the archive by page, by month, by category and by post. It is as thorough as you can get. IRBW has a recent posts list, a top posts list, a tag cloud and a categories list. You can also link to a most popular posts list. What IRBW does not have is a true archives page, at least not one that I can find from the front page. Both blogs include a related posts list at the bottom of each posting, which is handy.

Both teams struggle for the ball but MWP comes up with it based on their awesome archives page. They score two in the paint. The score is now 6-2 in favor of MWP.

Best Post

Over at IRBW, the best post is easily Johnson’s recent My WordPress Quick Start Guide – Now Available on the WordPress Codex. While the post itself is mainly a table of contents, I have to give the guy credit because he wrote an in-depth guide to WordPress and placed it in the WordPress Codex. This has been needed for a long time and I will be using it often.

James at MWP has an excellent rant on web workers and the global economy in his article, Are You Really A Good Web Worker? James discusses all of the complaints he hears about the cheap competition from developing countries and the difficulties some people have competing. I don’t agree with every point he makes, but it is an interesting rant that does make you think about your assumptions.

IRBW gets the ball and shoots it from beyond the three point arc. It’s too late for the win, but there is still time to make it close. The ball drops in. Sorry MWP, your stuff is good, but Johnson wrote a freakin 7000 word guide to WordPress. With a final score of 6-5, MWP wins it.

Post Game Analysis

Men with Pens can once again thank their community, which would have given them the victory even if I’d Rather Be Writing had managed to tie the score. If technical writing and Web 2.0 development are of interest to you though, I suggest you take the time to visit I’d Rather Be Writing. It is a fantastic resource.

In other news, the final four bracket is complete. Men With Pens will be taking on top-seeded John August. That should be a battle for the ages.

The Articles

So people can compare for themselves, here are the past 10 articles from each site:

Men With Pens

I’d Rather Be Writing

Game 27: #1 Seed John August Versus #6 Seed Write From Home

J.C. Hewitt — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:48:50 +0000

The Matchup

John August is one of the two remaining top-seeded blogs in the tournament. The other top-seed, Daily Writing Tips, has already moved on to the next round. John August will have to overcome sixth-seeded Cinderella Write From Home, which has performed very well in the first two rounds.

Best Headlines

Based on the last ten postings, August doesn’t seem to put much thought into his headlines. Although he occasionally comes up with something clever such as, Were I to seek examples of the subjunctive…, for the most part he uses short descriptors such as Uggh and Grand Theft Auto. Amy Derby at WFH writes longer and more descriptive titles for the most part, such as Freelance Writing Standards: Who’s Setting Yours?, and When Good Clients Ask for Bad Stuff (or, Why I’m at the Poop Conference). She also puts in the occasional short descriptor though, such as Make a Wish.

WFH steals the ball from August and races up the court to put in 2. It is now 2-0 in favor of WFH.

Best User Experience

John August has a clean and attractive two-column format. He uses graphics sparingly and doesn’t include too many bells and whistles but has all of the essential features. Derby’s three-column theme is attractive and relatively uncluttered. There aren’t too many bells and whistles here, but all of the essential items are there and near the top of the page. It helps that she does not run advertisements so her look and feel stay very unified. Another nice touch is Derby’s use of graphics in her postings. While they sometimes seem slightly off-topic, they are always attractive and fit the size of the postings perfectly.

WFH gets the ball back and scores from the paint. Two points. WFH now leads 4-0.

Best Community Experience

Both of these blogs have active, thriving communities. Both get intelligent comments that add to the discussion. Both bloggers respond frequently to the comments that they get.

Jump ball. WFH continues to lead 4-0.

Best Branding

These two blogs have authors who discuss both professional issues as well as their personal lives and opinions. These are clearly blogs driven by personality. Both blogs provide helpful information, although I have to give the edge to John August’s screenwriting advice over Amy Derby’s advice on freelancing and working from home, just because it is harder to find good information on his topic elsewhere on the web. Also, by using his name as his domain, John August does an excellent job of promoting himself as a brand. I will go see a John August penned movie even if the previews aren’t great just because I want to see what he has done. Derby promotes herself, but not as seamlessly as August.

JA works its way to the basket and puts the ball in off the glass for two. WFH continues to lead, 4-2.

Best Archives

John August has an extensive list of past categories at the bottom of his pages. Clicking on any topic brings up a list of articles about that topic. I don’t like the location, but I do appreciate the thoroughness. Derby doesn’t really have an archive page. Both sites do have their own form of a best of list. WFH has a list of ten popular posts. JA has two lists of five posts, featured articles and screenwriting basics.

JA pulls up and hits a three pointer. The score is now 5-4 with JA in the lead. It looks like the last topic will decide it.

