Okay, it's February 18th! Time to focus on my New Year's Resolutions.
One of my biggest failings in 2014 was my will to blog. I've decided to dust off the typewriter covers, sit my arse down and remember why I enjoy blogging in the first place.
Like many of you, I love writing, I love sharing, and by golly, blogging can be fun.
Or it's supposed to be.
I visited five random bloggers Monday, and was surprised that two were "taking an extended break," while another writer said she was "done with blogging."
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| "You Can't Leave Now! All That Effort..." |
What's happened to so many of us in the last 12-18 months?
Saturation point in the blogging community?
Social media explosion diluting own brand, time and energy?
No "return of investment," as in followers or book/agent deals?
I don't have the answer, but perhaps it's a mixture of the above?
Obviously, there are still some amazing opportunities to grow your blog (A-Z challenge anyone?) but I think, for example, that cover reveals and book launch tours have bullied blog hops into submission.
Seriously, if I saw my old blog hop today, I would, like totally pull a Valley Girl and be like, "That was so 2013.")
However, I don't want to quit blogging.
Not after all the blood, sweat and beers spilled in the making of this little blog that could (especially now all my "Spammates" in China and Russia have lifted me over 200,000 views.)
For (the rest of) 2015, I'm going old school with new vitality (not found in small blue pills sent in little brown packages.)
I will try reconnect with those who've given up on me (I am a recovering non-return commenter.)
I will make the effort to blog more frequently than once in every 39.7 days.
I will continue to share good news when it happens!
And now that the family is moving from HI to VA, I'll have a "blog new-name" reveal on St. Patrick's Day, (March 17) - but trust me, after the Coconut Bra/Grass Skirt incident, there's not much more to be revealed :)
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| SIGGY Lives :) |
Happy writing, and I leave you with a quote from the smartest man who's never coached in the NFL (mainly because he's a fictional TV character.)
"Clear eyes, full heart; can't lose." --- Coach Eric Taylor
25 comments:
I still really enjoy blogging! Just don't have as much time for it this year what with new job and new baby :-) I can keep up with posting, but then I feel guilty when it takes me ages to reply to comments...
You know I still enjoy it!
There are things that have dampened it a bit. But there are still new bloggers coming to the scene every day.
And it can be fun. That is all up to YOU.
Hi, Mark!
It has been AGES.... And, yes, SADLY, blogging has become such a chore for many of us. I honestly BELIEVE that we all want to stay connected, but as the months and YEARS fly by, there just isn't enough time. It slips away like sand through our fingers.
I still can't believe you are leaving paradise for Virginia. You certainly will be feeling the STING of WINTER. I am holding up in Florida for as long as possible, but I just heard that the next few mornings here will be in the 20's! When did I go back to Chicago. I mean there is only a ten to twenty degree temp difference. That isn't much. Florida should be in the mid 70's, not highs of 55. Scary.
Wishing you the smoothest move back to the mainland. I will be moving soon. I hope to acquire my new South Tampa home within the next few months. I put the offer in today. I just hope and pray that it is accepted and all goes well. I am so tired of looking. This is the fourth property that I had wanted to buy in the last three months. One, I was outbid on. The second was SINKING into the earth. The third, was a "CASH ONLY" deal. And now this one. Sigh. I want to leave CHI-BERIA....
TAKE care and keep up the MOJO. Where there's a will, there's a way.
Yes, I've noticed a lot of bloggers have scaled back from posting so often or have stopped. But it's still my number one way of keeping in touch with friends. Tweeting and Facebooking seem so ephemeral. Bring back Got Green!!!
I have to slow my roll due to freelance work but I still love blogging. Glad you're sticking around Mark.
I hear you Mark. I love blogging and don't want to stop, but I have definitely cut back lately to concentrate my free time on actually writing! I think most of us understand there are only so many hours in the day and sometimes blogging has to take a back seat for a while. Good luck with the move.
Lulls happen, people lose interest. I'm surprised I'm still blogging! lol
Blogging is a way to express the thoughts God has given me. It's also a way to meet special people who spend time writing and sharing their thoughts and lives with others through the practice of blogging. BTW, thank you for the comment you left on my blog entry, May God be with you and yours as you relocate to Virginia. (Have you been able to watch the weather for your new area?)
