Sour Duck’s Carnival Host Notes: Technical Notes (Part II)
These documents are informally written and entirely voluntary.
It is hoped that they will aid future and potential hosts in their Carnival project.
Please see the introduction for further details.
Part II - Contents
I. Organization
Putting some effort into organization will make your life much easier.
These are a few organizational tricks I used, some of which I appropriated from experienced carnival hosts’ guidance notes (which I will cite).
1. email
Many Carnival nominations, if not all of them, will reach you via email. The alternative is requesting submitters use a Technorati tag. Both methods can be used, of course.
I did not set up a separate email account for Carnival submissions. In hindsight, I would recommend doing so, to prevent personal demands on your time from being mixed up with Carnival work.
I set up the following labels in my Gmail account:
- submissions
- accepted
- declined
- hold
Additionally, I created a label for “printed”, which I used in combination with the other labels, so I could easily track which submissions I had printed. (I frequently printed out essays in order to read them away from my pc workspace—more on this later.)
Most email programs usually have some sort organization options (e.g., folders) that you can use.
Another email tip, this one not so basic: I found one of the best pieces of advice in a comment left by DrTony at Respectful Insolence:
Open a new e-mail when you get your first submission and add the submitter to the “To:” space. Add each submitter as you get them. Then, when you post, you just insert the link and hit “Send.”This is excellent advice for keeping track of who to communicate with once you’ve published your issue, except I only kept running unsent draft emails for:
Open another e-mail and address it to each of the “big” bloggers you want to notify about your carnival. Again, when you post, just insert the link and hit “Send.”
- those bloggers that were included in the Issue (which I emailed on the date of publication), and
- big bloggers who I hoped would write about the carnival.
2. RSS aggregators
The majority of submissions will probably come from blogs based in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia or the United States. Unfortunately, submissions from other countries will be slim. What do you do in this case? You put on your hunting cap and go out hunting.
If you do not already read your blogs using an news aggregator, get one. This is a must. An aggregator will prove invaluable in saving you time.
3. reading
Readers of this blog will not be surprised to hear I recommend Bloglines—it’s free and has a relatively pain-free registration process. However, there are plenty of other RSS aggregators available, so do some research and ask around.
As I mentioned earlier, I found it helpful to print out pieces that I could see had potential (based on skimming them at the pc), and then read them more carefully at a different location, such as a cafe. This meant I could give the articles my full attention; it also meant that the blog piece was taken away from my usual blog-reading environment, and had to rely on its own merits.
I initially read a piece twice: a skim first, and then a more careful reading with notes. Then I read it a final time at a later date, to ensure my description of it did it justice and didn’t misrepresent it in any way.
4. writing
I made notes to my paper copy immediately after reading it, while the essay was still fresh in my mind. My notes were helpful is jogging my memory when I got to my pc later to type up an entry.
II. Precautions
1. backing up
Backing up the most recent version of your work is a sane, responsible thing to do. Unfortunately I wasn’t that responsible (or sane).
I thought I was being responsible, merrily backing up in Blogger. Only halfway through the project did I realize I was putting all my eggs in one basket. I immediately started backing up my work in an OpenOffice document (in addition to the Blogger backup).
There are a number of text editors available, many of which are free. It doesn’t really matter which one you use as long as you are backing up in an application other than your blogging program.
Backup often, backup in more than one app.
2. blogging tools
A cautionary tale.
The day before my submissions deadline (November 15), I spotted the following notice at Blogger:
While I appreciated the warning, Blogger couldn’t have picked a worse time for “network maintenance.” Now my most productive hours were eliminated the night before the deadline. Insert swear word of choice.
Fortunately, I had factored in a 24-hour emergency cushion before my set date of publication (November 16), and had done much (although I emphasize not all) of the work.
Lesson: anticipate the worst (by planning for inconveniences), and hope for the best.
If the worst happens, and you experience a technical barrier to publishing your issue on time, contact Natalie Bennett immediately.
