Why I Blog

I started blogging in the Spring of 2009 Because my first book was under contract and I'd heard blogging was supposed to help publicize books. That book was Secret Service Saint about Nicholas, who discovered the joy of doing secret good deeds and eventually became known as Santa Claus.

To my surprise, another book was actually published before that one. It was The Peril of the Sinister Scientist and the publisher moved it ahead of the scheduled publication date so I'd be able to participate in a group signing with some of their other authors. That book is based on the idea, what would Jesus do in Middle School?

I had two more books published by that house, Guardian Angel Publishing and my most recent book, A Shadow of Fear, has been published by Mantle Rock Publishing.

I don't know if blogging has actually helped with the sales of any of my books, but I keep doing it  every Wednesday and Saturday because I enjoy it.

At first I wondered if I'd be able to think of things to blog about twice a week for a few months. And how could I come up with enough ideas for a whole year?

Well, it's been over five years and the ideas are still coming. The topics of words, books, and kids provide plenty of material. And I plan to keep on blogging as long as I can.

Blogging

This is my post number 603 to this blog. I've written six-hundred-and-three posts!

When I started blogging in 2009 I wondered if I'd be able to think of anything to say after the first week or so. Obviously that hasn't been a problem.

Even when I was seriously ill, grieving, or dealing with other major problems and had "writer's block" when it came to working on other things, I always managed to post something here twice a week.

Since this blog is about words, books, and kids there's plenty to say. I've always been interested in the science of Linguistics, and that's why I named this the On Words Blog, though not many posts have been on that topic.

But I love kids, I'm a grandparent and substitute teacher, and usually read several middle-grade novels every week, so there's always something to talk about on the topics of books and kids.

And I hope my regular readers don't mind if I slip in an occasional post on a different subject.

While not many of you make comments on the blog itself, the posts also show on Facebook and lots of people comment on them there.

I hope to keep blogging for a long time to come. If there's anything you'd like me to blog about, please let me know.

Thanks.

Blogging About Blogging

When I started blogging in the spring of 2008 it seemed doubtful that I'd be able to keep it up for very long. However I've posted something every Wednesday and Saturday ever since, which amounts to over 500 posts. Mostly of them are about books or kids, with an occasional one about language.

Most of the comments people make are on Facebook, where the posts also appear. It's supposed to be better to get the comments on the actual blog but, unfortunately, that doesn't happen as often.

I started blogging because that was supposed to help my books sell better and can't tell if any sales have actually resulted from doing it, but I continue because it's a fun and easy way to share and interact with other people.

At one time I started another blog about special needs and disabilities since that's something I care a lot about, but almost nobody ever read those posts, so I stopped writing them.

What about you? Do you blog? If so, why? And what do you enjoy about doing it?

Blogging About Blogging

I can't believe I did it!

When I started blogging I was afraid I'd never be able to think of enough topics to post something twice a week for more than a month, but this is my 400th post. Since I blog about three topics I enjoy -- words, books, and kids -- there has never been a problem finding material to use.

Often I review books for or, rarely, about kids and there are plenty of those to choose from. Other times I've posted thoughts on writing or linguistics or information that might be helpful to parents or teachers. Once in a while I mention my own books, but my blog posts are not intended to be advertisements. I hope the things I've written about here have been helpful to the people who read them.

And, you know what? I've already got ideas for many more posts to come.

Keep On Blogging

More than ten years ago the word, blog, didn't exist. It originated as a combination of the world wide web (www) and a log where people posted things they wrote online as if they were writing in a journal. Blog is short for web log and blog has also become a verb.

Five years ago I had no idea I would ever be one of those blogging people, but I've been doing it here for three years.

When blogs first became popular they were considered an easy way for authors to publicize their books because there weren't very many blogs and most of them had lots of readers. Now, of course, there are thousands -- perhaps even millions -- of blogs and people have become selective about which ones they read, so blogging can't be used for publicity as easily as it once was.

When my first book was under contract I was told it was important to have a blog so, being a good girl, I started this one. But I didn't want it only to be a form of advertising for my books and wondered how I could possibly think of something new to post twice a week. Probably I'd run out of ideas and have to give up in a few months.

Well, obviously that hasn't happened. It seems there's always more to say about words, books and kids. I've reviewed dozens of books, including classics I loved as a child, library books I enjoy, and new books written by authors I know. Hints and information about kids, parenting, and language have often appeared here, too. And I can always post links to other sites.

Since my posts appear on Facebook most of the comments people make are on that site but that's okay.

While it's great if people who read my blog posts also buy my books, I'd probably keep blogging even if the books were all out of print because it's a fun way to communicate.

Those of us who blog may never run out of things to say.

Blogging About Blogging

Hello, readers, whoever you are. 

Blogging is an interesting way to reach others without knowing who they might be. Even when performing before a large audience, actors and musicians can see the people listening to them, but this is just one of the many ways humans communicate to others without ever encountering them in person. For hundreds of years and more humans have written books without knowing who reads them, and for decades people have sent out messages through radio, TV and movies to unknown audiences. But somehow blogging is different from all that. It's quick, like TV and radio, but lingers a while like magazines, newspapers, and other written material. It's both personal and impersonal. 

I wonder how long it will be before technological changes or other factors make the blogs we use today obsolete. Maybe hundreds of years from now archeologists will figure out ways to recapture things lost in cyberspace and try to reconstruct our culture. And what might they think of blogging if that ever happens?