8 Million Pageviews ... and All I Got Was This Lousy Blog

Ten years ago, my children told me to start a blog. "What's a blog?" I asked innocently. They exchanged one of those looks that makes a parent think, "Just wait until they're my age and they have smart-aleck kids." A decade later, I am still asking the existential question, "What is a blog?"

I didn't know why I needed to start a blog a decade ago. After all, I had a purpose in life, one which did not involve splattering myself across the Internet. (My children also advised me to start a Facebook page and get on Twitter - neither of which they did themselves.) (Hmm...maybe they are smarter than I thought.) At the time, I didn't really know what a blog would be good for. 

I rapidly found out.

A blog is whatever you make of it, because, after all, a blog is writing. In some cases, it's a way to organize your thoughts. Some people like to organize other people's thoughts as well. (Avoid "thought leaders." They think too much of themselves.) Others need a way to keep track of where they are going, or what they are eating, or what their cats are doing. (Inexplicably, people on Facebook want to know where other people are going, or what they are eating, or what their cats are doing. If you are a writer, you can make all those things interesting, although that will be a worthless endeavor on Facebook. Just post photos.) In my case, this blog has proven to be an excellent method for having easy access to nicely organized publishing resources. It was completely serendipitous that a lot of other people found those resources useful as well.

             (Darnit! I missed it again! No matter how closely I watch that pageview count, I never can quite catch it.)

One important perk of keeping constant track of venues for short stories and personal essays is that my work gets published. I also occasionally win one of the contests that I post on my monthly lists and on my Free Contests page. (My personal essay, "They Will Try to Kill You" won first prize in the Tell Your Story Contest, and my short stories and personal essays have gotten several honorable mentions.) The fact is, had I not been so compulsive about listing every single publishing opportunity, I wouldn't have been nearly as diligent about submitting my work, which I tend to forget about once I get my next "must-write" idea.

The same holds true for my novels. I have, at this point, probably submitted my YA fantasy to every agent for my genre (well over 500). And I have gotten three offers of publication. (One of these days, I will write a blog on "Contracts You Shouldn't Sign.") I am nothing if not persistent. And in publishing, persistence pays. No matter how many times you are rejected, it only takes one agent or editor to say "Yes!" (Give yourself a boost right now and look at the list of famous authors who were repeatedly rejected here: Never Give Up! Never Surrender!)

The moral to my blog story is that sometimes what starts as self-interest can morph into a benefit for others. In fact, that may be the best path to altruism. After all, if you know what you need, you also have a handle on what others may need. In this case, I hope every writer reading this blog has benefitted from my (mildly OCD) need to organize absolutely everything. Keep writing!