It’s been a while since I’ve shared about my daily work, so I thought I’d jot down a few things that are happening at Wonderwebby HQ.

Getting Ready for a Big Blogging Training Event

Funny how life works out. One minute you’re blogging, the next thing you’re working for a blogger to create a conference for bloggers! One of the big things I’m working on with the ProBlogger team right now is the 2012 ProBlogger Training Event (PBevent) – an event for 300 bloggers to learn more about creating successful, profitable blogs. I’ve been talking to some wonderful sponsors, our venue Etihad Stadium about logistics and looking at ways to make the event informative and fun.

Social Media Conferences and Events

Before I get to PBevent, I’ll be attending BlogHer in New York. It will be wonderful to meet some bloggers from around the world and to enjoy the conference as an attendee, instead of an organiser! Please say hi if you’re going to be there. Oh, and there’s New York itself. Did I mention New York?

I also bought a ticket to attend the Maha/ProBlogger food blogging event. The dinner (which sounds amazing), wine and information about food blogging will be worth it. I’m trying to get along to a few more local face-to-face events in Melbourne this year, like NetSquared Melbourne, Social Media Club, Tweastie, and the First Tuesday Blog Club but it’s always a juggling act to attend meetups between family and work time. Breakfasts are also tricky to get to, when there are school lunches to pack and freeway traffic to contend with. This week I’m going to our school disco instead of a meetup. Like I said, juggling.

(you have to love Melbourne at night, even in Winter)

The wonderful world of Webinars and eBooks

In addition to the event, we’ve been organising more webinars for ProBlogger and putting a calendar in place. I’m moderating over at the ProBlogger community and we’ve also launched a few ebooks at dPS. So far this year we’ve seen the launch of Nuts and Post and Natural Light…and I’m helping a couple of new authors to put their ebooks together right now. Just this morning I met with an author at my place to talk about her upcoming book over coffee and a cheese platter. It’s so enjoyable to provide a point of coordination through the production, keep things on track and to provide publishing guidance and direction. I’m so happy to be part of the creation of these titles, I’m learning more about ebook marketing every day and I get to work with some clever people along the way.

 Blogging in Australia ….and a new client.

Have you noticed more Australian bloggers and brands are working together? I’m watching this space intently – as bloggers and brands find new, innovative ways to work together. Think partnership (not just blog posts), influence (not just readership), creating value and rewarding to reap the benefits. In fact, I’m taking on a second client….I can’t say much for now, but I’m excited about working with this brand as they increase their online presence and engage with the blogging community.

How about you? Are you working with brands and blogs? What do you do? 

Are you seeing more sponsors engaging with bloggers this year?

Or maybe you’re a blogger wanting to work more with brands…who would be your dream brand to work with?

I was looking through some old draft posts today, hoping to find some inspiration for my next NaBloPoMo post, when I found a dusty old draft about ebook creation. Which got me thinking…this year has been pretty wonderful, working part-time managing the production and development of ebooks for ProBlogger.  Darren’s a great boss, the scope of work is always enjoyable and I get to work with some brilliant authors and team members…all from the comfort of my own home. And part of the reason I got here is through ‘trying anyway’.

Keep creating, keep trying

Producing media has been something I’ve been interested in for a long time. I moved interstate when I was young because I hoped to publish a magazine. I didn’t know much about it, but I rang up a publishing company anyway… and got a job. A few years later in the late 90′s I found myself managing production of CD-ROMs and websites.  I still love to learn about new ways of publishing creative ideas, particularly those that inspire change. But it was really once that I decided to create an ebook for a cause, that I got into ebook creation.

Give and keep on giving

Gavin Heaton and  Drew McLellan inspired me with their Age of Conversation ebooks. They offered the opportunity to write a chapter for books which were sold virtually and on bookshelves for a cause. Anyone could join in, and as nervous as I was about writing something so publicly, I submitted a chapter. I honestly thought people would laugh at my chapter, but thankfully nobody did!

Dream big and begin with what you have

Later, when volunteering for a microfinance project I got in touch with women around the world who were using technology to make a difference. I contacted them through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn asking if they would contribute to a virtual project – an ebook! I wasn’t sure if they would reply, after all they didn’t know me….but many of them did. They provided sentences and photos initially, for slideshare ebooks. Then other women joined in to provide content for a larger ebook I later gave away for free on lulu.com, to raise awareness and funds for microfinance. I made these ebooks in powerpoint, I didn’t have an editor or designer, but I had a go and thankfully it paid off.

