Build A Better Blog One Post At A Time

May 28, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

The Old Soldier knows that a lot of you reading this are bloggers, too.  The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette has been online for three years and eight months.  It averages over 300 hits every day.  I hope that by the end of this year it will average around 400 hits every day.  It’s a process; but I remember when this blog could not get 50 hits in one day.

There are a lot of ways to increase the number of hits that your blog gets.

One of the things that I have learned about getting more hits is that there are two basic kinds of posts.  There are posts that have a long shelf life and there are posts that have a short shelf life.

A post with a long shelf life offers something that your readers can use over and over again or that stays of interest for weeks and even months. 

A post with a short shelf life offers something that is here today and gone tomorrow.

The thing is, you need both kinds of posts to build your blog with.

*****

PittsBurgh

PittsBurgh (Photo credit: sakeeb)

How’s everyone doing this Memorial Day?  The Old Soldier had a salad for breakfast, he did a little housekeeping and he did his breathing and stretching exercises.  There’s karaoke this weekend.  It’s around 9:00 a.m. in the City of Pittsburgh and he’s ready for the rest of the day.

*****

Don’t forget, if you write flash fiction I want to see it.  The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is now a paying market.  And even though this magazine focuses on sex a lot your story does not have to be about sex.  Send me literary and mainstream stories, too.  The submissions tab is at the top of the page.  I like to publish a new story the first week of every month.

*****

Keep reading and keep writing that flash fiction.

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Behind The Scenes (May 27, 2012)

May 27, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

I finally made it back.  The Old Soldier pushed himself hard, marching from his apartment, down South Craig Street, pass Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, through Schenley Park, over to the campus of Carnegie Mellon University, back through Schenley Park, stopping at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, back up South Craig Street and then home.

It was around 90 degrees outside and I got a little light-headed.  I had to fill up my water bottle at a fountain in Schenley Park but everything turned out fine.  Now I’m back at my workstation and it’s not even 1:00 in the afternoon.

South Craig Street has a lot of ethnic shops and restaurants.  In the window of one shop on a plaque was this: Live as if you were to die tomorrow.  Learn as if you were to live forever.  Mahatma Gandhi

You can’t beat that with a stick!

*****

English: Academic Buildings of Carnegie Mellon...

English: Academic Buildings of Carnegie Mellon and the Cathedral of Learning (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, Friday is the first of the new month.  That means I’ll be going to karaoke at Del’s in Bloomfield (Little Italy) and I’ll be publishing a new report on female sexology by The Love Doctor and a new flash fiction short story by a guess writer, both this coming weekend.

There was nothing new on the news shows on television this morning.  Just the same old crap about the presidential campaign, local and international politics and growth and austerity.  It gets kind of tiresome.

The Old Soldier is glad that he has his library books on Andy Warhol and ancient Greece to read and karaoke to look forward to this Friday.

*****

Keep reading and keep writing that flash fiction.

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Here’s Your Chance To Get Published

May 25, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Publishing other writers is one of the great pleasures that I get being the editor/publisher of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.

This is the Old Soldier, letting you know what to submit.  The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is a paying market: $3.00 for poetry, $5.00 for non-fiction and $10.00 for short stories.  You must have a PayPal account to get paid.

Writers retain all rights.  I like to publish one poem, one article or commentary and one piece of fiction the first week of every month.  Your work does not have to be about sex.  Let me repeat that.  Your work does not have to be about sex.  This magazine is about a lot more than just sex.  It’s about life.

At the top of the page are three tabs: Anything Goes is for non-fiction, Send Poetry is for poems and Submissions is for fiction.  Please read and follow the guidelines.

Now don’t submit copy full of proofreading errors and poor English.  That’s no way to get published.  Professionalism counts.

Good luck!

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Behind The Scenes (May 25, 2012)

May 25, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

No karaoke tonight for the Old Soldier.  No cash flow until the first of June.  But that’s okay.  Instead of drinking and hanging out in bars, the Old Soldier can concentrate on other things.  Like reading the two books about Andy Warhol that he got from the public library yesterday.

Hello hello hello, my brother and sister bloggers, readers, writers and my Flash Fiction Fanatics.  It’s around 9:00 a.m. in Pittsburgh.  The high will be around 86, partly cloudy with the possibility of some thunder showers.

