Daily Archives: October 6, 2010

Photo Flying, Job Shuffling, Helicopter Rides, Travel, and More

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Yes, I’m still alive and kicking.

In case regular readers are wondering whether I’ve fallen off the face of the earth, the answer is no, I haven’t.

My life has been non-stop craziness since the third week in September and I’ve simply been too busy to blog. That’s not to say I don’t have anything to blog about — I do! I just can’t find a 2-hour block of time to get some good content out of my head and into this blog. This status report will have to do for now.

Aerial Photo Flights at Lake Powell

The thing that started all this craziness was the aerial photo gig I had at Lake Powell. I was there for two weeks, but the last five days were the busiest. I did 14 individual aerial photo flights, each lasting between one and two hours.

I didn’t think it could ever happen, but by the end of the third day, I was actually getting tired of flying over that beautiful lake. It wasn’t until the last two photo shoots that I started really enjoying it again. I flew with a local photographer, Gary Ladd, who directed me to show him the lake and surrounding area in ways I’d never seen it. He brought the magic back. You can see some photos taken during the two flights by Rebecca Wilks, my client for those flights, at Skyline Images. I’m hoping Rebecca lets me share some of her work on the Flying M Air Web site.

That whole gig ended with a 2.2 hour flight from Lake Powell to Deer Valley. The first half of the flight was very pleasant, including the stop for breakfast at Marble Canyon Lodge. But once we got down off the Colorado Plateau southwest of Sedona, the heat and turbulence made the flight very unpleasant. My passenger, Rebecca, was likely on the verge of being ill for some of that time; I was certainly not feeling very good either. Landing at DVT was my return home after being away since May 15, ending four whole months on the road.

Two New Jobs

Back in July and August, when I had no writing work lined up, I started putting irons on the fire. The economy might be scary for people with jobs, but it’s terrifying for freelancers when there’s nothing on the calendar. I started discussions with two different publishers, feeling I had about a 50-50 chance of getting either job.

The good news: I got them both.

The bad news: They had the same deadline.

I worked my butt off for my first full week home, trying hard to deliver content for both of them. I realized that they’d either think I was lazy or incompetent. This was not a good thing, since one of the contracts was a brand new relationship with a publisher I hope to do more work for.

I confessed to both of my editors. I was surprised — and very happy — about how understanding they were.

Now I’m at Lynda.com‘s offices in Ventura, finishing up one of those projects. On Sunday, when I return, I’ll be back at my desk, cranking out new chapters for the other project, a brand new book. I expect to be working on it daily for the next three weeks.

Helicopter Rides

I do helicopter rides every year at the Congress Days event in Congress, AZ. It’s a very small event, but it gathers quite a local crowd. I make the rides cheap enough for anyone to afford them. This year, they were $25 per person, down from $30 per person last year.

This year, the rides gig fell on October 2, which was this past Saturday. Despite my crazy busy schedule, I showed up as planned and did a bunch of rides in 95°F weather. This particular event is extremely blog-worthy due to the challenging flying conditions and I definitely will be blogging about it when I get some time. I just need to assemble some more visual aids. It’s a good lesson in high density altitude flying.

Phoenix to Santa Barbara by Way of Bakersfield

My flight to Santa Barbara (to go to Ventura this week) was a bit of an adventure. The marine layer was in at midday and the glide slope at Santa Barbara was broken. On the attempted landing, the pilot was able to get down to 500 feet (the decision height) and not see the runway. I got a glimpse of the ground through the clouds before he hit the throttles and we ascended back through the clouds.

There was no second try. He flew us to Bakersfield where we were let off the plane in a terminal with a closed Subway restaurant. When the United Airlines flight to Santa Barbara also landed there, they hired a bus to take us to Santa Barbara.

I hate buses.

When a fellow passenger rented a mini-van for a one-way drive to Santa Barbara, I was one of five other people who joined her. The $130 rental plus $20 fuel purchase came out to $25/person and I’m certain that we beat the bus by at least two hours.

So instead of arriving at my hotel by 2 PM, I rolled up after 7 PM after an adventure with five strangers.

That’s worth a blog post on its own, but I’m allowing the memory to fade and don’t want to bring it back by writing about it.

Ventura and Beyond

So here I am in my hotel in Oxnard, CA, right near the border of Ventura. It’s 6:40 AM. At 7:30 AM, I’ll be in a soundproof booth, recording my words of wisdom and mouse clicks for another new course. I’m not sure if I can talk about it yet, but you’ll hear about it soon enough. I’m happy to be here, despite the clouds and rain.

