I started this blog back in mid-August, 2012. I had been thinking about blogging for a while, and then these three books pushed me over the edge (I highly recommend all three; these images are attached to affiliate links):
My idea was to write about writing, publishing, and creativity, and my commitment (to myself as much as anyone else) was to post twice a week. I wrote four or five weeks’ worth of posts offline to make sure I could sustain that rhythm, and I did, so off I went.
Jon Acuff says when you’re starting out, measure hustle not hits. That advice was key. I managed to post twice a week throughout the year with the exception of one week when my laptop was on the fritz. I can’t say I’m equally pleased with all the posts I wrote, but I am pleased with keeping up this pace.
This is my forty-first post. I’m no veteran (Rachel Held Evans has written over a thousand!), but I hereby declare I am no longer a baby. We have liftoff.
I want to do a shout-out to my wife, Alyssa, and two children. The way I sustain this posting pace is to get up early two or three times a week and head to a coffeeshop or diner. This means that on these days my wife and children do not see me when they wake up. It also means Alyssa has to get the kids ready for the day by herself on these days. Their sacrifice is significant, and I’m grateful for it.
I looked for guest-posting opportunities and ended up posting on Rachelle Gardner’s as well as Todd Henry’s blog. Another highlight was being interviewed on Cynthia Herron’s blog.
I used four web-based tools, in addition to WordPress, that were really helpful: NetVibes, Buffer, Twitter, and Facebook. I moved my personal Facebook page to a business page to deal with the weirdness of whether to accept friend requests from folks I don’t know.
I became enamored with such blogs as Copyblogger, Problogger, and Blogging with Amy. Props to Erin Ulrich for recommending that last one.
In terms of my content mix, my traffic stats clearly indicate people look to me for writing, publishing, and creativity advice. I love doing the occasional “life” post too, so I’ll keep doing that.
In my first post I wrote “my deep hope is that this blog will help you. What would knock my socks off is if this space became a gathering place for a community of people who helped and supported one another on the creative journey.” I’m still really energized by this vision.
Following are the most popular posts of 2012:
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The Very First Thing I Look at in Your Book Proposal and Why
- Why Traditional Publishing Should Be Kissing Self-ePublishing’s Feet
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The #1 Reason We Turn Books Down . . . And How It Can Help You Get Published
Looking ahead to 2013 . . .
- I can’t wait to help someone write a book proposal. I promise my next post will be about just that.
- I would like to do some more guest-posting in 2013.
- I often think about giving my site a design upgrade, which means I would need some way to monetize the blog, so I’ve been thinking about writing an inexpensive self-published ebook.
- I want to keep exploring ways I can generate community via blog posts.
- I’d like to do a video of some kind at some point in the year.
- And of course I want to write some awesome content that is useful to people! If there is something in particular you’d like me to write about, do let me know.
Thanks to all of you who check in on this blog. Keep the comments coming! I’ll keep trying to be helpful to you, and we’ll see where the journey takes us.
By the way, if you’re looking for a tool that will help you review 2012 and dream about 2013, check out this one by Susanna Conway.
19 Responses
Chad, thanks for the kind inclusion here, and thanks for your outstanding guest post on the Accidental Creative site! Best wishes for a fantastic 2013.
It is not an overstatement to say The Accidental Creative changed my life for the good, so the real thanks go to you, my friend. Looking forward to your next one.
Good morning Chad, Although you’re a fellow redhead, and I really enjoy your blog, I’m still seeing Dr Phil about that whole War of 1812 thing. That minor skirmish was won by us, in case you were mis-informed. Insert grin here. Actually, most scholars believe the Mohawks won it for us, and we just let Laura Secord take the credit. Rambling, I am. My 14 year old is totally into Yoda-speak right now. Annoying it is.
Now that I’ve taken you down a rabbit trail, I can illustrate what I learned about blogging this past year.
Avoid the rabbit trails, they wear people out. Focus in on what makes me, ME.
What do I want to say? Who is my target audience? Thanks to a lovely person named Amanda Dykes (www.amandadykes.blogspot.com) I began to hone in on WHAT I wanted to say. It took months and a pair of well trained eyes to help me focus.
I think I know what 2013 will bring me over at my blog:
-a weekly how to session: I refinish antiques, collect irises and bake decadent desserts. I’m going to take my readers through some projects and see how we do.
-my writing deals with The Long Walk of the Navajo. I want to give a monthly, in-depth history lesson on Navajo/Dine culture.
-thoughts and musings of the road to publication. Good grief, I have been on roads in the Bolivian Andes that literally dropped 3000 feet on one side. That was EASIER than the writing road!!!
-life as a wife, mother to 4, friend, daughter and sister.
-book reviews and author interviews
That may change, but when readers know what to expect, they’re not jarred but the occasional break from tradition and a run down a rabbit trail. Comfort and humour seem to be what people associate with me, so, why not give them what they ask for?
I enjoyed your analysis of your voice here, Jennifer. Clearly you’ve given it a lot of thought, and I assume your traffic stats are in the background of all this. Blessings for a terrific 2013!
