Firstly, why do you blog?

After my first book was published, I kept hearing that authors needed to have a blog as part of their online presence—a website wasn’t enough anymore. But I didn’t want to be just another blogging author. In addition to being a writer, I also teach writing classes for both children and adults. While brainstorming with a couple of my published friends who are also writing teachers, we came up with the idea of a group blog that was not only about writing, but about teaching writing, too. That’s how our TeachingAuthors blog was born. There are six of us blogging together: April Halprin Wayland, Esther Hershenhorn, Jeanne Marie Grunwell Ford, JoAnn Early Macken, Mary Ann Rodman, and me.

What do you blog about?

We share our unique perspective as writing teachers who are also working writers, so we talk about both sides—writing and teaching. Our regular features include writing exercises (which we call “Writing Workouts”), teaching tips, author interviews, book reviews, and answers to readers’ “Ask the Teaching Authors” questions. We also try to comment on events going on in the world of children’s literature. For example, last week was Children’s Book Week here in the United States, so we blogged about that. And we share our own struggles to make our writing a priority.

Who is your target readership?

1)      Writers of all ages

2)      Those who teach young writers, whether in a classroom or homeschooling setting.

How often do you blog?

We have blog posts at least three times a week. With six TeachingAuthors blogging, that means I blog once every two weeks—my blogging day is Wednesday.

How much time do you devote to blogging?

It really varies, depending on the type of post I’m writing. I can spend 1-3 hours, or more, on a blog post. I also oversee the technical issues and overall layout of the blog, and I’m always tweaking things.  

Do you have a favourite blog post? 

That’s a tough question, because I love so many of my co-bloggers’ posts. We’ve had some lovely interviews with Guest Teaching Authors, too. However, I have to say I had great fun celebrating our first blogiversary in April:  http://www.teachingauthors.com/2010/04/our-first-blogiversary-earth-day-and.html So many readers posted comments congratulating us—it was a virtual party. 

What do you see as the benefits of blogging?

Many more than I expected! It’s been terrific to connect not only with our readers, but also with so many amazing bloggers in the Kidlitosphere. I love sharing information with my present and former students, and a blog is an excellent tool for that. And having a group blog is the best of both worlds—I can share the workload with my co-bloggers while learning from them, too. We recently had the opportunity to present together at a conference, which was not only great exposure for us and our blog, but wonderful fun!

What blogging platform do you use and why?

Google Blogger. When I was looking at other Kidlit blogs I liked, it seemed to be the most common platform.

Do you have a favourite blog to visit (other than your own)?

I have many that I love and I link to them on our site. Here’s a sampling:

Literary Rambles: http://caseylmccormick.blogspot.com/

Editor Cheryl Klein’s blog: http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/

The Irrepressible Writer: http://theirrepressiblewriter.com/

Alice Pope’s SCBWI Children’s Market Blog: http://scbwi.blogspot.com/

I.N.K.: Interesting Nonfiction for Kids: http://www.inkrethink.blogspot.com/

Bruce Black’s Wordswimmer blog: http://wordswimmer.blogspot.com/

Lastly, when you are not blogging, what else do you do?

Writing (or trying to write)—I’m currently juggling several projects, including a picture book biography and a young adult novel; teaching writing; reading; cooking. (And just about anything else I can think of to avoid housecleaning.)

Thanks for dropping in.

Thanks for the opportunity, Sally.

You can visit Carmela and her friends at the Teaching Authors blog. And drop by next Friday to learn about another featured blogger.