WordPressers in the Press — December Edition
Last week, we shared a few facts and figures on your prolific posting tendencies and a bit about some of the posts that recently grabbed your attention. Let’s take a look at one comedienne who’s gone viral since then and some great reading material courtesy of WordPress.com bloggers.
Traffic is nuts for The Ugly Volvo
Stand-up comic Raquel D’Apice‘s hilarious post, “A 10-Month-Old’s Letter to Santa,” just went viral. Listing all the things every 10-month-old baby truly wants for Christmas, it got picked up by The Huffington Post and Slate and has had over 4.7 million views in only eight days. The post has also been featured on Today.com, Babble, IBN Live, and Psychology Today.
“I would love a set of house keys. To eat, obviously. Only metal house keys will do. Please do not buy me plastic ones. I am not an idiot. I know that plastic house keys are not real keys.” — Item #3, “A Ten-Month-Old’s Letter To Santa.”
Oh, and Santa? The baby forgot to ask you for one more very important thing.
Speaking of acclaim, Daniel José Older‘s recent post, “Whitewashed TV isn’t Just Racist, It’s Boring!” from critical pop culture blog, The Nerds of Color, got published over at Salon.
Book launches past and future
Congratulations and hats off to author Day’s Lee, who launched her first young adult novel, Guitar Hero, recently at Babar Books in Point Claire, Québec.
Celebration is also on the table for author Russ Crandall, the blogger over at The Domestic Man. He’s got a great new cookbook, The Ancestral Table: Traditional Recipes for a Paleo Lifestyle, coming out on February 11th, 2014. (Be sure to mark your calendar and keep your eye on WordPress.com News for an interview with Russ closer to his book launch.) In the meantime, to whet your appetite for Russ’ cuisine, check out some of his recipes. We think the recipe for Honey and Citrus Glazed Ham, which was featured in People Magazine’s Holiday and Entertaining Issue, looks especially delicious!
We know you’re out there, making amazing things with your WordPress.com sites. Did you get a mention in the press? Got a book coming out? Let us know in the comments — we’d love to help share your accomplishments with the WordPress.com community.
Do you have aspirations of publishing a book or getting famous with your blog and need a bit of help and maybe even a gentle nudge? Check out The Daily Post for writing inspiration, tips and techniques on making blogging a habit, and how to nurture your audience and grow your traffic. You can even get some friendly moral support from the blogging community.
WordPress.com News 
Thank you WordPress for your great site and helpful information. I would like to let you know that we have published two of Gwen E Campbell’s books on Amazon.com. “Purse’verance” and “Always Going.” We are working to get her newest book out “The Disappearance of EAB.” We enjoy posting our blogs and reading other blogs on your website. Keep up the good work up.
Alexis Campbell Jansky and Richard Jansky of SolopressII
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I have a novel coming out March 1, 2014. To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis. I did much of the early character work on my blog. I couldn’t have written the book without you.
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I have a book that has been published. I hope this is the right place to talk about it. Titled “Broken Consciousness: Reflections of an Epileptic,” it is a small volume of poetry about the many years I have lived with epilepsy. It is available through all the normal channels, including iUniverse.
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I was recently (November 29, 2013) featured, writing under my maiden name, J.B. Hawker, in the local newspaper, The Daily News, in Red Bluff CA, for having published my third novel, “Seadrift” early in November.
This a mystery series featuring a former pastor’s wife begun with “Hollow” published in Sept of 2012. The second book in the series, “Vain Pursuits” was published in April of 2013. That’s three full-sized (50,000-70,000 words) books published in slightly over one year.
With almost no marketing (the books are mentioned on the About page of my WordPress blog, Power Walking with Jonna) sales are approaching 1000 copies and I have received very favorable reviews on Amazon from readers. The books are available in print and for Kindle.
Book four, under the working name “Barrier” is scheduled for release next Spring.
The discipline of writing my weekly blog for the past five years has made my published novels possible.
