Melissa Ford
edutopia
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Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
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Past articles by Mel:
Coding Across the Curriculum
With these apps and games, you can work coding lessons into any subject and any grade from early elementary through 12th. → Read More
What Kind of Writer Are You?
Almost 9 years ago, I received an email out of the blue from Denise Tanton asking if I wanted to write about infertility for BlogHer. I had been writing about infertility on my blog, Stirrup Queens, and she thought the subject matter would be a good fit for the editorial section of the BlogHer site. I came here to write about infertility. I was an infertility writer. If I wanted to be generous… → Read More
State Your Opinion With the September BlogHer Writing Lab
So what is the BlogHer Writing Lab theme this month? → Read More
Conference ROI: How to Connect Before You Leave
The best part of the #BlogHer16 conference is all the new online content creators you'll meet. The most overwhelming part of the #BlogHer16 conference is all of the new online content creators you'll meet. It's a good conundrum, because there are important things you can do to make sure those new connections actually mean something. You know what I mean? → Read More
Get Ready for a Conference: Make a Plan
Look at the agenda and make a plan so BlogHer16 runs smoothly. → Read More
Kids Report from the 2016 White House Kids' State Dinner
Editor's Note: Just as they did in 2013, 2014, and 2015, my children once again served as reporters for this year's White House Kids' State Dinner. It was a wonderful day of new recipes, excited faces, and healthy recipes! -- Mel → Read More
Get Ready for a Conference: Order Your Business Cards
Make sure you order your business cards this weekend. → Read More
Meet Some Bloggers with July's BlogHer Writing Lab
So what is the BlogHer Writing Lab theme this month? → Read More
6 Things I Learned From Attending a Lot of BlogHer Conferences
6 tips for getting the most out of the BlogHer conference. → Read More
BlogHer Writing Lab July 2016 Prompts
The theme for July's NaBloPoMo is MEET. If you're participating in NaBloPoMo in July -- or even if you're not! -- here are some prompts to get you going. Writing prompts are posted at the beginning of the month so you can plan ahead, Monday to Friday. (Weekends are for free-writing!) → Read More
Melissa Ford, Author at GeekDad
Months ago, I started sending out what I call a canary-in-a-coal mine email when it comes to Kickstarter. People are asking me for money, and if they are, they better take the time to be accessible. If they don’t have the time or energy to deal with the outreach necessary to raise funding for a project, they probably shouldn’t undertake the project at that time. And frankly, with the fact that… → Read More
5 Things All Big-Traffic Bloggers Do
I wish I could tell you that there is a magical shortcut that will guarantee that you become a better blogger, but anyone who promises you that is scamming you for page views. But just because there is no shortcut doesn't mean that there isn't a direct path, in which doing one, simple thing can improve your writing skills, help you organize your thoughts and bring you more traffic. Lean in… → Read More
3 Tips From Nonfiction To Make You a Better Writer
I've been reading a lot of nonfiction because I've been writing a lot of nonfiction. I have a two nonfiction books coming out in quick succession, so I've been in a nonfiction frame of mind. → Read More
Wentworth Miller Made Me Wonder Whether Memes Are Too Mean
Wentworth Miller brought some sobering thoughts to the meme-posting world today when he explained the reason behind his weight gain after a site showed two pictures of Miller -- one taken when he was filming "Prison Break" and one taken in 2010 after he had put on weight -- accompanied by the caption: "When you break out of prison and find out about McDonal → Read More
Writing Is Like Biking Up a Hill
For this writing analogy, let's pretend you're riding a bike and you hit a hill. If you jump off the bike halfway up the slope to take a break, it's very hard to get back in the saddle and pedal your way up to the summit. Ten to one, you're either walking the bike or returning home. But if you push your way through the hard parts, huffing and puffing and maybe standing on the pedals to make the… → Read More
The 2013 Kids State Dinner from the Kids' Perspective
Michelle Obama knows that the best way to get kids to eat their vegetables is to involve them in choosing what they eat. On July 9th, we were there for the 2013 Kids State Dinner. This event started last year, and it's part of the Let's Move initiative. 54 kids were chosen for the Kids State Dinner because they had very healthy recipes. They came to celebrate their work and present it to the… → Read More
Your Book's Query Letter: How to Get Feedback Before You Query
I sometimes imagine the aspiring author sitting down to write a query letter after long months of toiling away on a novel or nonfiction book proposal. They’ve confronted battles of the psyche already—the highs and lows of writing a whole book will knock even the most confident of people to their knees at times. → Read More
What Agents, Editors & Publishers Look for in a Query Letter
During my eight years as an acquiring editor at Seal Press, I saw every kind of query —- from the perfectly executed to those that belonged on a wall of shame. → Read More
How to Know When You're Ready to Query Literary Agents & Editors
Maybe you've written a few chapters and they're fantastic. Or you have this great idea for a nonfiction book, and you want a deal in hand as soon as possible because you've got a conference talk lined up in a few months. Slow down, take a deep breath, and let's talk about this. How do you know when you're ready to query? → Read More
5 Tools That Will Force You to Write That Blog Post
This is how many of my blogging sessions go. I sit down with the intention to write a post responding to an article I read in the Atlantic. But first, I should probably check the bulletin boards I frequent to see if there are any new postings since 10 minutes ago. → Read More