What do the layouts look like when printed?

We are often asked what our layouts look like when they are printed, what size the photos are, why there is left over space on the page, ect. Well, the books are landscape - 8 1/2 x 11. As far as the layouts, you can view the actual print ready version of each page by using the preview button in the book editor section. There is some variation on photo sizes depending on the size of your picture, if you have cropped it, ect. There can be a lot of room on a page depending on what layout you choose and the number of words in your blog post. Our layouts are designed for words and photos because it is for bloggers, not a digital photo book. Below are a few sample screen shots of actual pages for you to look at.

Merging Posts

Q. I was wondering if I could combine two short posts onto one page without merging them into one post? I am over the page limit you offer and am hoping to reduce the number of pages by consolidating pages and eliminating some wasted space.

A. You have two options.

1) merge in the post manager section (which you can go back to at any time using the tabs at the top of the page), or

2) you can cut and paste the text using the text boxes. You can also cut and paste from your blog (in a separate window) into the SBB text box - I think that way is easier. If photos are involved you can drag and drop them. If you are in the book editor section you hit manage photos. That brings up the photos associated with that page's posts in the left column. If you look at the top there is a link for all photos. That will allow all of your blog's photos to appear. If you want to use a photo drag and drop it into the left column. Then x out of the all photo box. Your book editor page will reappear. Then drag and drop the photo back into the page. It is much easier than it sounds.

Q. Another question about the cutting/pasting....is there a formatting tool to use inside the edit box so I can make the heading on the cut blog larger than the text....I see a header box on the template at the top but cant find any other options in the text area.

A. The text area has limited options. When I merge two small posts this way I usually add the title and then add 4 spaces so there is a clear space. I have also merged three small posts with one photo each and then aligned the text with the photo. Kind of like the example below. If you are trying for this type of layout always click on the preview tab on the book editor page -- This will ensure that your monitor settings and the pdf print settings do not conflict -- this only tends to be a problem when you are trying to line words and photos up exactly.

Book Covers

Q. I'm in the process of turning one of my blogs into a book, and I was wondering if the cover is hardback or paperback. I can't tell from the site.

A. The covers are hardback. Each cover is black with a cutout that shows the first photo in your book. When making your cover page you will be prompted to use the 1-photo large layout. The cover looks best if you use a photo that is NOT cropped. That way, the photo take sup the entire space without leaving anything around the edge.

Date Range Box

Q. I am trying to load a different date rang in and it is not letting me-any tips? After I had made book 1 I decided I wanted to make the book cover all of 2007 so I tried adding the last few months of 2007 to the existing book but it won't let me. I imported book 2 to see if it would let me import all of 2007 at once and it did but the problem is I have already edited the first 6 months in the first book so I wanted to add to that one so I didn't have to start over. I have kept trying it but it still doesn't let me add-is that just how it works?

A. Unfortunately that is right. You can only pull your blog feed into Scrapbook Blogger one time per book. You can cut down your date range by deleting posts but you can not add more posts once you start making a book.

Book Size

Q. How big are the books? 12 x 12 or what?

A. The books are 8 1/2 by 11 in a landscape orientation.

Q. Also I was confused on how big they can be-how many pages? On the price list it shows up to 250 is that right?

A. Yes- a book can be up to 250 pages-- but... that is a very big book. Most of our users are happiest with books that are 75-125 pages. In the importer page there is a place where you can limit what part of your blog you pull in by date range. Also, some posts on your blog may be more than one page depending on how many photos and text you have and which layout you choose.

Can I resize my photos?

Q. I'm wondering whether it is possible to resize photos or change where the photos go in the layouts. I have mostly photos with little text, and my pages look a little absurd with three little photos and lots of blank space. I'd love to have the option of making the photos bigger.
I see in the photo editing area that it has the X andY coordinates of the photo and the scale of the photo,but it seems to be impossible to change those.

