I Write Like Who?

Enjoy this link: I Write Like  Every once in awhile, I'll visit, write a short paragraph, or a piece of something I wrote, and see what it determines. I've never had my writing pinned down to one certain author. I think that's a good thing.

Looking at the Stats

I don't get many visitors here. A few each day is usual, and it's never over ten.

With my other blog, that would have left me unhappy. With this one, it doesn't bother me. I'm guessing it's because I haven't posted much, and not many know about this blog.

Time will tell how this all works out, but I've had too full of a plate for awhile, and my creative thoughts have been pushed to the back burner for now.

I'll write more in the future. Thoughts cross my mind daily, which I'll eventually turn into something worth reading.

How To Become a Writer

Write.....I know, that seems too simple, but the more you write, the easier it becomes, your writing improves, and you find you spend less times worrying about the nuts and bolts part of the process.

You're welcome.

When Batting Zero In Writing...

...change your game.

I've submitted a half dozen, or so, short stories to various online magazines. All have been rejected. Why? Who knows, but that's not what's important. What is important is for writers to understand what I consider an unacceptable length of time between submission and replies.

This is standard, according to everything I've read on how the submission process works, and the reason I started this blog.

Working on My Blog

I've added some buttons. They're on the right. One in particular is one visitors should look at. It only has one link, but it's a link to William Shunn's site. On that site is a link to proper manuscript formatting. Writers need to understand how publishers wish submissions to be submitted, and his guidelines are even suggested by some publishers.

Building a Blog Two

I've looked at the hits on my new site and found the post with the title "Building a Blog" getting the most hits. So, I've decided to offer some advice.

If you're building a blog, decide what you're trying to do. If it's just to journal your life, it's simple and you just write what's on your mind, post it, and go on.

If you're anticipating some money for your endeavor, you need a hook. The internet is huge and you have to suck enough people in to reading your blog, so you can attract advertisers, or sell something. That's not easy, and I personally feel you won't have much luck, unless you understand the nuts and bolts of your blog, have a talent for advertising, or have something to offer that will keep people coming back, which increases your hits; the necessary part of a successful blog.

How many hits? I don't know for sure, but from what I read, it's hundreds of thousands, if not millions every day. That's part of the reason for this blog. I have another, but it's where I expound on the things that run around inside my head. This blog is for exposure to my writings and the hope I can eventually have enough visitors to monetize the blog. Even if that should happen, I'm not expecting to make tons of money, or even live on the money I make; I only want some spare change.

No matter what you do, it takes time to build a blog. Nothing happens overnight, and you can become frustrated if you expect a huge amount of visitors in a short period of time.

I use Blogger for my blog. Why? It's free, and it serves my purpose. There are other free blog hosts. You just need to look around, but be aware you won't have full control of your blog unless you host it yourself. That's an entirely different endeavor, requiring paying for bandwidth, more than just a basic understanding of the internet, and an understanding you are the gatekeeper to your blog. While mine has very good protection from malicious hackers, a web site requires the best anti-virus software, and a better understanding of what's required to secure your website.

I'm no expert, so take what I've written with a grain of salt. Blogging is a great thing to me, since I don't depend on it for anything but a location to write what's on my mind. I like that part, and if that's you goal, I think you'll like it too.

Being A Writer

You can find many sites on the interwiz telling you how to get published, or offering writing techniques, or explaining the best way to find an agent, but you won't find a site that tells you most of it's horse shit.

If you write something, and post it in your public blog, that's considered published by the business. Otherwise, it's usually poison to an editor, since they want first rights, which can be explained as the first location something was published. I'm sure you could cross your fingers, and possibly get away with saying your writings were never published before, but if you're caught, you probably won't like the final outcome.

There are many things associated with being published, such as self-publishing, but that can be daunting, since you don't have people in the business promoting your work. I can't blame them. They're in it for the money, and they don't make any if they're not in control of the publishing.

Another thing: an unfinished novel won't get you very far. Known authors might get an advance, but you won't. You don't have a track record; and those in the business aren't going to take a chance on someone they don't know.

You can pursue an agent. They might like what you write, and work to find a publisher, but it's not something that happens overnight. Long periods of time can pass, and there still isn't any guarantee you'll be published.

So, what am I trying to relate to anyone interested? Do some research. Understand that submitting anything will lead to rejections. That's part of the process. Read anything you can find from authors, such as William Shunn's site, which has a link to manuscript formatting; that's valuable information if you want to submit your writing. Learning from the experiences of others and delving into the business is where you should start.

I enjoy writing, and don't care if I never make a penny from writing. If it happens, that's good. I won't stop writing because I can't get published. I think that's the right attitude; and I have the feeling successful writers probably developed the same attitude before they were ever published.

Building a Blog

It's taken years to build my other blog. While I'm tickled of what I consider its success, I'd forgotten how many times I posted something, and it languished unread, and maybe never seen.

So, for those that have never been here, I'm hoping the stories give you a few minutes of enjoyment. For those that have read the stories I've posted on the other blog, I'll have inspiration, write something new, and I hope you like what you read.

Different Tact

I'm thinking Blogger allows separate pages, but not separate sections. It might; I can't figure it out at this time. so I'l start posting stories and giving them a few simple categories under "labels"..