Rob's Surf Report

Am I really concerned with being a successful blogger?

J.R. Barack "Bob" Dobbs Obama
J.R. Barack “Bob” Dobbs Obama (Photo credit: Lost in Transit [Keep St Joe Weird])
What makes a person a successful blogger anyway? Does it have to do with their stats? Does it have to do with making money from their blog? Honestly, it would be nice if I could just easily monetize this blog with the way I currently manage it, but I fear it wouldn’t be that way. Even if I wanted to pay twenty-five dollars for a video download for a program that sounds suspiciously like charging twenty-five dollars each for video downloads and watching the cash roll in while I write bad articles about things everybody already knows, or if I wanted to court big-time advertisers for ad placement on my site, I’m not sure if I’d have the patience to do the tax returns, to be perfectly honest. And Bob knows I’m too cheap to hire H&R Block.

G.I. Joe Diorama
(Photo credit: kndynt2099)

So what would cause me to classify myself as a successful blogger? Well, let’s put it this way: I started this blog . . . let me check . . . three and a half years ago. Wow. My first post was called Free Software and G.I. Joe  – and really, I’m not sure if I reckoned at the time what it takes to be a blogger; I posted periodically until somebody that I suspect was in a class with me commented on one of my posts and criticized me for the length of my posts and basically calling me a girl for writing about my pasttimes. I became disillusioned and let life carry me away on the face of a massive wave. I thought I’d be shooting barrels by now but the reality is, it’s not that tough; but it’s not about shooting barrels, either.

Stephen King, American author best known for h...
Stephen King (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Being a successful blogger, in my book, is just about blogging. You’re not a blogger if you don’t blog. Therefore, ipso facto, if you blog then you are a blogger. If you’re too busy to blog then you’re not an unsuccessful or failed blogger – you’re just not a blogger at all. If you do get billing on my blogroll it’s only because I believe that you may find your way back someday and I really really hope that you do. That being said, if you are a blogger, then what makes you feel successful?

Kurt Vonnegut speaking at Case Western Reserve...
Kurt Vonnegut (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I just want to post. I just want to write. I want something to write about, and that may be the most challenging part of being a writer; when you run out of stuff to write, then what do you write about? Some writers talk about outlining, and then some talk about discovery writing. I might be something of a discovery writer, except that when I blog I write from front to back because I care more about the process than the finished product; when you read my fiction it’s different, obviously, but a Life-categorized blog post starts with my first thoughts on a subject and attempts to find its way peaceably to something that sounds like a conclusion. If you come out convinced then I’ve totally suckered you, but you’ve lost nothing in the process – or at least, I hope not.

The upshot is, I like watching my stats go up, and I like every follow notification I get. But I get more satisfaction from posting, whether it’s my thoughts on something new, a Saturday Jams, or a piece of unique fiction. My goal is to write fiction, in case you didn’t know. So if you don’t like it then I’m sorry for your luck. But if you do, you’re in luck because I don’t plan to change.

And thanks for being there, because I like having you around.

😀

This post was prompted by today’s Daily Post prompt.

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6 comments

  3. The hardest thing for me is watching a blog take off when the writing is crap. Not that my writing is fabulous. I blog for the practice and interaction. It’s never been about money. I’ve never even thought about how to monetize my site. Plus, most of my readers would sniff that out pretty quickly. They’re pretty intelligent people.

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