I'm one of those who have lulled off. I still read other blogs - almost daily - but writing my own? I've struggled. I admit some of the interest waned, but then I've been struggling with other projects too which could account for that. I think a change in lifestyle a couple of years ago was the start. I'm hoping to get back into it though. I don't want to quit...
I come and go with blogging, but I don't know that I ever used it more than just a way to say what's on my mind, whenever I felt like it. I never considered it something to set as my platform until after I was rambling to the Interwebs already.
Best of luck with the move!
My blogging has been sporadic this year but it has more to do with life chewing me up and spiting me out than any other reason. It's just been a hard year and sometimes something has to give. Unfortunately blogging doesn't always make the priority list. I'm still plugging away when I can, though. Good to see you around again.
I've missed you. You always cheer me up. Hope we warm up here on the east coast before you move.
I'm struggling for blog content too. I'm a slacker. I had to delete the old blog and start a new one and my content is changing. More about book reading than book writing. Maybe when I get a novel published I will change.
I still don't see why you need to change the blog name, but no matter what the blog is titled, it will still be you. We love and miss you Mark. Good luck in the move. New adventures await :)
I think you hit the nail on the head with the lack of immediate boost in sales. I decided a long time ago that I would blog for fun. I comment when I can and I write whatever I want. Okay, so it probably isn't the smartest approach, but hey, it's me...what did you expect Einstein thinking?
I've been struggling a little for content lately too. I have a lot of projects to work on, and I don't spend enough time trying to get myself booked for school visits. (Because that mostly involves mailing flyers blindly to schools or sending emails that will be taken for spam, and THAT IS SO NOT FUN!) Sometimes I wonder why I force myself to sit down and write 2 blog posts a week when half the time I don't know what to write and have other things to do.
But then I think about NOT doing it. And I just can't let go of it.
I've slowed down a bit myself, but only because I haven't got anything new to say at the moment. After the initial interest of having a new book to talk about, I don't think blogging has helped to sell my books at all.
Well you know what's happened to me this week. I still love blogging. You should be flattered Mark, only blog I've read since last week. Wondering what you were going to call yours once you move. Looking forward to the "Blog Reveal" -
I still enjoy blogging, I'm just having trouble finding the time for it.
Good for you. Glad you're back. :)
Please don't stop blogging, Mark! I would miss your honesty and heart and your sense of humor.
I know I'm guilty of seriously cutting back posts at A Scenic Route (even though I do blog at Holly Lisle's blog now--weekly. :) ) I slowed down because I realized all that posting and polishing and commenting was absolutely crushing me, instead of building me up. I enjoy all my blog buddies and keeping up with all the latest, but I need to focus on my fiction, and blogging takes up time I need to keep moving forward on that.
Still, like you, I want to resolve to do better this year. I've always viewed my blog as more of a creative outlet rather than a sales tool, but it is probably a good idea to keep some fun content up there on a semi-regular basis.
I look forward to reading about your adventures in Virginia!
There are weeks when I think I just don't have time for this. But I don't want to lose contact with the blog-friends I've made and I really enjoy it when someone says I gave them a laugh. Which, considering the fact that I write crime drama, probably means I'm not doing much of a job at "building my brand." Oh well.
Hope the move goes smootlhy and the climate shock isn't too much for your system. :-)
I'm not ready to give up either yet.
Can't wait to hear the new blog name. The pressure is on to find a good one! :)
Content. Maintaining a blog is hard work. (Very easy for a writer blog to be taken over by cover reveals, etc... which aren't that exciting. Let's face it. They are not. Because they are everywhere.) So, I feel my own enthusiasm for blogging lagging. I need to find a way to fix that!
I'm taking more time off blogging these days, but I'd miss it a lot if I didn't connect with the people I've shared the ups and downs of writing with. Glad you're not quitting. Good luck with the move. You'll have a lot to tell us about.
I think you hit the nail on the head with all of the reasons you mentioned Mark. I've ramped up my blogging, but don't really want to blog more than a few times a month, except of course for this month and April (A To Z Challenge). I want to focus more on blogging about things that interest folks, not just about my books, so I want, this year, to post more of my short stories, and book reviews, and interesting stuff I think folks will like.
I slowed down myself, and am slowly making strides to becoming recovered non-return commenter myself. When the plate makes room for something else, it fills. I'm not sure I can ever stop blogging. It's kinda in my blood now, so extracting it would make a horrible mess. :)
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