Getting Started

• What are PEN Personal Web Pages and Blogs?
• How do I log in to my PEN account?
• This is my first web page or blog. How do I begin?
• I already have a web site or blog. Can I link to it through the PEN web site?

Managing and Formatting Your Blog and Personal Web Page

• I was working on my Personal Web Page and when I clicked "Save Changes," I lost all my work. Is there a way to get it back? How do I prevent this in the future?
• I’m not able to upload a picture to my profile. What are your image requirements?
• How do I create a link in my blog post?

Displaying Your Blog Web Page to the Public

• I can’t see my profile or blog. How can I make them appear on the PEN web site?
• My Blog isn’t showing up in the directory. What happened?

PEN web pages are free, dedicated space on PEN.org where Members can create, manage, and maintain their own online public profiles.

With an easy-to-use publishing system, Members can post a biography, photo, and links to external web sites and online work.

PEN Blogs are part of an ongoing effort to establish PEN.org as a literary and human rights destination for audiences around the world. Creating a salon-like atmosphere where Members can openly engage each other and the public at large, PEN Blogs provide Members with the unique opportunity to post original and unedited content under the banner of one of the world's oldest and most prestigious literary organizations.

Creating a Personal Web Page and Blog is as straight-forward as filling any other online profile or form. Just visit www.pen.org/associateblogs, and sign in using your last name and your PEN ID. You will land directly on an Edit My Profile form, which provides instructions along the way. If you have additional quesions, email us at blogsupport@pen.org.

Visit www.pen.org/associateblogs, and sign in using your last name as your username and your PEN ID as your password.

If you have any trouble, or if you do not know your PEN ID, please get in touch with us at blogsupport@pen.org.

You can always post a link to your blog from your PEN Personal Web Page. Just create a link in the "My Online Work/My Links" area toward the bottom of the page. While you may already have an established blog, consider reaching new readers by double-posting your work on your PEN blog.

Unfortunately, once work is lost, there is no sure way of getting it back. Please click the "Save Changes" button often when working on your Personal Web Page or Blog. After about 20 minutes, the server automatically signs you out if you have not saved your changes.

One trick that might work: click the "back" button on your web browser. Sometimes this will automatically fill in all the fields. If your work does reappear, open an additional window and sign in again to PEN blogs again. Now save your work in the first window in which you were working. 

Check your privacy settings at the top of your Edit My Profile page. Make sure you have clicked the “Display my profile to the public" checkbox. If you have not checked this box yet, only you will be able to view your profile. 

To upload image directly from your computer to your web page, simply use the "Browse" tab to locate the image on your hard drive. Double-click the image file you want, and click save. Don’t worry if the image looks skewed when you upload it. The upload will automatically scale down most images to fit  your page. Click “View Profile” in the upper left corner to make sure the image looks right.

We cannot upload images directly from other web sites. If you would like to use an image from another web site, save a copy of the image to you hard drive. Just right-click the image, and click "save image as." You can then upload this copy to your profile.

Image requirements:
Although the program will scale most images to fit, the file size should not exceed 1 MB. If it’s over 1 MB in size, you may have a hard time uploading the image. If you’re trying to upload an image that’s several inches wide, you also may encounter a problem.

Select the text you want to be clickable, then click the blue globe with a chain link underneath. Enter the address in the URL field, and click "Okay.” 

Yes. Click the yellow box with mountains, and when the popup window opens, click the "upload” tab. Click browse. This will allow you to browse files on your computer's hard drive. Once you find the image you want to upload, click “open” and then “send to server.” This will upload the image. You can resize or format the image once it's been uploaded. 

Did you give it a title? The Blog Title field must be filled in order to be added PEN's blogroll.