III. Time Management
Take steps to clear your schedule. There will be many demands on your time, and you only have so much of it to portion out.
There’s no doubt in my mind that if I had not cleared my schedule, Issue 3 would’ve been adversely affected.
1. Research and reading
You will need to develop a voracious appetite when it comes to consuming blogs, so get ready to gorge yourself!
This is especially true when submissions don’t just walk up and knock on your front door. (And they won’t.) I estimate I spent 60-70% of my time scouting blogs.
And because I did not receive many submissions from non-Western culture blogs, I spent a large chunk of my time actively pursuing them.
The additional need for the entries be written in English didn’t help matters either. I sifted through innumerable blog entries with nothing to show for it.
You may find this disheartening after a week or so (I know I did). Persist, it’s worth it when you find that gem of an entry you can include. Do you know what the odds are of finding, “Dude, Muslim feminists rock so hard.”? Probably a million to one, and I found it. It’s an intoxicating experience.
The tools I used for finding international blogs (as well as feminist bloggers who wrote on topical issues) were:Additionally, I investigated people’s blogrolls—a great way to infiltrate new blog circles!
2. Interacting with submitters
You will want to consider to what extent, if any, you interact with submitters. This is a highly individual (and contentious) subject, and where you fall in this debate depends on your personal style, predisposition, and time constraints.
What follows is an outline of the different phases I underwent in my reasoning.
At the beginning of my time as host, I would respond to emailed submissions by sending a brief acknowledgement. I soon decided, though, that this was too time-consuming and repetitive. (I would often type much more than was necessary, when a one or two word email would have sufficed.)
So I switched to no acknowledgement whatsoever. I reckoned I would save much time with this new approach.
This policy did indeed save me time; however, it may not have been the best decision from the submitter’s point of view. In my first call for submissions, I mentioned that I had a “strict and vindictive spam filter.” My lack of response left a question mark in some submitter’s minds, resulting in a repeat email from them. This is entirely understandable, and I did contact them if this were the case to reassure them I received their original email.
In the final analysis, though, I would recommend not sending confirmation “courtesy” emails (unless you receive a panicky email from someone, of course!). In the end, you have to prioritize the Carnival, and this means you must prioritize the most productive approach for you as host.
A response is nice, but it’s not necessary, and although others feel this is inconsiderate (and I understand their point of view), considerate behavior falls by the wayside when you’re working under the gun.
I was totally absorbed in creating the issue I was hosting, not sending confirmation receipts for submissions.
I have read other carnival hosts state they emailed the blog author to let them know their piece is going to be included in a carnival prior to publication. I see no need for this, and in fact, doing so will absorb more of your time (which you cannot afford to spare).
If a blog author discovers they are included and are displeased, a solution can always be worked out (probably via email with yourself and Natalie Bennett).
But, most importantly, there is the potential loss of the “surprise!” element, which I wanted to preserve with my issue.
IV. Editorial strategies
1. a strategy tip and some miscellany
I agree with the sensible advice from Respectful Insolence (a.k.a. “Orac Knows”), who conducted “a liberal search on relevant blogs for good material that I could appropriate if the number of posts came up short in the end.”
I had independently decided upon this strategy, but reading Orac’s words only cemented my thinking, which I want to take some time to explain.
Some bloggers regularly produce high-quality posts, so I knew I could rely on them to come up with something for Issue 3. I kept those blogs on the back burner (but always keeping an eye on them) in order to focus on finding lesser-heard and/or international voices.
This approach means you can plug in some excellent work at the last minute, should your numbers fall short (as Orac says).
For example, one of my favorite feminist blog communities, MediaGirl.org, had not appeared in a previous issue of The Carnival of Feminists, so I was keen to include a piece from that blog.
I was pretty certain MediaGirl.org would produce something I could use, probably written by the prolific Media Girl herself. I therefore tucked that blog away while I concentrated on locating international voices.