A. You can crop photos but you can't make them bigger. If we allowed photo enlargement we could not guarantee print quality because the photo pixels would enlarge. I wish I had a better answer. You may want to consider changing layouts to see if that works better for your style of blogging. The 1 photo large is a good option or the 4 photo layout has a larger photo on top. You can also use the text box to add new text even if you did not have text in your blog.

Slides

Q. How does your program handle Slides?

A. Unfortunately SBB does not handle slides or videos. It does allow you to import photos from your hard drive. So, if a post has a slide show in it you can upload those photos if you wish. Maybe in the future we will be able to handle slides.

Customer Questions Answered -- SBB is only pulling my post title

Q. I am trying to import my blog so I can create a book, but for some reason it only imports the titles of my posts and not the text or photos of each post. Is there something I'm not doing right? I am using a Mac, does that make a difference?

A. The information gets pulled via RSS and it sounds like your RSS settings are set to just publish headlines.

If you use Blogger - you go to Settings> Site Feed. In your admin area there should be an option for "Blog Post Feed" to publish "Full". Make sure that is checked. This should solve your problem

New Interview

We are very excited to share this great article with you about Scrapbook Blogger! Please check out Ann Marie's blog and see what she has to say! There is even a contest to win a $10 Starbucks card!

http://afriedrick.blogspot.com/

Here is an excerpt of the article:

We mom bloggers spend a lot of time and effort blogging. We record everything from first steps to family squabbles. Within the confines of our little blog spheres we are queens and we weave a tapestry about our lives for others to rejoice with as well as to commiserate with. Pictures, recipes, crafts, stories are all carefully placed leaving an indent in history. Blogs are the diaries of our lives.Imagine my glee at stumbling across a site that turns your blog into a scrapbook. Seriously folks, it’s too cool for words. With Scrapbook Blogger you can easily turn your blog, photos and text, into a beautiful coffee table size, scrapbook. Simply follow the directions at the site and download your blog. It’s so easy, even a child could do it.

Scrapbook Blogger- Turn Your Blog into a Printed Scrapbook

I invited Ashley Cuttino, creator of Scrapbook Blogger, to visit my blog and tell us about her awesome and very useful site.

AnnMarie: Ashley, thanks so much for joining us today!

Ashley: Thanks, I am very glad to be here to talk about Scrapbook Blogger! I hope all of your readers, who are bloggers, will take a look at our product. It is a new and innovative way to turn your blog into a printed scrapbook to keep forever!

AnnMarie: Tell us a little bit about YOU:

Ashley: Well, I am the mother of two little girls. Grayson is 2 ½ and Anna Parker is 3 months old. I began blogging about my life in late 2005. A college friend sent me a link to her blog when I was pregnant. She had a baby and I found myself hooked on her blog. I read it every day and used it as a guide to my pregnancy and a way to look forward to what was to come. I started blogging when I was eight months pregnant and loved it! I found it to be a great way to express both the joys and frustrations of being a new mom and it was a great way to connect with other friends who read my blog and commented when I needed help. Plus, our extended families live several hours away and loved getting daily updates on the grandkids by checking out my blog. Feel free to check us out at Ashleynewmom

AnnMarie: I visited your blog, it’s adorable! And you’re right, many of us use our blogs to keep family members who live far away updated on our lives. When I came across Scrapbook Blogger I was thrilled. How did you come up with the idea?

Check out the link to Ann Marie's blog to read the entire article.

Answers to Your Questions - New Pages and How to Delete a Page

Question 1:

Why does one sometimes have to delete the whole post and not just the page? Currently, on my page 178, I have removed all the photos (and consolidated them on page 177) yet, I can’t delete just page 178!! Help! How can I prevent this??

ANSWER:

This problem is caused when the post runs over onto two pages and you want to delete the second page. The program often does not realize that you have moved all of the text and photos to page one due to the page breaks in the text. Go to the second page -- p. 178 and click on the text box. Hit the delete key to make sure any line page break is gone. This should delete the second page. If it does not work please let us know. We are still working to correct the bug.

