I have recently become interested in blogging but have no idea how to do this or even where to begin. Is there a simple way to do it? Will it cost a lot?
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However, free publishing tools may not be the best route to take if you want to get serious about blogging. You may want to host your blog properly with serious software. Visit Blog Software Breakdown (asymptomatic.net/blogbreakdown.htm) to check out the software you may need. The EatonWeb blog directory (portal.eatonweb.com), which has links to plenty of blogs, will also give you an idea of how other people go about this business.
But technology is probably the least of your worries. Blogging is not easy. To do a proper blog, you must keep it up to date and respond to those who write to you. If you have something truly interesting or entertaining to say, you may discover your blog becomes a second business. Most blogs die a tired death within a few weeks of their creation, so be prepared for a lot of work.
I am preparing a paper for the Journal of Chinese Linguistics but its requirements have me stumped. Requirement No 4 from the journal's Web page states: 'A computer disk, containing both the contents of your paper and abstracts, prepared in Word (Twinbridge 4.x or RichWin also if Chinese characters are presented) for Windows should also be enclosed.'