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol (Photo credit: zoomself)

I knew Andy Warhol grew up in Pittsburgh, but he actually lived only a few blocks from my apartment.  The Old Soldier has decided to learn everything he can about Andy Warhol.  I went to the Andy Warhol Museum here in Pittsburgh years ago.  But now that I’m the editor/publisher of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette, I think knowing more about the life and work of Andy Warhol can only help me to publish a better flash fiction magazine.

Jimmy Carter with Andy Warhol during a recepti...

Jimmy Carter with Andy Warhol during a reception for inaugural portfolio artists (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

That Andy sure was a workaholic.  He sure was productive.  Hummm.  Maybe the Old Soldier can be more productive, too.

*****

Be sure to click the follow button so that you don’t miss a single issue of the most dynamic flash fiction publication in the world.

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10 Great Tips For A Better Blog Today

May 23, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Are you a blogger?  The Old Soldier is a blogger.  This is my blog.  The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette went online September 2008.  In those days, I was happy to get 50 hits in one day.  The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette now gets over 300 hits every day.  This blog got over 10,000 hits in April 2012.  What has the Old Soldier learned about blogging?

  1. Give your readers useful information.
  2. Blog consistently.  You should probably put up at least four posts of at least 150 words every week.
  3. Blog for a definite target audience and then stay on message.
  4. The headline that you give every post is very important.  It should entice readers to read the post.  It must also give the reader a good idea of what the post is about.  Then deliver.
  5. Proofread your content at least twice before you publish it.
  6. Pick one or more topics that you are or can become knowledgeable about.
  7. Pick topics that you can be passionate about.
  8. Pursue knowledge about how to be a better blogger.
  9. Remember that your blog should not be about you.  It should really be about your target audience.
  10. You have to make a real commitment to your blog and your audience.
English: Blogger and Broadcaster

English: Blogger and Broadcaster (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

That’s it.  Now let me emphasize that these 10 points are guidelines.  They are not gospel.  They worked for the Old Soldier.  Will they work for you?

There’s only one way to find out.

*****

Click the follow button so that you don’t miss a single issue of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette, the most dynamic flash fiction publication in the world.

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Behind The Scenes (May 22, 2012)

May 22, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

The Old Soldier will be publishing a new report on female sexology by our own Love Doctor the first week of June.  I also have a flash fiction story for you by a new guest writer the first week of June.  The format of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette has changed from three columns to one; but the mission is still the same: to inform and entertain you with good writing and brazen sexuality.

How’s everyone doing?

Love Doctor

The Old Soldier is doing great.  It’s around 4:00 in the afternoon on a lovely summer-like day of warm breezes and sunshine in the City of Pittsburgh and I have taken up my favorite position stretched out on the sofa with two fat pillows under my weary head as I sip on a can of beer and jot in my notebook (then I got up and sat at the workstation to post this).

If the Old Soldier was to break down the major editorial subjects of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette, the list might look something like this.

  1. Flash Fiction
  2. Current Events
  3. Baby Boomers
  4. Female Sexology
  5. Blogging
  6. Writing
  7. Writers
  8. Karaoke
  9. Poetry
  10. Life
PittsBurgh

PittsBurgh (Photo credit: sakeeb)

That’s a hell of a list.  I didn’t mean for the PFFG to turn out that way.  It just kind of happened.

*****

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A Magazine Of Adult Content And Literature

May 17, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette continues to evolve.  “A magazine of adult content and literature” is one way to describe this publication.  “The Playboy Magazine of flash fiction” is another way.  And how about “A magazine of good writing and brazen sexuality”?

However you describe this publication, it is here to inform and entertain you; and to publish you, too.

Check out the front page.  This magazine is definitely not for everyone; but if you like what you see on the front page, click the follow button or take out a free subscription so that you do not miss a single issue.  The subscription tab is at the top of the page.

*****

The first issue of Playboy, published in Decem...

The first issue of Playboy, published in December of 1953. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hello hello hello, my brother and sister bloggers, readers, writers and my Flash Fiction Fanatics from all over the world!  This blog got 475 hits yesterday.

It’s around noon in Pittsburgh on a beautiful, sunny day.  The high will be around 70.  Today is the day that the Old Soldier takes a nice long walk to the assisted living facility that his younger (around 59) brother lives in.  It’s about time that I paid him a visit.  He lives about a 30-minute walk away.  It will be great exercise for the Old Soldier.

Issues that affect senior citizens is one of the things that the PFFG covers.  After all, the Old Soldier is a senior citizen, too.

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You Can Definitely Make Money Writing Flash Fiction

May 16, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Many writers ask, “Can you make money writing flash fiction?”

