It’s time once again for Featured Blogger Friday and today I am delighted to welcome Kat Apel, author of the delightful This is the Mud, and fellow blogger. Welcome Kat.
Why do you blog?
My blog is my online presence. I like the activeness of a blog – and the wordpress format gives it a webpage feel and lets me put other tabs up, for easy access to different pages. Initially I just wanted a way to be found online if children or parents wanted to read more about the author of the book – or see what she looks like. (Doesn’t everyone google to see what someone looks like? Well – I do!)
But now… I like the way it has me thinking about my life and writing. And creative ways to show and tell this….
What do you blog about?
My life – but mostly as it relates to my writing. Things that I think will be an interesting read. Sometimes it’s quirky life stuff. Other times it’s about my writing journey. I’ve been making a concerted effort to blog this year.
Who is your target readership?
Hmmm… I think you’d have to say it’s fairly open-ended. The blog side of it is more for adults – those interested in the process – or in following my writing. Since I write mostly for very young children (who aren’t likely to be googling authors – and if they are, will be more interested in photos and short bites) there are separate tabs with activities/information for them.
How often do you blog?
I aim to update my blog once a week. That gives readers time to catch up without it being an onerous task. It also means that those why drop by regularly have something new to see each time, and each post should get a decent readership (making the construction time worthwhile).
Sometimes though, I get on a roll and end up putting two or three posts up in a week. And once (only once this year!) during a crazy hectic time, I actually went three weeks without posting. I’m back on track now though!!
How much time do you devote to blogging?
Too much! Even for the shortest post, I seem to be a fiddling perfectionist. I want it to look ‘just so’ and fluff around with format, etc. This is most definitely NOT helped by my slow rural internet, with pages crashing whilst in the middle of a save… Argh! (City people don’t KNOW how good they’ve got it!)
Do you have a favourite blog post?
Now I do, yes! The recent post announcing my muddy book’s Play School appearance. That was a FUN day because people of all walks and ages (even those I’d never corresponded with) were so excited about it – and shared their enthusiasm with comments (and emails and tweets J ).
The boys’ treehouse post was simple and effective, too.
What do you see as the benefits of blogging?
Hmmm… This is kind of tricky. Because there’s the personal satisfaction of having a record of some special times in your life – something like a ‘diary’ (and the only one I keep) which is important to sentimental me.
On a ‘professional’ level… I like the connectedness that readers can feel. The personal touch. The blog makes me much more than a name – it conveys my personality
What blogging platform do you use and why?
WordPress.
I started with Blogger, because that was all I’d heard of – and my sister had used it… But then I was involved with the Saving Aussie Books blog, and saw how it constantly/easily changed – loved the personalised header and all those tabs… so I switched.
Glad I did. I’ve loved my WordPress blog – and I am STILL learning it’s capabilities. The more I do, the more I learn.
And since I’m a rearranger (a change is as good as a holiday) I like the fact that I can easily go and fiddle-faddle things around. (And just as easily put it back the way it was.)
Do you have a favourite blog to visit (other than your own)?
I visit lots of blogs – but not in an organised fashion!! I’m very random. That’s why I appreciate tweets/emails as a heads-up for a new post. (Aside from the fact that they usually contain a direct link that makes it very easy for me to access!)
Umm… Thinking specifically though, I’d have to say that BookChook’s blog http://www.thebookchook.com/ would be the one I send out most links to. That’s probably because her posts are spot-on for my literacy co-ordinator/literature leader role within our school/region. And we’re both passionate about literacy and literature for kids.
Lastly, when you are not blogging, what else do you do?
Ha! How long have you got?!?! It seems that for every hour in the day there are three hours worth of activities to fill it. Take your pick… Of course, I love doing things with my boys… and writing… and reading… and photography… and catching up with friends… and campfires… and the list goes on. J (You’ll notice that I only mentioned the good stuff!) Like most people I’m living life and having fun – in a crazy-hectic way!
Thanks heaps for dropping in, Kat, You have such an interesting – and busy – life.
