Friday, May 2, 2014

Nothing's Perfect



The other day I wrote a post on having a routine for your writing. I do well with having a routine to my writing world, but sometimes it doesn't work. Like today! 

It's our last day of babysitting with our two youngest grandchildren. We will be heading home this evening, the kids will be having a sleepover with their friends and our daughter and her husband are returning from their vacation. We'll be gone by the time they arrive. So, I've been doing laundry and will be hitting the housework mode shortly. 

Somehow the day has gotten away from me and I didn't post the blog as early in the day as I normally do. But guess what? The world will go on and so will I. It's better to post late than not at all. 

It's what happens to people who blog sometimes. They have a routine and plan to post once a week, twice a month or perhaps Monday through Friday as I do Then, something interrupts that plan. They miss one post, then the second one and then it can be a very long time between posts. Oh, they think about it but keep putting it aside to do something that feels more important at the time. Finally, they write a post and put it on the blog. Back on track!

But what might happen is that they've lost readers during that period of no posts. As a reader, wouldn't you give up on a blog that you like which suddenly disappears? Whether it's for a week or a month or even longer, you get tired of waiting for something new to pop up. So, you move on. 

Crises do happen and we occasionally have to stop posting for good reason. If that happens, do take a few minutes to post an announcement letting readers know that an event in your life has caused you to take some time off. You needn't go into details, unless you want to share. Just say that you'll be back again just as soon as possible. Maybe it's as simple as taking a vacation. If so, specify a date that you'll be posting again. 

Do link your blog to other websites like facebook groups and make an announcement there when you are ready to post on a regular basis again. Keep in touch with your readers if you want them to stay loyal to you and your blog. 

The picture quote at the top of today's post can be stretched to writing blog posts, too. I've heard so many writers express a desire to start a blog but they don't for various reasons. If you wait until your writing world is perfect, you'll never begin. Dive in and swim for all you're worth. Your blog may not be astounding when you begin, but you have to keep writing and working on it just as you do with your other writing projects. You'll need to keep attracting new readers and you can't do that unless you post on a regular basis. 

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