Once I get home, I’ll get back on my regular schedule of blogging. I need to blog. If I don’t write here at least four or five times a week, I get a little crazy. So just have some patience and I’ll do the best I can.

Is Writing a Book Like Riding a Bicycle?

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Is it possible to forget how?

Despite all my blogging about Flying and helicopters, I still earn the bulk of my income as a writer. I’ve been writing computer how-to books since 1991 (depending on which book you consider my first) and have authored or co-authored more than 70 titles since then.

You’d think that by now I could write a book in my sleep. In a way, I can. Or at least I thought I could.

This past week, I began discussions with a publisher I’d never worked with before about two new titles. I you might expect — I certainly did — I was asked to submit an outline for each proposed book. I sat down with Microsoft Word’s outline feature on one laptop and the software I was going to be writing about running on a laptop beside it. And, for longer than I’d like to admit, I felt overwhelmed.

Writing a Book ≠ Revising a Book

Creating Spreadsheets and ChartsYou see, although I’ve got 70+ books under my belt, the vast majority of those titles are revisions. Two of them have been revised at least 10 times. In fact, on consulting my list of books, I realized that the last time I wrote a book from scratch was in 2004 (Creating Spreadsheet and Charts with Microsoft Excel: Visual QuickProject Guide for Peachpit Press), although I did co-author one (with Miraz Jordan) from scratch in 2006 (WordPress 2: Visual QuickStart Guide for Peachpit Press).

And revising a book is not like writing one from scratch.

When I revise a book, I start with the book and its text. There’s no need for a new outline. If the book will need major changes, I might take the existing book’s table of contents, bring it into Word’s outline feature, and modify it to fit the changes into appropriate places. But if the changes are minor — and believe me, quite a few revisions were like that — I didn’t even bother printing the table of contents. Either way, I go through each chapter and read the text, making changes as necessary. I re-shoot all the screen shots — even in books that have hundreds of them. I add sections and remove sections. Occasionally, I’ll move sections around or expand on sections to make them clearer. More and more often these days, I’m asked to remove sections simply to reduce page count. Then I’m done.

But when I write a book from scratch, I’m starting with nothing more than the subject — usually a software program or online service — and a blank outline page. I need to build the outline from scratch, knowing just a few things:

  • The audience. This is usually beginner to intermediate users; I don’t write for advanced users or programmers very often. Knowing the audience is important; it enables me to make assumptions about their experience and goals. My audience has changed in the 20 or so years I’ve been doing this. In the old days, I often had to begin with basics like how to point and click and close windows. Now I can assume my readers know all that and get on with topic-specific content.
  • The series. Most of my books are part of a book series. In the past, I’ve authored the first book in a series, but that’s not common. I like writing series books. They give me an idea of the style and format my editors want. I can visualize the final pages as I write. Heck, for some books — Peachpit’s Visual QuickStart Guide series, for example — I actually lay out the pages as I write.
  • The software or service. That’s my subject matter. I need to know the software or service very well to know what I’m going to write about. Often, I’m working with beta software that’s not quite ready for prime time or, worse yet, changes as I write. I have to explore menus and palettes and dialogs. I have to try things to see what happens. I have to learn so I can teach.
Don’t Torture Yourself
I always write with the software or service I’m writing about running on a second computer. Anyone who tries to write a book without being able to reference the subject matter while writing is putting himself through a lot of unnecessary torture.

The trick is to build an outline from the ground up, knowing where to start and where to end and how to get from one point to the next. Each chapter should have a logical flow, starting with the basics and moving on to more complex topics. I can’t explain how to perform one task until I’ve already explained how to perform the subtasks that are part of it. For example, I can’t write about formatting text until I’ve explained how to select the text to format and why selecting that text is important.

Have I Lost My Touch?

It’s this logical flow of things that had me stalled this week as I struggled with the two outlines. I seemed to have lost my touch. I couldn’t focus on the software and approach it as a new user might.

What made matters worse was that the editor I was working with gave me outlines to start with. I wasn’t sure whether he wanted me to follow those outlines or build my own. The outline for one of the books was very good. I wouldn’t have had any problem using it as a basis for my book. But I felt weird about using someone else’s outline — even if I had permission to do so. It was almost as if I were copying someone else’s work. I didn’t like that idea at all.

That meant I had to come up with an entirely different approach.