I like to tell this story.  It was flash fiction that won me a K. LeRoy Irvis Fellowship that was worth at least $60,000 that paid for my MFA in fiction writing at the University of Pittsburgh which I attended between 2003 to 2006.  That fellowship not only paid for three years of graduate school, but it also gave me a $950 monthly stipend to live off of for those three years.

The Cathedral of Learning at the University of...

The Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. photo by Michael G White (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Then during my last year of graduate school, a local print weekly began paying me $30 for each story it accepted and it accepted my stories for over two years.

Now the Old Soldier has an ebook of flash fiction that he is marketing.

So, can you make money from writing flash fiction?  Definitely.  Oh, the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette publishes a flash fiction story the first week of every month and it pays a fee of $10 to the writer by PayPal.

*****

Don’t miss a single issue of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette, the most dynamic flash fiction publication on the Internet.  Click the follow button or take out a free subscription.  The subscription tab is at the top of the page.

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A New Flash Fiction Writer Will Be Published In June

May 15, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

That’s right my brother and sister bloggers, readers, writers and Flash Fiction Fanatics, the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette will be publishing a new story from a new guest writer the first week of June at which time the Old Soldier will send the writer a $10.00 fee by PayPal.

You can’t beat that with a stick!

So, if you are a flash fiction writer you better check out the submissions guidelines and send me something.  The PFFG publishes one flash fiction story from a guest writer every month.  The submissions tab is at the top of the page.  The PFFG publishes erotic, mainstream and literary fiction.  Now be professional.  Don’t submit poor English and copy full of proofreading errors.  No editor is going to correct your English, proofread your copy, publish you and send you $10.00.  Take responsibility for your own work.  The Old Soldier is just giving you some tough love.

Good luck.

*****

Love Doctor

The Old Soldier has to take 1942 by Winston Groom back to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (the public library) today.  It’s due today.  The book is an excellent history of WWII.

*****

The high will be 76 in Pittsburgh today.  It was foggy this morning, but now at 11:00 am the sun is coming out.

*****

I recently published a new article on female sexuality by our own Love Doctor.  Don’t miss “The Gang Bang”.  It’s stuck to the front page.  Check it out before it rotates to the archives.  Also, an earlier report by the Love Doctor, “How Long Does A Woman’s Orgasm Last?” is still on the front page, too.

*****

June's multi-colored eyes

June’s multi-colored eyes (Photo credit: kakissel)

Don’t miss a single issue of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.  Click the follow button or take out a free subscription.  The subscription tab is at the top of the page.  This magazine is not for everyone, but it might be just right for you.  Here’s an interesting fact.  The majority of the subscribers to this magazine are women.

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Behind The Scenes: May 14, 2012

May 14, 2012 — pittsburghflashfictiongazette

Hello, world!  The blogging day has begun.  The Old Soldier is at his workstation early (7:00 am in Pittsburgh) this morning and he is ready to go.

First off, be sure to check out the new article on gang banging by the Love Doctor.  It’s stuck to the front page.  Check it out before it rotates to the archives.

*****

I got a chance to talk to The Matriarch on the phone yesterday (Mother’s Day).  That woman is such an inspiration to me.  At the age of 92 she can laugh, has a sharp mind and still constantly gives good advice and comfort to her family.  The Matriarch lives with my older sister in Greensburg which is outside of Pittsburgh, too far for me even by bus; but I’m still kicking around an idea about doing an article on adult children caring for their ageing parents.  See, the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is not just about sex.

*****

Love Doctor

Speaking of sex, here is a paragraph from 1984 by George Orwell that the Old Soldier is re-reading.  I bought an old paperback edition of the novel from The Big Idea Bookstore which is only a ten-minute walk from my apartment and which is owned by the workers.

The young, strong body, now helpless in sleep, awoke in him a pitying, protecting feeling.  But the mindless tenderness that he had felt under the hazel tree, while the thrush was singing, had not quite come back.  He pulled the overalls aside and studied her smooth white flank.  In the old days, he thought, a man looked at a girl’s body and saw that it was desirable, and that was the end of the story.  But you could not have pure love or pure lust nowadays.  No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred.  Their embrace had been a battle, the climax a victory.  It was a blow struck against the Party.  It was a political act.

*****

Picture of George Orwell which appears in an o...

Picture of George Orwell which appears in an old acreditation for the BNUJ. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Don’t miss a single issue of the Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette.  Click on the follow button or take out a free subscription.  The subscription tab is at the top of the page.

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