My Blog

It’s always beneficial to learn from other writers and authors.

           Yesterday I listened to an interview with Michael Hyatt. He suggested that writing and posting blogs on a daily basis gets to be overwhelming, not only for the author but for the readers. He maintained that his readers thanked him when he cut back because they had been having a hard time keeping up. Am I wimping out? No, certainly not.

Ragamuffin

I find that the writing in the morning is very beneficial to build my skills. And I still have much to write about. Between historical tidbits, student activities, my elderly mother and Muffin, the dog, there are dozens if not hundreds of topics I could continue to write about. That said, I understand how time-consuming and tempting it is to spend hours going through hundreds of Facebook posts. And to stop and read blogs takes forever. Mine are just adding to the overwhelming burden of ‘stuff’ to read.

I admit to disapproving of the self-aggrandizing and self-centered world of selfies and personal reminiscences. And I have fallen into the trap as much as anyone. Unless my blogs offer some kind of useful material that adds value to people’s lives, I’m not sure of their worth. I will continue to post, but as Hyatt recommends, I will cut back to once a week on a regular basis – let’s say Sunday, when people have time to read.

Web page

I also have a selfish reason. By cutting back on blogging, it will give me time to complete the rewrites on my first two novels and finish work on my web page. My beloved Beta readers, some of whom I am meeting with on Wednesday, have given me much to correct and improve on my books. I also have several chapters written for the third book and can now focus on getting “Spanish Rebel” finished. It will be a delight to focus on writing for a longer-range purpose than just a 800-word blog.

Spanish Captain’s Daughter

A few weeks ago, I submitted ‘The Spanish Captain’s Daughter,’ my first novel for competition, or at least the first ten pages, to the Writers’ League of Texas competition. If nothing else, I will get some good input from the readers and judges. It would be even more wonderful to win a review by an agent, but as a first novel, that would be highly unusual. In the meantime, I need to get off my duff and get the manuscripts out there to other agents.

Adding value

I did find out why I have not heard from the agents with whom I signed a contract three years ago. They have not said a peep for a whole year, even after I sent updates and rewrites. When I looked up Pinder Lane and Garon Brookes in the 2016 Agents Directory, they were no longer accepting anything. They are evidently out of business and never let me know.

So, look for my blogs once a week on Sunday. I will do my best to “Add value” to your lives.