Just Released: New Blogging U. Ebooks

We’re excited to add two new titles, Writing 101 and Writing 201, to our free ebook library.

November 10, 2014

Ben Huberman

Our recent Writing 101 and Writing 201 Blogging U. courses were a huge success — so we thought you should be able to enjoy them even if your schedule didn’t allow you to take them in real time.

We’re happy to announce that both courses are now offered as free ebooks, available for download in .pdf, .mobi (Kindle), and .epub (iBooks) formats. While conceived with nonfiction writers in mind, fiction writers (we know you’re out there, NaNoWriMo participants!) could find both courses just as useful.

Which ebook should you choose?

Writing 101: Build a Blogging Habit was initially designed as a four-week course. It includes 20 writing prompts, each with its own (optional) twist to push your writing in new directions, from improving your descriptions to thinking about voice and pace. In ebook form, now you can follow the course at your own rhythm and in any order you wish.

Writing 201: Finding Your Story, an intensive four-part course, focuses on editing your unpolished or unfinished drafts into compelling narratives. Loaded with advice and practical tips, this ebook will help you hone some fundamental storytelling skills, like creating powerful openings and writing engaging scenes.

Of course, you don’t actually need to choose — why not give both a try? (Did we mention they were free?)

While you’re ebook-browsing, don’t forget our other available titles: 365 Writing Prompts, Photography 101, and Grow Your Traffic, Build Your Blog.

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44 Comments

Comments are closed.

  1. muuchele Nov 10th at 4:24 pm

    Thank you so much for making it available!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Fahmi Latif Nov 10th at 4:31 pm

    Wow what a great release! Can’t wait and read them!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. irishgelin Nov 10th at 4:40 pm

    This is great for a new blogger like myself 😀 Thank you wordpress!

    Liked by 2 people

  4. fillyourownglass Nov 10th at 5:53 pm

    Perfect- thank you WordPress! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  5. revgerry Nov 10th at 6:04 pm

    Thank you so much. Timing is everything, and mine has been unfortunate. I will still sign up when the time comes, for the community, but meanwhile I have the guide is an accessible place. Love WP dot com!

    Like

  6. txtilegrl Nov 10th at 6:30 pm

    Thanks WordPress. I tried to keep up with the course you ran, but having it as a ebook is so much better.

    Liked by 3 people

  7. EMMAYI Nov 10th at 6:53 pm

    I was quite disappointed that I wasn’t able to participate in Blogging 101 and Photography 101 because of schedule constraints. Learning about the ebooks is great news for me and I can’t wait to start! Thank you 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Christy Thomas Nov 10th at 7:00 pm

    Thank you! I started saving the posts because the information is so useful but this is much, much better!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. edwinasepisodes Nov 10th at 8:09 pm

    That’s really good, and so useful . Thank you

    Like

  10. thesciencegeek Nov 10th at 8:28 pm

    Thanks for making these available.

    Like many people I wasn’t able to do these courses real time. It will great to be able to these off line when I have more time

    The Science Geek

    Like

  11. impossiblebebong Nov 10th at 8:29 pm

    I downloaded them the other day but I didn’t take a proper look yet. I’ll read them soon when time allows. Thank you WordPress!

    Liked by 1 person

  12. zikaolofin Nov 10th at 8:38 pm

    Thank you. This will prove useful for someone like me who rarely finds time for those assignments. Now I can follow at my pace

    Like

  13. GolNaran Nov 10th at 9:45 pm

    Great thanks!
    But,
    – What if we have any questions about the lessons?
    – Are they available in other languages, too; or will they in near future?

    Kind Regards,

    Like

    • Ben Huberman Nov 11th at 6:54 am

      One of the reasons we encourage people to take the “live” version of Blogging U. courses, along with a whole cohort of other bloggers, is that they’re offered a space — The Commons — where they can discuss their blogs and their posts and ask their peers and WordPress.com staff about any blogging-related issues. That’s an aspect of the course that can’t be recreated by the ebook, though if you ever encounter any issue, you’re welcome to ask fellow bloggers over at the weekly Community Pool. If it’s a more serious issue, we encourage you to contact our Support team.

      Ebooks are currently only available in English, though we’re exploring the idea of making them available in other languages as well. Realistically, this won’t happen in the very near future, but it’s definitely something that’s on our radar.

      Liked by 4 people

  14. Beyond the picket fence Nov 11th at 12:54 am

    I am so impressed with the amount of support you offer your users. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Sam Rappaz Nov 11th at 1:27 am

    I started three days ago and this could not have been pressed at a better time! Thank you, all you lovely people.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Styled By Natasha Nov 11th at 3:22 am

    So great!! Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Sensitive and Extraordinary Kids Nov 11th at 5:55 am

    How nice of you to do this for those of us who missed the opportunity and would miss it again because they have children hanging from their legs. Thank you WordPress for thinking of us and giving us this gift!