Do something new no matter what

Yesterday a friend of mine wrote ‘Bravery is not being unafraid. It’s being afraid and doing it anyway. Because it’s the right thing to do.‘ I’m grateful that I gave things a go and had the encouragement of friends and colleagues around me to write that post/review that chapter/ask me to collaborate. Sure, there were things I would have done differently and there are always skills I want to improve. But it’s led me to a point where I’m very happy doing what I do.

I continue to participate in projects like NaBloPoMo now and then so that I can make something new each day – no matter what. Even if that means that I don’t get it right every time. Some days I can’t find the words or I don’t have time to post until I’m ready to sleep (like now!) I could make every excuse not to create, if I wanted to. But I know it’s good for me, so I try anyway.

Like this…which was going to be my post today ...

——

Photo taken on the move at 11.11am on the 11th of the 11th 2011 (walking to the deli, after we had paused to reflect at a cafe for Remembrance Day)
——-

I love my job. Sometimes people ask if I design the ebooks for ProBlogger – no, not me. The talented Naomi Creek does that important piece of work. Here are some of the ebooks she has helped us to design recently for ProBlogger and Digital Photography School.

Going Pro Kit – how to make money through your photography (although it’s much more than that – ebooks and some  wonderful audio interviews giving guidance on getting your work in front of the right people, setting up your portfolio, showcasing your style.) Kelly Kingman authored the ebook and conducted the interviews. She really did an amazing job.

The kit also included an ebook by Mitchell Kanashkevich, called Getting Published in Photography Magazines.

Our ebook team is based all all around the world, so it was great to meet Mitchell and his wife in Melbourne recently. Here’s a photo – but don’t ask what was happening with my shirt (will someone tell that girl to tuck her shirt into her belt!! Then again…maybe it was all of the Vietnamese food I ate!)

Another recent ebook we recently completed was all about setting up a blog for your business. This was written by Mark Hayward, who was so pleasant to work with. He lives in the Caribbean and we launched the ebook while he was visiting New York. It’s such a mobile world, isn’t it?

Apart from creating more ebooks, we’re also working on a ProBlogger Training Day to be held in Melbourne October 21st. More details to come, but for now you can pre-register interest here. We’re finalising speakers and sponsors, and I can’t wait until it all comes together to create an informative and inspirational day.

Yes, I’m really enjoying my work this year. But as for now, I have to fulfill a “pinky promise” made to my six year old to watch his school swimming activity. Time to fly!

http://www.feelgooder.com/feelbetter

It’s fun putting pretty things together! And it’s not just pretty, there’s also a plan inside to help you to FeelBetter. If you get in quick you might get @problogger’s latest ebook for 50% off ($4.99 reduced from $9.99).  In fact be one of the first 3 to comment on this post and I’ll give you a free copy. There’s also a pretty Moleskin journal prize for people using the ebook.

Just wanted to share it with you, because it’s pretty special!

(disclaimer: I was involved in the production of this ebook but this is not an affiliate post)

Last night I resolved to post less on Facebook and to post here instead. So I hope to see you more often! For starters, I thought I’d share some of the eBooks I’ve been fortunate enough to produce with Darren Rowse this year. It’s wonderful to be working on two subjects I love – blogging and photography!

I’m very excited about this eBook – launching today! A couple of years ago I completed a 52 week challenge in self-portraiture on Flickr. The author of our new eBook, Anna Gay, has completed a couple of years worth of daily self-portraits! She’s been such a pleasure to work with (like all of our authors) and I’ve really enjoyed helping her to put this baby together.

The Art of Self-Portraiture – Anna Gay’s 365 Days

Last week we launched ProBlogger’s Guide to your First Week of Blogging. It’s also only half price at $9.99 for just a few more days and it’s a great resource for anyone starting out blogging. It takes you through seven days of activities to get your blog right first time. I’m actually thinking of going through and doing the exercises myself, so it’s not just for pre-bloggers. And yes, that’s my handwriting on the cover :)

Back in April we launched an eBook by travel photographer Mitchell Kanashkevich, Captivating Color. It captures some beautiful images from his travel adventures & he details how you can use colour to convey emotions and share stories. Mitchell will be in Melbourne for a couple of days later this week, and I’m looking forward to meeting him in person.

The first eBook I produced with Darren this year was Photo Nuts & Shots, which is packed with tips & techniques for taking good photos! It’s the second successful eBook authored by Neil Creek in this series. He writes really clearly so that technical tips are easy to understand and has some great examples of his photography to give you ideas.

Finally, here’s one you can download for free. It’s a PDF on how to take a photo of yourself to use as an avatar, also written by Anna Gay. Enjoy!

iA Writer for iPad from Oliver Reichenstein on Vimeo.

—————-

How to enjoy reading online (from Liza Daly speaking at Digital Book World)

Makes me want to write and read. How about you?