The Blogosphere Has Eaten My Soul

I took this a week or two ago with a vintage teacup
in the snow. Isn't the combination so pretty?

I'll be the very first to admit that blogging is important to me.

When I first began blogging last January to promote my photography shop on Etsy, I didn't fully realize what I was getting into. I posted my URL in Etsy forums and started clicking other people's links to gain followers, but I didn't know that some of those followers would become dedicated readers. That those readers would become good bloggy friends of mine, and that some of those friendships would extend out of the blogosphere. (I've started emailing back and forth with some bloggy friends, and some of them have sent me birthday and Christmas gifts - how awesome is that?!) When I shut down my Etsy shop and started blogging simply because I like to blog, those bloggy friends stuck around, and though some have started to move away from frequent blogging, others continue to post and comment often.

In over a year of blogging, I've discovered that one of the biggest components of successful blogging is socializing. Blogging is a way to share your thoughts and ideas and projects with the world, and nothing makes a blogger feel better than when people care about those thoughts, ideas and projects. And what I've learned about gaining a steady following of readers is that there's a lot of give and take. If you read and comment on the blogs of your followers, they'll often read and comment on yours. That's the secret to getting followers - you become friends with them. You take an active interest in their own blogs and lives, and they take an interest in yours. And soon you're not reading their blogs just to keep them reading yours - often, you're reading because you care about what's going on with them. You care about their lives and enjoy reading their posts. That's the magic of blogging - the connection and friendship you share with people you might never have met otherwise.

I love blogging for many reasons, not least of which is the way I can share my thoughts, ideas and projects with you all. Without my blog, I might not have ever completed The Sandcastle's Way. Before I even began writing it, I posted about my idea. My mom read the post and decided to help keep me motivated to actually complete this novel, and then the rest of you supported and encouraged me, up until the day I wrote the last words of the first draft's epilogue. Furthermore, on my blog, I can share my thoughts on current issues. I can recommend books and share music. I can ramble about my favorite movies and shows, and I can share my accomplishments and experiences with all of my dedicated followers. Blogging is a big part of my life.

But therein lies the problem. It's too big a part of my life.

Another teacup photo - I took a bunch that day!

There's nothing wrong with blogging, but lately it's been too much. I've been on the computer for a good portion of my days, and most of that time has been spent either reading other people's blogs or writing my own posts. I've hardly even had the time to reply to emails or work on The Sandcastle's Way, I've been spending so much time in the blogosphere. Basically, blogging was eating my soul. I was starting to become one of those computer addicts with no life outside of the computer screen.

Lately, I've begun to feel the so-called addiction growing, and so when Mom brought up how much time I've been spending on the computer it just made it more obvious that something needed to change. So I started thinking, and that's when I really realized that blogging took up most of my computer time.

Before you start jumping to conclusions, I'll assure you that no, I'm not totally giving up blogging. I love it too much. I love the connections and friendships; I love the support and the encouragement and sharing bits of my world with you. But I just can't continue doing things the way I've been doing them.

So, I came up with a new plan, which works in two ways. First, instead of posting every other day as I've been doing, I'm going to cut back. The plan is to post once a week, maybe twice if I feel like it. And by posting once a week, I'll not only have more time, but I think it'll also help improve the overall quality of my blog. Having to choose just one subject to blog about per week, I'll probably end up writing better posts - or anyway, that's my hope.

The second part of this plan involves blog reading. As I said, it isn't just writing my own posts that takes up my time - it's was reading other people's posts. I've subscribed to the blogs of all of my bloggy friends, and I read and comment on all of their posts.

And it's just too much.

However, like I said, I've grown to really like you all. Reading your blogs isn't just a way to gain followers - it's a way to connect, and a way for me to learn more about your lives. And so despite the time it eats up, I don't want to give up on blog reading. (And besides, I'll be honest and not ignore this part - if I stopped reading blogs, then I'm sure I'd eventually lose most of my followers. And where would I be without y'all? Let me answer that for you - this blog would be nowhere, that's where. Perfectly Sensible Nonsense would be lost without its readers! Love you guys!)

The day before it snowed, I got some good snow-less photos as well!

But it doesn't have to be all or nothing, after all. And so I've decided that once a week or so - maybe the day I post on my blog, to make it easier - I'll take some time to read and comment on one or two of the most recent posts on the blogs I follow. Since I get a lot of the posts straight to my inbox, I might end up reading more than that, but I'm not going to put any pressure on myself. I need to put myself first.

Already I feel better about it all. I can sense that it's probably going to take some getting used to, not blogging every two days, but I think it'll be good to relax a little and get back to life.

I'll now have more time to get back to work on The Sandcastle's Way. I've come up with a plan for its revision, which I'm working on now, and I'm hoping to whip it into publishing shape this year. (After I'm done tweaking the manuscript to my satisfaction, step two will be to get a beta reader/critique partner or join a critique group to get some feedback on it. There's a bunch of work that needs to be done before I can start looking for an agent, but I think this'll be a good thing. Besides, I've grown to really like my characters, so I don't mind working with them again!)

I'll also have time to just do more. More stuff that doesn't require the computer. Spring's coming, which means I'll want to spend more time outside reading and taking photos. I'd like to get into journal writing again. And of course, I'll be able to reply to emails in a more timely fashion, haha!

So, that's my plan. I figured that you all deserved an explanation, since I'll be withdrawing from the blogosphere a bit, and I don't want you all to think I've abandoned you and your blogs.

Of course, I doubt you'll mind this plan too much, since now you'll only have to read my long-winded rambles once a week, haha!

Now, let's see how this new course of action works, shall we? I guess I'll see you in about a week!

Hugs,

Taylor Lynn

PS Don't forget to vote in my poll about whether or not you'd like to read another one of my mega-long book recommendation posts for my 2012 reading challenge! You can find it on the sidebar, right beneath my drop-down menu. Answer honestly, please! After all, I've gotta be more careful when choosing my post subjects now, heehee. Hugs!