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Questions for Bloggers and the Readers Who Love Them, Part 1

(In my case, the reader who loves me. Hi, Mom!)

I’m always interested in the work flows of others, be they photographers, web designers, or fellow bloggers. I love to hear what makes other people tick and compare and contrast how they work. I’m splitting this up into a two-part series, so first, a few quick hits for bloggers that I’ve been thinking about lately:

  1. For anyone using Feedburner: what’s up with their stats? I find them changing by as much as 50% over 48 hours. It seems like it’d be a pretty straightforward thing – someone’s either subscribed to a blog or they’re not. I can’t imagine I’m getting that many folks subscribing and unsubscribing.
  2. How many “drafts” do you have saved in your blog’s admin panel? I usually have around 50-60. Given my attention span of a gnat on PCP, I like to jot down every random miscellaneous idea that pops into my head, lest I forget something.
  3. When do you write? Is it whenever an idea pops into your head? Or do you, for example, sit down between 1p and 2p every Saturday and think, “Time to write!”

Thanks for checking in! Part 2 is a few questions for blog readers.

Mike Richard
Founding Editor
Mike Richard has traveled the world extensively since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked African wild dogs in South Africa, and survived a near-miss great white shark attack in Mexico. He loves the great outdoors, good bourbon, and he (usually) calls Tulsa home. He also enjoys speaking in the third person.

12 Comments

  1. 1. I don’t know the deal about feedburner as well. Maybe that’s the number of people who clicked on the link to your site from their feedreaders?

    2. I only have 3 drafts, but a gazillion ideas in my head that I’m too lazy to actually write down.

    3. I *try* to write at least 5 entries a week. Sometimes I write two posts a day, depending on what site I stumble upon. I’ve no set time to sit down and write, but I do try to set aside time to focus on writing.

    Reply

  2. 1. I don’t check feedburner stats. I use mybloglog during the day and google analytics when I want to track something.

    2. I have 4 drafts, usually it’s anywhere from 1-5. I do have a list of possibilities in a notebook, but those are mostly back up for when I don’t know what to write about.

    3. I write whenever an idea comes to me, sometimes on paper, sometimes on the computer. I try to have a solid draft written the night before, and after a good nights sleep, I’ll do some revisions before I publish in the morning. Lately my schedule has gotten messed up, though, and I’ve been posting at different times of the day.

    Reply

  3. 1. i think feedburner can only record if someone is subscribed if they actually open your feed. so theoretically, i could be subscribed, but i may not open your feed during one day. (don’t quote me on this though).

    2. i’m the same. if i have an idea i create a draft of it, maybe jot down some notes, then let it languish until i have time to actually write it. which brings me to…

    3. i spend the week generally editing posts. i usually spend sat or sun morning around 7-10 actually writing my longer ones.

    Reply

  4. I’ve got 11 drafts currently, I really need to get some of them out soon too. I’ve got to get my butt into gear and spend more of my free time improving my blog and working on my upcoming ones.

    Reply

  5. Great questions:

    1) I was wondering the same thing. Seems to fluctuate.

    2) I have 197 drafts because I save everything! My oldest draft is from October 2004. I can’t seem to let go!

    3) I write when I find time, but ideas usually come into my head at inopportune times, like when I’m trying to sleep, so I’m thinking about buying a little voice recorder so that I don’t have to turn on the lights and find a pen/paper. But I don’t know if just speaking my ideas into a little electronic thing will be the same as writing them down. I’ll try it.

    Reply

  6. 1) Sorry no idea

    2)My drafts tend to be in my head or in a notebook. Once I type I publish.

    3) I find that if I set a time to write I end up with writers block. Generally I have a few ideas floating round in my head and evenutally I get them down. I’ve taken to carrying a notebook round with me – I just love that feel of pen to paper – I’m writing (trying – I get sidetracked by reading blogs) a kids book at the moment and it only flows when I write by hand – I have to type it up afterwards. The best place I write is on the beach!

    Reply

  7. 1) Ian: I think you’re right. I suppose that’s really the only way for them to gauge subscribers.

    2) OK, so most folks have less than a dozen drafts “in the hopper” so to speak. It looks like Ian and I are the marginally obsessive ones who jot down most every thought that comes to mind. Preya is just hyper-obsessive and good on ya for that. I’m sure that Oct 2004 draft will come to fruition some day. =P

    3) It sounds like everyone just writes when they feel like it, which is my personal preference. I agree with Ali – if I sit down and try to force myself to write, I usually wind up with writer’s block. Plus, I don’t like my blog to feel like work or a burden. I use it as a creative outlet to focus my own thoughts.

    Thanks for the input, everyone!

    Reply

  8. It seems to me that feedburner generates its statistics based on the number of people who have accessed the feed in the last twenty-four hours. I had two computers subscribed to my feed, and when I removed one, my number-of-subscribers halved in the space of one day ;)

    Reply

  10. I just published my last languishing draft. I can’t stand to have an unfinished piece sitting around doing nothing. I keep all of my ideas in a notebook and usually write in Word and then cut and paste into Blogger. That probably makes no sense, but it’s what I do.

    Reply

  11. I can’t stand to have an unfinished piece sitting around doing nothing.

    I agree, Betty. And the dozens of drafts I’ve saved irritate the hell out of me because I can’t for the life of me figure out how to “finish” them. They just languish in unread obscurity hoping for the one day that I’ll break through my writer’s block.

    Reply

  12. 1. Huh?

    2. I’ve usually only got one draft saved at a time. I just never feel like I can start a new post till I’ve finished the last one. Also, and maybe it’s just cause I’m new at this, but if I save a post and then publish it a few weeks later, it screws up the order of my posts.

    3. I don’t have a scheduled “wrighting time” but when I sit down to write, I either write till I’ve finished, or until I pass out from exhaustion sometime around 5 am. But I pretty much just start writing whenever I don’t have anything better to do, and have burt myself out on YouTube and StumbleUpon. TIME WASTERS!!!!

    Reply

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