Any opinions on the best free blog for a novelist?

[Gregg Bell]

There's so many to choose from. E-blogger looks good. So does Wordpress. Tumblr looks kind of twitter-ish. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

[gmw]

All I can really say is that I chose WordPress. It gave me the mix of ease-of-use and adaptability that I was looking for.

Before I made a choice I spent a few weeks paying special attention to the various websites that I visited and noting what they used (product and theme). This gave me some idea of what each product was capable of. I then installed WordPress internally here and played with it for a few weeks before deciding on what theme I wanted to use. Then I spent another few weeks playing with that theme until I got the "look" I wanted. And then I went live.

It doesn't need to be as long a process as what I make it sound like above, most of the products can be up and running very quickly if you're happy to go with what you're given as defaults, but I was in a high procrastination phase (I'm rare out of it ), and spent a lot of time trying to achieve something particular. Also the theme I chose (Atahualpa) was one specifically created for its adaptability, so it took longer to setup than most themes.

[Harper Kingsley]

WordPress works best for blogging and you can get a free one if you don't want to go through the hassle of running your own. I've never heard of E-blogger.

Tumblr is more for comics and memes. I have my WP crosspost to my Tumblr, but I wouldn't try to use Tumblr for serious writing. Plus the crowd is usually teenagers or people in fandom.

[VydorScope]

Another vote for Wordpress... IMO no one does blogs better then Wordpress.

[WordCountess]

Blogger.com (also known as blogspot.com) has great google search results. Google owns blogger, so naturally it self-promotes the blogs in it's search results. I've had a lot of success with google tuning into my articles keywords and promoting my work through the site.

I like tumblr.com because it also helps promote. You can add 'tags' to your work, which allows other readers to search and find it.

[PainMike]

Did not believe whole blogging until attempt to author. Went to Wordpress. Couple of times the New Post got stuck or images behaved inconsistently. I'm old half-nerd but the interface felt confusing at first. When used to it, it felt grateful. Every possible stats and info. Pay for more but I'm happy without million more settings. And to my surprise I found their spam interesting, about new styles and definitely the Favs posts section tells you where the wind comes from.
In the other hand I have not tried others. I'll move to pay if...erm, when I start selling and that's more features.

[avantman42]

I use WordPress. I've always preferred reading WordPress blogs over Blogger blogs, so I went with the one I'd rather read myself.

[kennyc]

I use blogspot.com - free and after evaluating it and wordpress (free from my hosting service).

[Penforhire]

+1 for Wordpress. My only basis of comparison was a review of the major ones about six years ago. Went with WP and never looked back.

[kennyc]

Here's a good comparison of blogger and wordpress:

http://www.techlila.com/articles/whi...press-blogger/

and another comparison
http://pulsed.blogspot.com/2007/07/b...ess-chart.html

and a pretty extensive comparison at computerworld:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...9&pageNumber=1

the computerworld conclusion:

Conclusions

Both Blogger and WordPress.org are excellent choices for anyone looking for a hosted blogging service. WordPress is clearly aimed at those who are willing to spend time learning its features and can handle an occasionally confusing interface. It offers a wider range of tools for adding content, more widgets and better social networking integration, and superior customization.

Blogger, on the other hand, is much simpler to set up and easier to use; you'll be able to create a blog and manage it in less time and with less effort than is required in WordPress.

So the choice is clear: If you want the fullest set of blogging features, you want WordPress, but if you're looking for simplicity and streamlined blog creation and posting, Blogger is the way to go.

[Nancy Fulda]

You might also checking out LiveJournal, which is less effective in terms of marketing, but very useful if your primary objective is to share experiences and network with other writers.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by gmw

All I can really say is that I chose WordPress. It gave me the mix of ease-of-use and adaptability that I was looking for.

Before I made a choice I spent a few weeks paying special attention to the various websites that I visited and noting what they used (product and theme). This gave me some idea of what each product was capable of. I then installed WordPress internally here and played with it for a few weeks before deciding on what theme I wanted to use. Then I spent another few weeks playing with that theme until I got the "look" I wanted. And then I went live.

It doesn't need to be as long a process as what I make it sound like above, most of the products can be up and running very quickly if you're happy to go with what you're given as defaults, but I was in a high procrastination phase (I'm rare out of it ), and spent a lot of time trying to achieve something particular. Also the theme I chose (Atahualpa) was one specifically created for its adaptability, so it took longer to setup than most themes.

Thanks again, G.M.,
Good advice. And I hear you about the "high procrastination." (I just read a book a while ago called "The Discovery of Slowness" by Sten Nadolny. There ARE some good things about slowness. lol) Thanks again.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by Harper Kingsley

WordPress works best for blogging and you can get a free one if you don't want to go through the hassle of running your own. I've never heard of E-blogger.

Tumblr is more for comics and memes. I have my WP crosspost to my Tumblr, but I wouldn't try to use Tumblr for serious writing. Plus the crowd is usually teenagers or people in fandom.

thanks Harper. I appreciate the feedback.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Another vote for Wordpress... IMO no one does blogs better then Wordpress.

thanks Vydor

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by WordCountess

Blogger.com (also known as blogspot.com) has great google search results. Google owns blogger, so naturally it self-promotes the blogs in it's search results. I've had a lot of success with google tuning into my articles keywords and promoting my work through the site.

I like tumblr.com because it also helps promote. You can add 'tags' to your work, which allows other readers to search and find it.

Thanks Countess. Yeah, the whole Google thing is pretty appealing. Plus the simplicity. Appreciate the feedback.