This is my 220th post since The Beat Handbook was published in September 2008. I've only missed one day of posting, and that was October 9 when we were in Lowell for Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! There have been over 5,300 visits to this blog since October 2008.
Those are impressive statistics, I think.
On the other hand, visits have withered to less than 20 per day. There are damn few comments posted. I can't tell if the few visits I do get are random Stumble hits or people actually reading. Book sales have flatlined to zero (unless you count less than one per month as something).
And, I've pretty much run out of things to say. Or, I've said so much already that I'm having trouble figuring out if I'm repeating myself.
Given that I will be away in the near future, and don't want to drag my laptop through airport security, I am going to take a break from the pressure of daily blogging.
If I have something to say on a particular day, I may write a post. No promises. At the end of April, I will pick a winner for April's free book. That will be the last one. My personal supply has dwindled to almost nothing and with no income from it at this point, ordering more is stupid. I do want to keep a couple around just in case.
It's a huge effort to write a book and keep a blog and try to actually beat the odds against self-publishing. I wouldn't discourage anyone from trying. But it has certainly gotten the best of me.
I hope none of this sounds like sour grapes! It's just time for a change. It's been a fun ride and I truly appreciate every single person who has bought a book, won a book, or taken time to read my blathering here.
But like the movie said, "Everything that has a beginning has an ending."*
Maybe I'll see you in Lowell this October. Long live Kerouac!
*A final beat movie reference.
7 comments:
Rick,
Don't get discouraged. I run a blog and I know how you feel. I have just discovered The Daily Beat and read it everyday. It is also linked on my blog. You may want to look into social networking. Twitter has been wonderful for me. Good luck in whatever happens and thanks for sharing. Nr
Rick,
This may be a repeat comment, but don't get discouraged. I know how you feel. Try using a social networking site like twitter. It has really helped the traffic on my blog. I have also linked you there. I have just discovered your blog and read it everyday. Good luck! Nr
Nr, thanks for the encouragement. I'm not so much discouraged as being pragmatic. I've routinely Twittered, Facebooked, MySpaced, LiveJournaled, Technoratied, Stumbled, NaBloMoed, Amazon journaled, and Google Booked, . . . all focused on my blog and book. I've dug the ride, but I guess I'm a behaviorist at heart in some ways: behavior needs to be reinforced for it to continue.
Hey Rick,
Also, all the way from Spain, don't get discouraged! Thanks a lot for all the great info you gathered over the past months. I've been reading almost every day (but from RSS, which doesn't add to your visitor count, I guess) and learnt many things about the Beats and other stuff. I'll be missing your posts, but that might be a good reason to finally add your book to my Amazon shopping list. It's a pity delivery to the old continent is so expensive... Good luck with everything you'll be doing and muchas gracias,
Jess
I've been reading by RSS too, so wouldn't show up in your stats most of the time. I have enjoyed it, but I know that daily blogging is tough so I think a break is a good idea. Maybe when it's not compulsory any more, you'll find you want to do it again! Anyway I'm still subscribed, so will see you if you're back. Sorry I didn't do more visits and encouragement along the way.
Cool blog.
everything's always in fluctuation (i'm sure you're well aware of this already). some days you're on, some times you aren't. sometimes you need a break and from what I can see of the rest of your posting history after this, it did you some good.
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