Sure enough, close to my deadline, Media Girl hit my editorial G-spot (to use a crude analogy) and delivered.
If you use a different approach, I would be interested in hearing from you in the comments to this post.
2. organizing your issue
Organization of your issue is vital and your job as host. This is one of your main tasks, and if you do not organize at least minimally, the issue will not be as impressive and you’ll look like an ever-so-slightly lazy host who couldn’t be bothered.
Obviously, the real estate at the top of your page is prime; give it to those pieces you want to emphasize. A good idea is to arrange hot topics (such as recent news) at or near the top of your issue.
For example: I had devised a special theme for Issue 3, and so led with those pieces (after a few “feminist primer’ essays in the introduction). I then gave topical and world events a choice spot near the top.
If the piece has a great title, don’t let that go to waste! Use it. I also tended to work slightly harder at my “sell” to the reader if I felt the piece may not have a wide appeal. (This led to short-changing Echidne of the Snakes, to whom I gave a brief one-sentence pointer. My reasoning at the time was that she had a broad feminist appeal and most readers would know her and click on her link instantaneously. In hindsight, I think it looks glaringly out of place to have such a short write-up among more lengthy paragraphs. (Anyhow she communicated to me that no apology is necessary - thanks Echidne!)
Lift some text from the piece if it will snag the reader’s attention. As has been noted by others, part of your job as host is to make the readers want to click that link. But don’t stick to one rigid pattern—mix it up to maintain the reader’s interest.
If you can see underlying themes that group certain articles together, go for it! If you want to stick to the surface themes, that’s fine too. Keep in mind that, while a creative approach is more risky, if successful, it will also win you more kudos and respect from your peers. Readers will absolutely delight in your creativity if you let it loose!
If you need to bounce ideas off someone, I have found the Carnival Organizer to be a good sounding-board. She will give you feedback but ultimately leave it to you. (More on Natalie in Part III.)
3. editorial calls
It is your right and privilege as host to make some editorial calls.
Of course, you will need to exercise good judgment. For example, there were two instances where I cut submitters some slack. I did this because one is dyslexic, and the other has Seasonal Affective Disorder, and because both pieces had great content and I felt it would be a shame not to include them. So I used editorial privilege.
For the former, I offered to edit her piece. She was receptive to the idea and I emailed my edits, which she then re-published.
For the latter, I included her piece even though it was several months old, because I needed pieces for the themed section of my issue, and because she had blogged before about how winter adversely impacted her ability to function (and blog).
Another reason for their inclusion: neither blog had been included in The Carnival of Feminists.
While one blogger happened to be a blog buddy of mine, I want to emphasize that those other conditions (above) had to be met for me to feel that this fact wasn’t unduly tipping my judgment.
I discuss this topic further in Part III: Meta-Issues. However, I will say here that if you are accepting every submission you are sent, you need to consider raising the bar.
V. Promotion
If you feel a responsibility to enhance the visibility of both your blog and The Carnival of Feminists (and presumably you do if you’re hosting), then you have the happy union of two incentives in one task: promotion.
1. approach
I wholeheartedly agree with Orac when he advocates a robust approach to promotion:
The manner in which I made these blog carnivals successful started with absolutely relentless—even obnoxious—promotion, with multiple reminders on my blog, [and] multiple solicitations to the bigger bloggers in the field for reminders for entries…Promotion for me consisted mainly of emailing other bloggers. I recommend you email the following, gently asking if they would link to your call for submissions post:
- everyone with whom you have an online relationship;
- bloggers with whom you do not have an online relationship with, but whose blogs you read and feel it may be appropriate for their audience;
- bloggers with high readership and linkage (e.g., the “A-list bloggers”)
Obviously, you will want to personalize the emails that go to the first group of people. And do not hit the same people again for your multiple “call for submission” posts. (The standard number of call for submission posts seems to be three.)
