Rambling Prose: Writers Write

To Blog or Not to Blog

I've been dithering. Not uncommon for me, just ask my husband. I have a gazillions things I want to do and not enough time in the day to get them done, not because I can't but because I dither. That isn't to say I don't get things done, it's just that I must wade through the litter of dither to get there.

I haven't  always been that way. I am by nature a take-charge woman, and not always a sensitive one, so Katie-bar-the-door or I'll run over you. I don't mean to, but focus at some point becomes obsession. An agenda is meant to be followed.

I've written about this before, so I won't go into detail here, but a to do list at this point in my life is essential. (Check here for prior post). There are days when even a to do list doesn't help. Sometimes I stare at it, my eyes glaze over and I turn to my iPad and play Word W.E.L.D.E.R. Work? You're kidding, right? Who am I trying to impress? What do I think will happen to the thousands of words I've written and published over the years? 

So begins procrastination and self-doubt. I have to give myself a swift kick in the posterior to get off the pity pot and move on.  

 

So What?

 The dither deal today is that I'm seriously thinking about going back to publishing an e-zine. I did on off a year or so ago, but I didn't have the patience to give it time to build a readership, and I couldn't figure out how to make money at it. This is nothing unusual. I've done a fair number of the things in my life that either lost money or never made a dime. I guess getting and being and maintaining a rich lifestyle isn't a driving factor behind my choices.

So the dilemma is this. I've been working diligently at building a web presence with the idea of selling my books: Tiger Lilly, Not Just Another Day, The Ballad of Bawdy McClure, and Future Imperfect. Why I believed creating three blogs and maintaining a website would accomplish this I'll never know. To my knowledge not one single book has been sold as a consequence of all this effort. It doesn't help that two of them are sci-fi, one is daily devotional and another is contemporary fiction about family relationships. Does anyone see the problem here? Try creating SEO protocol for that mess.

Back to the Topic 

I stopped publishing the e-zine about eight months ago. For the effort I was putting into it, I saw no measurable indicators that any but a handful of family and friends were actually reading it. I'm doing the blogs because... Well there you go, I'm not sure why I'm doing the blogs. I THINK it's building my web presence and my author platform, however I'm seeing no measurable indicators to prove that it is.

Bear with me folks, I'm on a ramble here, not to mention a dither.

One of the blogs is tied to my radio show, Writer's Block, which airs each Tuesday morning at 9 a.m MST. It is a program about writing and writers. I invite authors (published and want to be published)  to be interviewed in-studio or as call-in guests. Following the program I summarize the discussion and do a review of the program in my Writer's Block blog.

Joy inthe Morning is a blog of brief inspirational readings or poems. It is tied to my spirituality and will likely lead to a second book of daily devotionals.

The blog you're reading is the third blog. Rambling Prose is about what ever strikes my fancy, kind of like my now dormant e-zine, Happenstance, life happens. Even so, it doesn't have the flexibility of an e-zine, or if it does I haven't figured out how to make it work.

Still with me?

And then there is the Sharon Vander Meer website, which remains fairly static with general information, only updated once a week with links to Writer's Block program summaries.

Coming from print media I still think in terms of graphic design, popping pix and writing to section demands. Is it food and lifestyle? Does it fit in features? Sports? Trends? Books? Travel? Commentary?

For what I want to do, an e-zine makes more sense because my interests vary and as much as I want to be a writing machine punching out books by the dozens, the truth is my curiosity and dithering eclectic tastes do not contribute to finishing yet another manuscript, and I'm not much good at marketing the books I've already written! Still, I forge ahead.

And – this is a biggie folks – I love talking to writers. I enjoy promoting their work. It tickles me silly to publish words crafted by talented people. I enjoy reading and doing book reviews. 

That doesn't  leave a lot of time for additional writing, but I forge ahead.

Now What?

So, the questions for me are, "Do I continue to maintain three blogs and a website – none of which are doing what I want them to do (sell books), or do I go back to e-zine publishing creating something on the order of a literary journal? And if I do, is it possible to have an income stream?"

The question for you as a follower or reader is, what do you think? Check out the published e-zines at this link and the one above, and give me your feedback in the comments section below. I'm sort of looking for a better understanding of what will work in the web environment we are now living in. To blog or not to blog, that is the question.

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New e-mail address

Happenstance now has its own e-mail address: happenstance@q.com. This allows me to keep my Happenstance mail separate from my personal mail, which gets cluttered up with so much stuff I must have signed up for somewhere, sometime, somehow. Please, add the new address to your approved mail settings so you don't miss the next issue of Happenstance, which will be sent out from happenstance@q.com.

If you're reading this and don't have a clue what I'm talking about, Happenstance is a FREE on-line and digital general interest and literary magazine.

The February Happenstance is themed around love. I've received interesting essays and stories that touch on the subject from different perspectives. Can't wait to get your thoughts as readers.

Not everything will be loverly. There will be at least one article that I hope will make you think and inspire you to become more informed and involved.

I've gone to a web format for those who have a hard time reading the zine or PDF version of Happenstance.

Happenstance, life happens, April 9, 2010

From the editor…

Whew! I didn’t think I was going to get this one done. I had a great time interviewing Jean Warner, Joel Scheinberg and Barbara Ewing for the article about dogs. We’ve had dogs over the years, but after the last one, Chipper, the happiest dog on earth, escaped our enclosed yard and got run over, I said, “Never again!” After talking to these dog enthusiasts I’m close to rethinking my position. There is nothing like the relationship between a pet and its human family. Even snooty cats take a down day and make it better. See Delightful Dogs on pages 4-5.

Talking to the tag team Arts & Culture District duo of Adam Caldwell and Roy Montibon had my head ringing with all the ideas out there. These two bounced comments and ideas back and forth like tennis players with a great volley going. It was like sitting in on a strategy and brainstorming session with Donald Trump and the apprentices, without the BSSS (blind silly selfishness and stupidity). It was a fun interview. See Grassroots on pages 6-7.

You get a break from my recipes this week. Check out the wonderful salad recipes by Kathy Allen, author of Someone’s in the Kitchen, a compilation of recipes she has gathered over the years. These recipes can be used as a side or as a dessert.
I’m introducing a couple of new ideas. I don’t want to run a calendar, the Chamber does a great job of that and so does the Optic, but I want to hit the high points of activities going on in town. I can’t think of a better source for that than the magical e-mail network of Karyl Lyne. See The Lyne Connection on page 10. It’s a calendar, sort of.

The Happenstance Walk About on page 12 is a new feature, a bird’s eye view of what is happening in some of the businesses around town. It is very much of a work in progress. My goal is to showcase the heroes of our town. Their heroism is at street level. They get up every morning, open the door to their stores and do everything within their power to provide a much-needed service, whether it is selling ladies’ apparel, jewelry, antiques, art, or diet Cokes. These happened to be the businesses I walked into this week. What businesses have you walked into? These stores contribute to the economy of our town in ways we don’t always recognize. We need them. For them to thrive, they need us.

Enjoy Happenstance, life happens.