A couple of nights ago I got an email from WordPress. The message said:
Hi there Pat Bertram,
Congrats! We’ve picked your post ( https://ptbertram.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/thirty-two-months-of-grief/ ) to appear on Freshly Pressed on the WordPress.com home page.
Thanks for sharing this — it’s simple, succinct, and quite touching. It will appear on Freshly Pressed in the next day or two, so get ready to welcome your new readers.
This line caught me in partic
ular: “My emotions are on a slow Ferris wheel ride, usually sliding down into sadness on Saturdays, the day he died — a day that apparently is etched in my very psyche — and then a gradual climb to hope and possibility on Monday and Tuesday.”
FYI, I noticed a typo: “I find it impossible to pretend that this new experience of life alone is positive thing.” >> Add “a” before “positive”?
Thanks for making the internet a more interesting place!
–WordPress.com
***
I’ve been Freshly Pressed three other times: I Am a Three-Month Grief Survivor, I Am a Six-Month Grief Survivor, and A Perfect Grasp of Storytelling, so when I read the email, I chuckled to myself and thought, “What? Like it’s hard?” (Remember Reese Witherspoon’s line in Legally Blonde. Her ex-boyfriend says in amazement, “You got into Harvard Law?” and she responds, “What? Like it’s hard?”)
I don’t mean to be facetious, because getting Freshly Pressed is hard. There are a more than a million new posts every day from a half a million bloggers. Most people won’t get pressed once, let alone three or four times.
All four times, the honor came as a surprise, but the truth is, I had prepared for such an eventuality by following the guidelines in “So You Want To Be Freshly Pressed.” Until I read that article, I’d never used photos in my posts, but now taking the perfect photo to accompany my words has become an art in itself. I’ve always aimed for eye-catching headlines and typo-free text (oops, I missed one this time, but luckily they caught it), but I don’t always have a strong point of view. (I don’t much like contention.) Apparently, though, I’ve managed to strike the right chord with the WordPress editors four times, and you can, too. Just keep blogging, telling your truth, letting yourself be vulnerable, and your day will come.
***
Pat Bertram is the author of the conspiracy novels Light Bringer, More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I. Bertram is also the author of Grief: The Great Yearning, “an exquisite book, wrenching to read, and at the same time full of profound truths.” Connect with Pat on Google+
Bertram's Blog 
December 3, 2012 at 3:59 pm
I’d just like to get Freshly Pressed once!
December 3, 2012 at 4:04 pm
The best thing about it is the people I connect to. Each time I have come away with an incredible contact, such as you. Isn’t that how we met?
December 3, 2012 at 4:18 pm
You’re right, it is! In fact, I met a lot of my good friends in the blogosphere through Freshly Pressed. It’s amazing who you can find, isn’t it?
December 3, 2012 at 4:26 pm
You do write tremendously well. Those four FPed glories are not surprising. Congratulations.
December 3, 2012 at 7:04 pm
Thank you!
December 3, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Congtaulations – wonderful
December 3, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Thank you, Andrew.
February 10, 2013 at 12:57 pm
Congratulations. I just went to freshly pressed today and noticed a blog with only 2 entries got freshly pressed? Go figure.
February 10, 2013 at 3:52 pm
They do that occasionally. I have no idea why they choose the blogs they do. They certainly can’t be checking out all half-million blogs that were posted that day.
February 20, 2013 at 11:54 am
I have tried so hard to become Freshly Pressed, but am pretty sure it will never happen. It’s not like I don’t post good stuff. Have a check for yourself at: http://internationaleconomicmatters.wordpress.com
I’ve just finished posting an article that I hope will get freshly pressed. Please check it out at: http://internationaleconomicmatters.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/do-you-need-your-television/ and vote in the polls. I want as many voters as possible, especially intelligent ones like you. Just out of curiosity how many views did you get when you got freshly pressed.
February 20, 2013 at 8:37 pm
Getting Freshly Pressed isn’t something to aspire to. A few people who try, do make it, but most people who try don’t. It’s much better to develop a following of your own. On the day my article “Thirty-Two Months of Grief” was Freshly Pressed, it got 972 views, and I know of many blogs who get that many views and more on a regular basis.
If you are still interested in trying to get freshly pressed, be sure to read this article: http://en.support.wordpress.com/freshly-pressed/ Also, study the titles of the articles that have been freshly pressed. So many of them have numbers in the titles. For example, in your case, your title could have been “Ten reasons you need your television.”
As for television, I have one, but I only use it to watch my collection of movies. The machine is not hooked up to any programming service.
February 20, 2013 at 11:54 pm
Thank you and I still might change my headline.
February 20, 2013 at 11:55 am
I forgot to mention, congratulations!!!
March 26, 2013 at 1:25 pm
Congrats!
I am curious, what time of day do you publish posts? Generally?
March 26, 2013 at 7:20 pm
Good question. Generally late afternoon or early evening. The times on my freshly pressed posts are: 18:00, 19:40, 19:50, 15:30 Pacific time.
March 26, 2013 at 8:03 pm
Thank you for sharing!