Finally, a Blogging Archive Solution
For years, I've experimented with different ways of archiving my blog posts. I've tried plain text, Word documents, an HTML website, a separate blog, and the list goes on and on. Nothing I've tried has worked for me, but I think I may have found a solution.
I'm a firm believer in clearing off your blog/resetting it from time-to-time. I know others feel differently, but I have no interest in having someone stumble upon my blog and read some ignorant information I wrote fifteen years ago, or something I published while dealing with a mental crisis. Times change, we change, and our writing doesn't always define our current beliefs or interests. So, for me, I like a clean slate every so often.
With that being said, I have also been looking for a way to better store my writings. Exporting from various blogging platforms has always been a pain, and I want a place where I could access them all (photos included) but also export them in useful formats. So, this morning, I began tinkering with Ulysses and I think I found my solution.
With Ulysses, I can store each blog individually and then I can export them in a variety of formats. Today, I took every blog I've written in 2023 and put them into a folder. Then I was able to create a great looking .pdf. as well as an .epub. So, I have easily editable entries, plus I can create an archive that can be read on an e-reader and that seems like the perfect combination for me.
Years ago, when I was writing on Write.as, I paid for their .epub generator, but it was underdeveloped, and I don't think it ever truly left beta. With Ulysses I have so many more options, not to mention templates and the ability to add covers. It stinks it's another subscription service, but $40 a year isn't too bad if I can truly get use out of this.
My current thought process is this: each year I'll start a new folder and I'll save my posts in Markdown, copied directly from Bearblog. Then I'll generate a .pdf and/or an .epub. I'll have yearly digests of my blog and then I can reset it each year if I want to. Right now, that is not on my mind since I just started this blog up in September, but I love knowing that the option is there, and I have all my posts archived.
I may also create .epubs based on specific topics, and I may make them available on the blog for anyone who wants to read them. That way my blog can still look neat and clean, but if anyone truly enjoyed my writing and really wanted to dig into older stuff, it would be available.
I'm still brainstorming all of this, so things may change, but I think I'm onto something that is going to work for me.