Question 2:

I’m trying to add just one page. It’s not part of a post. How can I add a ‘fresh’ page with a new photo and text?

ANSWER:

To add a page you can click on the "+" sign on the book editor page. The "+ "sign is located at the top of the page where it tells you have many pages are associated with a post. This will add a page. Once added you can upload new photos or add text. BUT, the new page will be linked to the post before it. It must have the same title. Everything else can be changed. The program requires all pages be associated with a post. Basically, by adding a page you are adding a page to a post.

Mommy Bloggers on the Today Show

The mommy blogger movement is growing. Dooce and other top mommy bloggers were featured on the Today show today. Check it out!

Scrapbook Blogger is Accepted by SC LAUNCH!

We are very excited to announce that Scrapbook Blogger has been accepted into the SC Launch! program as a Client Company. We hope that by working with SC Launch! that we will be able to help our company grow into a true success.

My Blog is Private - Can I still use Scrapbook Blogger?

Scrapbook Blogger can't print a blog that is private. The Scrapbook Blogger software can't see behind the privacy shield. To use our product you need to make your blog public. Then go to Scrapbook Blogger and pull in your blog. Once the RSS feed is pulled, Scrapbook Blogger no longer needs access to your blog. The RSS feed is pulled on the Post Manager page. It normally takes 5-10 minutes to pull the RSS feed from a blog depending on the size of your blog. Once you have completed the Post Manager page you can then change your blog back to public. That way you can spend as much or as little time as you want in the book editor phase without worrying that your blog is public.

Post Manager Page

The Post Manager page can be used to make large scale edits to your imported blog. I find that it is very helpful to open two Internet windows on my computer at this phase of building my scrapbook. In one window I have the Post Manager page open. In the other window I open my blog. I like to make books for a defined time period. If I am making a book of 1 year of my posts then I go through my blog month by month and quickly click on each post. Then I delete the posts off of the Post Manager page that I do not want to include in my Scrapbook. For example, when making a scrapbook about my daughter I do not include posts about random events unrelated to her.

The Post Manager page also gives you a very rough idea of how many pages your Scrapbook will be. Do not be concerned if you are over the 250 page limit at this point. Many more edits can be made in the Book Editor section. This is especially true if you have lots of photos. I tend to publish lots of pictures about family events on my blog but when I make my scrapbook I will narrow it down to my favorites. The page number will also change as you choose and change layouts.

I deleted a post by accident. Can I add it back?

Unfortunately there is not a way to add a post back once you have deleted it. The only option is to go into the book editor section and add a page where you want the deleted post to go. Now it is a little tricky because the program thinks you are adding a page to the prior post. Therefore, the title will carry over. Once you have added your page, you can cut and paste your text from your blog and add it to the new page by clicking on the text box. Then use the photo manager feature to upload your photos from your computer.

How do I use the 1-photo large layout?

The 1-photo large does not have a caption box. Instead, it has a text box. The purpose is to allow users to have a large photo with up to three lines of text underneath. If you have more text, the regular 1-photo layout is available but that layout can leave a lot of space on the page if you do not have lots of words with your photo. When using the 1-photo large layout you can tab your words over to the center of the picture if you want them to appear more like a caption or change your title to make it more accurately reflect what is in the photo and put nothing underneath. To change the title of your post simply click on the title in the Book Editor phase and a text box will appear.

Answers to your questions... What kind of book covers are available?

What kind of book covers are available?

At this point all of the covers are black. We hope to offer different color options like pink, blue and green in the near future. The cover has a large cut out in the front. You have to add a 1- photo large to fill the cut out space on the cover. The program automatically prompts you to use the 1-photo large layout on this page. The cover looks best if you use a landscape photo that has not been cropped. That way, your photo takes up the entire cover. If you use a portrait photo you will also be able to see the background around the edge of the photo.

Known Issue Resolved

Several new users have recently encountered problems uploaded their blog into the Scrapbook Blogger platform. This issue has been resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience and encourage you to try again soon!

