Thursday, June 12, 2014

Follow Me

One of the things I tell my CTY writing classes each summer is that if they want to become better writers they need to write. Every day.

These are the same words of advice given to anyone who has a blog and wants people to follow it. You have to write. If not every day, at least often enough to bring readers back on a regular basis.

A blogger might then have to consider, why am I doing this? Do I have a product to sell and blogging will entice readers into buying it? Do I have opinions that I think people want to hear? Do I have information about a topic that should be available for people who want to know? Do I want to share what's going on in my life with family and friends? Or do I just like to blather on and hope someone is paying attention?

Looking back over the three hundred-plus entries I've written in the past five years, I guess I have entries that fall into all those categories.

Yes, I have something to sell, though I rarely do anything to advertise. There's my novel The Junkyards of Memory about a man who goes in search of his high school friends and discovers that the "good old days" weren't quite what he remembered. There's my "alternate-Earth" version of the comic book industry The Secret History of AA Comics in which M.C. Gaines buys out his DC Comics partners instead of the other way around. And there's The Answer Man's Book of Trivia Quizzes which includes 101 themed quizzes from the days of my AOL chatroom, hundreds of "Fun Facts to Know & Tell" and reminiscences about my career in the comic book business. (All three books are available at Amazon.com as well as the links to Lulu.com.) End of sales pitch.

  

I've shared my opinions on a variety of topics and I've provided some insight into the comic book business as well. And I don't think anyone would argue about how happy and excited I am to be a grandparent, given the number of Alex updates there have been. As for blathering, there's been a bit of that too.

That said, I don't know who is out there reading this, but thanks for stopping by.

1 comment:

  1. I opened up the vaults at Stately Bailie Manor and came up with the necessary funds for The Answer Man's Book of Trivia Quizzes, and while I had been around for many of the entries' original light of day, they still entertained. And the quizzes that were new to me were just as much fun. As much as when the comic books themselves were fun. Many thanks.

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