Feb 22, 2011 / Topic Ideas

How do you decide when a post is ready to publish?

Topic #54

Here’s a meta topic, which should illustrate that if you don’t know what to blog about, you can always write about how you write.

How do you decide when a post is ready to publish?

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  6. “Publish phobia” is a technical extension of the intrinsic fear of writing, which is the very primal fear of putting yourself out there for others to criticize. The only way to get over it is to do it and let it go. That’s why I signed up for the Post a Day Challenge. As a self-critical perfectionist, I would rewrite my stuff to death if I didn’t have a deadline. So as midnight approaches, I have to hit “publish” whether I think what I’ve written is “good enough” or not. The movie “The Black Swan” has a great message about perfection and letting go: http://behindthezine.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/perfecting-the-art-of-letting-go/

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    2. I think I’m just like you, Karen! I review my post a million times, check if there are spelling mistakes etc etc AND: I preview the post, at least, 2 or 3 times, in order to see what it really looks like… And by the way: I loove this movie! Thank for sharing this hint! It shows how important letting go is… and how hard xD

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  8. An idea for a post pops into my head. I think about it a little and how I will write the post. Then I write the post, proofread it, and see if I’m happy with it. Next, I add in any hyperlinks, tags, and categories needed. Finally, as an option, I post a picture to coincide with post. When I’m satisfied, I schedule the post to go live later in the day, just in case I want to make changes. Once the time comes to publish, if I haven’t determined I need to make an adjustment, the post goes live. DONE.

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  9. I decide when a post is ready to post when I have checked to make sure I don’t have any typigraphical errors and when what I have typied makes sense. Every once in awhile I still miss the typing errors.

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  10. I *try* to sleep on it so that I can do a quick proof read the next morning with fresh eyes before I publish. (I’m terrible with typos and homonyms or homophones or whatever they’re/there/their called.)

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  11. I always hit the publish button too soon. I may have proofed and spell-checked the piece but I find myself rereading it and wanting to rearrange or change something so I edit it and republish. Are there reasons not to do this?

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    1. I will sometimes go back and clean up a post that I am not satisfied with, but will rarely (if ever) make a substantive change. If I have something else I want to add to the subject, if it is substantive I’ll make another post. If it is short, I’ll comment on my own post.

      Here is my post on my formula for being “done”.

      Are You Ready?

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    2. Lori-
      Posting before ready can be a great tool. If you schedule it to post at a future time, like next morning, then you can view it in its final state, which is when I find the final, hidden mistakes. I love using the post, itself, as an editing tool that way.

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  12. Like all writing, you only know when a post is done when it *just is*. I can’t explain it. But there’s always that moment, as you’re re-reading what you’ve just written, when you realize: this is ready. And then you publish.

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  16. Ya know, I just write. I think of what my reader would read easy or need the information I give and I publish it. Great ideas.

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  18. I know a post is ready to be unleashed on the masses when one of these things happens:
    1) I can’t write any more on the topic.
    2) I’m grinning from ear to ear because I feel as though I’ve communicated me point effectively.
    3) I can’t revise or hold onto the post any longer because I’ll either delete it or chicken out.

    There is another tell-tale sign that my post is ready, but this rarely happens. Sometimes a friend will take a look at my post as I’m writing it and will be like “DO IT!”.

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  20. Olá para todos, escrevo por exemplo as minhas receitas, ou matérias, só faço o post depois da minha filha conferir se está tudo ok. Ela reclama até em me ajudar, mas preciso da ajuda dela.
    Abraços a todos!
    Mina!

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  23. os temas são muitos variados, eu estou ansioso para lançar um novo tema,
    um apelo fundamentado , na felicidade de cada escritor, e o amor acolhedor desta fantástica e gentil pagina, e seus escritores associados …

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  25. I don’t worry much about receiving critisism, I’d rather someone make a comment than not at all. After I’ve written a first rough draft I go through and check for grammar, spelling etc then I read it aloud to check if it flows. After that I scrounge around for any images that might helpt illustrate my post, I like images, they break up the text and spur people on to continue reading.

    After that I preview the post, make any changes and hit Publish. I’m more reserved when it comes to my fictional writing. Whenever I make changes to plots for example I save it as a new draft and make a note of what they were. That way I can look back and learn why and how I made those changes with aim of improving my story telling technique.

    I haven’t posted anything for a few days as I’ve been busy in imaginationland writing more of my book. I tend to get carried away at times, when I look at the clock and the hours have streamed by, gotta love hitting that zone!

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  27. I still haven’t figured that out! I tend to wait too long, letting my drafts languish, and then eventually I decide they aren’t relevant anymore and delete them… So to combat that, I try to post right away… and inevitably wind up going in five minutes later to edit it.

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  28. A post is ready to publish the moment the idea for it pops into my head. It’s written and edited mentally as I do other things, then dumped onto my computer when I have a few minutes to spare. All that’s required after that is proofing, links and images. Publish. Job done.

    As for having to overcome a primal fear of putting myself out there, I don’t give a damn. People will always find reasons to criticise everything and anything—so I might as well be damned for doing as not doing. And I have the hide of rhino, anyway. 😀

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