And that’s what stalled me. My mind went blank and I simply couldn’t think of another way to do it.

I’ve Still Got It

Putting the other outline aside and concentrating on the software is what saved me. I was eventually able to focus on the software. I started writing Part names, Chapter names, and A-Head names, following the style used in the series. I shuffled heads around. One thing led to another, just like it always had.

When I was halfway finished and clearly comfortable with my own approach, I consulted that other outline to make sure I covered all the applicable topics that it did. Since the other book was about the Windows version of the software (for the same publisher), only about 80% of the topics applied my Mac version book. My outline presented them in a completely different order, building skills along a different path.

Looking back on it, I realize that my outline is more like one of my outlines and wonder what I’d liked about the other outline in the first place.

Back on the Bicycle

I find it more difficult to write an outline than a book. That might sound strange, but it’s true. Getting the organization settled is the hardest part for me. Once I have that blueprint, I can start building pages.

With the initial period of uncertainty mostly behind me — at least on one of the two projects — I’m looking forward to writing a new book and working with new people. I’m hoping I get some good feedback from my editor on the outline and that we can work together to fine-tune it to meet the publisher’s needs. The contract comes next and then the writing. It’s all part of a workflow I’m quite familiar with.

Now if only I could knock out that second outline…

Why My Mind is [Always] on the Weather

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I’m a walking, talking, texting weather resource.

Yesterday was a beautiful, clear day in central Washington, with the occasional little puffy cloud floating across the bright blue sky. It was warm in the sun, cool in the shade, and a gentle breeze kept any insects from becoming a nuisance.

A perfect day to visit with a friend down in Mattawa, a 40-minute drive south.

I was about halfway there when my phone rang. It was one of my cherry drying clients. I pulled over to make sure I didn’t lose the connection on the winding river-side road. After exchanging greetings, she asked, “So what’s the weather forecast?”

“Twenty percent chance of rain tonight and twenty percent tomorrow.”

We finished the conversation, both promising to keep an eye on the weather. I hung up and continued on my way.

You might be wondering why I knew, off the top of my head, the weather forecast for the next 24 hours. Simple: It’s part of my summer job.

My job depends on the weather. If it’s a nice day, I get the day to myself and can wander away from my base. The nicer the day, the farther I can wander. If it’s a rainy day, though, I have to hang around, waiting for a call to fly.

This means I need to know the upcoming weather all the time.

How I Track the Weather

I use five different resources to track the weather.

  • Seven-Day WeatherThe National Weather Service at weather.gov offers a 7-day forecast with “at-a-glance” graphics and a detailed textual summary. I can also click a link to get an hourly weather graph that charts percent chance of rain, percent of sky cover, temperature, humidity, wind, etc. hour-by-hour several days into the future. This is my primary source of weather forecasting information.
  • Current RadarWhen rain is in the area or on the way, I use the radar graphic at the Weather Channel to see where the rain is and which way it’s going. What I like about this particular radar graphic is that you can drag and resize the map to change the view. I can see the big picture to get an idea of how much rain is on its way and zoom in to see exactly where it’s falling. This is my primary source of current weather information when I’m in front of my computer.
  • WeatherBug on iPadWhen I’m out and about and have access to the Internet, I use WeatherBug on my iPad to see weather information, including a radar graphic, forecast summary, and hour-by-hour forecast. I can also use its Webcam images to help judge visibility in the event that I need to cross the Cascades to get to Seattle. (Which I don’t usually do during the season.) WeatherBug is also available for mobile phones; I really do need to get it back on my BlackBerry.
  • In the RV, I use my radio scanner to listen to weather summary and forecast information from the National Weather Service for my area. It’s basically local weather radio. It isn’t nearly as helpful as the other sources, but it does offer a good overview for my area and playing it tends to keep Alex the Bird quiet.
  • I also look out the window a lot. Knowing which direction the weather usually comes from and watching the sky out that way can give me an early heads-up. This is especially useful when I’m out running errands and don’t have access to any of my other sources.

What’s amazing about the weather forecast is that it’s only accurate for a short while. Yesterday, the chance of rain this morning was 20%. When I got back from my day out, it was 30%. This morning, it was 50%. And then it started raining. It’s been raining for at least an hour and radar shows me that we could get at least an hour more of the stuff.

Knowing this can keep me out of trouble. 20% didn’t seem like much of a chance — and it isn’t. But 50% is a pretty good chance of rain. It went from 20% to 50% in less than 12 hours. So I have to constantly be checking my sources.

