Because It Was There

"So what's up with  this blogging thing, anyway? What's the point?"

Ok, so it isn't exactly climbing a mountain, but why do we blog? Let's face it, at this point we're mostly talking to ourselves.  I know a few other people are reading, but we only have one registered follower (thanks, Ben. :)  So what's it all for?

No, we're not just stroking our egos.  The reason it looks that way is because we're liberally applying salve.  The truth is less glamorous; one of the main reasons we bother is to whip our confidence into performing shape. We're giving ourselves pep talks in open letters to the public.  We just hope that the contents might someday also be of value to other writers.

We do sincerely apologize to those of our friends who find the subject matter less than stimulating.  I know that not everyone wants to be a writer or cares about our attempts.  We try to make entries sufficiently entertaining, but the point of the website is really moral support for those trying to break into the market, such as ourselves.

Yes, we try to offer valuable advice, useful links, and consistent encouragement, but all these things are really not the only reasons. There are more mercenary thoughts behind this.

It's a public exposure.  On the right, I have arranged a query-ish blurb about the book currently being shopped.  If some agent happens to see me posting on Twitter and follows my link here, maybe they'll read the pitch and ask for pages.  Hey, it could happen.  There's no law that says they can't actively seek out a good story when the breadcrumbs lead to where it was carefully placed on the sidewalk for them to find. As we manage to get the pitch text for other books we're working on in the margin, the effect should improve. No, we're not betting little Jonny's college fund on it, but optimism has its place.

Likewise, there is always the possibility that some honest citizen who peeked at a page once and thought it was cute might remember that when a book hits the shelf, and say "hey, I like their writing.  Lemme see that..."  If he picks it up and talks himself into a sale, then it's working.  Do I think this blog will drive thousands of sales my way anytime soon? Well, no, and not only because we aren't published yet, but it's one more straw on the proverbial camel's back.  Nothing sells a book like word of mouth, but a link one can share sometimes makes that effort a little easier.

But in the final analysis, I blog because it's fun.  I love to write.  I love to put together witty phrases, and navigate logical reefs to an obscure point, and think about how the meter and rythm and content of a sentence might affect a reader toward the emotional end that I wanted.  I don't usually try to make people reading the blog cry (yet...), but a chuckle is as good as money.

We're not taking our eyes off the summit.  We plan to plant that flag; but for now, the climbing is good practice.  See you at the top.