Hi Chad,
I was referred to your blog just last month, but have been reading through your older posts and love what you are doing. Your posts are informative while feeling personal and friendly. It’s a great combination!
I love the blogs you mentioned. There are a few others you might be interested in if you haven’t found them already – socialmediaexaminer.com, jonloomer.com and wearesocial.com are my favorites for social media marketing information.
As for future posts, I would love to see some insight into how publishers view different platform sizes – even rough number ranges. For example, perhaps they look at it in terms of under 1000, 1000-5000, 5000-10000 or 10000+. I have no idea what those number ranges would be, but I’m curious if they exist and what they would look like. (Perhaps if you are close to a benchmark, it is worth it to spend time to cross it before submitting a proposal, or perhaps being close makes it a moot point.) I know the answers aren’t black and white, but I would love to read your insights on what platform means to you numerically.
Thanks so much for all you are doing here!
Natasha, I can’t tell you the rush I get from hearing that someone referred you to my blog and that you think enough of it to keep checking in. Thank you. I’ve added these three blogs to my NetVibes RSS reader and will be sure to check them out. Thank you again!
As for platform sizes, I don’t know of any universal standard here, and one should keep in mind that any publisher worth its salt will look at the quality of an author’s writing and the concept in addition to platform size, though platform size is increasingly important. And of course there are multiple ways of measuring platform size. In the old days we asked for an author’s speaking schedule–how many and how large–and this is still a valid metric. Nowadays one can look at Facebook “likes,” Twitter followers, and blog traffic stats, and I know there are others. The metrics that mean the most to me are speaking gigs, blog traffic, and Twitter followers. Shooting from the hip here, if an author is speaking every month of the year, has at least 5000 blog visitors a month, and has, say, 3000 Twitter followers, that’s enough for me to know that this author has invested a significant amount of time and energy into platform building. Hope this is useful!
Thanks so much for the reply and very helpful information! I completely understand that “platform is in the eye of the beholder,” but it’s incredibly helpful to at least see some ballparks like you’ve provided. I look forward to any future posts about platform size and different metrics. I would also love to hear your take in your platform posts about the differing value to publishers of a Twitter vs. Facebook following (e.g., does it matter if the 3,000 Twitter followers you look for are Facebook fans instead?). Thanks again.
Facebook fans are fine too. We all know there are ways a person can “feather their nest,” as it were, to get higher counts on both FB and Twitter–meaning you can end up with a bunch of followers who may not be real people and certainly not real fans/followers. So a wise publisher will look at the whole platform picture to determine just where a given author is in terms of a following. Good questions!
Great to know – thank you!
Chad, thanks so much for the kind mention and guest post.
Your heart and compassion for others inspires me. To be a blessing–as well as move forward–we truly have to become servants first. Such a simple thought, but that has been a big ephiphany for me in recent years.
Loved Michael Hyatt’s Platform book! Incredible info and sound advice. I was blessed by his keynote address in September at ACFW. (And I still have your other recommendations on my TBR list.)
I think we’ve all written those posts that we thought were stinkers or less than our best. But folks, I think, are surprisingly forgiving when they understand our heart and intent. And most people know that off-days are bound to happen once in awhile. (And I’ve yet to read a post of yours that didn’t bless me in some way.)
Looking forward to your ebook!
Cynthia, you’re such a huge encouragement to me, thank you. And I’ll certainly keep you posted on that ebook!
Guest posting, eh? Well I hope to gain more momentum on my blog as I’m nearing my July 1 release date. But one if the questions I’m often asked is, “How did you land a traditional publishing contract?” After a long pause where I consider recommending surviving multiple near-death experiences…I share a more realistic approach about what few steps I took (reading what sells, reading books on writing, and attending conferences).
With that said, I’d enjoy an expert guest posting on the subject of traditional or self-publishing.
Let me if your ever interested in enlightening my followers.
Dabney
Dabney, you’re to be commended for building your platform before launching your book. I often tell authors after we’ve finished the developmental edit, “OK, good work, take a breather for a few days, and then begin strategizing a promo plan.” After all, what’s the use of all that work on the book if it doesn’t go anywhere once it’s published.
Dabney, I’d love to know more about your guest post request. What question or questions, in particular, would you like me to try to address? It might be best to have this dialogue via email (chad@chadrallen.com). Thanks!
First of all, I should probably proof my comments before submitting. Hello typos.
Yes…I’ll email you soon. I’m currently working on my Author Central page on Amazon, so I’ll contact you next week. Shifting gears mid-project throws me off task. I blame my Type A.
On another note, I’m excited to see how you’ll shape Gary’s proposal.
Dabney
Ha! No worries. For your sake and the sake of your book, spending time on Author Central is more important anyway! See you next week.
I’m very thankful to your blog. I learn something new with every post. Many thanks to your family. I’ll be following closely this new year.
Thank you, Lisa.
Good stuff, chad! Many blessings and hope for a most creative ’13.
Thanks, Peter!