Today’s Weather Story

This morning, my client’s son, who manages the orchard, called. It was 7:46 AM. “What’s the weather?” he asked.

I told him what I saw on radar: a long line of rain showers stretching all the way from southwest of Portland to us, moving our way. “It’s raining here,” I added.

His orchard is 6 miles northwest of my position. He lives another 20 miles north.

“I’m on my way to the orchard,” he told me. “I’ll call you when it stops.”

He means that he’d call me to fly when it stops.

So I’m sitting here, dressed in my flight suit and ready to go. The rain is still pattering against the roof and windows of my RV. The radar shows some heavier rain inbound from the Ellensburg area. And more rain beyond it that, if we’re lucky, will pass to the south of us. (That’ll make my buddy Jim happy. He’s down in Mattawa, doing the same thing I am. In fact, we spend far too much time texting each other about the weather.)

Waiting to FlyThe helicopter is a quarter mile away and already fueled and preflighted. All I have to do is pull off the blade covers. I can be airborne within 10 minutes of my client’s call. The orchard is a 4-minute flight from here. So I’d much rather sit in my nice warm RV, watching the weather on radar, than sitting out in my truck by the helicopter, blind without most of my weather sources.

But I guess this explains why my mind is always on the weather — at least this time of year.

Another Lake Powell Photo Flight

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Perfect conditions, except for the cold.

It was a photo flight that brought me to Page and Lake Powell on my annual trip from Wickenburg, AZ to Seattle, WA for cherry drying season. Although I usually depart Arizona mid-May, when this flight came up, I figured I’d use it as a springboard to start my trip. Rather than return to Arizona, I’d use the ferry fees to take me two hours closer to Seattle. Not exactly a direct trip — it would likely add at least an hour to my total flight time — but it was something.

I flew to Lake Powell on Thursday afternoon so I could be ready for the photo flight at 6 AM on Friday. I planned to spend Friday night in Page as well, since our second flight of the day was scheduled for 6 PM.

So at 5:30 AM, I was at the airport, preflighting the helicopter. It was already light; the sun rose while I was working. There was a thin layer of clouds to the east and it filtered the sun, softening the light. Exactly the kind of light my best Lake Powell photo client likes.

Fifteen minutes later, I was waiting in my rented car in front of the terminal. I own a hangar at Page — it’s for sale if anyone’s interested — so I have a key card to get onto the ramp. I figured I’d pick up my passengers in front and drive them out to the helicopter. I’d then leave the car out there until we got back.

My passengers were on time. The photographer was a big guy, weighing in at 240 pounds. His wife was much smaller and thinner; only 130 pounds. We said our introductions and I drove them out to the helicopter. I pulled the front passenger door off and put it in the trunk of the car. Then I gave them a safety briefing and handed out the life jackets. (I always make my passengers wear life jackets over the lake.) They were Russian — it seems that most of my Lake Powell photo clients are — but they spoke English well. I don’t speak any Russian.

It took a while to warm up. The temperature had dropped down near freezing overnight. But by 6 AM sharp, I was pulling pitch and taking off. We climbed out and I turned uplake.

That’s when I realized that my photographer client had no idea where he wanted to go. He told me to take him to places that I knew were good. Places I’d taken other photographers. And Rainbow Bridge.

Gregory ButteSo we did a quick circuit around Gunsite Butte and Alstrom Point, then hustled up the lake toward Rainbow Bridge. Although the forecast had called for 50% overcast and morning winds up to 10 MPH, the sun was bright but filtered and the wind was not an issue at all. Flying toward the sun, the views weren’t very good, but glances to the left or right as I turned showed stunning morning views of the lake and red rock cliffs. My client didn’t provide much instruction, so I didn’t waste his time by being a tour guide. (Note that this photo and all the others that appear in this post were taken at other times; I can’t take pictures while I’m flying with clients aboard.)

I should mention here that it was bitter cold. With my heat not functioning — it had triggered a carbon monoxide warning the day before — and a door off, the cold morning air rushed in. I had a hat, scarf, and three layers of long sleeves on, but no gloves. My client was out in it. His wife sat behind me and didn’t say much, so I don’t know how she was taking the cold. But I figured that Russians were probably a lot more accustomed to cold weather than thin-blooded Arizonans.