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I’ve been asked to blog for a local paper. The Pocono record!
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WordPress and this wonderful community played a big part in helping me see a book of my photographs of belgradestreets published last year http://belgradestreets.com/book/
and an exhibition of my photos in a cool gallery in the heart of belgrade
http://belgradestreets.com/2013/05/11/andy-townend-talks-to-rtv-pink-about-belgradestreets/
Have a Merry Christmas!
Andy
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I have been writing a novel in daily instalments on my http://www.writermummy.wordpress.com blog this year, as well as blogging daily. I’m on post #352 and it’s been an amazing year. I have to thank WordPress for the fantastic opportunity. I have published 11 volumes of the novel Two-Hundred Steps Home so far, one per month, and the twelfth will be out (hopefully) on New Year’s Eve.
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I spent four years in Sabah, Malaysia for the first time from 2008-2012. It’s the birthplace of my parents and I went there to take a break from sub-editing after taking voluntary redundancy in London. I wanted to write about the local music scene and chose WordPress to express what I wanted to say about the local musos. When I announced I was moving to Australia the local readers asked if the blog could become a book. It became a beautiful 250 page book and is used as a ministerial gift representing the state of Sabah. Here are some press clippings. WordPress is wonderful. Thank you http://sabahsongs.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/sabahsongs-book-launch-newspaper-clippings/
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Hi Krista,
I wanted to mention my short story publication Always In My Heart currently in the featured showcase on awritersgallery.wordpress.com which they chose 5 writers for to write different points of view on the same topic “first love”. I approached this topicfrom the angle of a mother her first love, her first child its an emotionally raw, poignant story yet has a positive aspect to the ending. It was a true labor of love for me. I was also named featured poet this month by the staff at MUTT online, an artistic website featuring photography, writing, poetry, and art. It’s been a busy few months and with 2 self-help books and my compilation of 34 poems finally copyrighted, the new year promises to be even busier! 🙂
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WordPress is the ideal web design site for the novice–user-friendly and provides an attractive and professional looking product. I’ve already received lots of accolades for my own site, http://www.adamhenig.com. As I get ready to launch my first book, Alex Haley’s Roots: An Author’s Odyssey, I need all the assistance I can get and WordPress has made it possible. Thanks! – Adam Henig
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WordPress has made my life so much easier for all the sites I have… I have a wonderful year of designing a new business/support network site, http://abstractillusionsmedia.com/ for my consulting biz and radio show, Abstract Illusions Radio; published a book of poetry, Words of the Heart, http://abstractillusionsmedia.com/words-of-the-heart/
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I started exploring ideas for a book on a wordpress site http://www.aidontheedge.info back in 2009. The blog and the book are about applying complex systems science to international development.
The book has now been published by Oxford (http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199578023.do), it has been endorsed by 3 Nobel Laureates, heads of international organisations like the UN and the Red Cross, and is reviewed in this weeks New Scientist: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029471.100-look-to-complexity-theory-to-solve-the-aid-problem.html#.UrL13hbENNY
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As the former architecture critic of The Tampa Tribune, I looked for a book to give as a housewarming present (paired with a bottle of wine or a plant!) Ultimately, I wrote one – “Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof!” contains bits of inspiration, “Hospitality is the art of making people feel at home – when you wish they were.” and “The most essential piece of garden equipment is a hammock.”
I hope you’ll take a look on amazon.com or read excerpts on my blog. It’s perfect for anyone moving into their first apartment, their dream house or their final retirement home.
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My new book, “So, you’re a writer?” just came out. Check out my website, reviews and excerpts at: http://hgrobert.com
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I checked out that Christmas list to Santa. It was choice. Well done picking that one up WP 🙂 It’s given me long term chuckles.
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I recently wrote a book called The Alchemy of Grief: The Life Story of Dr. Jack Miller and His Creation of The Phoenix Project. I have not yet had a chance to create a WP site to promote it, but hope to get to that soon! My other WP blogs have been keeping me busy:)
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