Frequently Asked Questions
Blog
How do I post a message to the Announcements Blog?
How do I post a message to Eliot - A Writers' Blog?
How do I select from so many blog categories?
How do I add an image to a blog post?
How do I add a link to a blog post?
How do I post a message to the Announcements Blog?
Instructions for writing a post on Announcements Blog:
I. Log into Announcements Blog and go to the Dashboard page:
- Go to the Home page at http://www.stlwritersguild.org
- Select Interact from the menu bar (it's the second option on the right of the window)
- Click on Announcements Blog on the pull-down menu
- Now that you are on the blog page, click on Login on the right side bar under the Member Only section on the Announcements Blog page if you not already logged in; otherwise, skip to step 6
- Provide your username and password, and skip to step 7. If you don't remember your username and password, contact me. You can always change your password, by the way.
- Click on Post Entry/Go to Account on the right side bar under the Member Only section on the Announcements Blog Home page if you are logged in
- Now you should see the Dashboard page that says, "Announcements Blog (Back to main Blog page)".
II. Make sure your visual editor option is set to on and set your website and bio info:
- Now that you've completed Section I above, select Profile clear to the far right on the menu bar
- On Your Profile and Personal Options page, put a check in the box next to Visual Editor by clicking in the box.
Please note, you can change your password while you are on this page. - If you want to publicize yourself, type in your website URL, if you have one, and your bio
- Be sure to click on the Update Profile button at the botton of the page to save your information.
II. Write a post:
- In the menu bar, select Write
- You should be in the editor that looks like the image below.
If your editor doesn't look like this, make sure you've completed Section II above.
Contact webmaster@stlwritersguild.org if you can't get this to work. - Select the Kitchen Sink button (see image below) to see additional button options.
- Type a title for your post in the Title box
- You can either type your entry into the Post box below the Title, or you can cut and paste from, for example, a Word document. If you write your document in Word first, hit the Paste From Word button and paste the text into the popup box, which will preserve fonts, links, etc.
- Select the appropriate Category(ies) below the Post box.
- If your blog entry is ready for the public to read, select Publish to Blog. If you want to save the entry to work on later without letting the public see it, select Save as Draft.
How do I post a message to the Eliot - A Writers' Blog?
Instructions for writing a post on Eliot:
I. Log into Eliot and go to the Dashboard page:
- Go to the Home page at http://www.stlwritersguild.org
- Select Interact from the menu bar (it's the second option on the right of the window)
- Click on Eliot - A Writers' Blog on the pull-down menu
- Now that you are on the blog page, click on Login on the right side bar under the Member Only section on the Eliot page if you not already logged in; otherwise, skip to step 6
- Provide your username and password, and skip to step 7. If you don't remember your username and password, contact me. You can always change your password, by the way.
- Click on Post Entry/Go to Account on the right side bar under the Member Only section on the Eliot Home page if you are logged in
- Now you should see the Dashboard page that says, "Eliot - A Writers' Blog (Back to main Blog page)".
II. Make sure your visual editor option is set to on and set your website and bio info:
- Now that you've completed Section I above, select Profile clear to the far right on the menu bar
- On Your Profile and Personal Options page, put a check in the box next to Visual Editor by clicking in the box.
Please note, you can change your password while you are on this page. - If you want to publicize yourself, type in your website URL, if you have one, and your bio
- Be sure to click on the Update Profile button at the botton of the page to save your information.
II. Write a post:
- In the menu bar, select Write
- You should be in the editor that looks like the image below.
If your editor doesn't look like this, make sure you've completed Section II above.
Contact webmaster@stlwritersguild.org if you can't get this to work. - Select the Kitchen Sink button (see image below) to see additional button options.
- Type a title for your post in the Title box
- You can either type your entry into the Post box below the Title, or you can cut and paste from, for example, a Word document. If you write your document in Word first, hit the Paste From Word button and paste the text into the popup box, which will preserve fonts, links, etc.
- Select the appropriate Category(ies) below the Post box.
- If your blog entry is ready for the public to read, select Publish to Blog. If you want to save the entry to work on later without letting the public see it, select Save as Draft.
How do I select from so many blog categories?
The categories allow people to help find your information and give them an idea of what or who the post is about or for. If you are posting to the Announcement blog, then the categories become extremely important. The tabs on the St. Louis Writers Guild Home page display different categories, which are explained below the figure. You may choose more than one category.
If you are posting on Eliot, select the best categories; otherwise, follow the guidelines below to post on the Announcement blog. Eliot posts show up under the "Hot Topics" tag.
| Heading | Home Page Tab | Announcement Blog Category |
| News | In the News | SLWG News/Announcements |
| Members | Member News | |
| Community | Community News & Events | |
| Events | Contests | Contests |
| Members | Member Events | |
| Community | Events |
News:
- "In the News" is specifically for SLWG News and Announcements, not member announcements.
- "Members" is for member specific announcements, like book signings, contest wins, publishing contracts, etc. Go ahead and brag; we want to hear it!
- "Community" is for announcements that affect the community, like events, and contests.
Events:
- "Contests" is self-explanatory and can be member- or SLWG-sponsored events.
- "Members" is for member specific announcements, like book signings where you are inviting people to come to your event.
- "Community" is for event member and SLWG announcements that affect the community, like workshops, member book signings, etc.
How do I add an image to a blog post?
Please observe all copyrights when posting images on the website. One can get great images from www.wikipedia.org. To check on the copyright of the photo on wikipedia, just click on it. To copy the image link, hover the mouse over the image and left click. Select the option to copy the image link.
To add an image, while you are in the blog editor:
- Click on the little icon on the tool bar that looks like a tree (at least it's green)
- Copy the image link and then paste it into the little Insert/edit image box on the blog
- Set the Alignment to Right
- Shrink the dimensions proportionally, if necessary
- Set the border to zero, if you don't want a border
How do I add a link to a blog post?
- Type the text you want to associate with your link, e.g., www.wikipedia.org
- Highlight the text you want to add the link to
- Click on the Insert/Edit Link button, which looks like a chain
- Add the link URL, which must begin with http://