This is going to be one of those posts where I wish I was in more of a writing community. I’m not. I mean, I have a few friends who are writers, but somehow that is different. But if I were a part of a writing community I would ask a few questions about growing that audience.
This year I have taken to posting everyday. So far I have only missed one day in early January, and that was before I decided to embrace the daily post. The reason I started that was to copy my wife. My wife, whose site is here, spent a few months writing everyday and her numbers jumped rather quickly. Now, if you click on her link you can see that she is not only an artist but also writes in Japanese. But even though are activity languages are different, I thought I would copy what she was doing and see if I would receive the same bump.
The short answer is “no.” The longer answer is maybe. When it comes to numbers, this year looks to be better than last year. I’m on track to get more views than last year. I’ve already gotten more “likes” on WordPress. Also, I’ve picked up a third of my current followers since starting the daily posts. Which is kind of what I wanted to ask about. But before that, in case anyone was wondering: Yes, I am being vague about numbers of views and followers because I am near positive that it is small potatoes.
The following is where I start to unload part of my insecurities about writing in a public forum and a desire for an audience. Feel free to move along.
Followers. What does that even mean? I know that it is people who get emailed when my blog is updated. But is there any more to it? Sometimes I look at the sites of my followers and they are following so many people that it seems impossible for them to actually read those blogs.
I’m sure (okay, I hope) that some followers are actually interested. Or at least clicked follow in a moment of interest. For example, I gained a follower recently which was someone whose name had come up a few times as “liking” a post.
But how many followers are just gaming system? How many are following me in the hopes that I will follow them? Why do I feel like this is kind of an ouroboros aspect to this system. I want more page views and more people to follow me. But if people follow my and get emailed, I will no longer get their page views. Less page views means less knowledge of how many people are actually reading what is out there. Also, there are followers that I feel are just trying to bait me into clicking on their pages.
This is the point where I want to pour myself a shot of whiskey. Or perhaps some whisky.
So, yes, this is a bit of a rant because these thoughts exist and no matter what I write or where I write it I always hope that the audience will grow. But I am also very curious if other writers/bloggers have these same thoughts.
I hate articles that end with fishing for comments, but yeah, I would appreciate a comment from other keyboard warriors.
Deadly Troubadour 
it’s easy to let yourself get caught up in the ‘game’ of writing – winning, losing, progress, most efficient routes, marks of achievement etc. I wrestle with that all the time – how much energy to devote to it, how much to let it affect my emotionally.
There is that weird feeling of not wanting to spend energy on it, but at the same time that spending energy on it is important if I want people to read what I do. Where is a magic formula when you need it?