    Liked by 1 person

  18. ARealGoodThing Nov 11th at 6:18 am

    Amazing and resourceful!! Thank you for the great info!

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Rosemary Nov 11th at 6:26 am

    Thank you WordPress that means a lot to me . Thanks a Ton!!

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Donaya Nov 11th at 7:05 am

    This is totally awesome. Thank you so much!

    Liked by 2 people

  21. siterinadi Nov 11th at 8:40 am

    Thank you so much for making these great e-books freely available! They are full of creative ideas and make the writing journey that bit easier.

    Liked by 1 person

  22. phylor Nov 11th at 8:45 am

    Thank you! What a great resource! Much appreciated!

    Liked by 1 person

  23. dorne whale Nov 11th at 10:31 am

    I’m unable to do the course, but now I can shake things up a bit on my blog, at my own pace. Great idea and thanks.

    Liked by 1 person

  24. shirleyford929 Nov 11th at 10:45 am

    Thank you for the ‘freebies’ which I have copied to my Kindle. I look forward to picking up loads of useful hints and tips

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Beats Maker Software Nov 11th at 1:18 pm

    Excellent info…

    Liked by 1 person

  26. MJA Nov 11th at 1:35 pm

    What a rich resource!

    Liked by 1 person

  27. tellthetruth1 Nov 11th at 6:27 pm

    If they’re available in England, I might have a butchers at this lot. Some good titles. Guess what I found today? The Reader has its own button on me Toolbar. Nice one 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  28. GolNaran Nov 12th at 12:51 am

    Dear Ben Huberman,
    Thank you so much.
    Regards,

    Liked by 2 people

  29. texaslivingmimi Nov 12th at 12:23 pm

    Thank you! I have beenwanting to get in the habit of blogging . Some days I could jot down ideas then not be able to put them into words. The bad part is I forget to post! my hope is to extend my journaling habit to blogging. Though MY journal is family history I have no desire to have embarrassing writings to be on the Internet for family to read.

    Liked by 3 people

  30. Nadine Tomlinson Nov 12th at 2:26 pm

    Thank you so much for these resources.

    Liked by 2 people

  31. dayoogunbode Nov 12th at 9:02 pm

    Great work! Thanks

    Liked by 4 people

  32. jaklumen Nov 13th at 12:48 am

    I’m loathe to promote style over substance, but, I’ll say it again: I rather enjoyed how the original 101 was packaged: “Zero to Hero”. Shades of Joseph Campbell a la “A Blogger’s Journey”, if you will.

    Maybe some of you had wonderful college/uni experiences, but I didn’t, and the idea of “Blogging U.” just really bums me out. I’m sorry, Ben; I’m sure the WP team had their reasons, and there are many bloggers that love this idea, but, it rings really hollow for me. Please take my feedback into consideration– thank you

    Liked by 1 person

    • Ben Huberman Nov 17th at 9:29 am

      Thanks for the comment! I hope it’s clear we use the “Blogging U.” name playfully — we intend our challenges and courses to provide a useful (and hopefully fun) structure for bloggers, not to create any sort of rigid, comprehensive program. The name also works as a wordplay of sorts, i.e. Blogging you, since the goal here is to encourage people to express themselves as part of a larger community.

      Liked by 1 person

  33. vrengkat Nov 13th at 7:03 am

    Thanks for making it available

    Liked by 2 people

  34. Eliz@MirthandMotivation Nov 14th at 12:14 am

    Thank you so much. The material from the courses prompted me to make some changes on my blog. Much appreciated

    Liked by 3 people

  35. Carmen Leidel Nov 16th at 2:16 pm

    I’m unable to download the photography one via all 3 modes it says zero bytes. Anyone else having the same issue?

    Liked by 1 person

    • Ben Huberman Nov 17th at 9:31 am

      Hi Carmen — I just checked, and the files are there and should be available for download. I wonder if it might be a local issue on your computer (or internet connection)?

      Liked by 1 person

  36. antonykirby Nov 16th at 2:48 pm

    Ahhhh, great! Thanks, makes making changes easy! Looking forward to writing more travel blogs now!

    Like

  37. alucabrera Nov 17th at 4:33 am

    Wow great! can’t wait 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  38. Sueyq Nov 17th at 7:37 am

    Thank you so much I will dig right in. You all are the best. A muse is good!

    Like

  39. E.O. Dec 9th at 9:47 am

    wow! this is what i exactly needed. Thanks!

    Like

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