28 blogging tasks you can do from your phone

Do you spend more time near your smartphone than your computer? You can still get plenty of work done on your blog when you're on the go with these mobile-friendly tasks!

If you're anything like me — juggling paying work, parenting, home life, errands, fitness — you might find limited time to sit down at an actual desk to blog or work on your blog-related tasks. So here's a roundup of plenty of things you can do while you're on your smartphone or tablet.

A few of these links are affiliate links, but most are just free apps. I use what I recommend.

1. Draft a blogpost.

   If you're a minimalist blogger (mostly plain text), you might be able to post from your smartphone using one of the blogging apps (WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr on Android & iOS), using email uploads (Blogger, WordPress.com, self-hosted WordPress), or navigating to the site on mobile.
   
   For me, I find the apps and mobile experience inadequate for all the images and coding and customization I love to cram into my posts, so I prefer to finalize things on desktop. BUT, I can absolutely WRITE a blogpost draft while I'm out. I just prefer to do it in email. I use Gmail's Inbox app and like that it saves my drafts well. I just pop my own address into the to field, make the subject line my title, and then Swype away in the text field. I'm Swyping this right now, matter of fact. I'd like to experiment, once I figure out the best headset, with dictating blogposts while I walk, using Dragon Dictation, the native Google voice-recognition on my phone, or another speech-to-text capability. (Here's how one person does this via Evernote.)
   
    
   

2. Edit your drafts.

   If you have a blogpost draft you want to edit, email it to yourself or upload it to Google Docs and use the Google Drive app (Android & iOS) to access it. It has a nice autosave feature, and it will sync with your desktop version of course.
   
    
   

3. Check and reply to email.

   I find being on my phone actually makes this easier, because brevity feels right. Bam. Email done.
   
    
   

4. Read other blogs.

   I use Feedly for my subscriptions now, and I've learned the mobile gesture shortcuts to make the process easy. Save for later articles you want to read in depth or share, or just do it now if you have the concentration time.
   
    
   

Lauren's link love: YA vs. middle grade, commercial vs. literary, writing camp, & Twitter tips

Links to share, collected at @LaurenWaynecom on Twitter:

The Key Differences Between Middle Grade vs Young Adult | @marielamba at @brianklems https://t.co/mtIRPG99GA #writing #childrensbooks

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) February 29, 2016

Like I need an excuse.

Put Down the Broom: Tidying Up Can Hamper #Creativity | @PassiveVoiceBlg https://t.co/JE5gHZMvan #writing #amwriting

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) March 1, 2016

A question many of us have:

Where Do You Draw the Line Between Commercial and Literary Fiction? https://t.co/MTPaXxNUYP #writing #amwriting pic.twitter.com/QChnpQVNMl

— Angela Ackerman (@AngelaAckerman) March 1, 2016

Lauren's link love: Making a living as a writer, editing Hemingway-style, & the good of Amazon

Links to share, collected at @LaurenWaynecom on Twitter:

<3 this: How I Make a Living as a Writer (and You Can, Too) by @jaltucher https://t.co/8agyxAXaio (Hint: It involves a LOT of #writing.)

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) February 27, 2016

Need an editing app? So did Hemingway, apparently.

Hemingway Takes the Hemingway Test - will he pass? https://t.co/k5O9LyFtc5 #editing #writing

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) February 26, 2016

How to Edit Your Book in 4 Steps by Mike Nappa at @WritersDigest https://t.co/HgL9egfIG3 #editing #writing

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) February 28, 2016

Lauren's link love: Query letter formula, captivating characters, celebrating diversity, & breaking through blocks

Links to share, collected at @LaurenWaynecom on Twitter:

How to Write a Query Letter | @NathanBransford https://t.co/lnRwW9u7XI #writing #amquerying

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) February 23, 2016

Making a Dark Character Likable through Vulnerabilities https://t.co/bSjjORvlsX #writing #amwriting pic.twitter.com/7uGHjDwS2J

— Angela Ackerman (@AngelaAckerman) February 19, 2016

Fiction Writing: What Makes Readers Care About Your Characters? https://t.co/TlbqcTPLgO #amwriting

— Alan Felyk (@AlanFelyk) February 25, 2016

Call it a Toni Morrison celebration: #BannedBooksWeek 2016 will honor diverse writers https://t.co/zra8MSA2No

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) February 25, 2016

All cats are girls, and all other animals are boys

I'm reprinting this from Hobo Mama in the hopes that children's authors take note: We need more variety in our characters, on so many levels. One is in animal-gender form.

All cats are girls, and all other animals are boys.

You'd think this was biologically improbable, but it's true.

Witness the admirably entertaining Pet's Tails touch-and-feel book by Jellycat, written by Anne Wilkinson. Every single pet on every page is a boy:

"I love my budgie — his tail is a beautiful blue."

"I love my stick insect — his tail is like a twig."

"I love my fish — his tail goes swish-swish."

I commend Wilkinson on her extensive research that correctly identified the masculinity of nearly all pets.

Lauren's link love: How to query, writing inspiration, blogs to follow, & micropoetry

Links to share, collected at @LaurenWaynecom on Twitter:

What Agents, Editors & Publishers Look for in a Query Letter | @brooke_warner at @BlogHer https://t.co/eRE1VtK6qw #querying #writing

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) February 19, 2016

When inspiration strikes, don't wait. Just write...but pull over first. #amwriting #poetry

— Christine Marie (@AWritersWay) February 18, 2016

In thinking of how to use YouTube as an author:

How to Create Blockbuster YouTube Channel Success in Any Niche via @marketingprofs https://t.co/NdmQ8enVlM pic.twitter.com/EPmR4Icydk

— CoPromote (@copromote) February 16, 2016

Secrets to querying literary agents:

"3 most crucial elements to a novel selling: the writing, the writing, the writing," from @thewritelife: https://t.co/AzDZIR8sra #writing

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) February 23, 2016