I used Technorati to guide me in my “emailshots” to popular bloggers, and I even rashly threw caution to the wind and included some that weren’t really appropriate. I may have inadvertently done the Carnival some harm by doing so (by irritating people), although it is hard for me to gauge this. Please note none of my “wild cards” resulted in a write-up. Use your own judgment and tools of preference.
2. feminist blogs
In addition to the A-list, I utilized Technorati’s Blog Finder, emailing the most popular feminist blogs using the search terms “feminist” and “feminism”. This is not a flawless database, but it provides a solid foundation for promotion purposes.
My approach was highly effective: Issue 3 received a large volume of links, especially for a new carnival. I also received favorable write-ups from feminist bloggers on-high. For a “God-awful small affair” like mine, to get linked to by zenith feminist bloggers is gratifying, to say the least, and I don’t care who knows it.
I kept track of who helped spread the word about my calls for submissions, and published a thank you post just for them.
Additionally, Natalie Bennett told me she had been trying to get the Carnival a mention at Instapundit, and requested I target this blog. I was skeptical (if she couldn’t do it, how could I?), but tried anyway.
We were both surprised and delighted to see Issue 3 included in a one of Glenn Reynolds’ carnival round-up post. Many thanks, Sir!
Because of the high linkage, Issue 3 was automatically picked up by memeorandum (the political web section). And, quite unexpectedly, it also got a mention by Pseudo-Adrienne at Alas, A Blog, which I'm sure is worth quite a lot.
So try things even when you feel skeptical about success, you never know.
3. a desirable—yet unanticipated—ancillary result
As an unexpected bonus, I fostered some bloggy community ties. As tenuous as these relationships may be, I do feel more connected with other feminist bloggers and general community.
4. For hosts who feel a reluctance towards any kind of marketing, targeting, networking, etc.
Regarding “cold-emailing”:
I have to admit I was deeply uncomfortable with this aspect of hosting, and felt a strong resistance to this particular task. I developed a rationalization that helped me plow through the marketing bit.
I fed and watered this seedling of thought:
I would never do such a thing as cold-emailing people as Sour Duck, the individual blogger, but I would do these things as Sour Duck, Carnival Host. If I do not do this task, I will be letting down not only the Carnival organizer, who showed faith in me, but also the feminist community. Set your personal feelings aside and just do it!Whenever I experienced a private inward shudder at my forward, and even faintly obnoxious, emails, I repeated the above to myself.
As host, you might feel like a beggar, pleading with people for a few crusts of bread. You may even receive some flak from someone you’ve emailed (although I didn’t and I haven’t read about anyone who has). Risk it. It’s your (temporary) job.
To reiterate: The hat you’re wearing is makes all the difference. If you’re representing a project that desperately needs to build momentum and a readership, this gives you temporary license to do things you wouldn’t dream of doing on your own behalf. Use that temporary license—before it expires!
5. What makes an ideal mention at another blog?
Ideally, in addition to linking to the just-published Issue, the blogger will also include the host name and date of the following issue, along with her email address for submissions. This keeps the ball rolling between issues.
A few examples of ideal posts:
I tried to visit all those who linked to the Issue and thank them by leaving a note in the comments section. I wanted to emphasize to them that I sincerely appreciated their entry. (And sometimes I gave a “thank you” reciprocal link via my link blog.)
(It demonstrates some flair when the blogger includes an eye-catching visual in their post, but this is icing on the cake.)
VI. Afterwards, the exhaustion
I intended to record country statistics and publish them afterwards. Unfortunately, I was too knackered to do much of anything online after the Carnival. Apparently, this is not unusual.
Instead, I slumped in front of the TV in happy exhaustion.
And if this whole section has put you off hosting a carnival issue, please note:
It was the best feeling of tiredness in the world.
Part I: Introduction | Part II: Technical Notes | Part III: Meta-Issues | Part IV: Reference Links | Part V: Revisions
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