FAQ
- Help! I lost the gray bar at the top of the screen where I can get to the WordPress dashboard! What next?
- I have my first review ready to post. How do I do that?
- How can I register for Cannonball Read IV?
- How should I title my blog posts?
- What is tagging and why should I do it?
- How many books do I have to read?
- How old do you have to be to participate?
- I’ve never written a review before, where do I start?
- How long does my review have to be?
- How long does my book have to be?
- Can I read a graphic novel?
- Can I listen to an audiobook?
- Can’t I just read the books and tell you how many?
- I don’t have a blog, can I just post everything to the group blog?
- I don’t have a blog, how do I start one?
- I didn’t create my blog yet, how can I sign up for CBR4?
- I have my own blog already, can I post my reviews there?
- How do I get access to the group blog?
- I don’t know how to use WordPress. Help!
- How do I sign up for WordPress?
- What is our Twitter hashtag and what is a hashtag anyway?
- What are our RSS feeds and can you explain RSS?
- Why does Pajba link me to amazon.com?
Help! I lost the gray bar at the top of the screen where I can get to the WordPress dashboard! What next?
If you do not see the dark gray bar at the top of your screen with the circled “W” WordPress logo, you may have gotten logged out of WordPress. Go to wordpress.com and at the top left, you should see the gray bar, but with a field for “Email or Username” and “Password.” Log in there, and then come back to this blog. You should see the gray bar back at the top of your screen.
I have my first review ready to post. How do I do that?
If you do not have your own blog, you’ll post the whole review here on the group blog. Mouse over “Cannonball Read IV” in the gray band at the top left, and then select New > Post.
If you have your own blog, post the review there in entirety, and then create a new post on this blog. Write a short blurb about your review that’s posted on your site, or maybe copy and paste the first paragraph or sentence, something to entice the reader to click through to your blog. Highlight the text that you want people to be able to click on to get to your blog, and then click the button that looks like a little chain. (When you mouse over that button, it says “Insert/Edit link”.) Add the link to the review post on your site, and then click “Add Link.” (Note: you only need to follow the title syntax and tagging conventions on the group blog. You may title and tag your own blog as you prefer.)
How can I register for Cannonball Read IV?
Registration for Cannonball Read IV is now closed.
How should I title my blog posts?
Please follow this syntax:
YourPajibaName’s #CBR4 Review #XX: Book Title by Book Author (Adding the # symbol, the hashtag, before the letters “CBR4,” will make it easier to tweet, as our hashtag is #CBR4 this year. )
What is tagging and why should I do it?
Tagging is a way to organize the posts. Make sure to tag all of your posts with your PajibaName and the author’s name (2 words: FirstName LastName). You can also tag the post with the genre, fiction, non-fiction, and any other tags you think are relevant. Learn more about tags from wordpress.com.
How many books do I have to read?
You can sign up for a whole (52), half (26), or quarter (13) Cannonball. You have one year to read and review whichever amount you choose.
How old do you have to be to participate?
There is no age requirement. We have several Junior Cannonballers participating already who are under 18. (Parents, please note in the signup form that you are enrolling a Junior Cannonballer.)
I’ve never written a review before, where do I start?
Mswas’ strategy for writing reviews, if you’re really not sure where to begin: start with what the book is about. Tell the reader if you liked it or not, and why. Throw in a quote or two from the book, and finish up with whether you recommend it or not. Voilà! You have your first review.
How long does my review have to be?
Because all of the reviews written will have the potential to be posted on Pajiba, they must be at least three paragraphs long.
How long does my book have to be?
At least 100 pages. If this is an issue, please contact me.
Do graphic novels count?
Yes, they do.
Do audiobooks count?
Yes, they do, too.
Can’t I just read the books and tell you how many?
No, you must write a review and post it on the internet for the book to count.
I don’t have a blog, can I just post everything to the group blog?
Yes, if you wish, you may post your full review to the group blog only. When you sign up, please list cannonballread4.wordpress.com as your review blog.
I don’t have a blog, how do I start one?
There are number of free blog sites like WordPress, Blogger, and Tumblr. Visit those sites, or any other blogging platform you know, and choose one that works for you.
I didn’t create my blog yet, how can I sign up for CBR4?
Please create your blog prior to signing up so that you can submit your blog address. It doesn’t have to have any reviews yet, or a finished design, just go ahead and acquire the address you’ll use.
I have my own blog already, can I post my reviews there?
Yes, if you have a blog, you may post your review there. However, you must also post at least a link (and hopefully a sentence or two for context) to each review you write on the group blog.
How do I get access to the group blog?
Sign up for CBR4 and I will give you an author account on the group blog. You will receive notifications at the email address you provide on signup.
I don’t know how to use WordPress. Help!
WordPress.com has a lot of great help pages. Learn how to write a post here.
How do I sign up for WordPress
Find out about becoming an author on this blog.
What is our Twitter hashtag and what is a hashtag anyway?
This year’s Twitter hashtag is #CBR4. A hashtag is a way to tag tweets with a common term to aid in searching and organizing tweets. Find out more.
What are our RSS feeds and can you explain RSS?
Our RSS feeds are:
And RSS itself?
RSS is an acronym for “really simple syndication.”…The idea behind syndication is pretty straightforward. It’s a pain to check a whole bunch of websites to see which has updated. If you want to keep up with [our blog] every day, it’s no good to have to check back periodically and scroll down the page until you can figure out where you left off. Syndication brings those blog entries to you, notifying you whenever there’s something new to read on one of those websites.
Syndication doesn’t just tell you when a site has been updated, but actually provides you with the new material.
From waldo.jaquith.org
Paste one or both of the feed addresses in the link above into a reader like Google Reader, Sage, or Netvibes.
Why does my review Pajba link me to amazon.com?
Mid-July, we started up an amazon.com affiliate account. Reviews that make it to Pajiba will have the affiliate link to the book on Amazon.. 100% of any money received through these links will go directly to the American Cancer Society – “proud sponsor of birthdays.”
Cannonball Read IV 
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“How to Post” explanation would be nice, including trouble-shooting when it doesn’t work! 🙂
Do you think you could add a “tags” widget to the sidebar so that we could browse by how posts are tagged? Having them on the side makes it really easy to browse by author or genre, rather than kind of hunting post by post through the tags.
I added a tag cloud, alwaysanswerb, what do you think?
i like the idea of the tag cloud, but i feel that over time it’s going to just consist of the names of the participants instead of authors. i’m not sure if there’s any way to overcome that.
I find it very helpful — thank you! I hope others agree 🙂
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Very descriptive blog, I enjoyed that bit. Will there be a part 2?