Best Post

Out of the past ten articles at JA, I believe How to Meet was the best and most informative article. August gives the rundown of a typical Hollywood meeting and tells you what you should and should not do. While there are a couple of funny lines in the article, it is a serious discussion of exactly what goes on and what to expect. On the WFH side my favorite of the last ten is When Good Clients Ask for Bad Stuff (or, Why I’m at the Poop Conference) . I like this article because it tells a professional story from a very personal angle. She tells the story of her building a website for an important cause while she was at a convention. She describes how the people gathered around her and the amazement that they seemed to have when they realized this could be done on their behalf quickly and easily.

WFH tries to steal the ball with an interesting, personal article but JA holds on by having information you can’t find elsewhere. Neither team manages to score as the clock runs out. JA wins 5-4.

Post Game Analysis

This is a match that could have gone either way. It was close all the way to the end. John August has the benefit of being a major player in his niche though, and that’s what put him over the top. WFH fought a good fight, and had a great run in the tournament.

The Articles

So people can compare for themselves, here are the past 10 articles from each site:

John August

Write From Home

Game 26: #1 Seed Daily Writing Tips Versus #6 Seed Crime Fiction Dossier

J.C. Hewitt — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:42:38 +0000

The Matchup

Top-seeded Daily Writing Tips has survived two close matches to move forward in the competition. They have thousands of subscribers and a pool of five regular writers that keep the content flowing. Crime Fiction Dossier is a little blog with a loyal following and a unique niche. They have done well so far as a tournament Cinderella, but they haven’t been tested by a blog this size before.

Best Headlines

Judging by the ten most recent articles, DWT has both straightforward headlines and the occasional humorous headline such as Andro- The Prefix That’s All Man and Reduplicatives – Double Delight. The best headlines at CFD tend to ask a question, such as, Are you sure you want to be a writer? and Are writers conferences worth the money? CFD isn’t as funny, but those are headlines that make me want to read more.

I’m going to have to call a jump ball on this one. Both have their strengths and neither is clearly superior. We begin our contest at 0-0.

Best User Experience

DWT has a nice, professional looking blog design. I’m not positive if they have made any changes, but it looks a little cleaner than it did in the first round. DWT is great at providing users with the features they want and keeps the features well organized. I don’t remember CFD having a fat banner ad in the first round, but it is certainly distracting me now. Otherwise, the design is clean and the user features seem to all be accounted for.

DWT gets the ball and works it inside, scoring two from the paint. It is now 2-0 in favor of DWT.

Best Community Experience

The size of the DWT comment community is a bit small for a blog as large as theirs. They have, however, just opened up a community forum, and it does seem to be drawing a solid amount of postings. CFD has an excellent community, especially for such a small blog. The community is filled with published fiction writers who know the subject (crime fiction) as well as the blog author does.

CFD slips by DWT and drives to the basket, putting in a two of its own. The score is now tied at 2-2.

Best Branding

CFD sticks to its topic and attracts an intelligent crowd. If you are looking for a place to read about crime fiction, CFD is one of the few places you can go. The site is great in its niche, and that gives it a solid brand. Unfortunately, it isn’t attracting a large audience, so you do have to wonder when CFD is going to find a way to get discovered. DWT is both popular and respected. They have accomplished this in a single year, which is blazingly fast for a blog. Clearly they know how to position themselves and drive traffic to their blog.

DWT gets the ball back and throws up an alley oop, putting the ball in for two. The score is now 4-2 in favor of DWT.

Best Archives

I give DWT credit for putting all of their posts on a single archive page. They are in chronological order, which isn’t exactly the best way to organize articles that aren’t time-sensitive, but at least you can view everything they have. Additionally, DWT keeps a list of popular posts on all of its pages, so that you can see what others have liked in the past. CFD doesn’t have an archives page. You can click on the categories to get full articles by subject, but that’s about it for navigation.

CFD turns the ball over and DWT takes advantage, pulling up and shooting a three-pointer. The score is now 7-2 in DWT’s favor.

Best Post

CFD’s article, Are writers conferences worth the money?, Struck a cord with me because I have been to a few writers’ conferences, but have never really felt that they got me any closer to getting published. David J. Montgomery reviews this from the perspective of a published author, and shows that it still makes little sense financially but can be worthwhile for the chance to get involved in the writing community. The posting generated 50 comments, with people both praising and criticizing writer’s conferences.

Sharon Hurley Hall’s article, Reduplicatives – Double Delight, is a classic DWT article, explaining an English writing term and giving examples. The style is light but the information is accurate and valuable.

CFD gets the ball back and heads down the court one last time, driving to the basked and sinking a two. The final score is 7-4 in favor of DWT.