Helpful Hints - One step at a time

Some users are overwhelmed when they get to the book editor page. The program is designed to allow for X number of words per page with X layout. There are currently 7 layout options available. Each post is automatically given one of these layout options. You, the user, can change the layout or the background at any time. You can also edit your original blog post by changing the text or the photos.

To keep from getting overwhelmed, we suggest you proceed through the Book Editor feature in two steps.

1) Go through the entire book and make all layout changes. Included in this step is all photo exchanges, additions, or deletions, and all changes to your text. You may want to delete additional posts at this point. You may feel that you do not need to print all of your posts or you may want to stick to one theme for your book.

2) Go back through your book and make changes to the backgrounds. If you are using a default setting this step can be skipped. If you would like to change any of the default backgrounds this is the time to do so. You can make every page the same, every page different or mix and match at will!

Helpful Hints - Date Range

When you begin the process of printing your blog it is important to consider if you would like to limit your book by theme or date range. The simplest way to create a book is to limit by date range. Scrapbook Blogger allows you to choose a date range from Step 1. This allows a smaller number of posts to be pulled into the program. This will limit the amount of editing that will need to be done later in the process. Many of our users have large blogs that have been in use for several years. This feature allows them to print monthly, quarterly or yearly books of their blog.

Helpful Hints - Cover and Title Page

The cover of the Scrapbook Blogger book is a peak through that shows a photo from the title page (page one) of your book. The program automatically loads a title page and a dedication page for your book. When choosing a photograph to use for your title page, it is best to choose a landscape oriented photo. The large one photo layout must also be used. This will ensure that the peak through portion of the cover is completely filled with a photograph and give you the best results.

Confessions of a Mommy Blogger

Confessions of a Mommy Blogger
Written By Catherine Newman

Wondertime Magazine

Blogging is narcissistic — and time-consuming. It gives strangers (not to mention the in-laws) ammunition for criticizing our parenting choices. And one day it could really mortify our kids. Here's why we do it anyway.

Read the article from Wondertime Magazine

About Scrapbook Blogger

The basic concept of Scrapbook Blogger is to allow parents who create blogs for their children to download and print those blogs into paperback book format, thus allowing bloggers to turn their virtual scrapbooks into paperback scrapbooks.

Scrapbook Blogger customers consist of any blogger who would like to memorialize their blog into hardback format. Our primary beginning target, however, is the “mommy blogger.” Mommy bloggers are a specific subset of the blogging world that encompasses parents who blog about their children. Some mommy bloggers document the daily lives of their children as well as the major milestones their children accomplish. Other Mommy blogs cover a variety of topics including children, but the writing is not solely focused on motherhood and children. Children are usually the only connecting factor linking most Mommy blogs. They are as varied and unique as the women writing them.

When asked, “why do women blog about their children,” the overwhelming response is this: not only so that these writers can look back on the fleeting moments of childhood captured so frequently online, but so that their children will have a written record -- in a rather informal format -- they can look back on years later. Who has not wished at one point or another that she could get into the mind of her mother to see what she really thought (including the real emotions that come with the job on a day to day basis)? For most of us, by the time we are old enough to care, our mothers have forgotten some of the smaller moments that make motherhood such a wonderful time in our lives. What a great way to share those stories that otherwise would just remain a vague footnote of childhood.

On a more personal level, I would give anything to be able to read from the thoughts of my own mom from when I was a young child. To read her thoughts about me and motherhood would give me a connection beyond what we already had. As I write this, my own mother has passed away and I am the mother of two wonderful, beautiful, challenging girls. Suddenly, I have a million questions about motherhood that I would love to ask her. So many questions about her own thoughts, fears and hopes when it came to be a young mother. If I could read a blog she wrote, it would mean everything to me.

I am giving that legacy to my own children. They will never have to wonder what they were like as children or what I was like as their mother. It is all there for them to read about and remember. Now, through Scrapbook Blogger, I can turn their cyberlives into a tangible scrapbook for them to keep forever.