Hello
Is there anybody out there?
Just nod if you can hear me.
Is there anyone home?
(Roger Waters & David Gilmour, from Pink Floyd's The Wall)
Sometimes that's the way I feel about blogging.
I was amazed to realize, a few days ago, that Beyond Romance is more than six months old. I remember so clearly, debating whether I wanted to make the commitment to a personal blog. Now it has become part of my routine.
I don't regret starting the blog. It has given me the opportunity to meet dozens of new authors. I can offer some reciprocity when I guest on someone's site. And a few of my posts have generated a good deal of commentary.
Most of my posts, though--as well as many of my guests' posts--seem to go by completely unnoticed, at least if I judge from the comments. I'm gratified that the blog has more than fifty followers, but I don't know how often they actually come read the content. You know the old saying, "If a tree falls in the forest but there's nobody to hear, does it make a sound?"? That's the way I sometimes feel about this blog!
One problem, I suppose, is that I don't promote enough. Lately I've been trying to announce all my guests, but I feel kind of embarrassed posting messages on my groups for every single post. If people were interested, they'd come, right? I don't want to bug them. That's probably the wrong attitude. I guess if you want to be noticed in the crowded world of erotic romance, you have to take every opportunity to shout from the house tops. But that's so not me!
Still, if I look at my own behavior, I realize that the only time I go check a blog, other than the ones with which I'm personally involved, is when someone announces a post that sounds interesting. If I don't have the link to click on, I just won't make the effort. I suppose that other readers are the same way. (If I do read a post, I'll almost always comment--assuming that I have something to say, which is practically a foregone conclusion! I want the author to know I've visited.)
I'd love to know what readers think about this--if anyone is reading this post. Would you like to get a notice each time there's a new post? Or would this just seem like nagging? And if you would like notices, where would you expect them to show up? (on what lists?)
If anybody's out there, thanks for reading!
