When I first began this blog, I had to skip a month when I was out of the country on business. The site had begun to gain readership, yet my job intruded and I hadn't gotten into posting ahead at that point. The month off nearly killed readership since we all know that consistency is they key to keeping people once you have them.
Upon my return, I had to work very hard to get people to come back. As a result, I haven't missed a regularly scheduled post since. Even the days when life got overwhelming, I put something up so the audience would know I wasn't dead. I believe this little bit of extra effort lets the readers know that they can count on me to be here in some capacity, and even if I put up something minimal, they know I'll be back on track soon enough(likely the next post).
Why do I bring all of this up? Well, by the time you read this, I'll be in the middle of an exceptionally turbulent time of transition. I have a job that will take me out of the country for the better part of a year. Although I intend to continue posting to the site, I'm uncertain about when I'll gain full internet access. It could happen immediately, or it could take several weeks. Therefore, I'm posting ahead by about 6 weeks at this point(this post was written at the beginning of May) so that posts will continue to appear whether I have access or not.
This may all be unnecessary. I might get overseas and find I have instant access and my blog wouldn't have skipped a beat. However, that's not a thing I want to chance, and I'd hate for people to think, "Gee, he used to post all the time, and now there's nothing." I'm simply not important enough yet for readers to keep checking back every few days, and a lack of posting will lead most people to shrug and move on. Even if I posted something that gave a "return date," the majority of my tenuous audience would likely move on to other sites that are there more often. Were my name King, Rowling, or Turtledove, I could risk going away for a while and be confident that my readership would come back when I did. Unfortunately, my name isn't as well know yet, so that's not an option.
(Don't worry, even if I sell well, I will still be the same person - consistent, arrogant, and wildly frustrating :-) )
Upon my return, I had to work very hard to get people to come back. As a result, I haven't missed a regularly scheduled post since. Even the days when life got overwhelming, I put something up so the audience would know I wasn't dead. I believe this little bit of extra effort lets the readers know that they can count on me to be here in some capacity, and even if I put up something minimal, they know I'll be back on track soon enough(likely the next post).
Why do I bring all of this up? Well, by the time you read this, I'll be in the middle of an exceptionally turbulent time of transition. I have a job that will take me out of the country for the better part of a year. Although I intend to continue posting to the site, I'm uncertain about when I'll gain full internet access. It could happen immediately, or it could take several weeks. Therefore, I'm posting ahead by about 6 weeks at this point(this post was written at the beginning of May) so that posts will continue to appear whether I have access or not.
This may all be unnecessary. I might get overseas and find I have instant access and my blog wouldn't have skipped a beat. However, that's not a thing I want to chance, and I'd hate for people to think, "Gee, he used to post all the time, and now there's nothing." I'm simply not important enough yet for readers to keep checking back every few days, and a lack of posting will lead most people to shrug and move on. Even if I posted something that gave a "return date," the majority of my tenuous audience would likely move on to other sites that are there more often. Were my name King, Rowling, or Turtledove, I could risk going away for a while and be confident that my readership would come back when I did. Unfortunately, my name isn't as well know yet, so that's not an option.
(Don't worry, even if I sell well, I will still be the same person - consistent, arrogant, and wildly frustrating :-) )
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