So, I didn’t blog last week.
It was, um, because of the malware attack.
No, wait, I meant the constant stream of news out of Washington.
No, here’s the truth:
It was the one-armed man.
Heavy sigh. Okay, it was none of those. I just got overwhelmed.
I’m in Week Two of my Do That Thing class, anticipating teaching a class at Sitka, filling a couple last spots in the France workshop, and working with private clients. Oh, and trying to keep up with writing the second draft of my novel. (Almost done!)
And so the blog post fell by the wayside.
To be honest, I’m not as focused on my blog these days. Blogging has changed in ways I haven’t entirely grasped yet and it is hard to know how to react. My stats and comments are down (like a lot of other bloggers I know) and one of the things I liked best about blogging was the community that grew up around it. That isn’t happening any more and it makes me sad. And it is harder to get excited about writing something when I’m not sure how many people are even reading it.
But, I have a couple ideas.
The first one is an obvious solution. And that is–start a Facebook page! I’m really more of a fan of Twitter and Instagram, but the one way I do like to relate on Facebook is in groups. I find it much easier to engage with people who have the same interests as I do, rather than shouting out over the vast Facebook web.
It will be a closed group called Prolific and Prosperous Writers and there you will be able to post anything having to do with writing. Questions, interesting links, pleas for help, ideas. I’m not going to put any limitations on joining, though you will have to request an invitation. I think it will be fun! With everything else that I have going, it will take me a bit before I can get it up and running, so stay tuned.
And second, I’m going to be offering a class at the end of June on…wait for it….How to Get an Agent. Ta-da! The class will come just in time for summer pitches at writer’s conferences, but it will go beyond pitching to instruct you on how to submit to agents when conferences are over. And, there will be an upgrade option wherein I will read and critique your query letter. Find out more here.
Sound good? I think so, too. So keep an eye out for the Facebook group. And check out the class!
And don’t worry, I will continue to blog here. Because, its been ten years. So I might as well keep at it a while longer.
Don
I can’t wait for the Facebook page, sounds like a great idea. I certainly would like to request an invitation. As for blogging big, bad, Google keeps changing the way they rank blogs and this was one of my reasons for me killing my old blog, but my health was by far the main reason. A lot of bloggers have been treated badly by new Google policies. My nephew has a rather large commercial site and he too was hit hard, both in readership rankings and in his pocket book.
At least, in the meantime, you’re a very busy woman and that’s good. It helps to keep your mind too busy to deteriorate. In my case, I beginning to think it’s too late for me.
I’m glad you’re still here and so am I. Unfortunately, I’m often too weak to reply to a story even though I might read it, but rest assured: I remain a loyal fan, so keep up the great work!
Charlotte Rains Dixon
I’ll be sure to send you an invitation, Don! Should be in the next week or so.
I’m so happy that you are such a loyal fan and continue to faithfully read me!
Jenni
Don’t ever feel that a lack of comments means that we are not reading your blog. I always read it, and what you have to say often (usually) inspires all kinds of thoughts and ideas. It’s just that those thoughts don’t generally seem worth sharing with anyone else. But I do get that it must be hard to send your words out into the blogosphere and not know if they are having any impact. I will try to formulate the thoughts you inspire into something worth sharing in the future! And yes to the Facebook page as long as it doesn’t take the place of the blog.
Charlotte Rains Dixon
Ack! This totally got stuck in my spam folder. So sorry. And THANK YOU for your kind thoughts. I’m starting to feel rejuvenated about the blog, so I’m hoping to get going on a more regular schedule again. And don’t worry about weighing in if you don’t feel like it. It is enough to know you are out there reading it!