Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday: Blog Thoughts

It’s been about a year since I’ve started blogging.  Actually, I think the “real” date is somewhere around the end of January.  I didn’t want to become a blogger.  At the time, I was flying through books on how to make oneself a writer if you’re also a mama.  I wanted to write for magazines and finish this book I was working on (it’s done–more on that in a minute), and blogging to me felt, well a little trite. 

 Anyone can be a blogger.  You just go to a webiste such as wordpress.com, register and get writing.  It’s really that easy.  The worst part about blogging is it doesn’t make any money.  Okay, that’s not entirely fair.  I love to write, so why am I so concerned if it makes me money, or not?  Probably because I would like to do both: write and make money.  (Ta-da!  The perfect world.)  So, when I began this business of blogging, I did so with a little chip on my shoulder (I got over it–I actually look forward to blogging each day)–it felt like a step down in terms of my overall dream: making money by writing for magazines and perhaps publishing a book. 

On the other hand, blogging has made me a better writer.  One has to practice anything to get better at it, right?  So, blogging 5 days a week on parenting and kids and the things that keep my world spinning has been a “good thing,” as Martha Stewart would say. 

Here’s some stats from the last year of my blog “career,” compiled from the stats folks at WordPress:

• This blog was viewed 7,800 times in the last 11 months
• I posted 215 new “articles”
• 123 photos were downloaded, an average of 2 a week
• The #1 post was on February 22nd “Speech Apraxia–What’s that?!” 
• The other top posts were:
• #2 “About Leslie” (really?)
• #3 “No Lazy Days of Summer” thanks to guest blogger, Amy Moll
• #4 “Bookin’ It With Apraxia”
• #5 “Sing Out! An Interview and Give-away with Katie Eshelman”

The blog “Health-O-Meter” from WordPress ranked my blog in the “WOW” status.  Not bad for a gal who was reluctant to blog. 

Okay, now the deal with the book: I have been working hard at writing a book on CAS for parents for the past 2+ years.  Really hard.  Lots of research, conferences, notes, deciphering, and writing.  It’s done.  All 276+ pages, over 220,000 words (your average novel is 80,000-100,000 words) and I have submitted it not once, not twice but 580 million times to various publishers and agents.  Nada.

Until today.  A publishing house I like has requested the full manuscript!!  It’s exciting, but not a gaurentee.  The publishing industry is just not what it used to be–and I am a first-time author. 

Your warm wishes and luck would be much appreciated.