Confessions of a Manic/Depressive Blogger

I know what you’re thinking, “Any single-cell organism can have a blog, so please don’t drone on about how hard it is.”

You’re right. And wrong.

Speaking for all single-cell organisms, yes it’s easy to have a blog. Many of us do. But just having a WordPress account doesn’t mean it’s easy to keep it. To keep it requires work—a lot more than I thought the day I oozed over to my webserver to set up the database.

See, the problem arises when ya gotta think of stuff to put on it. Theoretically, you want to share your ideas with others. If what you write resonates with people, they’ll read you, if not, you’re just a scenic turn-off on the internet superhighway. People stop, stretch, take in the view, and move on.

Which of course is death for a blog.

In my case, this monkey-blog is part of my job. These days publishers expect, and sometimes demand, that you as a writer do most of the work promoting your books—building your “channel.” Unless you’re Stephen King, or have an in with Oprah, it ain’t easy.

Coming up with fresh content on a daily basis, when you’re trying to write a book, market the old ones and keep your single-cell together, is a challenge. If some days this blog goes dark, it’s because I just can’t think of anything to say. If sometimes I throw up a bunch of crappy music videos, it’s because I’m desperate for some traffic, any traffic, on the site. Even if it’s only the spambots trying to sell Taiwanese knock-off Gucci bags.

Look nobody is interesting every day. For me, I’m lucky if I write something thoughtful once a quarter (which btw is why I refuse to be on Twitter). So, if in your daily rounds of the vast cesspool that is the Internet, you stop by once in a while just to see what’s happening, I and the other paramecia would appreciate it!