My UP Webmail inbox today (June 2) has two inquiries, one from a total stranger and the other from a recent workshopper.

The former asks about successful blogging, the word “success” being made synonymous with money-making. The latter, on the other hand, has an interesting inquiry about editing.

I decided to make public my private messages to them not only because you might be interested to know their inquiries and my replies, but also for you to write your reactions. Their inquiries, by the way, are slightly edited to protect their privacy.

Let’s start with the total stranger who asks about successful blogging:

I’m from Davao City. I stumbled upon your article on blogging at Bulatlat.com and it was an interesting piece to read actually.

I’m a frustrated blogger, sir, and I want to solicit advice from you as how to be a succesful blogger. I’m still a student and I’ve heard a lot about online money making through blogging but i just dont know how.

Here’s my reply to the aspiring (not frustrated) blogger:

I don’t think I am the best person for you to seek advice on online money making, as I have a different perspective about using one’s blog solely or mainly for generating income. Having said that, you can try signing up for Google Adsense, one of the more popular ad networks, once you set up your blog. Adsense provides contextual advertisements, which simply means that the ads that are put on your blog are more or less related to the topics you write about.

Just like good writing, the secret to good blogging is meticulous reading. You should spend a lot of time blog hopping and familiarize yourself with the technical aspects like customization of themes, installation of useful widgets and plugins, API and SEO. Knowledge of HTML and CSS, among others, will also help a lot. There are a lot of online tutorials and reference books available on the Net and in our local bookstores.

Again, thank you for your feedback.

A former workshopper who edits a publication of a local government unit sends this message:

I was one of the participants to the Press Release and Technical Writing Seminar-Workshop you conducted at UP SOLAIR last February 5-6, 2008.

I would like to ask your opinion regarding putting into print a speech. We have a monthly application where one of the regular sections is The Mayor Reports. We are printing the speech she delivers after the monthly Mass for all city government employees. This is not a scripted speech, she only has a list of items for announcement, reminder or any information worth sharing to everybody. We are taping the speech and transcribe it in toto. Our mayor is a good English speaker, one who can command attention or hold an audience.

My problem is, I only want to pick necessary portions, and weed out progressive tenses, something that will make the printed speech crisp and compact. My apprehension is that, in so doing, am I imposing my own style over the Mayor’s? Or will the speech lose its identity?

Sir, thank you very much for whatever advice you can give.

My reply to her is this:

Editing a speech for publication is advisable to make it more apt for the print
medium. Through meticulous editing, you can do away with unnecessary phrases
like “good day,” “ladies and gentlemen” and others that are commonly used in oral communication. Besides, there might be a need to reduce the verbosity that normally goes with speeches to make them more readable to your audience.

We should not look at editing a speech as imposing one’s style over the speaker. It’s just simply a process of gatekeeping to ensure that the readers understand whatever sees print.

Hope this helps. I wish you all the best.

Do you think my two replies suffice? If you have additional comments, suggestions or even violent reactions, please post a comment. Thank you for reading.