Wednesday, December 12, 2007

By The Numbers

I was talking with a colleague the other day about my career. He knows that, among other things, I have aspirations of writing professionally someday, and he made mention of my writing.

I thought that he was talking about documents that I've written and circulated in the business arena. He clarified though. "Your blog is really good," he said.

I was surprised. "You read it?" I asked.

"Sometimes. It's very good. You really are a good writer," he said. "I really liked the post about the sheriff calling about your car!"

And that, folks, is why I do this. NOT because I'm looking for words of affirmation from you, my readers (although I certainly enjoy them). It's because this is my training ground; this is where I cut my teeth, and where we, together, determine whether or not I've got the stuff that is required to be a commercially viable writer.

If you've read MyndFood for any length of time, you know that my highest personal aspiration is to publish someday--a full-length novel, preferably. But I also recognize two things: first, that to write a novel requires a continuous, diligent effort-a rigorous work ethic; second, that a good novel has to have readership in order to truly be successful.

So, for practice, I do this. I come here regularly, and try to formulate logical sentences, and entertaining and thoughful prose and essays. So that I'm accustomed to the creative grind. But I also pay attention to the score; that is, I watch my readership trend. How many different visitors do I have daily-that's REALLY the indicator of success.

Think about it: at the risk of sounding like one of those MySpace users that I spoke of previously, the greater the number of consistent visitors, the better a job i'm doing. Because it means that you, dear readers, are telling other folks about MyndFood, and they become consitent readers, and the mini-cycle continues itself.

And so, the visitor trend is important to me, because it tells me whether or not I'm getting closer to publishing a good story.

I'm currently working on my Christmas List (to post here), but I'd like to request the following right now: if you aren't sure what you're gonna do for me for Christmas, simply take three handy-dandy MyndFood cards, and give them to three different people whom you believe will appreciate the blog. Convince them to come, and to use sellulite. OH!

THAT would make me happy.

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