I started this blog in 2012. 2012! Twelve years! I’ve made 360 posts. 360 posts! How is that possible?

My first post stated my reason for blogging:

Why a blog by Beth Warstadt?  The reason is absolutely self serving.  I need a place to sort things out on my journey through this next stage of my life.  With children near grown, writing is now front and center, though I will tell you that a call from sons, husband, parents, sister or friends does still and always take priority over anything else.

How have I stayed with it so long? That kind of determination doesn’t sound like me.

Well…

Blogging makes me happy. As I look back, I see family, friends, life-events, travels, and a writing journey that all make me so grateful for my life.

I have discovered that, in fact, sticking with something until it’s finished sounds exactly like me–it is one of my defining characteristics. I am a bulldog with a bone that will never let go until I’m done. That is one of many things I have learned about myself since I started blogging.

I love the sound of my own voice–NOT–but I do have this crazy impulse to blurt ideas with an unfortunate lag-time in my filter. The result is a few minutes of satisfaction and celebration of my own wit and wisdom, and then hours or days of regret that I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. I have friends and family who are tolerant of my impulsiveness–God bless ’em–but who often look at me like the wedding guest in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Unfortunately for them, I realize this only in retrospect, not in time to provide relief. Blogging gives me a venue to spout my ideas and thoughts like the fount of wisdom I believe myself to be in the moment, and then save the draft to reconsider at a less impetuous time.

I have also discovered that my interests and obsessions don’t change much, so I can see more clearly the life-niche I fit in. I spent a lot of years trying to fit my round peg in a square hole, only to discover that my peg is actually a dodecahedron, and I fit in even fewer places than I thought. In fact, 90% of the time, the best company I can keep is my own. I understand that I am odd, but when I’m alone, I’m okay with that.

Since 2012, I have published three books, written another needing significant revision, two others more than halfway done, and written a few unpublished short stories. I now have a bit to share based on my own publication experiences–both good and bad. I use my blog as a venue to encourage other writers to “put pen to paper” and stick with it. If I can do it, anyone can. Every writer has a unique voice and unique story to tell. If you don’t write your own story, no one else can do it for you. Sometimes I feel sorry for my characters because they don’t have a better writer, but the truth is that they are my characters who exist only in my head. If I don’t tell their stories, they’ll never be told. The same is true for your characters.

On occasion, I also relate an experience or share a book or movie in the hope that I can offer a new perspective on something lots of people have done, read or seen. I might introduce someone–even if its only one someone–to something wonderful that will move them to tears or bring them joy.

In addition, there is a lot to share in the living of life–births, deaths, moving, job changes, retirement, holidays, feeling hopeful, feeling sad. Even if I can’t see my readers’ faces, even if I never hear from them, it feels good to know there are others who understand the reward of creation; the wonder of experience; the overwhelming joy and overwhelming grief that is merely being alive. I experience all those things when I read the blogs of others, even though I rarely leave a comment.

When my last book, Maisie’s List, launched, I decided I needed to be more professional. I was lucky enough to win the services of a marketing specialist/web page designer who took charge of my page to make it a sales tool. Blogging needed to take a back seat to marketing, and everything on the pages needed to be something that encouraged people to buy my books. She was absolutely correct and did exactly what I asked her to do.

But I didn’t sell any more books. The problem is not the web page, it’s the author. I need to sell books to prove to others that I am really an author, a professional writer, to justify the time and expense of writing and publication, but I’ve never been a very good salesperson, even when it was my job to do so. When I tell people I meet that I am a writer, they want to know if I sell my books, and then decide that it must just be a hobby if they can’t find it in a bookstore. It is funny how many people, even good friends, read one of my books and express surprise. I remember a colleague seeking me out and saying, “I didn’t expect it to be so good. You are really a good writer.”

For now, I’m back to blogging just because I want to. It makes me happy. If readers like my books, then they are probably interested in a lot of the same things I am, and I’d like to connect with them on that level. Authors I admire do that, though with more restraint that the 1000 word posts I am prone to. I still have a lot to learn, and I still hope to connect with the right audience for my books through my blog.

I’d also like to connect with you through your blog, if I haven’t already done so. Leave me a “Like,” and I’ll head on over.

Whether or not you are one of my readers, or one of my friends, or an insomniac who happened upon my blog because some tag connected you to it in the wee hours of the night…this is my world, and you are welcome.