Post Game Analysis

Crime Fiction Dossier is an excellent blog with a lot to offer. Its community is small but vocal and its information is interesting for that community. The lack of an archive page and the big ad under the banner cost CFD some valuable points though. Daily Writing Tips has a professional looking, user-friendly design and has established itself very quickly as an overall writing resource. That’s what put it over the top.

The Articles

So people can compare for themselves, here are the past 10 articles from each site:

Daily Writing Tips

50 Open Source Resources for Writers

Weird Words

Setting Your Freelance Writing Fees

Inquire vs Enquire

Andro- The Prefix That’s All Man

Calling All Book Lovers

The Freelance Writer at Home

Reduplicatives – Double Delight

Passed vs Past

The Daily Writing Tips Forum is Live

Crime Fiction Dossier

Gumshoe Awards 2008

Are you sure you want to be a writer?

Are writers conferences worth the money?

How not to talk to reviewers

Book of the Week: “The Blue Religion” (ed. Michael Connelly)

Literary heroes

Ask the Critic: Can you identify this book?

Book of the Week: Richard Price’s “Lush Life”

Latest Chicago Sun-Times roundup column

Books I won’t read, Part 2

Game 25: #3 The Copywriting Maven Versus #4 Seed Confident Writing

J.C. Hewitt — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:02:24 +0000

The Matchup

Confident Writing pulled off a major second round upset by beating top-seeded Copyblogger. The The Copywriting Maven has won twice against lower-seeded competition. Both these blogs are authored by women with strong opinions on writing. One blog is all bout confidence while the other is all about copywriting. Which will come out on top?

Best Headlines

In this first category, copywriting tops confident writing. Confident Writing has a few good headlines, but there are also plenty of yawns. I give Confidents’ Joanna Young some credit for incorporating her monthly theme into the headlines, but none of them jump off the page. Maven’s Roberta Rosenberg writes with the flair of a copywriter. I especially liked Hey, Careful Where You Point That Thing: Use Your Descriptors Wisely. That one was both fun and informative.

Maven breaks for the basket and puts a shot in off the glass. 2-0

Best User Experience

Confident has the cleaner, more attractive page. It makes good use of graphics without bombarding the reader with them and the masthead is professional looking without being flashy, beating out Maven’s blocky banner, which comes complete with a giant Adsense ad. Maven’s site also has some pretty small type. Even my Lasik-sharpened eyes have to squint a little to read her articles. Both sites have plenty of user-centric features, so that’s pretty much a wash.

Confident Writing gets the ball and shoots the ball from the outside, hitting a three pointer. The score is now 3-2 in favor of Confident Writing.

Best Community Experience

Confident tends to get more comments on posts than Maven, despite the fact that Maven gets more traffic. Maven’s Roberta Rosenberg does have a secondary community on Twitter, however, and she converses with them more frequently there. Confidents’ Joanna Young is also on Twitter, but does not promote it as part of her site. I’m not sure if adding Twitter is enough to trump Confident Writing’s comments, but it makes the matter too close to call.

Jump ball. Confident Writing still leads 3-2.

Best Branding

Confident Writing has an excellent habit of picking monthly themes that are related to the overall concept of writing with confidence. Young also does an excellent job of explaining her goals right at the top of the page. The Copywriting Maven lets her message get drowned out by the advertising. Even her banner is dwarfed by the ad underneath it. Maven has a solid focus on copywriting and the writing business, but it isn’t as tight at Confident Writing’s focus on improved writing.

Confident Writing pulls up for another long jumper, extending its lead to 6-2.

Best Archives

Joanna Young has boosted up her archives page this round. You can now find the link at the top of the page, and it comes complete with top articles and browsing by theme and month. It isn’t perfect, but it is a step up. Maven’s archives page remains blank. That just leaves the month-by-month listing on the sidebar.

Confident Writing scores another two, extending its lead to 8-2.

Best Post

There’s been a lot of guest blogging over at Confident Writing. My favorite of the group is 3 Keys to Powerful Writing by Robert Hruzek. It’s a goofy take on three elements of powerful writing (powerful writing is this month’s theme): targets, boundaries and gravity. I’m not sure that I agree, but it was fun to read.

Over at The Copywriting Maven, my favorite recent article is Holding Firm: Thinking Thoughts on the Copywriting Value Proposition. Oddly, it is my least favorite headline, but I enjoyed the copywriting war stories about bad and/or clueless clients. The main theme is getting the appropriate payment for the work you deliver. It is amazing how many people want something for next to nothing.

Copywriting Maven get the ball and heads down court. The game is over, but pride is on the line. Maven kicks back and shoots a two at the buzzer as the game ends. The final score is 8-4 in favor of Confident Writing.

Post Game Analysis

It was a tough match for The Copywriting Maven. The message is good, but gets lost amid the ads and minor site glitches. Confident Writing keeps it simple, and that’s what allows it to move into the Final Four.