comment moderation: is there an option?

Dear blog readers,

While it hasn’t been a big problem, within the last week I have noticed there seems to be a new spam artist on the prowl. Spam doesn’t necessarily mean scam, but I suspect that when you scroll through the reader comments you hope to be entertained by reader comments – not comments about business opportunities or amazing news venues that are clearly spam. I apologize for this.

When I started this blog, I wanted to leave the comment section free of moderation, open to anyone and everyone. The purpose in that was to allow readers to share comments whether or not they have a blogger account or an OpenID. Not all of us do and I didn’t want to exclude someone who genuinely had something to comment or contribute to the conversation.

However, with such an open door it is inevitable, sadly, that spammers show up. It wasn’t common, it’s not yet a problem, but I really don’t want to wait until it is a problem. In time, we may see more and more generic, redirecting comments and I don’t want you true blog readers to have to sift through spam in yet another area of your online reading. There’s enough junk on the ‘net. We don’t need it here.

Thus, I have elected to moderate comments. All that means is that when you post a comment, it won’t be shared immediately. I’ll have to approve the comment before it is shown live in the comment section. Please know that this is not meant to be a censor of reader comments; I’m just not sure of the options in keeping spammers out with another method.

Is there a way to delete comments once posted? Do you know how to block spam without moderating comments? If you have a suggestion, let me know. I’d love to hear about an alternative.

For the time being, though, please feel free to keep the comments coming. I apologize for the inconvenience of this, but I’ll do my best to click you through as quickly as possible when I see there is an incoming comment. I genuinely do appreciate it when you have something to say!

Thank you for your understanding and patience with this action. I welcome all reader comments on the blog and, as many of you know, I also welcome those emails. So, keep the feedback coming and if an alternate option for moderation comes to mind, be sure to let me know.

Thanks, again. I’ll see you with tomorrow’s regularly scheduled post!

what do you want from me?

It occurs to me that one of the key ways to make this blog successful is to offer you, the reader, the kind of things you want. Imagine that. Writing for an audience!

Of course, this will require market research and to that end I must ask the question: what do you want from me? Or, more specifically, what sort of topics would you like to read about on this blog?

When I started this blog, almost a month ago now, it was with the intention of sharing a number of things: news about authors and writing, the occasional book review, a weekly author or publishing pro interview, and random ramblings of my own works-in-progress. I hope I have thus far been sticking within these parameters but I more so hope that these have been of interest to you. I also want to expand on what I am able to offer through this blog and ensure you keep coming back for more.

Full disclosure? Right now, this blog is averaging about 50 readers a day. That’s not too shabby for a new blog, since I’ve only been at it a few weeks now. I don’t know how that ranks by comparison to other blogs. It really only matters to me that someone, you, are reading this and finding something useful in it. I have noticed that while you don’t always leave comments, I do occasionally get an email with feedback and my stats tracker also tells me the average person sticks around for just under seven minutes. I’m happy with this, but I want to give you more reasons to come back and reasons to post your comments.

So, dear reader, how can I make this blog better for you? What writing related topics would you like to see more of? Do you enjoy the weekly author Q&A? Is there a way to make these spotlights even better? Do you like the industry news, links to other articles and interesting blogs? Would you like to hear more about my own writing journey and process?

I’ll tell you what I’m working on for future posts, but I’d love to hear your thoughts about additional ideas for making this blog interesting and entertaining, and maybe a bit more interactive:

• I’m continuing to schedule a weekly Q&A with authors (emerging and established) who will share news of their latest releases or works-in-progress and tell us about their path to publication


• I’m working on adding Q&As with agents, editors, publicists and other publishing pros so we can learn more with a view from the ‘inside’


• Over time I will sprinkle in my own thoughts on the writing process, path to publication, personal challenges with writing, and other relatable anecdotes


• Tips on how to make better connections with other writers and readers (and pub people) through social media sites such as twitter, facebook, and writing groups


• Highlights of interesting organizations, festivals, conferences, and community groups where you can gain something for your writer’s toolbox


• Book reviews for what I’m reading as well as hot new titles and relevant books for writers

How does that line-up look to you? What other suggestions do you have? Please email me or post your comment below so I can get an idea of what you want to see more of and what new tangents I should run with.

While we’re at it, for the ambitious reader, feel free to tell me how I can improve my quarterly newsletter. It’s important to me that you look forward to reading the news and events I share with you, so don’t hesitate to make your suggestion.

It’s also my ambition to offer you a new blog post three times a week, one each on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Yes, I recognize today is Thursday… but I felt the need to put out a call for feedback right now so this is a special interruption. How do you feel about new posts three times per week? Is that enough or too much?

Within that schedule, I aim to have a Q&A with an author or publishing person (generally on Wednesday, but it may occasionally vary due to an author’s release date), and two original posts from me on my various aforementioned topics. What do you think of this loose schedule and its proposed contents?

In my opinion, this blog is only a success if I know others are benefiting in some way. With that in mind, I look forward to your comments and suggestions and hope to incorporate your feedback to offer a more reader-friendly experience and keep you coming back for more. Email me at lori @ loriamay.com (no spaces) or post your comments below. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

And be sure to come back for tomorrow’s post.
Topic: an intro to literary agents.

Until next time, happy reading!