Rainbow BridgeWe had a bit of a tense time when my client asked me to fly lower near Rainbow Bridge. The problem is, Rainbow Bridge is at the bottom of a narrow canyon. I know that I can get down to 5,000 feet MSL safely, so that’s what I always shoot for. He wanted me lower. That would bring me very close to a canyon wall. When I pointed that out, he backed down. I think he may have been spooked. But I gave him a good look at the bridge and was satisfied to hear his camera clicking right through his microphone.

Afterwards, he told me he wanted to go into a canyon he’d seen on the way up. But we were so close to Reflection Canyon, which everyone loves, that I asked if I could take him there. It added about 10 minutes total to the flight. He seemed happy with what we saw. The light was breaking through the clouds by then and although it was still soft, it was brining out the colors of the lake and the rocks.

We headed downlake and I reminded him several times that all he had to do was direct me and I’d fly wherever he wanted me to. We went into Wetherall Canyon on the south side of the lake, but he turned me around after only a few minutes. Then back to the main channel. Another side trip up Rock Creek’s main branch and back. Then another trip up Last Chance Bay and back. And some time over Padre Bay. There was a lot to see and the light was good, but he didn’t direct me to do much. I just flew, trying to enjoy myself, trying not to worry about my client not getting his money’s worth because he didn’t tell me where to fly.

Horseshoe BendHe asked me to take him to Horseshoe Bend and I headed out that way. I purposely swung past the Glen Canyon Dam, putting it on his side of the aircraft so he could take photos. I heard his camera snap. Then I climbed — Horseshoe Bend is best seen from at least 6,000 feet — and headed downriver. A few minutes later, I pointed out Horseshoe Bend and began making a climbing circle to the left around it. I was about 270° into it when he told me we were done.

I dumped the collective and started a steep descent, banking east toward the airport. I landed on the taxiway as a National Park Service patrol plane took off.

Here’s a look at our route on the official Park Service map:

Photo Flight

My client jumped out while I was cooling down the engine. He snapped a few pictures of the aircraft as his wife got out and joined him. Then I shut down, got the blades stopped, and climbed out. We’d flown 1.3 hours.

I brought them back to the front of the terminal. My client told me that he was going to cancel the evening flight — it was just too cold. I was shocked. He’d paid me for 5.3 hours of flight time but had only been airborne for 1.3 of those hours. A second flight would cost more, but it would also help spread the cost of the ferry time and help him get his money’s worth.

But who was I to argue? The wind was supposed to kick up later in the day and I wasn’t eager to be out over the lake with the wind howling around the canyons.

So at 8 AM, I was done for the day.

Two hours later, I was heading toward Bryce Canyon. But that’s another story.

Three Productivity Tips from a Long-Time Blogger

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A guest post for WordCast.

About this Post
I wrote this post to complement my participation in a Blog Productivity panel podcast for WordCast. I was invited by Lorelle (of WordPress fame), and I really enjoyed participating. If you listen to the podcast, it’ll soon become clear that I’m the “odd man out” (so to speak) in that I do things a bit differently than the rest of the pack. The podcast is full of great tips from all panelists and definitely worth a listen if you’re serious about blogging. This post appeared on the WordCast site earlier in the week.

I might not be the most influential blogger you’ve ever heard of — if you’ve heard of me at all. Or the most prolific. But I’m probably one of the most experienced: I’ve been blogging since October 15, 2003.

Still, I was extremely pleased to be asked to join a panel of expert bloggers for a recent WordCast podcast about blogging productivity. The folks at WordCast asked me to follow-up with a blog post sharing some of my tips. I can’t help thinking that my co-panelist’s tips were better, but here’s what I have to offer.

1. Create and Stick to a Blogging Schedule

One of the most important things about keeping a blog is adding new content regularly. “Regularly” is a tricky word. It doesn’t have to mean every day. It just means often enough to keep your readers checking in for more.

For example, suppose your life gives you enough free time that you can post once or twice a day for a few weeks or months. Suddenly, however, life takes as turn and that blogging time is gone — or you get bored with your blog and put it on the back burner. Go a week without posting something new and the folks who check in regularly for your words of wisdom may stop checking.

While I realize this is an extreme example, it does illustrate my point: regular readers will pick up on the rhythm on your posting and expect you to stick with it. When you don’t, they move on.

The way to prevent this from happening is to create a posting goal and schedule time to write. Perhaps you think twice a week is a good frequency. Pick two days a week — Tuesday and Friday? — pick a time that works for you — at breakfast with your morning coffee? — and blog on schedule. Make it part of your routine, part of your life.

