My Blog is 1!

It's hard to believe I started this blog a year ago this month. I have to admit I literally forced myself to do it. I decided it was important for an aspiring author to have a presence on the web and I didn't want to have to create and maintain a web site at that point. A blog was easy to get established and best of all - it was free!! I didn't think I'd like blogging because I wasn't really into the whole social networking scene and chatting to people online? Well, they were all weirdos or possible serial killers, right? Wow, how things change. After about 4 posts, I realized I loved the blog. Even if no-one was looking at it or commenting, it became fun to think about what to post on. I also used it as a mental break from the writing and it became a good discipline to get into. When I started to see people visit and actually comment, I was ecstatic. Perhaps someone out there really was interested in something I might have to say? It also eventually gave me the opportunity to profile others and I created Just Published, my monthly feature on newly published authors. I'm still fascinated by each author's individual road to publication and I think there's something there that everyone can take away from it. Especially me! Now, this whole blogging thing really is second nature. It's been a stepping stone for me to the big wide world of the social web. I can't imagine how difficult it would have been to get it established after I'd sold as well as taking care of all the other things you need to worry about. I now have a Facebook account and I'm on Twitter. I'm a regular on several forums out there. Each has it's pluses, but I still love to blog. I've developed a lot of contacts and friendships through these mechanisms as well. People I've never met in person and probably won't. People who have been incredibly supportive and encouraging. And you know what? They're not weirdos either!!