I try to get a new blog post out at least five days a week. My schedule has me sitting in front of my laptop with my morning coffee every morning I can. Since I’m an early riser — usually up by 6 AM — I usually get my blog post done before I start my work day.

Got something coming up that’s likely to break your schedule? Vacation? Business trip? Family commitments? Write extra posts when you can and schedule them to appear in the future. This is particularly handy if your topic is not time-sensitive or you know you’ll be unable to blog on schedule in the future. Here are two suggestions:

  • Long posts can often be cut it into multiple parts with each part scheduled to appear on a different day. Not only does this stretch a single work out to fill a posting schedule, but if done properly, your readers will make sure they come back for the subsequent parts.
  • Do double-duty and write two posts at a sitting, scheduling one of them to appear in the future. If you’re able to write a lot very quickly, you can actually write a week’s worth of content at one sitting. No one has to know that each day’s new post was actually written some time ago.

2. Take Notes

How do you know what to blog about? One way is to take notes. As ideas and thoughts come to you — either from the workings of your own mind or from something you read online or heard in a conversation — jot them down. If you spend enough time thinking and reading and listening, you should be able to accumulate plenty of ideas.

Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t use software or web-based tools such as Evernote to organize notes and clippings. I use paper. I keep spiral-bound notebooks on my desk and in my computer bag and make notes as things come to me. When I’ve processed the note — blogged about it, made the call, tracked down the Web site, ordered the product, etc. — I recycle the paper. The huge file containing all my thoughts and ideas is my blog.

The point is, it doesn’t matter how you take notes. The important thing is to take them. Keep track of the little ideas that pop into your head when you’re in the shower or driving. Write down the key words of a conversation that’ll help you remember what you found so intriguing. Then, when you’re ready to compose a blog post, you’ll have most of the material you need to get it written.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not knocking software tools. I just can’t be bothered climbing up the learning curve to use them effectively. Pen and paper works for me.

3. Automate!

There are lots of software tools and solutions out there to help automate tasks. After all, isn’t that what computers are for? To do the work and make our lives easier?

Here are three examples of tools I use to automate blogging-related tasks:

  • Delicious with Postalicious. Delicious is a bookmarking Web site. You read a Web page, want to remember it, and create a Delicious bookmark with its URL and a description and tags you specify. I’ve been using Delicious for years, since it could be found only at http://del.icio.us. Postalicious is a WordPress plugin that creates a blog post based on your new Delicious entries and the descriptions you provide. It then automatically posts the links entry to your blog at a predetermined time. You can find plenty of examples on my blog. Postalicious also works with other services, such as ma.gnolia, Google Reader, Reddit, or Yahoo Pipes. I rely on this combination of tools to collect and share Web-based content that I found interesting and want to share with my readers. The format isn’t perfect, but it’s certainly good enough for my needs. Oh, and one more thing: I use the RSS feed for my Delicious bookmarks to generate a list of recently bookmarked pages in the sidebar of my blog.
  • Twitterfeed with Twitter. Twitter is an incredible tool for communicating short snippets of information with other people all over the world. (If you haven’t heard of it or tried it, crawl out from under that rock, brush the dust and cobwebs off your clothes, and join the rest of the social networking community.) Twitterfeed is a Web-based service that scans your blog’s RSS feed and tweets links to your new posts. This is a great, automatic way to tell your Twitter followers about new content on your blog.
  • Feedburner’s Email Subscriptions. Feedburner is a service that modifies your RSS feed to add features. Although it was started as an independent service, it’s now part of Google, so you need a free Google account to take advantage of its features. The Email Subscriptions feature creates e-mail messages based on your RSS feed and sends them out to subscribers. The subscription list is maintained inside Feedburner, so you don’t have to deal with it; users can add and remove themselves without bothering you. This is a great way for folks who want to read your content regularly to get it on a timely basis without using RSS readers. Best of all, once you set it up, it’s automatic.

Conclusion

When thinking about blog productivity, it all comes down to working smart. Make blogging part of your life schedule. Keep notes about the topics you find interesting so you have plenty of topics to write about when you’re ready to blog. And automate tasks whenever possible.

These are just three tips. Give it some thought — or read the blog posts of my co-panelists here — for more.

About the Author

Maria Langer is a freelance writer who has been writing about computers and the Internet since 1990. She’s the co-author of the first-ever book on WordPress and has since authored three WordPress video titles for Lynda.com. Maria’s also a commercial helicopter pilot and serious amateur photographer. Her blog, An Eclectic Mind, can be found at aneclecticmind.com.